Clawson City Council Considering Reducing Public Comment Time
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 27, 2026)
Clawson, MI – When Sue Moffitt became Mayor and the current City Council started their term, they increased the length of public comment from three minutes to four minutes. Soon they’ll be voting on whether or not to switch it back.
At the July 21 City Council meeting, member Adam Duberstein made a motion for the change to go on the next council agenda, which is the Aug. 18, 2026 meeting. Cities are permitted to set the length of time during which members of the public can speak, and many use three minutes.
In Clawson, the move to four minutes came during a time of regular discontent. “If you watch the meetings in 2025 there was a lot of consternation over the public opportunity to speak. In fact, in one of the meetings, the former Mayor even called recess and stormed out while a citizen was speaking an attempt to silence public opinion,” Mayor Moffitt told Oakland County Times. Moffitt was the only member of council to oppose putting the change on the agenda.
“By proposing to change public comment from four minutes to three minutes, I have a simple goal in mind. I want as many Clawson residents as possible to have a meaningful opportunity to be heard by the City Council. The two most important things a city council does is to hear public comment and to govern, and I believe that this proposal would help facilitate both of these purposes,” Duberstein told Oakland County Times. “A three-minute public comment period could allow more people to participate; simplify speaking for first-time attendees; and encourage speakers to focus on their most important points. A shorter speaking period will also help the council to stay focused on what the speakers are telling us, because cognitive load is real. One additional minute may not seem significant, but with 20 speakers, the difference between three and four minutes is 20 minutes. That time difference can affect whether another resident has time to speak and whether the council has enough time to deliberate responsibly.”
Duberstein added that public comment is not the only way residents can have their perspectives heard. “Residents are always welcome to email, call, write, text, or even speak with us after council meetings. One of my favorite parts of this job is meeting with residents over coffee to discuss their ideas for improving Clawson.” Contact information for officials and city administrators is on the City of Clawson website.
Duberstein said that he’s open to voting against the idea of bringing it back to three minutes. “I did not introduce this idea because I believe I have all the answers. I think it is worth asking whether three minutes would help us hear from more people. If residents and my colleagues persuade me that four minutes better serves Clawson, I am more than willing to vote against my own proposal.”
Across Oakland County, many cities and townships have a three minute time limit, including Berkley, Clarkson, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Groveland Township, Village of Holly, Keego Harbor, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Novi, Orion Township, Pontiac, Rochester Hills, Rose Township, Royal Oak, Southfield, Springfield Township, and Troy.
At least two cities do not have a set time period at all. In Birmingham the Mayor has the authority to allocate time at their discretion. And in Pleasant Ridge there is no limit. “So far, we haven’t needed one,” said Pleasant Ridge City Manager James Breuckman.
The Village of Lake Orion has a four minute time limit.
UPDATE: The Clawson City Council meeting will be Aug. 18 due to Aug. 4 being primary election day.
For more on City of Clawson agendas and policies visit https://www.cityofclawson.com/. For more local news visit the Oakland County Times Clawson page.
