The Ann Arbor City Council is considering changing the format of their public comments time, restricting the subject matter and length of time available for each speaker:
“The Ann Arbor City Council is considering changes in how it runs its meetings, including the way it allocates opportunities for public comment.
Some of the changes would be for the portion of council meetings called “Public Commentary – Reserved Time” that traditionally opens council meetings. The council wants to limit the topics speakers can comment on to what is on that meeting’s agenda. They also want to reduce the amount of time per speaker from four minutes to three minutes, but the council would expand the number of speakers per meeting from eight to nine.
The council holds a second public commentary at the end of its meetings, but that session is seldom used except by a few regulars, because it comes late into the evening, usually about 11 p.m.
The meeting is Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Council Chambers on the second floor of city hall, 100 N. Fifth Ave.”