A controversial ordinance that would have suggested 48-hour registration for public comments at city meetings failed during the Oct. 30 special call Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.

The meeting failed 3-2 with Aldermen Julie Anderson and Donny Parsley voting no. Alderman James Threet was absent from the meeting.

The sponsor of the of the ordinance Mayor Joey Hobbs said he changed the language of the original ordinance that would have been presented at the Oct. 24 Special Call meeting that failed due to lack of quorum. The ordinance was amended to remove the word “shall” register 48 hours to “should” register. The change allows leeway for those not registering in advance the opportunity to speak.

Prior to the Oct. 30 meeting Hobbs repeated an assurance that he made on the city’s official Facebook page that the ordinance was not an attempt to limit the public’s right to comment at meetings.

Hobbs said the ordinance was intended to streamline the addition of speakers’ names on chyrons on the city’s new video steaming system. Hobbs voiced concern that for the occasional meetings with a large number of people who want to speak that entering the names beforehand will delay the start of the meeting.             

“If we have to load 15 names before the beginning of a meeting, it’s going to take some time,” Hobbs said. “We were just looking for a way to cut that down. There was never any intent to limit public speaking.” 

Alderman Julie Anderson opposed the ordinance, saying that it would not welcome the public to speak.

“I appreciate the explanation of this,” Anderson said. “But I still think the effect of this, if you take it on face value, …is it discourages some people from participating. I think there may be some folks who come across the policy without the benefit of an explanation.”

Hobbs issued the initial explanation on social media in response to media reports based on a portion of the Oct. 24 agenda that was shared on a Manchester forum.