The public forum section of the Town Council meeting provides you, our citizens, with the opportunity to address items on the Town Council agenda, those items that we will act upon on tonight's meeting. To ensure that everybody has an opportunity to be heard and that the Council can efficiently administer its business, certain rules have been traditionally followed by the Council over the years. They are fairly simple. If you are to speak at the public forum, first please state your name and address for the record. In the event that you are not from West Hartford, if you are not a taxpayer or a resident, just tell us and we will entertain a motion to suspend the rules to allow you to speak. You have up to three minutes to speak and you are allowed to speak to any item that is on the agenda which is not the subject of a public hearing.
These procedures are promulgated in accordance with Council Rule 13 and shall be posted on the Town Clerk's bulletin board. The following represents the procedures for public hearings (non zoning), including budget hearings, provided that the President may announce an amendment to these procedures when conditions require:
I. A sign-up sheet shall be provided one-half hour prior to the hearing.
II. Speakers will be called in order from the sign-up sheet, provided that only those persons who have not yet addressed the Council on the issues subject to hearing shall be called.
III. The President may permit a presentation by the administration prior to calling on members of the public.
IV. Unless the Council waives its rules by a two-thirds vote, only West Hartford residents or taxpayers may address the Council.
V. After each person on the sign-up sheet has spoken, the President shall call on other persons who have not yet spoken who wish to address the Council.
VI. Each speaker shall limit his/her comments to items on the notice of the meeting.
VII. All speakers shall be confined to three minutes each, except that persons providing the Council with a group's duly authorized position on an issue may speak for up to five minutes.
VIII. Speakers may not yield their allotted time to others in order for others to expand their three minutes.
IX. If a hearing is continued to another date and time, the Council will continue the hearing by first calling speakers from the original sign-up sheet who have not yet spoken.
X. An additional sign-up sheet shall be provided one-half hour prior to the continued hearing.
XI. After the completion of the original sign-up sheet, the President shall call speakers from the new sign-up sheet in the order in which they have signed said sheet, provided that only those persons who have not yet addressed the Council on the issues subject to hearing shall be called.
XII. After each person on the sign-up sheets has been given an opportunity to speak, the President shall call on other person who have not yet spoken at the original or continued hearing who wish to address the Council.
XIII. At the conclusion of the hearing or continued hearing, the Council may, by majority vote, permit speakers who have already addressed the Council at the original or continued hearing to address them again for an additional three minutes. The President may set a total time limitation for receiving such limitation prior to the above-referenced vote by the Council.
XIV. If the number of speakers and the time obligations of the Council permit, the President may announce at the commencement of the hearing, that each speaker may have an additional specified time to address the Council.