Council Meeting on Oct. 1 Requires Public Comment Registration

San Angelo City Council has a full agenda for its first meeting requiring citizens to register in order to offer public comment.  The agenda has twenty items. seventeen on the Consent agenda, and three on the Regular agenda.  

The agenda makes no mention of the change or procedures someone interested in making public comment must follow.  The City Clerk informed Council at the end of their last meeting that citizens needed to register with her prior to the meeting in order to speak.  The minutes for that instruction state:

City Clerk Heather Stastny reviewed changes to the recently adopted changes to the Public Comment Policy that will go into effect on October 1, 2024.

So someone would needed to have watched the last City Council meeting to know that instruction (117 page views as of today).

To sum up, there is no information on the agenda about the change and no information on the City's website regarding procedures citizens must follow in order to speak on an item.  A search for the mentioned Public Comment Policy produced "no results."

Let's hope Council provides flexibility for citizens during this first meeting under the new rules.  Someone in the room may be struck by the Southern Drag Boat Association wanting the city to waive the $10,000 annual fee for use of Lake Nasworthy for events already conducted in June and September.  

A citizen may have questions about the City taking over Lee Pfluger's nonprofit Concho Christmas Celebration and operating the event through Downtown San Angelo.  An observer may wish to encourage Council not to reduce the Retiree Medical Benefit as implied in the background packet memo.

Citizens in attendance should have the right to offer public comment on the Mayor or City Council members' statements made during the meeting as those are not on the agenda and occur in real time. 

 The City's organizational chart has citizens at the very top.   Let's hope it stays that way.

Update:  The City's Facebook page posted yesterday at 5:00 pm:

People wishing to speak at the City Council meeting must sign in before 8:30 a.m.

The post included the three regular agenda items and has 14 likes.

Update 10-1-24:  Mayor Gunter started off public comment by saying those people in attendance who "filled out a card" will be given the opportunity for public comment but those that did not would not have the chance to share their thoughts with Council during the meeting.  A number of city retirees showed up to speak about proposed changes to retiree health insurance.  Former Police Chief Russell Smith reminded Council of promises made to retirees and the city's history of adjusting them.