If you want to speak your mind before Fort Collins City Council, these changes are proposed

Fort Collins City Council will vote Tuesday, July 2 on whether to change some procedures around public comment at its meetings.

These changes will close the loop on proposed changes prompted by a demonstration at the March 5 meeting that resulted in the mayor gaveling into recess and eventually adjourning before council could get to the evening's business.

Some updates were already approved by council , including a provision that would allow council to move their meetings to an alternative location with remote public participation if a similar situation were to occur, or if there were another circumstance jeopardizing the agenda, like bad weather.

The changes being considered now would split the general comment period into two segments: one happening at the beginning and one at the end of the meeting.

There would be up to 90 minutes of public comment by no fewer than 40 people at the start of the meeting, and if more people want to speak, council would open up unlimited time at the end of the meeting, according to the published City Council agenda packet.

Currently, there is no limit on the length of total minutes of general public comment, and all of it happens in one block at the start of the meeting.

There is also no overall time limit for comments taken during specific discussion items on the agenda, and no changes are proposed to that policy.

A second proposed change would require anyone who wants to speak during public comment to sign up by 5:30 p.m. the day of the council meeting. The current rules require sign-up but don't identify a specific deadline.

During a recent work session on this topic, staff said having a deadline would help them manage the complexity of offering both in-person and online commenting and provide notice to those signed up to speak about what to expect in terms of timing.

Finally, an addition to the rules explicitly states that "meeting attendees are prohibited from altering or damaging any furniture, equipment or other public property or from misusing the City’s facilities in the course of attending any Council meeting or work session."

Court case ongoing for women who glued hands to wall during council meeting

During the March 5 meeting, three women, Cheryl Distaso, Claire Kipp and Haina Sakka, glued their hands to the wall to demonstrate their desire for City Council to write a resolution in support of a cease fire in Gaza.

The women were charged with misdemeanors alleging obstruction of government operations and tampering and petty offenses alleging disruption of a lawful assembly and refusing to leave a public building.

The women's attorneys have asked 8th Judicial District Judge Joshua B. Lehman to dismiss charges, saying they were simply exercising their constitutional right to engage in nonviolent symbolic speech.

Lehman said he will rule on that motion later this summer. A jury trial is currently set for September.

How does public comment in Fort Collins compare with other cities?

Fort Collins' procedures around public comment are more open than a few other municipalities on the Front Range, according to information presented by city staff in council documents.

Currently, there is no limit on the length of public comment at the start of the meeting, and participants can speak on any topic, even if it's not being considered by council.

Loveland allows 60 minutes of public comment, Boulder allows 40 minutes, and Denver allows 30 minutes. Some jurisdictions limit the number of total commenters, as well.

But Larimer County, Estes Park, Timnath, Windsor, Wellington has no overall time limits.

How many people usually speak at public comment?

Data provided by city staff, since October 2022:

• 1 to 40 comments: 64% of the time
• 41-70 comments: 16% of the time
• 71 or more comments: 20% of the time

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: If you want to speak your mind before Fort Collins City Council, these changes are proposed