City May Restore Early Comment Time

City Council members, under fire from Oxnard residents who say officials are stifling free speech, plan to return the public comment period to the beginning of council meetings.

The change could come as early as next month, although no formal action was taken this week by the council.

Council members last year moved the public comment period to the end of their weekly meeting. They said citizens would still have plenty of time to talk, because they changed rules to let them speak not only during public comment but also during all agenda items.

But many meeting-goers complained that public comment should be held at the 7 p.m. start, because that is when people can bring up unscheduled concerns of their own. They opposed having to wait until 11 p.m. or midnight for their three minutes to speak. Some sarcastically addressed council members by saying, “Good morning!”

With criticism unceasing, Councilman Bedford Pinkard on Tuesday suggested moving the commentary session to the beginning, but giving it a 30-minute limit. Under the plan, those left out could still speak at the end of the night, officials said.

But Pinkard’s suggestions raise new issues, City Atty. Gary Gillig said Wednesday.

“Then you have the question of who gets called [to speak],” Gillig said. “I’ve seen this happen in other cities where it’s first-come, first-served, and you have people lining up at 6:30 p.m.”

Council members, struggling with the issue of citizen input, have changed the way public comment is handled at least five times during the last 10 years, Gillig said. He plans to bring new suggestions to council members in March.