15-2808 Invocation Policy - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

invocation speaker who violates the spirit and intent of this Resolution from delivering invocations at future Commission meetings. 6. The City Clerk shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that a variety of eligible invocation speakers are scheduled for the City Commission's meetings. To ensure a variety of speakers, no invocation speaker will be scheduled for more than two Commission meetings in any calendar year, and no invocation speaker will be scheduled for two consecutive meetings. 7. The invocation shall be given at the start of the public meeting, during the "ceremonial" (call to order, pledge of allegiance, etc.) portion, and before the start of the "legislative" / "quasi-judicial" portion. 8. The invocation speakers shall face the City Commission when giving the invocation. 9. Members of the public may lodge post -meeting complaints about public meeting invocations or invocation speakers during Citizen Comments or by contacting City staff or officials. 10. The City will keep a record of attempts to solicit invocation speakers, and of efforts to be inclusive of religions that do not have strong demographic representation in the City. It. Should the scheduled invocation speaker or his or her substitute not appear at the appointed time to deliver the invocation, the Mayor will offer a moment of silence. Neither the Mayor, any other Commission member, nor any employee of the City, shall deliver an invocation. 12. To make clear the City Commission's intentions, a disclaimer will be included at the bottom of each regularly scheduled Commission meeting agenda in substantially the following form: Any invocation that may be offered before the official start of the City Commission meeting is the voluntary offering of a private citizen to and for the benefit of the Commission pursuant to Resolution No. . The views and beliefs expressed by the invocation speaker have not been previously reviewed or approved by the City Commission and do not necessarily represent their individual religious beliefs, nor are the views or beliefs expressed intended to suggest allegiance to or preference for any particular religion, denomination, faith, creed, or belief of the City Commission or the City of Casselberry. No person in attendance at this meeting is or shall be required to participate in any invocation, and the decision whether or not to participate will have no impact on his or her right to actively participate in the public meeting. A