Aurora residents can help shape how City Council meetings are conducted by giving input on council rules through the end of April.

The Council Rules Ad Hoc Committee is reviewing the Aurora City Council’s Rules of Order and Procedure and inviting residents to share their input through April 30 at EngageAurora.org/Decorum.

The committee will also hold an in-person meeting with a chance for public comment at 5:30 p.m. on April 27 in the Aurora Room of the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.

Committee members will then draft proposed updates to the rules and ask for feedback, and final recommendations will go to the City Council for a vote.

Decorum rules define expectations for conduct and guidance on keeping meetings respectful and productive.

In late March, the committee met to start brainstorming a rule-change process and discuss things that needed to be changed.

At the meeting, councilmembers and members of the public pointed to lack of decorum between councilmembers and public speakers going over their time limits as major challenges to address.

Councilmember Ruben Medina said rules for decorum between members on the dais need to be updated and clarified.

“I think if we don’t hold ourselves accountable to each other, we can’t hold the community accountable, and that’s the part I think we should address,” Medina said. “We’re the example, we have to set the tone.”

Mayor Mike Coffman pointed out that decorum between members is “better under the new council” than it was under the previous council. The makeup of the council changed in November’s election.

Committee members also discussed decorum from people speaking to the council, noting that oftentimes, people talk beyond their time limits.

Ideas, such as banning people who go over time limits from speaking at the next meeting, were discussed, but no rules were put in place at the late March meeting.

The next committee meeting is scheduled for April 27, and any feedback submitted online before April 23 will be reviewed by committee members ahead of the meeting.

More information about the committee and its schedule can be found on the city’s website.