Changes have been made to when you can speak at Bryan city council meetings.
Last month, the decision was made to separate public comments from the agenda business of the council’s evening meeting.
Previously, public comments were after 6 p.m., before the council considered action items.
Now, public comments start at 5:30, or after the council finishes its executive session business behind closed doors.
At council’s February 28th meeting, public speakers had mixed reaction.
One said she was going to be inconvenienced by starting 30 minutes sooner.
Another was opposed to capping the total time for public comments at 25 minutes.
There was one supporter who thought she was not on television. That is why WTAW News did not identify this speaker, and in turn chose not to identify the two opponents.
When the schedule was changed, the city also decided not to broadcast public comments live on the city’s website or local cable channels. City secretary Mary Lynne Stratta says a recording of the video is posted to the city website within a week of the meeting. The video could be edited, according to the city, to remove obscenities, any display of information that the city considers confidential by law, or the display of what the city considers inappropriate materials.
Meantime, one of the long standing rules during public comments continues. That’s the speaker giving their home address. On Valentine’s Day, when former councilman Rafael Pena did not give his address, mayor Andrew Nelson put in the record.
Pena went on to ask for city improvements in the Castle Heights neighborhood, along Highway 21 between the freeway and Coulter Field airport.
