Speak Out - Guidelines for Speaking at Town Council Sessions

How Can You Speak Directly to Yanceyville's Governing Body? The Yanceyville Town Council requests and encourages comments and involvement from members of our community. Whether you own a business, represent a group, or you want to share an opinion, we want to hear from you! In order to facilitate your involvement in the process of local government decision-making, the Yanceyville Town Council has established several methods for you to publicly address the governing body.
 
They are as follows:
● Sign up for Public Comment at the Start of the MeetingA Public Comment period occurs at the beginning of every regularly scheduled meeting of the Yanceyville Town Council. If you have a concern you wish the Council to hear, then sign-up any time prior to the start of the meeting. A sign-up sheet is provided at the meeting as you enter the Council Chambers. Those who sign-up for the citizen comment period are asked to limit your comment to 3 minutes, as the Public Comment portion of the meeting is limited to 15 minutes total. If there are a number of groups or individuals, commenting on the same issue or concern, the Mayor reserves the right to ask that a speaker be appointed from the group to make the presentation. The Town Council also reserves the right not to act on requests first presented at the same meeting.
 
● Ask a Town Council Member to be Placed on the AgendaFor any meeting of the Yanceyville Town Council (a regular meeting, a special called meeting, or an emergency meeting) anyone may ask a council member to be added to the agenda prior to the meeting. A motion must be made by the requesting Council member to add an individual to the Agenda. That motion must have a second, followed by a majority vote before the person would be placed on the Agenda for that meeting. It will be up to the Town Council to decide if a citizen, group, or organization that is not already part of such meeting agenda's called purpose is to be permitted to address the Council during the meeting.
● Public HearingsThe Yanceyville Town Council regularly schedules public hearings on a variety of topics. If you wish to speak during a public hearing, simply attend the meeting and raise your hand to be recognized at the appropriate time. In order to address the Council during a Public Hearing, the Mayor must first recognize the individual or organization wishing to speak. Public Hearings are advertised in local newspapers prior to the hearings.
● CourtesyWhen publicly addressing Yanceyville's governing body, the Council asks that you obey reasonable standards of courtesy in your remarks. The Mayor has the authority to determine whether a speaker has gone beyond reasonable standards of courtesy in his or her remarks and to entertain and rule on objections from other members of the Council on this ground.
● Questions?If you have any questions regarding procedures for making public comments to Yanceyville's governing body, they may be addressed by referring to the Yanceyville Town Council's Rules of Procedure. A copy of these regulations are available from the Town Manager for your review upon request. An electronic copy is available below.