Raised by a councillor who voted against the change from 15 minutes to a full hour at the start of the meeting; concerns were the tone it sets and the wait for staff and residents with agenda items.
Others said an early slot is friendlier to working residents, avoids confusion about whether to speak now or on an agenda item, and keeps the audience for the rest of the meeting. The chair already has discretion to end comment early.
A suggestion was made to add a timestamp for the start of the Council business in the posted video.