(A) The County Council hereby adopts the following rules to apply to individuals attending public meetings of the Council.
(1) This section does not expand or add any additional right(s) an individual may have regarding a public meeting of the Council, including attending and/or commenting on its meetings.
(2) Although members of the general public have no right to speak during a public meeting of the Council, the Council, at its sole discretion, may provide for a public comment period, during which time individuals may be given an opportunity to address the Council.
(3) Prior to addressing the Council during any public comment period, individuals wishing to speak will be required to sign a speaker registration sheet and provide their name, address, and the issue
or topic they wish to address. Individuals will be called to speak in the order in which they have signed the speaker registration sheet.
(4) Individuals who wish to speak and have signed the speaker registration sheet may waive their opportunity to speak once called upon. However, an individual who waives their opportunity to speak will not be permitted to speak at a later time.
(5) Once called upon, all speakers shall first state their name, their county of residence, and the issue upon which they wish to speak. Speakers may only speak from a podium and must speak loudly and clearly into the microphone provided.
(6) Any speaker wishing to provide documents to the Council at the meeting shall provide one copy for each of the seven Council members. However, speakers are encouraged to bring additional copies of any documents they intend to distribute during the meeting.
(7) Each speaker may only speak once and will be given a maximum of three minutes to speak unless a shorter period of time is set forth by the Council. Time may not be reserved or yielded to other speakers. Once an individual is finished speaking, their remaining time, if any, is waived.
(8) Each speaker will be notified when their allotted time to speak is exhausted. Any speaker that does not immediately conclude their remarks at the expiration of their allotted time will be deemed out of order and will be asked to stop.
(9) Comments that are duplicative or repetitive will be deemed out of order and the speaker will asked to stop.
(10) Any speaker who is discourteous, argumentative, accusatory, or insulting will be deemed out of order and will be asked to stop.
(11) Once a speaker is deemed out of order for any reason, their remaining time, if any, will be forfeited and the speaker will not be granted an opportunity to make any further comment or presentation.
(12) All individuals attending a public meeting will be expected to adhere to these rules. Any person failing to do so will be deemed out of order.
(13) The Council is authorized, and has sole discretion, to request that any person deemed out of order leave the meeting. Once requested to leave, a person must immediately leave the meeting room.
(14) In extreme cases, if a person refuses to leave the meeting after being asked to do so, and continues to disrupt the proceedings in a way that is obviously hostile to the purpose of the meeting, the Council may order that the person be removed by members of the County Sheriff’s Department.
(B) A copy of the rules stated herein shall be provided outside the Council's meeting room, and made available to the general public through the internet on the county website (https://www.warrickcounty.gov/).
(CC Res. 2024-10, passed 8-8-24)