“Public comment” at government meetings: How to make your voice heard

When to use this resource: 

• You want to make your voice heard on a local issue and the governmental body who has authority over the issue (like the City Council) has a regular meeting with a public comment section where anyone can come and speak.
• A state or federal governmental decision-making body is considering an issue and has specifically opened a public hearing on the issue to receive public comment to inform their decision.

Outline of resource:

• What is a public comment
• Opportunities to speak
• Rules for public comment
• Making the most of it

Key points:

1. Public engagement in government is critical for a healthy democracy, and many local governmental bodies have a process to hear from the public (you!) at their regularly scheduled meetings on topics that you want addressed..
2. When presenting your comment, know your goal and make a strong pitch which clearly and concisely lays out the problem, your proposed solution, and what you want the governmental body to do
3. Follow-up after the public comment to figure out next steps you can take to move your issue forward

Public engagement in government is critical for a healthy democracy, and people should feel empowered to reach out to their public officials – they expect it, and it’s part of their job to take the opinions of their constituents into consideration. Speaking up at public meetings is a clear and effective way for any person to get the attention of their officials and start a dialogue. 

What is Public Comment?

For any issues you want addressed locally, you can use the “public comment” section at government meetings as a tool to share your opinion. In a government meeting, “public comment” is a dedicated section of the meeting agenda where any person can speak on any issue they want. You don’t need to be a resident/constituent of those public officials in order to be allowed to speak (although your words may carry more weight if you are), and it’s a great opportunity to get face-time with important people. 

Opportunities to Speak

The rules and practices vary by state, but these are the government bodies that typically have public comment as part of all their regular public meeting agendas: 

• Town Council (in some towns this may be called the City Council, Township Committee, Town Board of Trustees, etc) 
• Municipal boards and commissions 
• Board of Education
• County Board of Commissioners (in some states called the County Board of Supervisors, County Council, County Board of Freeholders, etc) 
• County boards and commissions 

Other government bodies, such as the state legislature, Congress, and state and federal agencies, do not include a public comment period as part of their regular meetings. However, there are sometimes opportunities to weigh in at “public hearings” – one-off convenings that are scheduled specifically so that officials can hear from the public about the dedicated topic for that hearing. Public hearings usually happen around bills or regulations that the government is considering adopting, and comments from the public must be directly related to the bill/regulation under discussion. 

Rules for Public Comment 

Different government bodies have different rules for participating in public comment periods. To learn the rules for public meetings in your area, check your local government’s websites or reach out to your public officials directly – here’s a resource to help you do that.

Typical rules for public comment periods include: 

• Time limit (usually 3-5 minutes) 
  • Some government bodies don’t have any time limit, and some are more relaxed in how they enforce it 
• Sign up in advance 
  • Most government bodies do not require this, and allow anyone who attends to speak on the spot 
  • More common in larger cities; deadline to sign up is usually 24 hours ahead of the meeting 
• State your name and address 
  • Done for the sake of public record 
  • Some government bodies are lax in enforcing this rule 

Making the Most of It

• Know your goal: what are you there for? Common uses of public comment time include:
  • Advocating for action on an issue
  • Registering a complaint
  • Identifying a point of contact or gathering other intel on an issue
  • Asking how to get more involved in your town 
• Make a strong pitch
  • What is the problem and why does it matter (to you or your community, and/or the broader implications of the problem)
  • What solution are you advocating for (describe the policy/action and how you know it will work to fix the problem) 
  • What do you want that government body to do
  • Why is it important that they act now?
• Get to know other members of the public who attend or spoke at the meeting 
• Talk to relevant public officials and their staff after the meeting
• Get contact information for everyone you talk to so you can stay in touch
• Follow up after the meeting with your representative to share more information and discuss how to move your issue forward

To speak about an issue in a compelling way, at public comment or in any other setting, you can practice telling your story and use this worksheet to develop a standard pitch. Looking for more ways to make an impact? You can create a petition and gather signatures, write a letter to the editor, hold a lobby meeting, and recruit others to take action with you!