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Trust us: We are no fans of the way Saratoga Springs has run its public meetings in recent years. But a proposal to limit the amount of time people can speak at public hearings is not unreasonable.

Currently, speakers at regular City Council meetings are limited to three minutes. At public hearings, however, there is no time limit. If the goal is to facilitate broad participation in democratic processes, that’s no good — but Saratoga officials need to work on their listening skills, too.

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Mayor John Safford recently said he’d like to set a time limit for public comments at public hearings. His remarks came as a woman was arraigned on a disorderly conduct charge after she spoke for more than 25 minutes at such a meeting in early July. The woman was handcuffed and removed from the meeting after Mr. Safford, Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Coll and Commissioner of Public Works Chuck Marshall........

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