City Councilmembers have the responsibility to listen to the people they represent, but how much public input is too much? Atlanta City Council sparked a debate on this topic when they decided that they would limit the amount of time that their meetings would dedicate to hearing public comments. 

This decision came about when Atlanta City Council held a remote meeting in July 2020 that lasted for more than 24 hours, approximately 18 of which were spent listening to a total of 1251 comments made by citizens. The vast majority of comments discussed a controversial resolution, 20-R-4068, often referred to as the "Rayshard Brooks Bill." 

The resolution in question was created in response to the death of Rayshard Brooks in June 2020. It sought to redirect half of Atlanta Police Department's budget (a sum of $73,448,723) and use the funds to "reimagine policing in Atlanta." This would have strongly impacted Atlanta residents' lives, so it stands to reason that the community had a lot to say.

While the meeting was still in process, District 8 Councilmember J. P. Matzigkeitto proposed Resolution 20-R-4119, which the City Council passed after a few revisions. This resolution limited the amount of time they would allot for public comments in subsequent remote meetings. In order to be heard, comments would have to be made via telephone between 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM on the day before a remote meeting. The resolution also stipulated that only relevant comments would be included, and any comments deemed irrelevant would not be presented to the City Council.

Their decision has stirred a lot of debate among Atlanta's citizens. Some people believe that limiting public commentary is a necessity. They say that listening to every public comment is not practical, as the process can become prohibitively lengthy and the Council’s resources are limited. Others believe that the Council’s decision was incorrect. They argue that as public servants, it is the Councilmembers’ duty to listen to the needs of the populace so that they can represent them properly and act in their best interests. 

The question up for debate: Should Atlanta City Council have the right to limit the contents and time frame of public comments?