Agenda: Battle Creek City Commission

Battle Creek City Hall - City Commission Chambers - 3rd Floor

         (1)   Persons attending a regular or special Commission Meeting shall be permitted to address the City Commission in conformity with this rule. The opportunity to address the Commission shall be limited to the following:

      (a)   Persons desiring to address the City Commission are encouraged, but shall not be required, to fill out and turn in to either the City Clerk, Mayor, or presiding Commissioner, prior to the meeting, a comment card disclosing the following information: The person's name, address, and telephone number; the specific issue, topic or resolution the individual wishes to address.

      (b)   During public hearings when scheduled, speakers may present facts and opinions on the specific matter being heard by the Commission. A three-minute time limit is imposed per speaker. In the discretion of the Mayor or presiding officer, the time limit for individual speakers may be lengthened or shortened when appropriate.

      (c)  During the consideration of specific ordinances when scheduled, speakers may present facts and opinions on the specific ordinance being considered by the City Commission. Speakers addressing the City Commission during this time shall limit their comments to the specific issue being considered. A three-minute time limit, which may be lengthened or shortened by the Mayor or presiding officer when appropriate, is imposed per speaker, per matter considered.

       (d)  During the public comment period on the consent agenda and resolutions not on the consent agenda, each speaker may address the Commission once, regarding anything on the consent agenda and resolutions not on the consent agenda, for a total not to exceed three minutes regardless of how many consent agenda items or regular resolutions the speaker is addressing, which time period may be lengthened or shortened by the Mayor or presiding officer when appropriate.

      (e)   During the General Public Comment portion of the meeting, speakers may address the City Commission on any matter within the control and jurisdiction of the City of Battle Creek. A speaker shall be permitted to address the City Commission once, for up to three minutes, during this portion of the meeting. 

       (f)     Applicants or Appellants, as defined below, or an attorney retained to represent them, are not bound by the specific time limitations set out above but may have the amount of time deemed reasonably necessary by the Mayor or presiding official to present their case to the City Commission without violating the rules set out below in sub-section 4(a) through (g), with which they are obligated to comply.

                (i) Applicant is defined an individual or business entity seeking a City Commission final decision on a matter for which the individual has made application to the City based upon a specific provision in a City Ordinance or state statute for permission to take a specific action;

                (ii) Appelant is an individual appealing a decision of a City official or an inferior body based upon a specific provision in City ordinances entitling the individual to appeal the decision to the City Commission.

         (2)   An individual wishing to address the City Commission shall wait to be recognized by the Mayor or presiding Commissioner before speaking. An individual who has not filled out a card requesting to address the City Commission shall raise his or her hand and wait to be recognized by the Mayor or presiding Commissioner before speaking and shall identify themselves by name and address and, if appropriate, group affiliation for the record.

         (3)  Speakers shall address all remarks to the Mayor, or the presiding Commissioner or official, and not to individual Commissioners or staff members. Speakers shall not address their remarks to members of the public in attendance at the meeting.

         (4)   A speaker will be ruled out-of-order by the Mayor or presiding Commissioner and the Commission will continue with its business, and the speaker may be required to leave the meeting after having been ruled out-of-order for a breach of the peace committed at the meeting as permitted by the OMA, when the speaker violates above sub-section 3 or the following: 

      (a)   Becomes repetitive or speaks longer than the allotted time;

      (b)   Attempts to yield any unused portion of time to other speakers;

      (c)   Engages in a personal attack upon a city employee, administrator or Commissioner only if the personal attack is totally unrelated to the manner in which the employee, administrator or Commissioner carries out their public duties or office;

      (d)   Uses obscene or profane language;

      (e)   Engages in slanderous or defamatory speech;

      (f)   Uses derogatory racial, sexual or ethnic slurs or epithets relating to any individual or category of persons; or

      (g)   Engages in conduct that interrupts or disrupts the meeting.