The Ann Arbor City Council meetingwill have a different format tonight. Public comments are being extended.
The public comments are being expanded to a 45-minute segment near the beginning of the meeting. At three minutes per speaker, this gives a minimum of 15 people a chance to address the council. This is up from 10 under the previous rules.
Jen Eyer is the councilwoman representing the Fourth Ward.
“So, we’re taking that public commentary at the end, which was only for general issues of concern, and we’re bringing that up to the beginning, so that people don’t have to wait until the end of the meeting in order to make that comment.”
Another change is that residents have until 5 p.m. the day of the meeting to sign up. Eyer says this is an improvement on the current rules that said the first 10 people to call the clerk’s office at 8 a.m. got to speak.
People who are addressing items on that evening’s agenda and who have not spoken at recent meetings are given priority. All comments outside of the initial 15 spots are reserved for the end of the meeting.
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