Scottsdale City Council reconsiders public comment changes after outcry

Members of the Scottsdale City Council have scaled back some of the proposed changes to their public comment policy, following pushback from some residents.

The revisions initially included reducing non-agendized public comment from three minutes to two and reducing the number of speakers allowed during that portion of the meeting from 10 to eight. They also suggested pushing that portion of the meeting to the end of the agenda.

At a meeting on Dec. 2, Scottsdale resident Raoul Zubia spoke out against the proposed revisions, saying residents need to feel like their voices matter.

“I understand the desire to improve efficiency, but cutting public comment from three minutes to two and pushing the only open comment period to the very end of the meeting makes it extremely difficult for working residents and families to participate," Zubia said.

Former Councilwoman Linda Milhaven suggested some members have tried to silence their critics using rules of procedure and calls for order.

“However the rules of procedure have not allowed them to silence those who oppose them and so now it seems they want to change the rules of procedure to do exactly that," Milhaven said.

Those accusations were pointed at Councilman Barry Graham and Vice Mayor Adam Kwasman, who disputed those claims.

"The point was not to subvert democracy or any nonsense like that," Kwasman said.

Graham said he understood why some people were concerned.

"If I read the headline that they're going to take my public comment away or diminish that, I would be very upset by that," Graham said. "I'd be very upset that they would reduce it from three minutes to two minutes for example."

Proponents of the changes said they would help meetings move more efficiently.

The council ended up moving public comment for non-agenda items to the end of meetings, but did not reduce the amount of time speakers will have to talk. They also increased the number of speakers allowed from 10 to 12.