Arkansas City City Commission could tweak its meetings

The Arkansas City City Commission's move to adjust an ordinance relating to animals is not that big of a deal at all. Someone was commenting on it recently.
Over time things need to be adjusted as they come to light. The current ordinance does not differentiate between pets and livestock, so they are going to fix that.
There really isnt that much interesting on the agenda for next Tuesday.
Something coming down the pike though, that I that I think is interesting is how the public is allowed to talk at meetings. I have been around a lot of city commissions in different places, and I have to say the Arkansas City City Commission is pretty open.
They have traditionally let people speak in the middle of a regular meeting while they are discussing an issue. There is also the period at the beginning where you can talk about things not on the agenda. To me this is confusing and not orderly. I know there was a recent meeting where the mayor did not let people talk - he said later that they had an opportunity earlier and did not speak. That is the problem with the current system I believe, it is not orderly and so there can be abuse on either side. An opponent  of something could block it forever by filibustering in essence.
The city attorney has given the commission a set of guidelines or recommendations from the state municipal league. It would change the process a bit and make it more streamlined. They are still discussing this at worksession meetings. Not sure when it will come up for a vote.
There are many solutions. You could let people speak at the beginning about items on the agenda, or even at the beginning of discussion of the issue. You could even have a public hearing.
In South Carolina, for instance, you have to have 3 meetings to pass anything. You announce the ordinance at the first meeting and vote on whether or not to move ahead. The second meeting is a public hearing, and the third meeting is the final vote. Takes a lot longer but there is more public discussion usually.
Not advocating that here, but maybe tweaking the system a bit would be a good thing.