Rules for Public Forum

The Public Forum on the Order of Business shall be limited to remarks about Library business. Personnel matters will not be considered for public comment. No more than ten minutes shall be devoted to the Public Forum.

Process

Any petitioner or member of the public wishing to speak must place his or her name on a list and identify the topic prior to the scheduled start of the meeting. The Chair of the Board of Library Trustees will determine whether the topic is appropriate, and recognize speakers at the Public Forum in the order in which their names appear on the list. After being recognized by the Chair, the speaker must state his/her name and address for the record. 

Comments must be kept to 2 minutes or less. Should the speaker deviate from the stated topic, the Chair may ask the person to cease and to step down. All remarks shall be addressed to the Chair and through the Chair, and shall not be addressed to any individual member of the Board of Library Trustees, town official, department head or employee. No person having the floor shall enter into discussion either directly or through a member of the Board without the permission of the Chair.

The meeting minutes will acknowledge the speakers and their topics. The Chair will respond.