Town Of Oriental Board Meeting August 6, 2013

NCGS Section 160A-81.1:

"The council shall provide at least one period for public comment per month at a regular meeting of the council. The council may adopt reasonable rules governing the conduct of the public comment period, including, but not limited to, rules (i) fixing the maximum time allotted to each speaker, (ii) providing for the designation of spokesmen for groups of persons supporting or opposing the same positions, (iii) providing for the selection of delegates from groups of persons supporting or opposing the same positions when the number of persons wishing to attend the hearing exceeds the capacity of the hall, and (iv) providing for the maintenance of order and decorum in the conduct of the hearing. The council is not required to provide a public comment period under this section if no regular meeting is held during the month. (2005‑170, s. 3.)
Sections:  Previous  160A-75  160A-76  160A-77  160A-78  160A-79  160A-80  160A-81  160A-81.1  160A-82  160A-86  160A-87  160A-101  160A-102  160A-103  160A-104"

At the beginning of last night's Town Board meeting, Mayor Bill Sage announced that he wants to try scheduling public comment at the monthly agenda meeting, held the Thursday prior to the regular (monthly) meeting. He explained this would afford more time for such comments.

A reading of NCGS 160A-81.1, which establishes the statutory requirement for public comments, reveals some interesting things:

1. The public comment period must be during a regular meeting of the council. It isn't clear that the agenda workshop, at which no business is conducted, meets the statutory requirement. Of course, nothing prevents the council from providing more than the minimum requirements for public comment;

2. It is the council, not the mayor, who may adopt "reasonable rules" for the conduct of the public comment period. I don't remember the council ever doing this.

Board members may assume that setting the rules is part of the mayor's duties as presiding officer, but that seems not to be the case. Another of those pesky technicalities.

Probably easily fixed.