Item A: City Council Process Session

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INFORMATION REGARDING THE PUBLIC FORUM AND PUBLIC HEARINGS The Mayor and City Councilors appreciate citizen participation when conducting the City’s business. To facilitate that process, and to ensure that all persons who wish to participate are given an opportunity to do so, please observe the guidelines and procedures regarding the public forum and public hearings listed below. PUBLIC FORUM The Public Forum has been established by the City Council to allow the public to address it on any topic. Section 1.05 of the Council’s Operating Agreement states: “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 30 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 15 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 15 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 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. “Should there be more speakers than can be heard for three minutes each during the 30 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.” PUBLIC HEARINGS Public hearings are held on ordinances being considered by the City Council. Section 1.06 of the Council’s Operating Agreement states: “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 speak. The Mayor or presiding officer shall inform the audience of this requirement to sign up prior to the commencement of a public hearing. 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.” HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC FORUMS 1. The Public Forum is held at each regular meeting of the Eugene City Council. 2. The Public Forum shall be limited to 30 minutes, unless a majority of the council vote to extend the time allotment. 3. The Mayor and/or City Council may ask questions at the end of the Public Forum. EXCEPT 4. The Public Forum is used to present information to the Council on any topic, a. an item scheduled for a public hearing on the current agenda; b. an item which has been heard by a Hearings Official. 5. Each person wishing to speak must complete a “request to speak” form. 6. All “request to speak” forms for the Public Forum must be turned in not later than 15 minutes after the start of the meeting or before the end of the forum, whichever comes first. 7. The Mayor or presiding officer will announce the final opportunity to submit request to speak forms. HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Public hearings will be held on ordinances being considered by the City Council. 2. Public hearings are to address the specified topic or proposal of the hearing. 3. Speakers will be limited to three minutes unless a majority of councilors present vote to modify this limit. 4. The Mayor and/or City Council may ask questions at the end of the Public Hearing. 5. Each person wishing to speak must complete a “request to speak” form. 6. All “request to speak” forms for a public hearing must be turned in prior to the beginning of the Public Hearing. 7. The Mayor or presiding officer will announce the final opportunity to submit “request to speak” forms. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060417\S060417A-attD.doc