The following rules are hereby established, shall be observed in the conduct of any public hearing before the City Council, and shall be known as the Fruitland rules of procedure:
A. No person shall be permitted to testify or speak before the City Council at a public hearing unless such person has signed his or her name and written his/her residential address thereafter on sign up sheets to be provided by the City. This rule shall not apply to staff or technical witnesses directed by the Mayor, the Hearing Officer, the City Council or their designee to give evidence or information to the City Council.
B. No person shall be permitted to speak before the City Council at a public hearing until such person has been recognized by the Mayor or the Hearing Officer or their designee.
C. All public hearing proceedings shall be recorded electronically or stenographically and all persons speaking at such public hearings shall speak before a microphone in such a manner as will assure that recorded testimony or remarks will be accurate and trustworthy.
D. At the commencement of the public hearing, the City Council may establish a time limit to be observed by all speakers. If a time limit is established, it shall be done on the basis of the number of speakers who sign up for each public hearing and shall apply only to the speaker's comments.
E. The speaker shall not be interrupted by members of the City Council until his time limit has been expended or until he has finished his statement.
F. At the conclusion of a speaker's comments, each City Council member, when recognized by the Mayor, shall be allowed to question the speaker and the speaker shall be limited to answers to the questions asked. The question and answer period shall not be included in the speaker's time limit, as established.
G. When the public hearing is quasi-judicial in nature or one after which the City Council is required by law to make findings of fact, each speaker must swear to affirm that his testimony will be true and correct.
H. The Mayor may appoint a presiding officer to conduct any public hearing. Either the Mayor or the presiding officer may appoint a Sergeant at Arms who shall have the authority, upon the direction of the Mayor, to remove or evict any person who is disruptive or interfering with the due order of business.
I. The City Council may suspend or amend any one or more of these rules by vote of one-half (1/2) plus one of the full City Council.
J. The Mayor shall have the authority to interpret and apply the foregoing rules, subject to an appeal to the City Council, whose decision shall be determined by a majority vote of the Council members present.
K. Any person who has knowledge of any time limit set at any public hearing and who refuses to cease talking after reaching that time limit and being requested to cease by the Hearing Officer, the Mayor, the City Council or their designee, or any person who by loud, unruly, threatening or disruptive behavior disrupts a public hearing, may be revoked by the Sergeant at Arms or by any person appointed to act as a Sergeant at Arms by the Mayor, the Hearing Officer or the City Council. (1984 Code § 1-5-3)