Flock Exposed - Public Comment Speeches For Your Board

Before You Begin, Please Read This

Standing up in a room full of officials is frightening the first time. Almost everyone's voice shakes. Do it anyway, because the right to do it is yours and it is not a favor anyone is granting you.

Nearly every state has an open meetings law, and most of them guarantee members of the public an opportunity to address the governing body at its meetings. Your town then sets the details in its own rules: usually a time limit of three minutes, sometimes five, sometimes a sign-in sheet before the meeting starts. Check your town's website or call the clerk and ask two questions. How long do I get, and do I need to sign up in advance? That is the whole preparation.

A few things worth knowing before you walk in.

The board does not have to answer you. In most places public comment is your opportunity to speak, not a question-and-answer session. That is not them being rude. Expect silence when you finish, and do not let it rattle you.

Because of that, always bring a written copy. Hand it to the clerk and say out loud that you are asking for it to be entered into the minutes of tonight's meeting. Spoken words can vanish from a record. An attached document does not.

Stay calm and stay polite, even if you are furious. The moment you raise your voice, the conversation becomes about your behavior instead of about the cameras. Calm is the most effective thing you can be in that room.

Keep it short. Two and a half minutes of clear speaking beats three minutes of rushing. Read it out loud at home with a clock first.

Pick one of the four speeches below, fill in the blanks, and make it sound like you. If a sentence does not sound like something you would say, change it.

One more thing. Delete this preamble before you print your copy for the clerk. Everything above the first speech is guidance written for you. Keep only the speech you are actually giving, with your own name and town filled in.

Put It On The Agenda

Good evening. My name is [Your Name], and I am a resident of [Your Town].

I am not here tonight to ask this Board to cancel anything. I am here to ask for a discussion.

The surveillance camera system this town operates has never, to my knowledge, been the subject of a full public discussion at a meeting where residents could hear the terms and ask questions. It appears in the minutes as a line item and a vote. That is not the same thing.

So my request is a procedural one. I am asking this Board to place the surveillance camera contract on the agenda as a discussion item at an upcoming regular meeting, and to have available at that meeting the current contract, the annual cost, the data retention period, and the list of any outside agencies with access.

I would also ask the Board to tell me tonight how a resident properly makes that request. If there is a written procedure for placing an item on the agenda, I will follow it exactly. If there is no written procedure, I would ask the Board to say so on the record, so that residents know how decisions get made here.

I recognize the Board is not obligated to answer me during public comment. If that is the case, I ask that this request be entered into the minutes and answered at the next meeting.

I have a written copy for the clerk.

Thank you.

Private Notes, Do Not Read These Aloud

Keep these at the bottom of your page in case you need them.

If you are told your time has expired:

"Understood. I am submitting the remainder in writing and I ask that it be entered into the minutes as written."

Hand your Speech to the Clerk for entry into the Minutes. Then sit down and do not argue further. That sentence in the room is worth more than an argument.

If you are interrupted mid-sentence:

"I would like to finish my point, and I would ask that the time used by this interruption not count against mine."

Then sit down and do not argue further. That sentence in the room is worth more than an argument.

If you are told your comments are out of order:

"These are factual questions about a suspected contract this Board approved. I am requesting my Speech be entered into the Official Board Minutes as written.."

Hand your Speech to the Clerk for entry into the Minutes. Then sit down and do not argue further. That sentence in the room is worth more than an argument.

If you are told public comment cannot include questions:

"Understood. I will state them as concerns, and I ask for a written response. I am requesting my Speech be entered into the Official Board Minutes as written."

Hand your Speech to the Clerk for entry into the Minutes. Then sit down and do not argue further. That sentence in the room is worth more than an argument.

If your mind goes blank:

"I will let my written comments speak for the rest. I am requesting my Speech be entered into the Official Board Minutes as written."

Hand your Speech to the Clerk for entry into the Minutes. Then sit down. There is no shame in it, You had the Courage to take a stand!

If you are shut down entirely:

"I am stating for the record that I was not permitted to complete my public comment tonight. I am requesting my Speech be entered into the Official Board Minutes as written."

Hand your Speech to the Clerk for entry into the Minutes. Then sit down and do not argue further. That sentence in the room is worth more than an argument.