Portland's city council may vote Wednesday night on new rules for meetings that critics say could stifle free speech.
The proposed changesinclude reducing the number of open public comment periods — when people can comment on issues that are not on the council agenda — from two per month, to one.
Portland Mayor Kate Snyder is on the Rules Committee, which drafted the proposal.
“I think basically the idea was if we reduced public comment on non-agenda items to once a month we can focus on that time, and we can use the other meeting to focus on the issues...coming before the council,” Snyder says.
The proposal would also move those periods to the end of the meeting, and it would limit public comments on topics that are being considered by a council subcommittee.
“To me, the most important thing to be thinking about right now is, are we scheduling the public comment period on items that are not on an evening's agenda, at a time that makes sense within the context of people who are there to be talking about items on that night's agenda?” Snyder says.
Critics, including the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America, say reducing public comment and moving it to the end of the meeting shows “an absolute disregard for public opinion."
The council could vote tonight to adopt or reject the changes, or it could recommend other changes.
Updated 4:08 p.m. Feb. 19, 2020
