Mallory Herrmann
citydesk@lstribune.net

The city council will continue shaping rules around public comments at their regular session meetings. The rules committee of the council met this week and considered limiting the content that can be discussed during the public comments portion.

City staff prepared language that, if adopted by the full council, would restrict comments to either those related directly to items on the agenda or to items related to operations of the city of Lee’s Summit. The committee has asked staff to revise the text to include both limits, stating that comments will be limited to items on the agenda or items related to general city operations.

Councilmember Bob Johnson expressed concern in limiting comments to the agenda itself, noting that many residents come to discuss ideas or issues beyond a specific agenda item any given week.

“We need to encourage our citizens with ideas we maybe just haven’t thought about,” Johnson said.
The city council recently voted to create a time limit of three minutes per person during the public comments portion of their sessions. They also approved the use of a comment request card, including the individual’s name, physical address, general topic, and whether the speaker is speaking on behalf of a group in attendance at the meeting. The cards are to be submitted prior to the start of the meeting.

The committee will consider the revised language at their next meeting before voting on whether to recommend approval by the council.

The rules committee includes Councilmembers Johnson, Phyllis Edson and Diane Forte. It is chaired by Councilmember Trish Carlyle. All four members were present at the September 4 meeting.

No members of the public attended.