Bentonville City Council adopts public comments resolution

BENTONVILLE -- Residents now have a dedicated time when they can address the City Council at its regular meetings.

The council approved 8-0 at its Tuesday meeting rules for its public comments process.

At A Glance

The Bentonville City Council adopted a resolution outlining its meeting procedures. A section for public comments was included. Here are the 10 provisions the resolution includes for public comments:

• The Council shall hear public comments only concerning items on that night’s agenda.

• The Council shall hear comments for up to 30 minutes before each meeting. Each speaker shall be limited to a total of three minutes.

• Speakers will be courteous in their language and presentation.

• A person wishing to make a public comment shall sign up in advance providing their name and address. The sign-up sheet will be available for approximately 20 minutes before the meeting, and an announcement will be made shortly before public comments begin to remind those wishing to make comments that they need to sign up to do so.

• Those wishing to comment will be called in the order in which they have signed up.

• Those making public comments shall do so from the podium.

• Public comments shall be made to the Council as a whole.

• Public comments are just that, and a speaker’s time is not to be used to attempt to ask questions of the Council, the Mayor or other persons associated with City government.

• Speakers should not expect an immediate response to their comments, and Council members should not ask questions of those making public comments without seeking permission from the chair.

• Those wishing to comment concerning an item for which a public hearing will be held during the business portion of the meeting should do so when the public hearing is opened rather than doing so during the public comment period.

Source: City of Bentonville

The public comment period will be held at the start of the meetings before the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence. Council members can discuss and ask questions after the public comments.

The resolution was created after Bill Burckart, Ward 3 alderman, asked the council to establish its procedures earlier this year. It hadn't been done in several years, though state law says it's something city councils need to do, he said.

Public comments and Committee of the Whole meetings were two procedures the council discussed during a Committee of the Whole meeting in January.

Burckart applauded the resolution.

"I thought it was well thought out with a combination of everyone's input," he said before the Feb. 24 council meeting.

The resolution includes 10 provisions for public comments. Comments should be concerning items on that night's agenda only, the time will be limited to 30 minutes and each speaker will be limited to three minutes.

The council and George Spence, city attorney, discussed rule eight, which states, "Public comments are just that, and a speaker's time is not to be used to attempt to ask questions of the council, the mayor, or any other persons associated with city government."

Burckart said he believed the provision was to keep people on task and stop them from directing questions to one person rather than the council as a whole.

Spence said what he has experienced with other agencies is people come to the podium looking to exchange views.

"I would discourage you from getting into that," he said. "But as far as asking questions, if someone comes to you and says 'I have a bunch of questions, here they are,' that's a little different. The question is what the expectancy is for an answer."

James Smith, Ward 3 alderman, said he liked provision nine that "has us directing our flow of communication back to the chair to keep tensions from rising, so to speak."

The public's interest in what the city does is typically low unless it's something involving their property, such as a rezoning, Mayor Bob McCaslin said prior to the meeting.

NW News on 02/28/2015

Upcoming Events