Hi Mayor and Councilmembers -- I hope you consider differently how much time is allowed for public comment. Yes, it takes a lot of time when issues are complex or controversial, but isnt that precisely the same time when public comment matters the most? There may be a gem of a new idea or a valid critical concern that is surfaced by only one person; wouldnt you like the benefit of a good description?
It is difficult to condense thoughts about complex matters into 3 minutes and vastly more difficult to condense them into 2 minutes or even less. Try it yourselves in the Councils own discussions.
I do not believe good decisions are made at the end of long meetings, so avoid late meetings unless there is an emergency. Period.
Suggestions:
1 - Allow public comment of 3 minutes per individual and up to 9 minutes for a group.
2 - Ask at each meeting for people to raise their hand when they agree with a public comment
3 - Be explicit online and at the beginning of the meeting if you intend to shorten public comments, and to what length. I cannot find the allowed duration on the city website yet the staff report states "Currently, public comment is limited to three minutes for items with less than 10 speakers, two minutes for items with 10-20 speakers and one and a half minutes for items with more than 20 speakers." That may be a current practice but it is not an official procedure. Shouldnt the public have an easy way to discover what the allowed duration is? I have seen "3 minutes" on the city website in the past but I do not see anything there now and it isnt on the agendas either.
4. When public comments are truncated, continue that topic to the next meeting and recommend that speakers submit their longer comments via email to inform your final discussion and decision. This may be a good idea more generally, and always a good idea when public comment is shortened.
5. End all meetings by 10:30 unless there is an emergency or if less than 15 more minutes is required to complete the topic. If this proves challenging, consider where time could be shortened (e.g., developer presentations), or where additional short meetings could be scheduled.
Menlo Parks issues are more complex than some other similar-sized cities. The pay raise acknowledges that, and the Councils schedule may need to do so as well.
Patti Fry
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