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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) Valley City Mayor Dave Carlsrud made a plea to city residents to remain civil and recognize the rules of order during regular city commission meetings.
Valley City resident, Lloyd A. Nelson apparently ignored the rules of order by walking up to the podium to speak before the chairman (Mayor Carlsrud) recognized him during the February 7th meeting.
Nelson interrupted the mayor while Carlsrud was speaking. Nelson asked him and the commission what the rules are concerning public forum speaking during a city commission meeting. Nelson was asked by the mayor and City Attorney Russ Myhre to sit down and take his seat. Nelson didn’t comply with their order until police officers approached him. Nelson then went back to his seat and left the meeting shortly after.
Mayor Carlsrud said we can agree to disagree and then move forward for the betterment of the city. He said on February 6th a citizen went to a city officials place of employment and asked the general manager to have that person fired.
The following is a statement written by City Attorney Russ Myhre concern the rules of order during city commission meetings:
“After the last several City Commission meetings, it appears that some clarification needs to be made about basic parliamentary procedure regarding the Public Comments portion of the Agenda.
The Public Comment portion of the City Commission Agenda allows citizens to make statements to the local governing body about many things. It can be used to recognize individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the community; to announce upcoming community events; to bring attention to issues concerning citizens; to urge the Commission to adopt certain laws or policies; or even to urge the Commission to reconsider and correct previous actions. However, the Public Comments portion of the Agenda are not intended to, nor should it be permitted to become, an adversarial and hostile exchange that disrupts the regular City Commission meetings.
As previously clarified, the purpose of a Commission meeting is to conduct the City’s business. By ordinance, the City Commission conducts its meetings pursuant to Robert’s Rules of Order. Accordingly, only Commissioners may speak upon issues that come before the City Commission unless (1) the public is invited to speak or (2) if that portion of the meeting is a hearing as required or allowed by law on such topics as platting, zoning, establishing special assessment districts, etc. The portion of the City’s agenda regarding public comment from the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office outlines the established law in this regard.
Although the City Commission is not required to provide time for Citizens to make Public Comments, it does so out of respect for the citizens of Valley City.
One of the essential premises of Robert’s Rules of Order is that only one person may “have the floor” and be allowed to speak at a time. This is so any person who has the floor may speak without interruptions.
One of the fundamental premises of parliamentary procedure is that no person may speak until that person has been recognized by the Chairperson. In Valley City, the Chairperson is also known as the Mayor or President of the City Commission. This is the person who is responsible for running the meeting, maintaining order, and providing for a full and fair discussion of issues.
When a person has been recognized by the Chairperson, they are considered to “have the floor.” No other person may interrupt the speaker. In other words, the speaker has the exclusive right to be heard when the speaker has the floor. This right to the floor is subject to the usual rules that no personal attacks may be allowed and the motives may not be questioned.
When the speaker has finished with his/her presentation, the speaker yields the floor back to the Chairperson. Once a speaker has yielded the floor, the speaker has no right to have the floor (the right to speak) back. The speaker may be allowed to speak again, but this is in the discretion of the Chairperson and is not required. In practice, this means that a speaker may not engage in a question-and-answer session with the members of the Commission and may not cross-examine the members in an adversarial manner.
If a speaker asks a question, it should be directed to the Chairperson, not to an individual Commissioner. It should be noted there is no obligation on the part of the City Commission members to respond to the speaker’s question.
However, if a Commission member wishes to address a question asked by a speaker, the Commission member should wait until the speaker has finished his or her presentation and then ask to be recognized by the Chairperson. Once the Chairperson has recognized that Commission member, that member now has the floor and may answer the question. No one, including the original speaker, may interrupt the Commission member who has the floor. Once the Commission member has completed his or her answer, the Commission member has yielded the floor back to the Chairperson and may not speak again until he or she has once again been recognized by the Chairperson.
Just as City Commissioners are not required to answer a speaker’s question, a speaker may not demand that a particular City Commissioner answer a question. If a response appears to be required, the question may be directed to a City employee who has some expertise in the matter.
None of these requirements are intended to restrict any person’s rights to free speech. A person may freely and openly state their positions and beliefs on any matter. Citizens may state their political beliefs and positions in letters to the editor of their local newspapers, online in social media, in letters to their governmental representatives, in meetings with their governmental representatives, and ultimately with their vote.
However, the City is under no obligation to provide a forum for citizens at the regular City Commission meetings. These are business meetings, and the purpose of these meetings is to conduct the business of the City.”
Russ
Russell J. Myhre
Attorney at Law