The Greeneville City Council approved a resolution to amend the policy on public participation at meetings.
City Manager Todd Smith said the consideration was spurred due to a change in state law beginning July 1st that requires the agenda for meetings to have a section for public participation and comments. The policy provides a guideline on how the public comment period will work.
Currently, the comment period is restricted to people who live and vote in Greeneville and they must call prior to the meeting to get on the agenda. Councilwoman Ginny Kidwell wanted to clarify before voting on the matter that residents could speak at meetings if needed or if requested by the council. Smith responded there would be exceptions with a majority vote from the council if participation was needed from the public.
The proposed policy states citizens who are entitled to vote in the Greeneville Municipal Election may address the City Council but council member Kristin Girton suggested to be careful with the language used in the policy, as some may reside in Greeneville, but are not registered to vote. The resolution was amended and states citizens who are residents or who are entitled to vote may address the City Council under the Public Comment Section of the agenda. A person making comments at a City Council meeting must state their name and address prior to comments.
The policy also states comments must be related to agenda items. Any citizen speaking during the Public Comments section must limit their remarks to a specific item from the current agenda. The Mayor shall have the authority to revoke the remaining time of a qualified person for making derogatory remarks of a personal nature, using vile or offensive language, or for any behavior deemed inappropriate. Citizens are limited to three minutes of comments and the City Council shall close public comments after 20 minutes in order to conduct business on the agenda.
Individuals seeking to provide public comments must either contact Town Hall 24 hours prior to the public meeting, or complete a sign-in sheet on location prior to the meeting to indicate name and address as part of the public record.
Exceptions: The City Council may make exceptions to this policy by contemporaneous majority vote. The Town of Greeneville reserves the right to amend or alter the terms of this policy.
