Public comment time at local Board of Supervisor, City Council, and School Board meetings are becoming raucous battle royals.
People think the meetings are like social media. Everyone wants to post their opinion. Maybe they need to start a blog.
While public comment is critical, our current process is not productive and leads to wasted time as nothing is getting done or not getting done as fast.
When over 200 people sign up to speak, even at 60 seconds each, that is over 3 hours. After a short while, even the best listener will tune out and go to Charlie Brown teacher’s mode, blah blah blah.
Unruly audiences are not helping, interrupting those with differing opinions.
Maybe we need to change our procedures to get through these contentious times.
People wanting to speak with the same general topic could consolidate their ideas to fewer speakers. However, this would not eliminate the unruliness of opponents.
Perhaps only invited people with an interest in a specific agenda topic are allowed in the main meeting room. Security will remove them if they become disruptive.
Limit the public comment portion of the schedule to sixty 60 second speeches. If the board wants to allocate more time, they could increase the number of speakers.
Those wanting to speak would need to register for a lottery a couple of days before the actual meeting. A lottery would determine the 60 speakers. Like the Western States 100 lottery, two-time lottery losers would be given a slot in their third attempt.
Rather than having an audience in the main chamber, open a nearby school auditorium for the lottery winners and those who want to watch. The council meeting could be streamed to a large screen monitor also broadcasting to the internet and a local access channel.
In the same school building, set up four speaking rooms away from the crowd with video cameras and sound. Rotate from room to room, cutting to the next room after the 60 seconds allowed for each commenter.
Include a producer, engineer, and countdown clock in each room to help keep the process flowing.
The public is still involved, and the process would eliminate the disruptions.
We have many issues that need resolution, including but not limited to mask requirements, COVID protocols, the teaching of critical race theory, gender pronoun usage, and the continuation of in-person learning.
You’ll find that we have much in common with what we want our schools to be. We just have different ways of getting there. Our current processes are not helping identify those common interests.
I want to read a book on CRT and be more informed than what I hear in biased fake news.
Any comments on books to read are appreciated.