AURORA | A city council committee will continue discussion tonight of new decorum rules for council members and public commenters during council meetings, which have a history of becoming contentious.
The Council Rules Ad Hoc Committee is in the process of reviewing the city council’s rules for decorum and virtual participation in an effort to calm tensions at meetings and promote civil dialogue.
On Monday, the council will review a draft of a revised public comment statement, which the mayor reads before the comment period, as well as the proposed rule changes, which focus on prohibiting council members from personal attacks and profanity.
Monday’s meeting will also provide an opportunity for the public to share their thoughts and make suggestions on the new rules.
The committee started with decorum and virtual participation because of the recent history of combativeness among council members and between public commenters and council members.
At a March rules committee meeting, Councilmember Allison Coombs said there’s general agreement that the way the meetings are conducted is not effective.
“Some folks are so intimidated that they don’t even want to come to our meetings at all,” Coombs said. “Other folks feel like they’ve been put in a position where their voices are ignored and don’t matter to the point that acting up is their only recourse. So I think that we have to reconcile those different experiences and also maintain some order.”
Heated meetings peaked in 2024 and 2025 after police shot and killed Kilyn Lewis while he was being arrested in Aurora. At one meeting, council members fled the council chambers because of protesters, and Councilmember Stephanie Hancock called the protesters “terrorists.”
Former Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky was also known for confrontational and sometimes profane rhetoric, even cursing out fellow council members over text.
Since the 2025 council election, where voters did not re-elect Jurinsky and chose four new council members, meetings have had somewhat less conflict, but have not been entirely free of profanity and insults.
After Monday’s meeting, the committee will draft revised rules on decorum and engage the community again for feedback ahead of its May 21 meeting. Residents can submit comments online at EngageAurora.org/Decorum through the end of the month.
Once the committee has finalized its recommendations for decorum rules, they will be heard at a city council study session and then a city council meeting.