The Mayor has been delegated the responsibility
to control the debate and the order of speakers.
A. Council members will limit their comments to the subject
matter, item or motion being currently considered by the Council.
B. Council members will govern themselves as to the length
of their comments or presentation. As a courtesy, the Mayor will signal
by hand to a Council member who has been speaking for over five minutes.
This procedure is not meant to limit debate or to cut comments short,
but rather to assist Council members in their efforts to communicate
concisely.
Any member of the Council wishing to speak must
first obtain the floor by being recognized by the Mayor. The Mayor
must recognize any Council member who seeks the floor when appropriately
entitled to.
All members of the public and all public officials
are allowed to tape or video record public meetings. Recording is
not allowed during executive sessions. The recording should be done
in a manner which does not interfere with the meeting. The Mayor may
make the determination that the recording is being done in an intrusive
manner taking into consideration, but not limited to, brightness of
lights, distance from the deliberations of the Common Council, size
of the equipment, and the ability of the public to still participate
in the meeting. If the Mayor makes the determination that the recording
is intrusive and has the effect of interfering with meeting, the Mayor
may request an accommodation to avoid the interference and if not
complied with ask the individual to leave the meeting room.