Why not give Concord residents 15 minutes?
After regularly watching Concord City Council meetings over the past year, one feature of the process continues to puzzle me.
Residents may speak during public hearings on matters already before the council. At a recent meeting, several did so and were thoughtfully engaged by the mayor and councilors.
But what happens when a Concord resident has something important to raise that isn’t on the agenda? There is no regular general public comment period in which to raise it.
Why not devote 15 minutes at each regular meeting to general public comments and questions, with reasonable limits on individual speakers?
Councilors need not debate every issue or answer every question on the spot. Matters requiring research could be referred to the city manager or appropriate department.
Yes, council meetings are already long. But considerable time is also consumed by councilor commentary, acknowledgments, expressions of appreciation and repetition. Thoughtful questions that illuminate an issue are essential to deliberation. Not every comment from the council table serves that same purpose.
Finding 15 minutes for residents might simply require a little more economy from those who already have a guaranteed seat and microphone.
An agenda tells residents what their government wants to discuss. A brief general public comment period would give residents an opportunity to tell their government what they believe deserves discussion.
That seems like 15 minutes well spent.