THE WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL (File photo).

UPDATE: A proposal to reduce public comments from five minutes to three has been removed from the agenda for Wednesday night’s meeting of the Westminster City Council.

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Proposals to shorten the time allotted to speakers during oral communications at city council meetings, support decorum and consider changing from at-large elections to by-district voting will go before the Westminster City Council when it meets on Wednesday.

The council will consider reducing the time allowed to speakers from five minutes to three and to ban yielding time to others.

In recent weeks, oral communications have lasted for hours, sometimes stretching out council meetings past midnight.

Additionally, the council will consider a policy establishing “rules of decorum and civility” for council meetings. The policy, adapted from one in place now in Seal Beach, requests courtesy, respectful listening, self-control, “open-minded considerations to all viewpoints,” focusing on issues and embracing “respectful disagreement.”
Also, the council will take up a resolution intending to convert elections for city council from an at-large system to a district-based process.

The California Voting Rights Act has influenced many cities and school districts – including Garden Grove, Stanton and the Garden Grove Unified School District – into a by-district structure.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. in its chambers at 8200 Westminster Blvd.