Who can speak before the Wichita Falls City Council? Mayor addresses the issue.

Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News
·2 min read

A disagreement about who can and cannot speak before the Wichita Falls City Council has been resolved amicably.

Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short stopped a Burkburnett resident from making a public comment on an agenda item at the April 16 council meeting.

David Gray of Burkburnett, who has made comments at prior meetings, had stepped up to address the panel before a vote on a revision of the city’s water conservation and drought contingency plans.

Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short said city residency will not determine who can or cannot speak before the City Council.
Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short said city residency will not determine who can or cannot speak before the City Council.

“OK, Mr. Gray, I’m going to have to stop you right there. The business before this council is for the city of Wichita Falls,” Short said.

“OK, I’m a concerned citizen,” Gray said.

“You are welcome to the public comments, but we’ve already had that today. You can visit with me after the meeting,” Short said.

The rules, however, appear to be on Gray's side. Commenters are not limited by residency.

“The public comment is not designed to be something that’s restricted by residency. It’s about members of the public in general," said Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

Short addressed the issue in a phone interview Tuesday.

"My feeling is, it's America, and everybody gets to speak in public comments. I felt like only citizens of Wichita Falls would be commenting on agenda items that are before the Council, but that's not the way it is," he said.

Short said he has met with Gray twice.

"We're friends," he said.

Gray said Short has since told him he would be allowed to speak about agenda items at future meetings.

"I'm going to be at the next meeting. I'm going to sign up to speak for my three minutes," Gray said. "I am going to thank him."

Gray said on a Facebook post after the April 16 meeting that he had wanted to ask about the water reuse system, the city as a retail water supplier and water loss through leaks and other reasons.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Mayor addresses who can speak before Wichita Falls City Council