Guidelines for Being Heard

Anyone who desires to address the City Council on items appearing on the agenda must complete and file a pink speaker's card with the City Clerk prior to the City Council's consideration of the item. Once the City Clerk has announced the item, no person shall be permitted to speak on the item other than those persons who have submitted their names to the City Clerk. Your name will be called when the item is announced for discussion. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes to address the City Council on non-public hearing items listed on the agenda.

Individuals who would like to address the City Council on matters not listed on the agenda or on items remaining on the consent calendar may do so under Open Forum.  All speakers must complete and file a pink speaker’s card with the City Clerk prior to the commencement of Open Forum.  The amount of time allotted to individual speakers shall be determined based on the number of persons requesting to speak during this item.  The time allocation for each speaker will be as follows: 

• 15 or fewer speakers - a maximum of 2 minutes
• 16 to 24 speakers - a maximum of 1 and one-half minutes
• 25 or more speakers - a maximum of 1 minute

Groups are encouraged to select a spokesperson to present the major points of their argument; additional speakers will be called on from the forms turned in to the City Clerk.

Speaker forms must be submitted to the City Clerk prior to the Clerk's announcement of the agenda item.

Consent Calendar
Consent Calendar items are considered routine and will be enacted, approved or adopted by one motion unless a request for removal for discussion or explanation is received from the audience or the City Council.  A member of the audience requesting to remove an item from the Consent Calendar must first complete a speaker’s card and discuss the item with a City staff person who has knowledge of the subject material, prior to filing the card with the City Clerk  and prior to the City Council’s consideration of Agenda Review.  An item removed from the Consent Calendar may be placed anywhere on the agenda following the City Council’s agenda review.

For public hearings, the appellant and the principal opponent addressing the City Council shall be limited to a maximum of eight minutes each. All other persons addressing shall be limited to a maximum of three minutes. The appellant and principal opponent shall each be allowed a two-minute rebuttal. The City Council, by an affirmative vote of five of its members, may make appropriate adjustments in the amount of time given to make presentations during public hearings depending upon the unique circumstances of a given public hearing.

(Resolution No. 27-06)