Public comment at regular or special meetings shall be governed by the following rules:
A.
The Chairperson or presiding Board member shall preside over all meetings of the Board of Supervisors. The Chairperson or presiding Board member shall control the order of business and conduct of the meeting, including but not limited to public comment from Township residents and taxpayers.
B.
A public comment period will be set aside at the beginning of all Board of Supervisors public meetings to give residents and/or taxpayers, either in person or via an online video conferencing application as determined by the Township, the ability to raise non-agenda issues, questions, and/or concerns. Public comment is an opportunity to share information and bring issues and concerns to the attention of the Board of Supervisors. The public comment period is not an opportunity to question Board members or Township staff. This is not an opportunity for a debate and speakers should not expect a back-and-forth exchange. This public comment period shall last no longer than 20 minutes.
C.
Public comment shall also be received prior to official action being taken by the Board of Supervisors on each agenda item. Time limitations regarding an item of action or deliberation shall be at the discretion of the Chairperson or presiding Board member.
D.
Individual public comment shall be limited to three minutes whether in person or via an online video conferencing application. Public comments should be concise; speakers should limit repetitious comments and acknowledge agreement with a previous speaker's comments or position. Groups may wish to designate a speaker to address the Board.
E.
Comments regarding an item of official action or deliberation shall be directed to the Board of Supervisors, not to the applicant.
F.
Anyone providing public comment or comment shall identify themselves by name, address, municipality of residence, and organization or project, if representing such.
G.
Should any resident and/or taxpayer not complete his/her comment during the public comment period, then it shall be at the discretion of the Chairperson or presiding Board member to determine if an additional public comment period will be held at the end of the meeting, if the public comment will be heard at the next regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors, or if a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors will be scheduled.
H.
The Chairperson or presiding Board member may ask any speaker to conclude their remarks at any time if they become repetitive, disorderly, abusive, irrelevant, scandalous, impertinent, redundant, personally directed, or disorderly. Anyone participating in public comment via an online video conferencing application may be muted at the discretion of the Chairperson or presiding Board member.
I.
The Chairperson or presiding Board member may request individuals to leave the meeting room and/or the Township Building, or direct their removal by Township police officers, if individuals engage in loud, boisterous, unruly, disorderly, offensive, or threatening speech or conduct, after verbal warning from the Chairperson or presiding Board member to cease such speech or conduct. Anyone participating via an online video conferencing application may be removed from the meeting at the discretion of the Chairperson or presiding Board member for such behaviors.
J.
The Chairperson or presiding Board member may cease public comment period or comment on an official action or deliberation of the Board at any time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action.
K.
The Chairperson or presiding Board member may recognize and permit, in his/her discretion, any nonresident and/or nontaxpayer of the Township to make public comments and shall follow the same above guidelines.
L.
There will be no official Board of Supervisors action taken on comments related to non-agenda items. Matters addressed publicly to the Board of Supervisors may be taken under advisement. The Board of Supervisors may respond to the person raising the issue directly, later, they may direct staff to respond to the person, or the Board may respond to the item during a future public meeting as an agenda item.
M.
Residents and/or taxpayers are welcome to make comments on an agenda item when the Chairperson or presiding Board member acknowledges public comment for that agenda item.
N.
These rules may be modified at any time by a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors. These rules will be available in the meeting room and on the Township website.