As a resident of the city of San Juan, Rick Ramirez said he likes to know what’s happening in his city.

He regularly attends city meetings, and advocates for people to speak up, especially during the meeting’s public comments portion.

Recently, the city of San Juan changed their public comment policy to restrict comments to items on the agenda.

“[It’s] unbelievable,” Ramirez said. “Basically that's their last resort."

Government attorney Bill Aleshire says the move may be legal, but “it's very undemocratic and unusual.”

Channel 5 News reached out to San Juan City Manager Tirso Garza to ask about the change. Garza said the change is meant to keep meetings running professionally and on time, and added citizens can submit their concerns online.

“They are not required by any specific law to allow people to come down there and comment on things that are not on the agenda, even if they're about city business,” Aleshire said.

Some residents do support the change, saying it prevents meetings from dragging on with off-topic comments.

For now, the city says people still have email and phone options to voice concerns, but Ramirez said he fears those concerns will be heard by hold music and busy dial tones.

Watch the video above for the full story.