Cobb commissioners to consider limiting public comment time

Cobb commissioners public comments

There’s an item on Tuesday’s agenda of the Cobb Board of Commissioners that’s already promising to generate some public comment.

The item is asking the board to consider changes that would reduce the time for public comments in half.

Currently the board policy is to have up to 12 public speakers who are given a maximum of five minutes, for a limit of 60 minutes.

Up to six speakers are given time at the start of meetings, with the rest commenting near the end.

But the proposed revisions would cut back the allotted slots to 10 speakers who would be given no more than three minutes to offer comments, for a maximum of 30 minutes.

In addition, all of the public comment period would come at the end of meetings.

The agenda item is here; and further details are here.

Those changes have sparked some heated reaction from citizens who got in touch with East Cobb News over the weekend.

One of them is Christine Rozman of East Cobb, who has been an occasional public speaker, and who said in an e-mail that “this is not sitting well with ALL citizens.”

She most recently addressed commissioners last month about the county budget, imploring them to “rein in” spending (comments are around the 40-minute mark).

Another resident, Michael Ashton, noted that by pushing the public comments to the end of meetings, “there would be no public comments on any of the current agenda items until after the items had either been approved or denied.”

East Cobb resident Jan Barton, who has been a frequent public commenter over the years, especially on county finances, taxes and spending, said that “it is outrageous that they plan to limit our free speech.”

The agenda item said that the current public comment period has been in effect since 1991, “before the advent of many means of communication we take for granted today including, email, newsletters, and social media. This agenda item will update the county’s Rules of Procedure involving public comment to include revising the time per speaker to three minutes to match the allotted time per speaker in public hearings, consolidating all public speakers into one agenda position, limit the overall time allowed, and eliminate certain prohibitions for those allowed to speak before the Board.”

The proposal stressed that “there is no limitation on the number of times an individual may speak throughout the year nor a limitation on the number of times a person may address any given subject matter,” policies that also date back to the 1990s.

The proposed changes come shortly after the Cobb Board of Education changed its public comment procedures, including a requirement that speakers sign up online and in advance.

Unlike other votes needing a simple three-vote majority, revising this policy will require approval of four of the five commissioners.

The agenda item will come up near the end of the meeting, before the second public comment period.

The full agenda for Tuesday’s commission meeting can be found here, and it includes an appointment by District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson of East Cobb resident David Anderson to the Cobb Planning Commission; previous post here.

Tuesday’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta, and will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.