A change in public comment procedures at city council meetings in The Village has spurred questions about open meeting laws in Oklahoma.
Social media posts making the rounds before a recent council meeting in Oklahoma City suburb The Village say the council has eliminated the practice. That is not the case, said Village City manager Dave Slezickey.
Previously, The Village designated a community comment period in each general meeting, during which those in the audience could speak about topics of concern. Each speaker was limited to three minutes.
Beginning with Tuesday’s meeting, public comment was restricted to agenda items only.
"If they want to comment on something that is on the agenda, they'll be welcome to,” Slezickey said.
Those who wish to comment can fill out the city's community comment form prior to meetings.
Joey Senat, a professor of media and strategic communications at OSU, said public bodies can limit community comments to agenda items and impose time limits. In fact, they don’t even have to offer public comment at all.
“The public is not entitled to speak at these kinds of meetings,” Senat said. “They have no right under the First Amendment, courts have said, and they have no right under the (Oklahoma) Open Meeting Act.”
Although some states offer protections for public comment at government meetings, Oklahoma is not one of them.
Slezickey said the change will help the council stay in compliance with the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act by making sure members do not inadvertently discuss items not on the agenda. If a person brings up a topic not on the agenda during community comment, city council members may want to respond.
Per the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, members of a public body are not permitted to address items not on their meeting agenda. Senat said attorneys recommend public bodies do not respond to public comment at all to avoid violating this provision. City managers and others who are not members of the public body would be able to answer such questions, he added.
Slezickey also said there have been issues with people using community comments to discuss topics irrelevant to the city or the meeting. He added that people with concerns about the city that do not fall into topics addressed at city council meetings can use the “report a concern” feature on its website.
