M E M O R A N D U M
To: Members of the Town Council
From: Mayor Tim Meerbott
Date: February 20, 2019
Re: Adding Decorum Language to Town Council Agenda
REQUEST
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A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CUTLER BAY, FLORIDA, MODIFYING RESOLUTION 17-06 TO PROVIDE FOR A REVISED TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA FORMAT TO PROVIDE FOR RULES OF DECORUM; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
From time to time a Town Council will review their agenda format to allow for meeting efficiency and transparency. In addition, a Council may also provide information on the agenda to be sure that the members of the public are well informed as to the format and protocol for their effective participation.
After discussion with staff and research of other Town Council agendas, I found that we currently have no mention of the lobbyist registration requirement on our agenda. A one sentence reminder is proposed to be added to the top of the agenda.
Past Town Councils have adopted and supported a civility pledge pertaining to their own behavior and that pledge always appears on the Town Council agenda. However, there is currently nothing printed as to the expectation of the public's decorum. Rules of decorum are a form of communication with the public, informing them of the tone of the meeting, whether signage is permitted, when and where they are permitted to speak, reminding them who is in charge of the meeting and explaining the ramifications of disrupting a meeting. Other Councils and Commissions currently print a similar policy statement, making it easier for enforcement should the occasion arise.
The current Council agenda format provides for the public to speak under items 3 and 11, Public Comments. The suggested new language provides information that speakers must sign up to speak, that their speaking time will still be limited to three minutes, and lets them know that public comment is important to the Town Cou...
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