§ 2-1.11. Addressing the Council.

Any person desiring to address the Council at a meeting shall first secure the permission of the Presiding Officer so to do; provided, however, that under the following headings of business, any qualified and interested person shall have the right to address the Council upon obtaining recognition by the Presiding Officer:

(a)

Written Communications. Interested persons or their authorized representatives may address the Council by written communications on any matters concerning the City's business, or any matters over which the Council has control. Such written communications shall be delivered to the City Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. of the Wednesday immediately preceding the regular Council meeting the agenda for which such written communications are intended.

(b)

Submission of Written Material for Council Consideration. Written material to be submitted to the City Council regarding any item on the Council agenda, including items for which a public hearing is required, must be submitted to the City Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. of the Wednesday immediately preceding the regular Council meeting at which such item will be considered. If the material is not received by that time, the City Council may exercise its discretion to either continue the item in order that the written material can be considered at a future meeting or, alternatively, consider the item without reference to the written material in which case the written material will not be made part of the administrative record.

(c)

Submission of Council Reports and Comments to the City Clerk. Councilmembers who desire discussion or action on any matter brought before the Council under the "Council Comments and Reports" portion of the agenda shall notify the City Clerk of any subjects they wish to be listed under the "Council Comments and Reports" portion of the agenda no later than 5:00 p.m. of the Wednesday immediately preceding the regular Council meeting at which said items are to be discussed so that these matters can be properly noticed on the agenda.

(d)

Public Comment Period. Interested persons in the audience or their authorized representatives may address the Council orally on any matters concerning the City's business or any matters over which the Council has control under the "Public Comment Period" portion of the regular Council agenda.

(e)

Procedures for Persons Addressing the Council. The following procedures shall be applicable to persons addressing the Council whether during the "Public Comment Period" portion of the agenda or at any other time:

(1)

Persons shall not address the Council on matters over which the Council has no jurisdiction.

(2)

During public hearings and discussions of other matters where numerous persons wish to address the same or similar point of view, the Mayor may request that one (1) or more spokespersons be selected to speak for all of said persons. The spokesperson(s) may ask for a show of hands to indicate others in the audience who support the point of view of the spokesperson(s).

(3)

The Mayor may, "by order of the chair," limit the total amount of time that will be allocated for persons who wish to speak at a public hearing or discussion of an issue being considered by the Council. The Mayor may also, "by order of the chair," limit the total amount of time that individual speakers may use while speaking at a public hearing or discussion of an issue being considered by the Council. The amount(s) of time set by the Mayor shall take into account the number of persons who want to speak on the issue, the complexity of the issue, the length of the Council's agenda, the hour at which the issue is being heard and other relevant considerations.

(4)

Persons addressing the Council during public hearings and discussions of other matters shall be allowed to address the Council only once during the hearing or discussion unless the Mayor allows them to speak more than once; provided, however, that spokespersons shall be allowed to address the Council twice during the hearing or discussion, once to initially address the issue(s) under consideration and a second time to address issues raised by other speakers. When unusual circumstances exist, the Mayor may allow persons to speak additional times during a public hearing or discussions of other matters.

(5)

The Mayor may, "by order of the chair," limit the total amount of time that persons addressing the Council under "written communications" may use while speaking on the issue(s) raised by the written communications.

(6)

Persons addressing the Council under the "Public Comment Period" may speak only once and shall speak no longer than a total of three (3) minutes.

(7)

During the discussion of any matter under consideration by the Council, the amount of time spent answering questions asked by members of the Council or when directed by the Mayor to answer questions asked by other persons shall not be counted against such person(s) under the provisions of the above-listed procedures.

(8)

The Council may, by four (4) affirmative votes, modify any "order of the chair" made by the Mayor under the provisions of the above-listed procedures.

(Ord. 1084-N.S., amended by Ord. 1130-C.S., Ord. 2323-C.S., § 1, Ord. 2487-C.S., § 1, Ord. 2892-C.S., § 1, Ord. 3183-C.S., § 1, and Ord. 3477-C.S., § 1, effective 4-3-08)