San Diego County residents have a chance to provide input on the way public comments will work at county Board of Supervisors meetings, as the board clerk works to implement a new system aimed at making the process easier. The new system will let all public speakers sign up online, rather than having early morning sign-ups or paper forms. These changes come on the heels of the board’s vote last month to tighten its rules for public participation amid a jump in meeting disruptions and public harassment. The most notable changes to the rules and procedures clarified the language allowed in meetings and toughened sanctions for people who have been removed multiple times. “Our new online platform will bring a welcome change to the speaker request process,” Andrew Potter, the board’s clerk, wrote in an online post. “Gone will be the days of separate systems for phone and in-person requests, where staff had to manually track every detail.” Under the new system, participants will now visit the online platform to select the agenda items they’d like to comment on and specific how they’d like to participate, in person or by phone. The county will then send them reminders and instructions. County staff say they expect it to be simpler, faster and easier for both speakers and staff. As the county prepares to roll out the new system, staff want to gather the community’s feedback on their current experiences and pain points, as well as gauge the importance of the key features being added. Residents have until Friday to share feedback via an online survey, which includes questions on their experience with the current system, key features they would like and how they prefer to receive information and notifications about the new system. Responses will then inform the county’s communications and engagement during the new system’s implementation period to ensure it meets community needs and expectations, county staff said. The 13-question survey closes Friday and takes about 10 minutes to complete. It and more information can be found at engage.sandiegocounty.gov/publiccomment. Those who want to give feedback in an alternate format can contact [email protected] with their name, preferred contact method and contact information so county staff can get in touch.