MAMMOTH COUNCIL = TIME TRAVELERS

This article was published in the February 22, 2025 Edition.

 If you feel like government gets nothing accomplished, maybe that’s because they do, but then they reverse themselves so the effect is the same. Two actions to sit still. 

Mammoth Lakes Town Council has reversed itself on its unanimous decision two weeks ago to limit the individual public comment time period from five minutes to three minutes. At Wednesday’s council meeting, Councilmembers Bill Sauser, John Wentworth and Brent Truax changed their minds. 

Sauser removed the item from the consent agenda after the Council reached a consensus at its Feb. 5 meeting to shorten the public comment time. The initiative to reduce the time limit was initially proposed by Mayor Chris Bubser. 

“The only feedback I’ve gotten from the public on this has been incredibly negative,” he said. 

Councilmember Wentworth echoed this sentiment, sharing that he also heard similar reactions from the public. Although he had been ambivalent about the issue last week, he expressed support for keeping the time limit at five minutes. 

He said the extra time is not burdensome for the council, even during busy meetings. 

“It’s difficult for me to say ‘less speech’ from the public,” he said. 

Bubser and Councilmember Rice remained steadfast in their belief that the time limit should be reduced (see Bubser’s letter on the issue on page 4). 

Bubser mentioned she had a conversation with the sole individual who submitted a negative comment to her and persuaded them to change their view. 

Rice backed her up, arguing that it was disrespectful to limit speaking time on controversial topics and advocated for a consistent approach across all discussions. 

Councilmember Truax maintained that five minutes is the best practice for public comments. 

Rice noted that the public has access to Councilmembers via phone and email, but Wentworth countered that community members can only meet the entire council at once during public meetings. 

Bubser reiterated her position, stating that maintaining a five-minute limit, only reducing it when meetings are crowded, is “the opposite of respect” and ultimately a decision reserved for the mayor. 

She concluded by agreeing to disagree, with Bubser and Rice casting the only “no” votes on the motion.