9/17/2024 Board Approved

Purpose

The Pemberville Public Library Board of Trustees (herein referred to as “the board”) welcomes participation from the public in its deliberations and recognizes both the importance of public comment on issues before the board and of members of the community expressing their views on matters of interest to the board. The board is also committed to conducting meetings in a civil, timely, and effective manner. The main purpose of regularly scheduled board meetings is to conduct the business of the library. Time is set aside on each regular meeting agenda for public participation from the audience.

Policy

In order to conclude board business in a timely manner, a maximum of 15 minutes of public participation is permitted at each meeting. The terms “speaker”, “participant” and “person” used within this policy are considered universal and interchangeable. Accordingly, public participation at regular monthly board meetings will be governed by the following standards:

1. Public participation at regular board meetings is limited to the public comment portion of the meeting as indicated in the agenda. At all other times during a regular board meeting, the audience will not be recognized by the board unless specifically requested to so do by the President of the Board (or another presiding officer).
2. Presentations or promotions for events, fundraisers, activities, or proposed work are not part of public participation and should be reviewed with the Director to be considered for inclusion as an agenda item at a regular board meeting.
3. It is encouraged to first seek the Library Director to remedy an issue or concern before seeking to present matters directly to the Board. If Public Participation is still desired, any person, group, or organization wishing to address the Board must contact the Director at least three days (72 hours) before the regularly scheduled meeting and provide their name, the name of the organization or group they are authorized to speak on behalf of (if applicable) and the topic or concern they will address.
4. Any public participant that requests to speak on behalf of, or represent a group or organization must provide proof to the Director prior to the board meeting that they are authorized to do so.
5. All visitors must be physically present and are required to sign in before the call to order and to indicate if they wish to speak. Those visitors who have indicated a desire to speak will be recognized in the order in which they have signed in. Speakers must identify the group or organization for which they will speak in an official capacity. It is encouraged that only one (1) person may speak on behalf of any group or organization they are representing.
6. Each speaker is given three (3) minutes to share an individual, group or organization view or concern with the board. If several participants wish to speak, each will be allotted three (3) minutes until the total public participation time of 15 minutes is used. No participant may speak more than once per meeting.
7. The Board accepts comments, but should not be expected to respond or take immediate or official action on any subject brought before it without having time for review. Once the 15 minutes of public participation is completed, there will be no further discussions from participants or the Board.
8. The Board President (or another presiding officer) recognizes each registered speaker. Any board member may ask questions for clarification purposes only. The Board President introduces each speaker and keeps track of each speaker’s time and the total public participation time.
9. Public comments should be addressed to all members of the board and not to any individual, Director, or Fiscal Officer. Persons addressing the board are expected to observe a level of civility and decorum appropriate for a public meeting and refrain from vulgar, profane, threatening or harassing remarks. The President of the Board (or another presiding officer) may request any individual to stop speaking and/or leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum or is disruptive to the conduct and/or orderly progress of the meeting. Failure to adhere to these standards may result in removal from the meeting. 

Failure to adhere to this policy may result in removal from the meeting.