2012-025 - City Council Rules and Procedures to Change the Start Time for the City Council Meeting Open Session

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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) Upon being recognized by the presiding officer, a speaker should step to the designated speaker location, state name and address for the record, and identify the matter by agenda designation (if applicable), and direct remarks to the city council as a body and not to any individual member thereof. A speaker shall not be denied an opportunity to speak if they do not wish to state their name and address for the record. 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. (f) 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. (g) The following rules shall apply to all persons addressing the city council. All speakers are requested to: -direct all testimony to the city council or the presiding officer and not individual council members, -when speaking on agenda matters, limit comments to the agenda item(s), -when speaking on non-agenda matters, limit comments to matters within the jurisdiction or official business of the City of Santa Ana, and -refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting. (h) 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 when the presiding officer has determined that an individual or group has disrupted the meeting, or the individual or group has exceeded their allotted time to speak without permission of the presiding officer. (i) All cell phones, pagers, or electronic devices belonging to the public, press, or personnel that may be disruptive must be placed on vibrate mode/quiet or be turned off while a meeting is in session. 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. 2012-025 Page 3 of 4