Frisco council limits public comment to agenda items only

Frisco residents lost one of the city’s clearest public pathways to city hall when the City Council said general public comment will no longer appear on agendas unless a speaker is addressing a posted item.

The change, announced at the June 2 council meeting, means residents can still speak during meetings, but only on agenda items that are already before the council. Mayor Jeff Cheney said the city had been hearing from residents who wanted council meetings to stay focused on city business and restore decorum in the chambers. He also said the problem had moved beyond a basic First Amendment debate and, in his view, had become a safety issue.

The city’s public-meetings FAQ says Texas law guarantees residents a chance to address the council on items specifically posted on a meeting agenda. Frisco says its earlier practice of allowing general public comment on non-agenda topics went beyond the legal minimum and was not required by the Constitution or state law. The city also says the council cannot deliberate or act on issues that were not properly posted for action.

That shift matters in Frisco, where council meetings have become a flashpoint over growth, development, density and city services. At a Feb. 3 meeting, 23 people spoke during public comment, including several who were not Frisco residents. Some of the discussion centered on demographic change in the city, and the heated tone pushed council members into a broader review of how public input should work.

In early 2026, the council weighed a number of changes, including separate agenda and non-agenda comment periods, moving non-agenda speakers to the end of meetings, limiting speaking time, requiring advance registration or identification, and using electronic speaker cards. On April 7, the council approved updated decorum rules but tabled changes to speaking time and several other procedural changes. City staff said the rules guiding public input were first established in the late 1980s and had not been updated since.

The new decorum rules prohibit disruptive props, signs and banners, threatening speech, and approaching council members without permission. Frisco’s FAQ says residents can still contact the mayor and council directly outside meetings, and use the MyFrisco app or online service-request portal for potholes, traffic signals, sidewalks and other operational issues. But by removing the open-ended comment block, the council has narrowed the space where ordinary speakers can raise issues that are not already on the agenda, a change that is likely to reshape both the tone and the balance of power in Frisco’s public meetings.