coffmantl Posted July 30, 2020 at 08:02 PM Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 at 08:02 PM Can a member of City Counsel sign up for Public Comments, then address the counsel as a citizen during the Public Comment portion of the City Counsel Meeting, then resume their role as a counsel person? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted July 30, 2020 at 08:10 PM Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 at 08:10 PM 3 minutes ago, coffmantl said: Can a member of City Counsel sign up for Public Comments, then address the counsel as a citizen during the Public Comment portion of the City Counsel Meeting, then resume their role as a counsel person? I think the answer to this question would dddepend on the rules of the public body. I know of no rule in RONR which specifically prohibits it, but RONR does not anticipate this particular situation where public comments are permitted. I will add that I have seen members of city councils do this very thing during the time for public comments. Usually, though, they are using time to make announcements, but I have also seen them use it to respond to other public comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffmantl Posted July 30, 2020 at 08:13 PM Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 at 08:13 PM Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinPappano Posted July 31, 2020 at 12:26 AM Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 at 12:26 AM 4 hours ago, coffmantl said: Can a member of City Counsel sign up for Public Comments, then address the counsel as a citizen during the Public Comment portion of the City Counsel Meeting, then resume their role as a counsel person? Having seen a question similar to this on the AIP forums, it was noted by members of the forum that to engage in debate as a council member may be a violation of open meeting legislation as the topics were not posted in advance. I have to premise my statement by saying that I do not have first-hand knowledge of the legislation or your specific situation and am just making a general observation rather than a legal opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted July 31, 2020 at 03:12 AM Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 at 03:12 AM No open meetings law that I am familiar with prohibits a member of a public body such as a city Council from making comments About items of interest to the community, whether it is announcing public events in his district or observations on matters of interest or a request for constituents to contact him regarding particular problems. I have never heard of such things being prohibited by an open meetings law. That is not the intent of such laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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