§ 2.7. Public Comments at Committee Meetings.

Members of the public are encouraged to discuss and debate relevant issues during meetings of the various Committees. Each Committee meeting will begin with a greeting by the Presiding Officer and a brief summary of the Rules of Council related to courtesy and decorum and speaking before Council. During Committee meetings, persons may be granted the privilege of the floor as follows:

(a)

Persons who wish to speak on any item on a Committee agenda may be granted the privilege of the floor for three minutes, unless in the discretion of the Presiding Officer, circumstances dictate a longer or shorter period for all speakers on a particular item. The length of speaking periods for public comment must be uniform for a particular item.

Further, it is the discretion of the Presiding Officer whether persons speaking on agenda items speak before or after Committee members have had the opportunity to discuss the item. After the business portion of Committee meetings has concluded, persons who wish to speak on any issue may be granted the privilege of the floor for three minutes.

(b)

At the discretion of the Presiding Officer, public comments may be limited to three persons in support and three persons in opposition of any issue. All speakers are limited to one appearance per Committee meeting.

(c)

All persons who wish to speak before a Committee must complete a speaker card and file it with the Clerk of Council. Speaker cards must be completed with the speaker's name, organization (if applicable) and subject, and submitted along with any material or information to be distributed. On the face of each completed speaker card, the Clerk of Council shall indicate the time of receipt and the order in which speaker cards are received.

(d)

Each Committee's Presiding Officer will recognize and introduce speakers in the order in which their speaker cards were received by the Clerk of Council.

(e)

Only the speaker, and the next succeeding speakers are permitted at the speakers' table, when addressing a Committee or a public hearing, unless the Presiding Officer or any member of the Committee has invited two or more persons to the speakers' table for informational or ceremonial purposes.

(f)

The Presiding Officer shall provide a warning to a speaker whose comments are not directly relevant to a Committee agenda item. Following a warning, the Presiding Officer may require a speaker who continues to make irrelevant comments to relinquish the remainder of his or her three minutes. Failure to comply will constitute Disturbing a Lawful Meeting.

(g)

The use of obscene or profane language, personal attacks, slander, libel, defamation, physical violence or the threat thereof, which the Presiding Officer determines is intended as a disruption of the meeting, shall constitute Disturbing a Lawful Meeting.

(h)

The Presiding Officer may order the removal of any person Disturbing a Lawful Meeting or failing to comply with any lawful decision or order by the Presiding Officer for the duration of the public comment period or such lesser period as the Presiding Officer may determine. The Presiding Officer may order the removal of persons who continue to Disturb a Lawful Meeting from council chambers for the duration of the meeting or such lesser period as the Presiding Officer may determine. In cases of excessive Disturbing a Lawful Meeting., the Presiding Officer has the discretion to ban individuals from all Council and Committee meetings for a period of 60 days, in addition to any other penalties provided by law. The Clerk of Council shall be responsible for notifying suspended individuals of the duration of their suspension.