A decision to cap public comment, announced last week by Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission Chair Jay Tutchton, set off a lively discussion at Wednesday’s meeting.

In the end, Tutchton’s unilateral decision to cut public comment and to change who gets to testify was killed on a 6-5 vote, with Tutchton himself casting the deciding vote to reject the public comment changes.

Tutchton pushed to cut public comment time to one hour and to stop giving preferential time to elected officials who testify at commission meetings. He also eliminated the previous “first-come, first-served” rule for testimony. Instead, the commission would call witnesses at random and allow only a third of them to be selected by online viewers.

Tutchton justified his decision at the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting at Otero College in La Junta, stating that because it’s election season, some elected officials “grandstand” at commission meetings and that it was more important to hear from the public than the elected officials who may represent them.

He also explained that elected officials have other means to reach out to the commissioners. “Your phone calls get returned probably at a higher rate” than non-elected officials, he said.

“I would prefer to hear directly from the local people, rather than filtered through an elected official, even if they’re good at it,” Tutchton added. Elected officials will be treated just like everyone else, he told the commission.

He claimed he wasn’t downplaying the value of public comment, but that capping the amount of time would keep the meetings on a timely schedule, given that public comments can sometimes go on for hours, something that he said he “failed miserably” at in the July meeting.

It’s hard on the staff when they don’t get home until after 3 a.m., Tutchton said.

Tutchton claimed he spoke for all of the commissioners on the issue.

Not all members of the commission agreed with Tutchton’s plans for rule changes, including Dallas May.

May pointed out that the commission’s agenda belongs to the commission and that, once presented by the chair, the rest of the board can correct or adapt it. May said he viewed Tutchton’s decision on public comment to be an agenda decision, and that “any changes to the public comment policy are the responsibility and privilege of the commission as a whole.”

He added that the proposed revisions “will add to the already eroding trust that can only be viewed as an effort to discourage public participation in our process. The high volume of public comment requests is a reflection of the contentious nature of what this commission is tasked with.”

Public comment should not be limited solely to the commissioners’ personal convenience, May said and, in fact, the meetings should be extended as long as necessary to allow the public to speak.

He noted the commission’s policy on public comment, which encourages the public to share their viewpoints. But in today’s meeting, “we have provided very little opportunity for general public comment,” May said.

Regarding the issue of elected officials’ comments, which have traditionally been allotted at the beginning of the public comment period, May said it was done not to show favoritism but to allow for regional governance perspectives.

He noted that elected officials speak for thousands of constituents.

May suggested shaking up the agenda for Thursday, to swap time allotted for the commission to discuss the legality of a decision on hunting bag limits for certain species with the public comment period. He also wanted to make sure that elected officials got to testify at the beginning of the public comment period and that everyone who signs up is able to testify.

“We’re here to serve the public,” May told the commission. “There is no excuse” for ending the meeting by 1:30 p.m. Thursday if there are people waiting to offer public comment.

“The fact that we simply want to leave at 1:30 in the afternoon is offensive to me,” May said.

Tutchton said he was just trying to be responsive to staff concerns about late nights.

Commissioner Frances Silva Blayney noted that she had received questions from the public about whether they would have a chance to speak under the policy, as directed by Tutchton. She also said a “randomized lottery” was a “really bad idea.” Speaking as a citizen who attends public meetings, she wasn’t going to drive four, five or six hours to a meeting to “maybe” have an opportunity to speak.

The commission is there “to hear the voices of this community,” she said. As to elected officials, they are the voice of the people and in her year on the commission, she’s never once heard a public official speak like they’re on the campaign trail.

If anyone is being long-winded, it’s the commissioners, Silva Blayney claimed.

She also said she values in-person public comment, given the number of emails she receives before meetings, which sometimes exceed 1,000. That’s an impossible number to actually read and thoughtfully process, she said.

Public comment is not the reason for late meetings, according to both Commissioner Tai Jacober and May.

The commission then voted on May’s motion, which overturned Tutchton’s decision and passed on a 6-5 vote.