From The Denver Post:  A first-term Denver City Council member was the driving force behind a new rule that soon will open the floor to the public once a month to talk about any city-related topic.

The rule, approved Monday night, falls short of practices in smaller nearby cities, including Aurora, Lakewood and Boulder. Those councils allow members of the public to chime in for two or three minutes apiece during every regular meeting. It’s less common for city councils in larger cities to allow general public comment — though some,including Seattle, allot time at every meeting.

Paul Kashmann was among seven new members elected last year. In presenting the resolution Monday, he said Denver’s new rule was an important step toward expanding access to city government. It passed in a unanimous block vote.

“There are 13 of us that generally sit up here on the dais,” Kashmann said. “There are 682,000 people living in the City and County of Denver, and I’m hopeful that providing this additional opportunity to hear from constituents will result in new ideas to make Denver an even greater place to live.”

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