Englewood council to consider public-comment rules for boards and commissions

Englewood City Council will discuss four options for public comment at the city’s boards and commissions at a Sept. 28 study session. The choices range from keeping the current policy to removing general comment from some or all boards, which would change how residents can address those bodies directly.

The current policy requires public comment as a regular agenda item at every board and commission, the City Attorney’s Office and staff said in council materials. The options are to keep the policy; retain comment but standardize its time and process or use City Council’s rules; keep it only for quasi-judicial boards; or remove it for all boards and commissions.

Council members are being asked for feedback at the study session, not to make a policy decision. The City Attorney’s Office flagged potential liability when board chairs handle “First Amendment auditors” without an attorney present. It also warned that requiring general comment at every board and commission could create opportunities for First Amendment legal challenges. The materials describe potential risks, not a finding that a violation occurred or that a lawsuit is pending.

If general comment is removed from some or all boards, the packet lists other ways residents could communicate: email a board, speak at a board public hearing, email City Council or address Council and ask it to direct the board.

Revisions to the handbook are expected to return to a regular Council session for possible action, but the packet gives no date for that meeting. It also does not say whether residents will have an opportunity to comment before Council considers the revisions.