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Public Participation at Board Meetings Policy

The Flat River Community Library Board recognizes the value of public comment and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on Library matters.

Any person or group wishing to address the Board shall be requested to provide:

  1. Their name & address;
  2. Group affiliation, if and when appropriate;
  3. Topic to be addressed.

To permit fair & orderly public expression, the Board shall provide a period for public participation at public meetings of the Board and publish rules to govern such participation in Board meetings and in Board committee meetings.  The rules shall be administered and enforced by the presiding officer of the meeting.

Members of the public requesting that a topic be added to the agenda must contact the director or board president with their request one week in advance of the meeting.

The presiding officer shall be guided by the following rules:

  1. Public participation shall be permitted as indicated on the order of business.
  2. Anyone with concerns related to the operation of the library or to matters within the authority of the Board may participate during the designated public participation portions of a meeting.
  3. Participants must first be recognized by the presiding officer.
  4. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to three (3) minutes duration.
  5. During the portion of the meeting designated for public participation, no participant may speak more than once on the same topic.
  6. Participants shall direct all comments to the Board and not to staff or other participants.
  7. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer; no person may address or question Board members individually.
  8. The presiding officer may:
    1. Interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant’s session when they make comments that are repetitive, obscene, and/or comments that constitute a true threat (i.e. statements meant to frighten or intimidate one (1) or more specified persons into believing that they will be seriously harmed by the speaker or someone acting at the speaker’s behest);
    2. Request any individual to stop speaking and/or leave the meeting when that person behaves in a manner that is disruptive of the orderly conduct and/or orderly progress of the meeting;
    3. Request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when that person’s conduct interferes with the orderly progress of the meeting;
    4. Call for a recess or an adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the conduct and/or orderly conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action;
    5. Waive these rules.

Pursuant to the Open Meetings Act (Act 267 of 1976), the Board may occasionally hold meetings virtually.  The Board is not responsible for any technology failures that prevent or disrupt any individual from attending remotely.

Audio or video recording are permitted subject to the following conditions:

  1. No obstructions are created between the Board and the audience.
  2. No interviews are conducted in the meeting room while the Board is in session.
  3. No commentary, adjustment of equipment, or positioning of operators is made that would distract either the Board or members of the audience while the Board is in session.

ADOPTED 05/11/2022

Library Policies