No action was taken, but a proposal will be brought before the council on Dec. 12 that could see the comments of public interest move to its own nontelevised special meeting that will take place at 5 p.m., before regular meetings, according to City Manager Mark Israelson.
Council meetings are broadcast on Channel 16 on Spectrum, Channel 30 and Channel 31 on Frontier FIOS, and the city's website.
“We’ve seen the comments of public interest used for all kinds of purposes that I would consider less than what the council needs to use to operate on, so I think we do need to make adjustments,” Council Member Rick Grady said. “I would propose that the comments of public interest be moved to a separate meeting and that it not be televised.”
Grady, Council Member Julie Holmer and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maria Tu also expressed interest in not allowing public comments through Zoom.
“If we have something that needs to be addressed, then we need to address each other face-to-face,” Tu said. “I think [Zoom] is appropriate in certain instances, but it’s certainly not appropriate when we’re dealing with city of Plano business.”
Council Member Anthony Ricciardelli and Mayor Pro Tem Kayci Prince argued for keeping Zoom as an option to address council.
“I think, as a council, we should strive for more accessibility, not less,” Ricciardelli said.
Limiting comments to Plano residents was also discussed, but multiple council members disagreed, saying that some stakeholders in city business are not residents.
Israelson did not mention any change to policies on Zoom or nonresidents speaking during comments of public interest when outlining the possible proposal that would go in front of council.
Holmer also noted there are multiple ways beyond the comments of public interest to interact with the council.
“We are also accessible by phone, by email and by appointment,” she said. “I think you’ll find that we’re all very accessible.”
Council’s last meeting of the year will be Dec. 12, and it will return to its regular schedule—meeting on the second and fourth Monday of each month—in 2023, according to the city website.
