Brooklyn Park Seeks Changes To Public Comment Rules
The city of Brooklyn Park is considering making changes to who can speak during the public comment portion of regular council meetings.
Public comment, or open forum as it’s called in some cities, is reserved for anyone to speak on matters of concern or significance that are not agenda items. Usually anyone can speak, including non-residents.
But that is likely to change.
The city is considering a policy to restrict its public comment to residents, as well as owners, employees or board members of Brooklyn Park businesses and organizations.
“I think many times our city gets pulled in or gets used for other agendas, political, what not, for folks that don’t have anything to do with our city,” said Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston as one of the reasons for the change. “I think that’s one of the main concerns we’ve been talking about it. We just want to do the business of the city vs. sometimes what we’ve seen.”
Cities are not required to offer public comment during meetings. A sampling of cities across the Twin Cities shows a wide variety of procedures.
The city of Maplewood, for instance, does not offer public comment on its agenda. Others, like the city of Bloomington, do not televise public comment. Some cities, like Coon Rapids and Champlin, offer a public comment period at the end of its meetings. The city of Brooklyn Center offers an open forum similar to Brooklyn Park.
Brooklyn Park City Council member XP Lee wanted to take it one step further by only allowing public comment on agenda items “for the sake of time management, as well as effectiveness and efficiency.”
Lee says residents can always email and call council members or city officials with concerns.
Brooklyn Park’s proposed change would not prevent anyone from speaking to a specific agenda item.
The attorney representing the city of Brooklyn Park will work on language for the new policy, which is expected to get a full council vote at its next regular meeting in two weeks.
