(A) Every meeting of the Council shall be opened with prayer.
(B) Every member, when about to speak, shall address the chair as “Mr. Chairperson,” and in speaking, shall avoid disrespect to the Council and any personalities; and shall confine the speaking to the question under consideration.
(C) The chairperson, when addressed by a member shall recognize the member by name. The member who shall first be recognized shall be first heard; and if several shall address the chairperson at about the same time, the chairperson shall decide who was first to speak and shall recognize the member.
(D) Should any person, elected official, group, governmental entity, public agency, or organization request to be heard upon any matter at a regular or special meeting of the Council, the person, elected official, group, governmental entity, public agency or organization shall follow the parameters set out in this section. The applicable sections of the Council Agenda where presenters may appear before Council are: “Appearances”; “Public Forum”; and “Citizen Concerns.”
(1) APPEARANCES means the section of the Council agenda where employees, department heads, public and governmental agency representatives, or elected officials may appear and present before Council.
(2) PUBLIC FORUM means the section of the Council agenda which may not exceed 30 minutes in total and which permits individuals and/or representatives to present to Council for a period of time not to exceed two minutes each. This section is available to the first 15 individuals who sign on behalf of themselves or an organization on the sign-up sheet provided in the entry hall outside Council Chambers.
(3) CITIZEN CONCERNS means the section of the Council agenda where individuals or organizations seek special dispensation from the county manager to appear before Council to present on a particular matter or concern. Appearances set out in this section of the agenda shall be at the sole discretion of the county manager, and if approved by the county manager, the requirements specified herein must also be met. For appearances in Citizen Concerns, a requesting individual or organization should request in writing that the county manager, by and through the Clerk to Council, place the matter on the agenda for a meeting at least ten days prior to the date set for the meeting during which they wish to appear. The subject matter to be discussed and the anticipated duration of the presentation must be disclosed to the Clerk to Council at the time of the request and any powerpoints, handouts, or other materials to be utilized by the presenter at the Council meeting must also be provided to the Clerk to Council at the time of the request for placement on the Council agenda. Failure to provide the required disclosures and any presentation materials to the Clerk at the time of request shall preclude placement on the agenda sought. At that time, the Clerk shall deny the request and inform the requestor of the need to make a timely compliant request for a subsequent Council meeting. Additionally, if the county manager determines a matter properly requested for placement in the Citizen Concerns section of the agenda is not appropriate or in the interest of time for the proper conduction of County business for the particular meeting requested, making such item more appropriate for a subsequent meeting, the county manager may place the item on the agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting and so inform the requestor of that change. These conditions precedent may be waived by the county manager in cases of great urgency if the matter is presented in writing and every member of the Council is provided with a copy prior to the commencement of the meeting or as otherwise specified in the agenda.
(a) The following guidelines shall be followed:
1. A presentation placed in this section of the Council agenda is limited to six minutes; and
2. No requests for funding may be made by presenters slated for an appearance in this section of the Council agenda; and
3. No presentation relating to ongoing litigation is permitted in this section of the Council agenda; and
4. No presenter, group, or organization may appear more than once every six months.
(b) Subject to the protocols of any policy developed by the county manager regarding presentations as authorized herein, any matter not permitted to be presented during the Citizen Concerns section of any Council meeting may nevertheless be pursued by a Citizen Concerns requestor in the public forum portion of any Council meeting, pursuant to applicable procedures for appearing at that time in a Council meeting.
(c) The county manager is authorized to establish a policy regarding protocols for all appearances before Council in conformity with and expounding upon the requirements and parameters established herein, including any limitations on the number of presenters, and also setting forth guidelines for appropriate demeanor and decorum for presenters before Council, including any disciplinary measures for failing to follow the protocols established, all in furtherance of efficient and respectful conduction of county business.
(E) Upon recognition by the chairperson, a person appearing before Council shall approach the podium and state his or her name and address, the subject matter he or she wishes to discuss, and if applicable, state whether he or she has any financial interest in the subject matter, whether he or she represents an organization or other persons, and by what authority the person has the right to speak on the subject matter on behalf of the organization or other persons.
(F) No matter shall be placed on the agenda or heard by the Council unless it is conformity with the protocols established in this code section and with any county manager promulgated policy, and is within the Council's authority or jurisdiction; provided however, that Council may entertain requests that the full body or County Manager on behalf of Council make recommendations to other governmental bodies, officials, departments or agencies.
(G) When any person, including any employee of the Council and of the county, is heard by the Council as provided in division (D) above, that person, when the person has completed the presentation, shall be seated and no person other than a member of the Council will be recognized to make any statement on the matter unless requested to do so by the Council or by any member of the Council through the chairperson.
(‘77 Code, § 2-27) (Ord. 4, passed 2-7-77; Am. Ord. 8, passed 3-21-77; Am. Ord. 216, passed 1-4-16; Am. Ord. 4623, passed 8-21-23)