Laserfiche WebLink
Eugene City Council Operating Agreements – September 2017 <br />Page 2 of 19 <br />1.05 Public Forum <br />A public comment period generally shall be the first item of every regular meeting of the Eugene <br />City Council. By council majority vote, time-sensitive issues may be moved up in the agenda order. <br />Persons wishing to speak at the Public Forum must sign up to do so not later than five minutes <br />after the Public Forum has been opened by the Mayor or presiding officer. The Mayor or <br />presiding officer shall inform the audience of the requirement to sign up to speak not later than <br />five minutes after the meeting has been called to order or prior to the conclusion of the Public <br />Forum. <br />Members of the public may speak about any topic during the Public Forum, except as provided <br />below. If a member of the public wishes to speak on an item that is scheduled for a public <br />hearing at that same meeting, the speaker shall wait until that public hearing. The Public Forum <br />cannot be used to testify about an item that is not a public matter or which has already been <br />heard by a Hearings Official, or to provide or gather additional testimony or information on a <br />quasi-judicial matter after the official record has been closed. <br />Speakers at the Public Forum will be limited to three minutes. Generally, the speakers will be <br />called upon in the order in which the “request to speak” forms are received by the staff at the <br />meeting. No persons will be allowed to complete a “request to speak” form more than 30 <br />minutes prior to the start of the meeting. <br />At the end of the Public Forum each member of the Council has the opportunity to respond to <br />comments made during the Public Forum. The time allocated to each member of the Council for <br />such responses shall be up to three minutes. <br />1.06 Public Hearings <br />Public hearings shall generally be held on the third Monday of the month, except for those <br />months during which a Council break occurs, and shall be held for all ordinances except under <br />the terms delineated in E.C. 2.007(4). Hearings may be scheduled on other items at the discretion <br />of the Mayor and the City Manager. Persons wishing to speak shall submit a “request to speak” <br />form prior to the commencement of the public hearing at which the person wishes to speak. The <br />Mayor or presiding officer shall inform the audience of this requirement to sign up prior to the <br />commencement of a public hearing. Speakers will be limited to three minutes. Eugene Code <br />2.015(7) notwithstanding, councilors may ask clarifying or follow-up questions of individuals <br />providing testimony after that individual has completed his/her testimony. Questions posed by <br />City Councilors should be to provide clarification or additional information on testimony <br />provided. Questions should not be used as an attempt to lengthen or expand the testimony of the <br />individual. Councilors shall be expected to use restraint and be considerate of the meeting time <br />of the Council when exercising this option. The Mayor or presiding officer may intervene if a <br />councilor is violating the spirit of this guideline. At the end of the Public Hearing, each member <br />of the Council has the opportunity to comment on or discuss testimony given during the Public <br />Hearing. <br />September 12, 2018, Work Session – Item 2