Public Participation Opportunities
North Carolina General Statute 143-318.10 requires that each official meeting of the Town Council be open to the public, with the exception of 143-318.11 Closed Sessions. All persons are entitled and encouraged to attend. If you wish to propose items of interest for consideration by the Council, please contact Lisa Anglin, Town Administrator.
For more information, view this link "Town Council Meetings: Decorum, Public Participation, and Civil Discourse".
Public participation opportunities include:
- Direct contact with each Council member by appointment, e-mail, or phone.
- Direct contact with all Town personnel by appointment, e-mail, or phone.
- The inclusion of two public comment periods listed on every regular Meeting agenda.
Rules for Public Comments Periods:
- The Council has established two comment periods for each of its scheduled meetings. The first comment period is designated for those that desire to address Council about a scheduled agenda topic only. The second comment period is designated for those that desire to address Council on any topic related to the Town.
- Individuals desiring to speak are asked to state their name, address, and the topic they wish to address at the beginning of their comment for the benefit of the meeting minutes. Each individual is allocated up to three minutes to speak. An individual may speak once during a comment period, but may participate in both comment periods in a given meeting, as long as he/she does not repeat comments on a topic.
- These comment periods are intended to allow individuals to share their opinions on a given topic with the full Council. These are not ‘question and answer’ periods-Council and staff are not authorized to answer questions during this period. However, the Mayor may allow staff or a Council member to address a question for the good of the community at the end of the comment period.
- Comments are to be directed to the Mayor and full Council. Speakers at no time may engage in any personally offensive or abusive remarks. The Mayor may restrict or limit the time allotted to a person whose remarks are repetitive or are not germane to matters under consideration by Council. The Mayor may call any speaker to order who violates any provision of these local rules.
- The Mayor is responsible for enforcing these local rules as part of his/her duties for running each meeting.