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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. By council majority vote, time-sensitive issues may be moved up in the agenda order. Persons wishing to speak at the Public Forum must sign up to do so not later than five minutes after the Public Forum has been opened 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 five 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 unless the number of <br />speakers warrants a reduction of that time. Generally, the speakers will be called upon in the order in which the “Request to Speak” forms are received by 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 and speakers must be present when form is submitted. 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. <br />1.06 Public Hearings Public hearings shall generally be held on the third Monday of the month, except for those months during which a Council break and shall be held 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 speak. The Mayor or presiding officer shall inform the audience of this requirement to sign up prior to the commencement of a public hearing. In general, speakers will be limited to three minutes. Eugene Code 2.015(7) notwithstanding, councilors may ask clarifying or follow-up questions of individuals providing testimony after that individual has completed his/her testimony. Questions posed by City Councilors should be to provide clarification or additional information on testimony provided. Questions should not be used as an attempt to lengthen or expand the testimony of the individual. Councilors shall be expected to use restraint and be considerate of the meeting time of the Council when exercising this option. The Mayor or presiding officer may intervene if a councilor is violating the spirit of this guideline. At the end of the Public Hearing, each member of the Council has the opportunity to comment on or discuss testimony given during the Public Hearing. <br />January 13, 2019, Work Session – Item 2Page 8