Item 8DAGENDA ITEM # 8D
NOVEMBER 24, 2008
Rules of Order for Public Input at City Commission Meetings
November 17, 2008
The City of Atlantic Beach is committed to having a democratic, open and participatory
government that seeks to involve individuals and citizens in all aspects of the decision making
process. The purpose of these Rules of Order is to establish a formal process and procedures for
obtaining citizen and individual input and allowing full public participation at the City
Commission meetings.
Rules of Order: In order to conduct City business in a positive, respectful and efficient manner
that provides an appropriate atmosphere, the Atlantic Beach City Commission has adopted these
rules and procedures to govern the conduct of business.
• All Commission members, City staff and citizens must be recognized by the Mayor or
presiding officer before speaking or asking questions in any City Commission meeting.
• Individuals or citizens that appear before the Commission are required to state their name and
address for the public record. All comments must be made from a podium or other designated
location so that recording equipment can record the comments and they are property reflected in
the Commission minutes and be available for future reference.
• Citizens and individuals are strongly encouraged to fill out the comment cazds that are available
at the entrance to the City Commission Chambers so that a proper record of their appeazance can
be kept and City staff can contact them if there are any questions or a need for follow-up.
• If any individual wishing to address the Commission on any subject is being paid or otherwise
compensated to speak on behalf of someone else they must disclose who they are being paid or
compensated by. This can be done by filling in the section of the comment cazds available at the
entrance to the Commission Chambers.
All citizens and individuals addressing the City Commission must use proper language, must
refrain from using profanity or cursing, and must refrain from using aggressive or threatening
behavior when addressing the City Commission or other individuals. No personal verbal attacks
will be allowed towazd any individual by the City Commissioners, staff or citizens during any
City Commission meeting. If any member of the audience becomes unruly or continues to
violate these rules after a warning by the Mayor or presiding officer, they shall have the right to
ask the person to leave the room.
* All comments must be directed to the City Commission as a whole and not to individual
members of the Commission or audience. There shall be no cross conversations or questions of
any other persons.
Individuals must adhere to their allotted time as outlined in this policy. One individual's
allotted time may not be donated to another individual. Individuals may submit written
AGENDA ITEM # 8D
NOVEMBER 24, 2008
documents to the Mayor and Commission (through the City Clerk) in order to fully address their
concerns. If submitting documents, eight (8) copies are requested for distribution.
^ The Mayor or presiding officer may ask the speakers to conclude their comments if they begin
to repeat themselves. Speakers should refrain from repeating the same comments or points
expressed by previous speakers and instead simply state their position on the matter at hand.
Groups are encouraged to select a representative to speak to avoid repetition and conserve time.
Citizen Participation in Regular Commission Meetings
• Citizens and individuals generally have two opportunities to speak to the Commission at
regular commission meetings. These include a portion of the meeting listed as Courtesy of the
Floor to Visitors at the beginning of the meeting (right after approval of the minutes} or during
public hearings.
• Courtesy of the Floor: Individuals can speak about any subject related to City business
whether it relates to an item on the agenda or not. Persons filling out comment cards will be
allowed to speak first. After the people who have filled out comment cards are allowed to speak,
the Mayor or presiding officer will then ask for anyone else to raise their hand to be called upon
to come to the podium. Generally, the Mayor or Commissioners will not respond to the
comments made by the public during this portion of the meeting. The Commission cannot take
any action on items raised by the public unless they are listed on the agenda as action items, or
properly noticed as may otherwise be required by law. The Mayor and Commissioners may
address comments made by the public at the end of the meeting under the section on the agenda
entitled "Reports and/or Requests from City Commissioners." If comments from the public
warrant further research by staff, then a report may be made at the next or subsequent
Commission meeting.
Time allowed for speakers during the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors will be a maximum of
five minutes. The Commission will take as much time as needed to hear all of the public input.
However, if the number of speakers is so great as to create a significant delay in the time to
complete the meeting, the Mayor or presiding officer may choose to limit the remarks made by
individuals to as little as three minutes.
Public Hearings; Public Hearings are formal meetings which require legal notice where the
City Commission conducts business pursuant to local, state or federal laws. Some of these
hearings are advertised for specific items scheduled on the Commission agenda. Some of the
hearings are quasi judicial in nature while others are legislative in nature. Some of these
hearings have specific formats that must be followed as established by law and others are less
formal. The adoption of any ordinance at a final reading will include a public hearing with the
opportunity for public input unless the action is being taken under the emergency procedures
established in local and state law.
Applicants will have as much time as necessary to make their presentation for the item upon
which the public hearing is being conducted. Individuals other than the applicant may address
the Commission by either filling out a comment card or raising their hand when the Mayor or
AGENDA ITEM # 8D
NOVEMBER 24, 2008
presiding officer asks if anyone else wishes to speak. Individuals other than the applicant will be
limited to a maximum of five minutes unless, because of the high number of speakers, it is
necessary to limit public input to three minutes. The Mayor and Commission may recall an
individual to the podium at any time to provide additional information or answer questions.
Workshops and Special Meetings
^ Public comments are not normally scheduled at public workshops or special meetings.
Workshops and special meetings aze conducted for a variety of purposes, and the Mayor and
Commission may determine by majority vote that public comments will be allowed during these
workshops or special meetings. If comments are allowed, the same rules of order will apply as
in regular commission meetings and the maximum time for a speaker will be limited to five
minutes unless the number of speakers requires that this limit be reduced to three minutes.
The Mayor or Chief Presiding Officer over any meeting or workshop of the City Commission
shall have the discretion to modify these procedures as may be appropriate to ensure fair and due
process to participate is afforded to citizens,
AGENDA ITEM # 8D
NOVEMBER 24, 2008
MEMORANDUM
FLORIDA LEAG[IE OF CITIES INC.
TO: Key Officials
FROM: Rebecca O'Hara, Legislative Director
SUBJECT: Public Participation Policies
DATE: October 22, 2008
During the 2008 Legislative Session Representative Dorothy Hukill filed HB 991, better
known as Vox Populi -the "Voice of the People Act". The bill would have established
uniform requirements for citizen participation at local government meetings and
workshops. HB 991 was amended to allow local governments to adopt their own written
policy on public participation. If the policies were not adopted by October 1, 2008, the
local government would have been mandated to follow the uniform participation
requirements in the bill. HB 991 died in Senate messages and its companion SB 2276 was
never heard.
We expect this bill to be filed again in 2009. If you have not already done so, please help
us demonstrate that Florida cities do not need further state intrusion in local affairs by
adopting a written policy for public participation at your public meetings and workshops.
Enclosed for your consideration are sample policies for public participation. We
encourage all cities to take this opportunity to adopt a new policy or revisit an existing
policy to determine whether your procedures for public input continue to meet the unique
needs of your community. If you have a policy you would like to share with us, or if you
have any questions please contact Rikkia Rellford at (850) 701-3653 or
rrellford a,flcities.com.
301 South Bronough Street, Suite 300 • P.O. Box 1757 • Tallahassee, FL 32302-1757
(850) 222-9684 . Suncom 278-5331 . Fax (850) 222-3806 • Web site: www.flcities.com