If your organization or municipality has enabled the Public Engagement Suite, you may be able to submit written comments on agenda items through your municipality or organization’s Public Portal. Once submitted, comments are visible to logged-in Agenda and Meeting Management Select administrators. This article will show you how to find a meeting item, enter your contact information, write your comment, and complete the submission process.
Important Notes
The layout and appearance of your Public Portal may differ depending on your municipality or organization's customizations.
Written comments are enabled on an item-by-item basis. Commenting may not be available for all items.
The Written Comment function is part of the Public Engagement Suite add-on. If your municipality or organization does not have the Public Engagement Suite enabled, you may still be able comment on a meeting by submitting a Public Portal meeting comment if meeting-level commenting is enabled.
Instructions
Navigate to your municipality or organization’s Public Portal:
Navigate to the event with the item you wish to speak about and click Go To Public Comment:
On the Meeting Overview page, click the Written Comment button on the desired item:
Note:
Your municipality or organization may require you to be logged in to the Public Portal before you can submit a written comment. If that is the case, a “Sign in” pop-up will appear. You can click the Sign In button and follow the Sign In to Your Public Portal instructions to proceed.
Fill in the Written Comment contact fields:
Email (required): Enter your email address
Note:
If you are signed in to the Public Portal, your email address will autopopulate the Email field.
Full Name (required): Enter your full name
Search Google Maps: Click into the Search Google Maps field and type in your address; select your address in the list of address matches that appears below the field
Address 1: This field will autopopulate with the address selected in the Search Google Maps field
Address 2: Enter any additional address details that were not captured by the Google Maps search
City (required): This field will autopopulate with the city of the address selected in the Search Google Maps field
State (required): This field will autopopulate with the state of the address selected in the Search Google Maps field
Zip Code (required): This field will autopopulate with the zip code of the address selected in the Search Google Maps field
Note:
You cannot manually populate the Address 1, City, State, and Zip Code fields. These must be filled using the “Search Google Maps” functionality, which geo-validates that the address you entered exists.
Clear Address: Click this button to reset the Address, City, State, and Zip Code fields, if needed
Organization: Enter an organization, if desired
Phone: Enter your phone number, if desired
Click the Next button:
Review the Written Comment instructions:
Note:
Written Comment instructions will be different for each organization and municipality.
Select an option to indicate your position on the agenda item:
Enter or type your comment into the Comment field (required):
Note:
The Comment field is limited to a certain number of characters, as determined by your organization or municipality. The character limit and a live character counter can be found below the Comment text box.
If your municipality or organization allows attachments to be added to written comments, you can use the Attach Supporting Document section to add a file to your comment; if the Attach Supporting Document section is not displayed or if you prefer not to add a file, skip to step 10:
Click the Click to upload link or drag and drop a file onto the file field, if desired:
Notes:
Only one file can be attached.
Attachments may be PDF, JPEG, PNG, TXT, or RTF files, and they cannot exceed 10 MB in size.
The attachment will be visible below the Attachment field:
Notes:
You can click the Information button (circle and i icon) in the lower-right corner of the attachment preview to see the size of your attachment.
You can click the kebab menu (three dots icon) in the lower-right corner of the attachment preview and select the “Delete” option to remove a file that you no longer want to attach.
Click the Next button:
Review the Written Comment Policy and Procedures:
Note:
Written Comment policies and procedures will be different for each organization and municipality.
Check the "I have read and agree to the policies and procedures" checkbox:
Check the "I'm not a robot" checkbox in the reCAPTCHA field:
Click the Submit button:
Your written comment has been submitted; if your municipality or organization has Written Comment Confirmation notifications enabled, you will receive an email confirming your submission