2008-010 - Establishing Rules and Procedures for Meetings of the City Council

Home Browse Search

(d) For public hearings, members of the public shall be given three (3) minutes to address the city council for each duly noticed hearing, unless continued prior to taking testimony. This time limitation shall not apply to the applicant appellant and/or their representative(s) whose matter is the subject of the public hearing. Applicants shall limit their presentations to a reasonable period of time, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer. (e) Following the conclusion of all agenda matters, members of the public shall be provided three (3) minutes to address the council on issues of public interest provided that they are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city council. (f) Upon being recognized by the presiding officer, a speaker shall step to the designated speaker location, state his or her name and address for informational purposes, identify the matter by agenda designation (if applicable) and direct his or her remarks to the city council as a body and not to any individual member thereof. No person other than members of the council and the person having the floor may be permitted to enter into the discussion without permission of the presiding officer. (g) It shall be within the sound discretion of the presiding officer to set a maximum time for public comment. In setting any limit, the presiding officer shall take into consideration the level of public interest in the matters in question, the length of the meeting and the need to provide for an orderly and effective meeting. As a means of limiting time while maximizing the public's opportunity to address the city council, if a group of people seeks to address the Council on the same matter or topic, the presiding officer may direct the group to designate a spokesperson or limited number of speakers to address the city council. (h) The following rules shall apply to all persons addressing the city council. All speakers shall: - direct all testimony to the city council or the presiding officer and not individual council members - when speaking on agenda matters, limit their comments to the agenda - when speaking on non-agenda matters, limit their comments to matters within the jurisdiction of the City of Santa Ana - refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, libelous or slanderous statements or other comments that disturb the decorum of the meeting. (i) The presiding officer shall have the power and responsibility to enforce decorum and order of the meeting as set forth in Section 2-104(c). Among the other means of enforcement, the presiding officer may order the podium microphone turned off and/or video broadcast interrupted. Section 6. The provisions of Section 4 and Section 5 of this resolution shall apply to meetings of committees of the city council, as may be modified from time to time by such committees. Resolution No. 2008-010 Page 3 of 4