The Bangor City Council voted Monday to revert back to an older version of its public comment policy, which allows for one hour of public comment at the start of each council meeting.
The city initially changed the policy in February, shortening that period at the start of meetings to 15 minutes and requiring that anyone remaining afterward wait until the end of the meeting to speak, but residents have complained about the change.
The switch back to the old format is one concession by the council amid complaints about multiple aspects of the city’s approach to public comments, including the amount of time it allows for public input and its recent decision to pause remote comments via Zoom.
City Councilor Michael Beck said in a workshop last month that he’d support moving all the public comment time back to the beginning of meetings because “the overwhelming feedback I got was it was better the way we had it before.”
Scott Pardy, a Bangor resident who owns numerous recovery homes in the area and frequently speaks at City Council meetings, raised concerns about the policy in July.
“Moving public comment to the end of the agenda has created a significant barrier to participation,” he told councilors. “Residents feel that their input is not truly wanted, and understandably, few are willing to wait through an entire agenda, often late into the evening, just for a brief opportunity to speak.”
The council approved the change in a 5-4 vote Monday, with councilors Daniel Carson, Joe Leonard, Angela Walker, Susan Hawes and Beck in favor. Councilors Susan Deane, Susan Faloon, Carolyn Fish and Wayne Mallar were opposed.
“My main reason for wanting to go back to the older model is just because it’s much simpler to understand at the end of the day,” Leonard said.
Under the new policy, the council chair, a position currently held by Hawes, will still have discretion to adjust the time limits for public comment.
The city changed the policy earlier this year “out of courtesy for those attending the meeting for a specific agenda item.”
City Councilor Susan Faloon cited similar reasons Monday when explaining her vote against reversing the policy. With the policy now reversed, attendees who wish to speak about a specific item on the agenda again may have to sit through a long public comment period before the council can make it to that item.
Neither councilors nor members of the public seemed to have consensus over which version of the policy worked better, with one resident speaking against the change Monday.
“No one’s wrong on this issue. It’s just, you know, it’s a matter of preference,” Beck said.
The council also decided last month to put Zoom comments on pause after a spate of hateful attacks by people who joined meetings remotely using fake names.
Some Bangor residents have criticized the move, framing it as collective punishment because of a few bad actors and saying limits on remote participation make it harder to weigh in on city business, especially for residents who can’t make it to meetings in person due to disabilities or family obligations.
Councilors have said they will revisit the issue of remote participation in January.
