The participation of citizens at City Council meetings shall be accomplished as follows:
(A) Through their Aldermen;
(B) Through a Council committee;
(C) By participation during the “Citizen Participation” portion of the Regular City Council meetings, limited to three minutes per citizen, unless granted additional time by the Mayor;
(D) By participation during the approval of ordinances and resolutions, limited to three minutes per citizen, with comments directed to the Council as a whole (not directed at any individual Council member) and directed strictly to the item under discussion.
(E) Each citizen who addresses the Council during a review session or regular City Council meeting is directed to sign the citizen participation register that can be found on the front podium, as well as to print their name and any group or organization to which they are affiliated (if relevant to the topic of their discussion). Citizens will be asked by the Mayor to state their name, as well as affiliation (if relevant), prior to their discussion.
(F) The City Council's policy is to recognize the vital necessity of obtaining comments from citizens and, therefore, citizens are asked to make a concise statement of opinions and not to try to establish a dialogue with Council Members. The purpose of this policy is to prevent lengthy digressions and to give all citizens who desire to speak an opportunity to do so. Citizens who wish to establish direct dialogue with an Alderman or Staff are encouraged to direct questions to them outside of formal Council meetings.
(G) Groups or organizations who wish to address the Council are encouraged to choose a spokesperson from the group to address the Council. Additional time for presentation can be requested by a group by contacting the Mayor and City Clerk and requesting (in writing) additional time during a Council review session.
(1986 Code, § 2-84) (Ord. 2013-07, passed 7-15-2013; Ord. 2014-18, passed 10-20-2014; Ord. 2022-21, passed 6-6-2022)