RESOLUTION #130-25

PL #132-25

By Alderman __________, Seconded by

Alderman ___

TO AMEND THE CITY OF OLEAN CODE OF ORDINANCES SECTION 2-40 TO AMEND THE ORDER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA, AS WELL AS TO AMEND SECTION 2-60 TO INCLUDE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT REGULARLY SCHEDULED COUNCIL

MEETINGS

RESOLVED, that the City of Olean Code of Ordinances Section 2-40 is hereby amended as follows:

Sec. 2-40. Regular meetings; order of business.

The business of all regular meetings of the Common

Council shall be transacted in the

following order:

(1) Roll call;

(2) Invocation;

(3) Pledge;

(4) Reading, correcting, and approving previous minutes;

(5) Committee

reports and unfinished Council

business;

(6) Communications from the

Mayor;

(7) Miscellaneous communications and petitions;

(8) Reports from other City officials;

(9) Proposed legislation and referrals;

(10) Finance/bills;

(11) Public Comment/input;

(12) Motions/

resolutions;

(13) Adjourn.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Olean Code of Ordinances Section 2-60 is hereby amended as follows:

Sec. 2-60. Non-Council members comment/input at regularly scheduled meetings of the Common Council Rules of Conduct. The following rules of conduct shall be followed by all members of the public who wish to participate in Public Comment during a regularly scheduled Common Council

meeting:

1. Public participation shall be limited to the public comment segment of the agenda of regular Common Council meetings.

2. Public comment shall be limited to three (3) minutes per person. An individual’s time may not be given or traded to other speakers or reserved for other portions of the meeting.

3. Any person wishing to speak at a regular Common Council meeting during the public comment segment must sign the sign-in sheet upon entering the room, indicating his or her intention to speak, which sheet shall be used by the Common Council President to

recognize speakers. Said sign-in sheet shall be delivered to the Common Council President at the beginning of the Public Comment portion of the Regular Meeting; no additional sign-ins for public comment will be allowed after that time.

4. When recognized by the Common Council President, the individual must stand at the podium, state their name and address and, if applicable, group affiliation, and must state the subject he or she will be addressing.

5. The Common Council President or his/her designee shall act as timekeeper.

6. Members of the Common Council, speakers and audience members must observe proper decorum. Any statement made during the meeting by the Common Council President, members of the Common Council, City officials or employees or members of the general public shall not involve personalities, impertinent or slanderous attacks on individuals, regardless of whether the individual so attacked is an elected official, a City official or employee or a member of the general public.

7. The Common Council President shall control the meeting. The use of profane, vulgar, inflammatory, threatening, abusive or disparaging language, or racial or ethnic slur directed at the Common Council President, members of the Common Council, City officials or employees, and members of the general public, or statements by a person attending the meeting which are not made during the public comment segment of the agenda, shall not be tolerated.

8. It is inappropriate to utilize a public meeting for the purpose of making political speeches, including threats or political action, and the same will not be tolerated.

9. Discussion between speakers and attendees of the public meeting are prohibited. A speaker may disagree with or support prior speakers in comments directed towards the Common Council. No person attending a meeting shall engage in booing, hand clapping, or otherwise disrupt the formality of the proceedings.

10. Public comments is not a

dialogue, and the Common Council and City officials and employees will not answer questions posed during the public comment portion of the meeting. Members of the public may contact Common Council members and City officials and employees during regular business hours to obtain answers to questions.

11. Banners, flyers, or other signs are not permitted in the meeting room. Distribution of flyers in the meeting room is also not permitted.

12. Attendees, when leaving the Common Council meeting before it is adjourned, must leave in a quiet and orderly manner until outside the meeting room and hallway, so as not to disrupt the meeting.

13. Any person who disregards the directives of the Common Council President in enforcing the rules or generally conducts himself or herself in a boisterous or inappropriate manner while addressing the Common Council or otherwise during a meeting disturbs the peace at a meeting will be barred from further participation and lose any balance of time remaining for his or her comment.

14. If a speaker who violates these rules refuses to step down, the Common Council President may ask the individual to be removed from the meeting room.

15. Blatant disregard for these rules may warrant the Common Council President to rescind one’s privilege of public comment for a period of six (6) months for the first offense and twelve (12) months for each subsequent offense.

16. In the event of the absence of the Common Council President, all duties and responsibilities subscribed to the Common Council President in this section shall be assigned to the Council member designated as the presiding officer in his or her absence in accordance with Section 2-48 subparagraph (1) of this Code.

RESOLVED, that this Resolution is hereby effective

immediately.