This article may contain the opinion of its author.
Every January the Alexander City Council establishes its operating rules for the next 12 months. Those rules are called "Organization of City Council." They establish the duties of various city office holders and how public meetings will be conducted, including limits imposed on the public attending these meetings. After last month's unruly performance during the Public Comment portion of the meeting, a revisit of these rules seem to be needed.
When it comes to speaking there are rules for both council members and the public. The section for council members reads as follows.
Regular Council Meeting — Debate Rules & Meeting Procedures
"Each Council member will have five minutes to debate any issue before the Council. After each member has spoken, a second five minutes will be given to each member if so requested. There will be no interruption from any member who does not, have the floor, as explained in the Arkansas Municipal League's handbook Procedural Rules for Municipal Officials. If the Council member holding the floor chooses to yield for a question, the time used will be deducted from the members five minutes.
"A timer will be used to ensure that all Council members have equal time for debate. All members will address the Chair when requesting time. Any statement made will be directed to the Chair and not to a Council member.
"Citizens may be invited to comment during the regular Council meeting session upon agreement of a two-thirds majority vote of the Council members. Each public comment will be limited to three minutes during the debate portion of the issue at hand and prior to the vote."
Anyone attending the meeting is allowed time to either comment on an ongoing issue, make an announcement that may be of public interest, or bring to the attention of council members a problem of which they may not be aware. On the agenda it's listed as "Public Comment."
Regular Council Meeting — Public Comment
Notice it says, "[T]he Council may extend the time limit once for an additional three minutes." It does not say members of the public may bestow upon the person speaking their three minutes.
It's also called "Public Comment." Only members of the public are allowed to speak. Standard practice has been to not permit the asking and answering of questions during "Public Comment." You take your three minutes and sit down. If you're lucky you may be advised who to see to resolve your query.
If council members believe you have an issue that should be discussed further, it will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting. Agenda items are given more leeway in discussion rules.
If you have an issue or complaint you believe requires a discussion with the council you can submit a request to be placed on the agenda. The procedure to request being placed on the agenda is as follows.
"If anyone wants to be added to the agenda they shall request in writing, or by email, to either Alexander City Hall, or to the individual designated to prepare the agenda, no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the next regularly scheduled Council meeting. ... When submitting the request to address the Mayor/Council the person must state their name, or the name of their organization if relevant; their physical address and the topic."
The council member responsible for the agenda is Joy Gray. Regular meetings of the Alexander City Council are the third Monday of each month except January and February. In those two months the meetings are held the fourth Monday due to holidays. The meetings are at 6:00 PM.
The mailing address for city hall is:
City of Alexander
Joy Gray's email address is; joy.gray@cityofalexander.org.
Let's all try to be more professional this month.
this is badly needed, I left the meeting , as it was getting ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteIt was the failure of the Mayor to see that all City Council Rules are followed, she failed in her duties.
ReplyDeleteexcellent article; excellent responses! It would be so smart for newbies to learn what they are doing, opposed to forcing, or trying to force their lack of knowledge on the experienced!
DeleteMORE TRUTH NEVER SPOKEN!!
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