HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 04-129 RESOLUTION NO. 04-129
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF BEAUMONT:
THAT the City Council of the City of Beaumont hereby adopts the "Guidelines for Speakers
and Others in Meetings of Beaumont City Council and Commission Meetings"as shown
on Exhibit "A" attached hereto and made a part hereof for all purposes.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the 8th day of June,
2004.
ayor Evel n M. Lord -
�,cam:
GUIDELINES FOR SPEAKERS AND OTHERS IN
MEETINGS OF BEAUMONT CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSION MEETINGS
The purpose of the public comment period at the end of the Council business
agenda is to allow persons to address the City Council on matters related to the
business of the City. Such comments should be made in a spirit of civility and
common courtesy. To that end, the Council has adopted these guidelines for such
comments. The guidelines will be enforced by the person chairing the meeting.
1. Speakers may speak for a maximum of three minutes at the podium. We ask
that speakers should refer to council members and employees by their title, e.g.,
Mr. or Mrs. and last name or by their title alone, e.g., City Manager or City
Attorney.
2. Speakers shall not refer to local businesses or people by name. Reference to
City departments and individuals must be generic.
3. Clearly political speeches which advocate or support candidates or parties
are not appropriate.
4. Speakers and spectators shall not obstruct the view of another or in any other
manner disturb or interfere with the orderly conduct of the meeting. Such
actions may be a violation of Penal Code §42.05 which makes disruption of a
lawful meeting a Class B misdemeanor. No person within the City Council
Chambers shall speak or act in a loud and raucous manner which has the
effect of disrupting the meeting.
5. Any police officer or other person assigned to provide security for the Council
meeting shall advise any person who fails to comply with these guidelines of his
or her noncompliance. Any person who, after having been advised of his or her
noncompliance, continues to violate these rules may be escorted by the security
personnel from the Council chambers. A person who has been escorted
from the Council meeting for rules violations may lose the privilege of
speaking at future City Council meetings for some period of time.
6. In accordance with the Open Meeting Laws of the State of Texas, the Council
is prohibited from responding to speakers on unposted matters beyond
providing specific, factual information or an explanation of current policy. Any
discussion among the Council members concerning the public comments is
limited to a proposal to place the item on a future agenda.