By Cary Shuman
Councilor-at-Large Katy Rogers would like to change the amount of time allotted to residents who participate in the public speaking portion of council meetings as as a means of streamlining speakers’ appearances at the microphone.
Rogers recommended that the current format of speakers being allowed two minutes for agenda items and two minutes for non-agenda items be consolidated into one 3-minute speaking segment.
Rogers said Council rules differ from the School Committee who offers three minutes per speaker.
“I think [our format] causes a little bit of confusion and also drags on the meeting because it requires somebody to come up and depending on whom is in the president’s chair and what the discretion is of the president – sometimes we wait to the end of the meeting for non-agenda items and sometimes we don’t,” said Rogers in support of her recommendation.
At the last meeting, a speaker had to wait until the end of the meeting to use the two minutes assigned for non-agenda items, noted Rogers.
The Council unanimously approved Rogers’ request to refer the matter to the Legislative Affairs Subcommittee for thr purpose of formalizing the language of the potential rules’ change.
“Public speaking at a city council meeting should be a simple and seamless process,” said Rogers. “By consolidating agenda and non-agenda items into a single list, we are removing excessive bureaucracy and improving accessibility for Everett residents.”