05-1575 Public Meeting Policies - Laserfiche WebLink

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parliamentary law. Debate is to be regulated by parliamentary procedures in order to assure that each Commissioner has a reasonable and equal opportunity to be heard. OBTAINING RECOGNITION FOR DEBATE 1. As soon as a debatable motion has been moved, seconded and stated by the Mayor, any Commissioner has the right to discuss it after being recognized by the Mayor. A Commissioner who has been recognized is entitled to be heard as long as the rules of debate are observed. 2. Usually, the Commissioner that has proposed the motion should be allowed the opportunity to speak first to the issue being discussed and usually is allowed to speak last on it. 3. A Commissioner that has not spoken to an issue should be allowed priority to speak over Commissioners that have spoken previously to the motion under consideration. 4. The Mayor should alternate between proponents and opponents of a motion whenever possible to assure that discussion occurs more equitably. 5. Commissioners should attempt to be brief and speak with relevancy to the motion being discussed, avoiding repetitive comments or statements. 6. Debate should be fundamentally impersonal. All discussion should be addressed to the Mayor as presiding officer and should not be directed to individual Commissioners. An item may be discussed with vigorous support or opposition, but it is never appropriate to attack the motives or character of another Commissioner either directly or by innuendo or implication. It is duty of the Mayor as presiding officer to immediately stop such discussion from proceeding. If the Mayor as presiding officer fails to do so, any other Commissioner may raise a point of order and call the Mayor's attention to the speaker's misconduct. 7. A Commissioner that fails or refuses to speak in an orderly and courteous manner may be denied the opportunity to speak and may be excluded from further participation in the meeting by a majority vote of Commissioners in attendance. TIME LIMITS ON DEBATE 1. There is no standard time limit for discussion during the debate of a motion. 2. Debate should ordinarily be kept within reasonable time limits by the Mayor as presiding officer and generally confined to the subject matter under consideration. 3. If debate is to be limited, then each Commissioner shall be allocated equal time and time allocated to one Commissioner shall not be transferred to another. CUTTING OFF DEBATE 1. Most discussions should not be cut off until each Commissioner has had a full opportunity to offer opinion and reasoning related to the issue being discussed. 2. However, if a Commissioner submits a motion to limit or end the debate, which is seconded, it should be voted upon separately. If the motion to end or limit debate 3