Edison Council Rejects Motion To Restore 6-Minute Public Comment

EDISON, NJ — An effort to restore six-minute public comment periods at Edison Township Council meetings stalled this week after a divided council against extending time, leaving in place a four-minute limit that residents say cuts them off before they can fully make their case.

The council voted 3-3 on the ordinance, with one abstention. Council Vice President Robert Kentos and Councilmen Richard Brescher and Ajay Patil voted in favor of restoring the longer time limit. Council President Joe Coyle, Councilman Asaf Shmuel and Councilwoman Kelli Dima voted against it. Councilman Biral Patel abstained after an unsuccessful attempt to table the ordinance for further study.

The four-minute limit replaced a longstanding six-minute rule following a period of disruptions at council meetings in 2023.

former Councilwoman Margot Harris said the reduction was a punishment aimed at the wrong people. "Who gets punished for the actions of a few?" Harris said. "Those of us who do come to council meetings, and those who used to come and no longer do because they've had it."

Harris said the change was poorly timed and poorly reasoned. "It was a knee-jerk reaction to the trouble we were having back then, because we weren't really enforcing decorum," she said.

Several residents pushed back on council members who cited comparisons to public comment policies in other townships. "I don't care what other townships do," Harris said. "We don't need all this rigmarole. We need that third of the time that was taken away restored to us."

The sharpest criticism came over the council's recent decision to increase member salaries while simultaneously keeping the tighter speaking limit in place. "The irony doesn't escape me that you expand your salaries but continue to deny us that extra two minutes," Harris said. "I am asking you, I am begging you, on behalf of my other faithful attendees — please do us this solid and restore the six minutes."

Resident Elizabeth Conway echoed that frustration, noting that meeting attendance has dropped significantly in recent years. "I'll never forget when I first started coming — there were more than eight people in this room," Conway said. "You're here to listen to what we have to say. You're here to consider what we have to say."

Another resident called for the reinstatement of a rebuttal period that was also eliminated. "That's the only way we can ensure that we get our thoughts together," the resident said. "If the answer isn't correct in our mind, we should have that rebuttal process back."

The proposed ordinance would have restored the limit to six minutes per speaker across all public comment categories, including comments on resolutions, ordinance hearings and general oral petitions.

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