BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — The Bellevue City Council has defeated a proposal that would have changed public comments by setting up new filtering procedures.

Under the proposal, residents would have to submit a form online or in person with a description of what they wanted to say before addressing the council.

The state’s open meetings law aims to keep government meetings open to the public with ample notice of what’s being discussed. Bellevue interprets that law as meaning city officials can’t respond to matters not on an agenda, which keeps council members from addressing residents during a public comment period.

A former council president says the public comment period breeds negativity and inaccuracies.