Procedure:
1. Members of the public wishing to speak at a regularly scheduled
Board Meeting must sign in on the Sign-In Sheet at least 15 minutes
prior to the Scheduled Meeting, stating their contact information
and a brief summary of their comments. The participants will be
asked to speak in the order in which they signed in. Once the
Public Comment portion of the meeting begins, the public shall
respect those who have signed up to speak to the Board. There
will be no exceptions.
2. Speakers shall restrict their comments to issues that are within the subject jurisdiction of the Library Board and limit their comments to three (3) minutes. Due to time constraints, the President of the Board may limit the overall time for public comment on a specific topic.
3. Speakers are expected to provide comment in a concise, orderly and courteous manner that is respectful of all others and should not deviate from the subject indicated in advance on the sign-up sheet.
4. Comments should be directed to the Board and not to other participants or to the audience.
5. Clarifying questions may be addressed to the speaker only by Board members and only at the conclusion of his or her remarks. The time taken by these questions and their answers will not affect the initial time allotted to the speaker.
6. The total time for Public Comment will not exceed 20 minutes. Should there be more than six (6) persons who wish to speak, the 20 minutes will be divided equally among the participants.
Board's Response to Public Comments:
The Library Board will listen to public comments and may ask questions
for clarification, but members of the Library Board will not engage
in discussion or debate. If there is a need for a response from
the Board, it may come at a later date when the Board has had
time to deliberate the issue, to seek more information, or to
review recommendations from the Executive Director.
Comments Regarding Specific Library Employees:
Public comment with respect to specific Library employees will
not be permitted. The Board requests that any concerns about specific
past or present employees be submitted in writing to the Board
President and Library Director.
Violation of these procedures or other inappropriate, discourteous,
or disruptive behavior will lead to the President of the Board
asking the individuals involved to leave the meeting.
The Executive Director of the Library may be reached by e-mail
at dewittlibrary@verizon.net
or U.S. Mail at Dewitt Community Library, Shoppingtown Mall,
Dewitt NY 13214.