2021/06/30 Council Agenda Packet

Guidelines for Public Comment Period and Public Hearings: The presiding officer has discretion in enforcing these guidelines for the orderly and civil conduct of City Council meetings. The guidelines below apply to both the public comment period and legislative public hearings before Council unless noted otherwise. 1. Public comment period is provided at the discretion of the City Council. 2. Sign-up sheets for speaking during the public comment period and public hearings will be available 30 minutes before the start of the meeting. Community members may not sign up on behalf of others. 3. The City Clerk and/or City Attorney shall, with the assistance of Council staff, assist the Council President to ensure that all individuals desiring to speak shall be identified, appropriately recognized, and provided the opportunity to speak. 4. For the public comment period, each speaker shall be limited to three minutes, unless time is extended by the presiding officer. 5. Meeting attendees may not "donate" their speaking time to another person. 6. Speakers are not permitted to comment during the public comment period on topics that come up later as a public hearing item. 7. All remarks should be addressed to the Council as a whole. 8. Speakers shall refrain from comment or behavior that involves: a. Disorderly speech or action; name-calling or personal attacks, or make personal comments or verbal insults about any individual; make obscene or indecent remarks; or derogatory comments on personalities; b. Advertising or promoting the sale of products, services, or private enterprise; c. Promoting any contest or lottery; and d. Promoting candidates for public office or upcoming ballot measures. 9. Any person who engages in speech or action as described in Section 7.a, when such speech or action disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of any Council meeting, may, at the discretion of the presiding officer, or action as described in Sections 7.b-d be barred from further audience before the Council during that meeting. 10. In addition to the limits specified above, the presiding officer may set other reasonable viewpoint -neutral limits to prevent disruption of Council Business. 11. These rules may be amended by resolution of the City Council. These rules are for the sole convenience of the City Council and may only be enforced by Council Members. Nothing in these rules shall be construed as creating any enforceable right, entitlement, or cause of action in or for any other party. If any sentence, clause or provision of these rules irreconcilably conflicts with an applicable provision of state or federal law or is otherwise invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, the offending sentence, clause or provision of these rules shall be severable from the remainder. 1(