These are some rules for public meetings, I copied one from a township in Pa. Now, they are claim 1st amendment and free speech, well yet again, they are wrong. I';m really not quite sure what else to say its Monday and the wheels are quite fully turning yet, but give it a read and please comment thanks
At the time appointed for any meeting of the Board, the President or, in his/her absence, the designated presiding officer shall take the Chair and call the meeting to order. If a quorum is present, as provided in this chapter, the presiding officer shall proceed with the order of business prescribed for the meeting.
The roll of members shall be called alphabetically, except that the President shall be called last.
The presiding officer shall announce all decisions of the Board and shall decide all questions of order without debate, subject, however, to an appeal of any Board member. Any ruling by the presiding officer may be overruled by a majority of the members present.
Every member of the Board desiring to speak shall address the Chair and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine remarks to the question under debate, avoiding all indecorous language or reference to personalities. A member of the Board, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is for the purpose of calling such person to order. If a member of the Board, while speaking, is called to order, that person shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined. When two or more members request the floor at the same time, the presiding officer shall name the one entitled to the floor. [Amended 12-18-1996 by Ord. No. 3435]
The presiding officer shall be responsible for the orderly conduct of business at each Board meeting and shall preserve order and decorum at such meetings.
While the Board is in session, the members of the Board must preserve order and decorum, and no Board member shall, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Board or disturb any member of the Board while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer or of the Board except as otherwise herein provided.
No person, except township officials, their representatives and representatives of news-gathering agencies, shall be permitted within the rail in front of the Board Room without the consent of the Board.
7-12. Public participation; enforcement of decorum.
A citizen shall be provided a reasonable opportunity to address the Board on any agenda item or any public matter in which the township has jurisdiction or authority. This privilege shall occur during the part of the agenda entitled "Public Comment" and "Public Privilege of the Floor." [Amended 12-18-1996 by Ord. No. 3435]
In the case of a nonagenda item, citizens are requested, but not required, to present the matter to a member of the Board or administrative staff in an attempt to resolve the matter beforehand.
The presiding officer, with the approval of the majority of the Commissioners present, may impose a time limit during which each person may speak, giving equal time to all. If the presiding officer determines that there is not sufficient time at the meeting, the comment period may be deferred to the next regular meeting or special meeting occurring in advance of the next meeting. [Amended 12-18-1996 by Ord. No. 3435]
When a group of persons wishes to address the Board on the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the presiding officer to request that a spokesperson be chosen by the group to address the Board and to limit the number of persons addressing the Board on the same matter so as to avoid unnecessary repetition.
Any person making offensive, insulting, threatening, insolent, slanderous or obscene remarks or who becomes boisterous or who makes threats against any person or against public order and security while in the Board Room shall be forthwith removed at the direction of the presiding officer from further audience at the meeting, unless permission to continue is granted by the majority vote of the Board members present.
Enforcement of decorum. The Superintendent of Police shall be ex officio Sergeant at Arms of the Board. He/she shall carry out all orders and instructions given him/her by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum in the Board Room. Upon instructions of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of any police officer present to eject any such person from the Board Room or place him/her under arrest, or both.
I hope we can see these rules immediatly adopted and enforced. Items 4,5 and 6 are extremely interesting but my favorite would be item 5 . Good job Ducky! I suggest sending a copy of those rules to Mrs. Gatelli as soon as possible.
two steps ahead of you, already done, they can spew out as much nonsense as they want, at least we do some research and show the FACTS, not just the same nonsense, I will be posting more Council rules from across the state, in fact maybe we can start a new topic just for council rules.
