Washtenaw County commissioners are weighing new limits on how long residents can speak at board meetings after sessions have dragged on for hours, fueled by lengthy public-participation periods. Proposed changes under discussion include a 60-minute overall cap on the initial comment period, restrictions on who can speak or what they can speak about, and a second comment window added to the end of the agenda.
The proposed rule changes are not finalized, according to WEMU-FM, but they outline several possible paths forward. One option would impose a 60-minute overall time limit on the initial public comment period. Another would restrict who can address the board during that period, either by limiting it to Washtenaw County residents or by confining comments strictly to items already on the agenda.
A Second Chance to Speak
A separate piece of the proposal would add a second, open public-comment period at the end of the meeting agenda, giving residents another opportunity to address commissioners after the board has worked through its business. The station's report ties the push for change to a pattern of marathon meetings driven by long public participation sessions.
Board chair Katie Scott has weighed in on the balancing act the county is trying to strike. She said public comment is important and that commissioners need to listen to people, but also said commissioners are present to conduct business. Scott put it bluntly when describing the stakes of late-night sessions, saying that making resolutions involving millions of dollars at 2:00 in the morning does not help democracy.
Not All Commissioners Are on Board
The proposal has not won over the entire board. Some Washtenaw County commissioners prefer not adding new constraints to public participation, per the same account, suggesting the final shape of any new rules remains unsettled.
Michigan law gives public bodies some room to set those kinds of rules. Under the Open Meetings Act, a public body may establish reasonable rules and regulations to minimize the possibility of disrupting a meeting, according to the Michigan Legislature. At the same time, the law requires that public meetings permit all persons to attend, record the meeting, and address the meeting, and it prohibits requiring a condition precedent to attendance, according to the Michigan Attorney General.
How Other Counties Have Handled It
Washtenaw County would not be the first Michigan county to rework its comment rules. Jackson County commissioners approved a revised format that limits the initial public comment period to items specifically listed on the board's agenda, according to WLNS. That county kept a second, unrestricted comment window at the end of the meeting for any topic, and it increased the per-speaker time limit from two minutes to three minutes during each comment period.
Elsewhere, Tarrant County commissioners in Texas voted 3-2 in February 2026 to approve new meeting and agenda-setting rules, as reported by the Fort Worth Report. Those rules give residents three minutes to address the court regardless of how many agenda items they sign up for, though that time can shrink to two minutes when 30 to 49 people register to speak and to one minute when 50 or more sign up. The Tarrant County policy also bars public briefings on ongoing law-enforcement investigations, active criminal prosecutions, or contemplated civil litigation.
Michigan's own guidance on the Open Meetings Act notes that meeting rules commonly address when public comment occurs during a meeting, how speakers register to speak, and how much time each speaker receives, according to a Michigan Open Meetings Act information sheet. Whether Washtenaw County commissioners settle on a similar framework, and when any final vote might happen, remains to be seen.
