Resolution No. 4872 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1.05 Public Forum A public comment period generally shall be the first item of every regular meeting of the Eugene City Council. The Public Forum shall not exceed a maximum of 60 minutes, unless a majority of Councilors present vote to extend the time. A motion to extend the time of the Public Forum is not debatable. Persons wishing to speak at the Public Forum must sign up to do so not later than 5 minutes after the meeting has been called to order by the Mayor or presiding officer. The Mayor or presiding officer shall inform the audience of the requirement to sign up to speak not later than 5 minutes after the meeting has been called to order or prior to the conclusion of the Public Forum. Members of the public may speak about any topic during the Public Forum, except as provided below. If a member of the public wishes to speak on an item that is scheduled for a public hearing at that same meeting, the speaker shall wait until that public hearing. The Public Forum cannot be used to testify about an item that is not a public matter or which has already been heard by a Hearings Official, or to provide or gather additional testimony or information on a quasi-judicial matter after the official record has been closed. Speakers at the Public Forum will be limited to three minutes. Generally, the speakers will be called upon in the order in which the "request to speak" forms are received by the staff at the meeting. No persons will be allowed to complete a "request to speak" form more than 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. Should there be more speakers than can be heard for three minutes each during the 60 minute Public Forum, the staff will sort the "request to speak" forms in order to afford a greater opportunity for a number of topics to be heard during the Public Forum. If there are a large number of speakers on a single topic, staff is directed to intermix request to speak forms from persons wishing to speak on a less stated topic. The "request to speak forms," in this case only, will not remain in the original order in which they were received in order to improve the likelihood that those smaller numbers of speakers will have an opportunity to speak before the Public Forum is closed. When possible and feasible preference will be given to individuals who reside within the legal limits of the City of Eugene. Persons who do not reside in the City of Eugene may be placed at the end of the list of those wishing to speak at the Public Forum. At the end of the Public Forum each member of the Council has the opportunity to respond to comments made during the Public Forum. The time allocated to each member of the Council for such responses shall be up to three minutes. 1.06 Public Hearings Public hearings shall be held at regular meetings and shall occur for all ordinances except under the terms delineated in E.C. 2.007 (4). Hearings may be scheduled on other items at the discretion of the Mayor and the City Manager. Persons wishing to speak shall submit a "request to speak" form prior to the commencement of the public hearing at which the person wishes to Eugene City Council Operating Agreements - May 22, 2006 Page 2 of 12