At a weekend retreat Saturday, Charlottesville City Council reviewed its meeting procedures including the signup process for citizens who wish to speak during public comment at regular meetings. City Council decided to switch to a lottery process for the 12 speaker slots available public comment at the beginning of their meetings. This is expected to be a six-month trial.
Instead of today’s first-come first-served signup sheet, the public would be directed to call, email or meet in-person with the Clerk of Council to request slot in the lottery for that meeting. Twelve winners would be picked at random the afternoon before the city council meeting. If a winner did not appear to speak, others from the list would be moved up. The open public comment window at the end of the meeting would not be changed.
