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<br />1.05 Public Forum <br /> <br />A public comment period generally shall be the first item of every regular meeting of the Eugene <br />City Council. The Public Forum shall not exceed a maximum of 60 minutes, unless a majority of <br />Councilors present vote to extend the time. A motion to extend the time of the Public Forum is <br />not debatable. <br /> <br />Persons wishing to speak at the Public Forum must sign up to do so not later than 5 minutes after <br />the meeting has been called to order by the Mayor or presiding officer. The Mayor or presiding <br />officer shall inform the audience of the requirement to sign up to speak not later than 5 minutes <br />after the meeting has been called to order or prior to the conclusion of the Public Forum. <br /> <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 hearing <br />at that same meeting, the speaker shall wait until that public hearing. The Public Forum cannot be <br />used to testify about an item that is not a public matter or which has already been heard by a <br />Hearings Official, or to provide or gather additional testimony or information on a quasi-judicial <br />matter after the official record has been closed. <br /> <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 minutes <br />prior to the start of the meeting. <br /> <br />Should there be more speakers than can be heard for three minutes each during the 60 minute <br />Public Forum, the staff will sort the “request to speak” forms in order to afford a greater <br />opportunity for a number of topics to be heard during the Public Forum. If there are a large <br />number of speakers on a single topic, staff is directed to intermix request to speak forms from <br />persons wishing to speak on a less stated topic. The “request to speak forms,” in this case only, <br />will not remain in the original order in which they were received in order to improve the <br />likelihood that those smaller numbers of speakers will have an opportunity to speak before the <br />Public Forum is closed. <br /> <br />When possible and feasible, preference will be given to individuals who reside within the legal <br />limits of the City of Eugene. Persons who do not reside in the City of Eugene may be placed at <br />the end of the list of those wishing to speak at the Public Forum. <br /> <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 /> <br />1.06 Public Hearings <br /> <br />Public hearings shall be held at regular meetings and shall occur 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 <br /> <br />Eugene City Council Operating Agreements – February 25, 2008 <br />Page 2 of 19 <br /> <br />