STATEMENT ON RULES OF DECORUM AND ENFORCEMENT

The Brown Act provides that members of the public have a right to attend public meetings, to provide public comment on action items and under the public forum section of the agenda, and to criticize the policies, procedures, or services of the city or of the acts or omissions of the city council. The Brown Act also provides that the City Council has the right to exclude all persons who willfully cause a disruption of a meeting so that it cannot be conducted in an orderly fashion.

During a meeting of the Orange Cove City Council, there is a need for civility and expedition in the carrying out of public business in order to ensure that the public has a full opportunity to be heard and that the Council has an opportunity to conduct business in an orderly manner.  The following is provided to place everyone on notice of the rules of decorum and enforcement.

GENERAL RULES OF DECORUM

While any meeting of the City Council is in session, the following rules of decorum shall be observed:

1. All remarks shall be addressed to the City Council as a whole and not to any single member, unless in response to a question from a member of the City.

2. A person who addresses the City Council under public comment for a specific agenda item or under the Public Forum section of the agenda may not engage in speech or conduct (i) which is likely to provoke others to violent or riotous behavior, (ii) which disturbs the peace of the meeting by loud and unreasonable noise, (iii) which is irrelevant or repetitive, or (iv) which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of any City Council meeting.

3. A person, other than members of the Council and the person who has the floor, shall not be permitted to enter into the discussion unless requested by the Mayor to speak.

4. Members of the City Council may not interrupt a person who has the floor and is making publicMembers of the City Council shall wait until a person completes his or her public comments before asking questions or commenting.  The Mayor shall then ask Councilmembers if they have comments or questions.

5. No person in the audience at a Council meeting shall engage in disorderly or boisterous conduct, including the utterance of loud, threatening or abusive language, whistling, stamping of feet or other acts which distrub, disrupt or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of any Council meeting.

ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM RULES

1. The Mayor shall request that a person speaking at the podium during a public comment period or a member of the audience who is violating the rules of decorum, comply immediately with the rules of

2. If, after receiving a warning from the Mayor, a person persists in violating the rules of decorum during the meeting, the Mayor may order him or her to leave the CouncilAny person so ordered removed shall be excluded from further attendance at the meeting from which he or she has been removed, unless permission to attend is granted upon motion adopted by a majority vote of the Council.  If that person does not remove himself or herself, the Mayor may ask law enforcement to escort that person from the Council Chamber.