MISSOULA- The Missoula City Council voted to amend its rules to reintroduce a public comment period at the beginning of its meetings during its meeting on Monday.
Public comment on non-agenda items was at the end of the meeting for the past two years, allowing members of the public three minutes to speak to the council about whatever they may wish.
Watch the full story:
The amendment to the city council rules reinstates a non-agenda comment period at the beginning of each meeting. The comment period at the beginning of the meeting will be limited to 20 minutes, with each commenter being allowed three minutes.
Sponsors of the amendment, Sandra Vasecka, Daniel Carlino, Bob Campbell and Kristen Jordan, said they hope that the additional comment period will make local government participation more accessible.
“The public is the reason why we have the government in the first place is to help the public. And if the public can't have their say until the end of the meeting time, it's been really frustrating for a lot of the public when they come,” Vasecka said.
“It should be as easy as possible for people to come talk to their local government, and you used to be able to show up at 6 p.m. on a Monday night and say whatever you want to city council and to the mayor, and then after that got moved back to the end of the meeting, people would have to wait till like 9, 10, 11 p.m. to make their comment,” Carlino said.
“It'll allow the opportunity for the public to come in and not have to wait through so many public hearings and be able to speak to us and engage with us. And I think it's a win for the community. I think the community has been asking for this for quite some time,” Campbell said.
"I worked across the aisle with colleagues who agree that local government should be as accessible as possible. Public comment is the one time each week when residents can look us in the eye and tell us directly how city decisions affect them, that’s not just good practice, it’s a legal and moral obligation. When Mayor Davis was elected, public comment was moved to the end of meetings and participation has dropped sharply since. Our meetings never have a confirmed end time and can go late, so many people simply can’t wait that long to be heard. Bringing public comment back to the beginning restores accessibility, transparency, and accountability. We should prioritize the business of people, not the business of government, and that starts with listening first," said Missoula City Council member Kristen Jordan.
The amendment passed unanimously on the council’s consent agenda. The reinstated public comment period will be in effect next meeting.
