Pierce County Library System
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Public Comment at Board Meetings

Policy Statement

The Pierce County Library Board of Trustees invites and welcomes audience participation during the public comment portion of the Board meeting agenda and provides this opportunity for individuals to address the Board on library matters.

Purpose

To establish standards to ensure a consistent, structured opportunity for persons to address the Board of Trustees on library-related matters or matters over which it has responsibility and authority.

Policy

Meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Pierce County Library District are open to the public in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act (RCW 42.30). 

The public is not normally invited to participate or contribute to discussion of business on the agenda except when invited to speak, make a presentation or in some way provide information to the Board.

Time will be reserved on the meeting agenda for public comment. The public comment period will normally be held at the beginning of the meeting. The total comment period is limited to twenty (20) minutes unless otherwise ruled by the Chair.

Public Comment

Public comments may be made in person or virtually. Individuals wishing to address the Board during the public comment period may be asked to provide their full name, address and any relevant group affiliation. The time allowed to address the Board is three minutes. Each person is allowed to comment only once. The Clerk of the Board will invite individuals to speak first in person, then virtual guests on a first-come first-served basis.

Members of the public may submit their comments in writing at any time via regular mail or emailed 24 hours prior to the meeting, to one of the following:

USPS

Clerk to the Board of Trustees

3005 112th Street E

Tacoma WA 98446

Email

boardoftrustees@piercecountylibrary.org

Requests for interpreter assistance may also be made to the above addresses.

Comments will be directed to the Board as a whole, not to individual trustees. Comments will be relevant to library matters, excluding personnel issues.

The Board does not engage in discussion or debate with speakers during the public comment period or business portion of its meetings, though they may ask clarifying questions. All comments are taken under advisement. There is no guarantee that suggestions brought forth by the public during public comment session will be addressed by the Board at a future meeting.

Conduct

Respectful and courteous behavior and language is expected of all participants. The Library Rules of Conduct Policy applies to behavior in Board of Trustee meetings, in both virtual and physical spaces.

In the event that the Board deems the conduct of a speaker to be disruptive or disrespectful, the Chair or Vice Chair may call the session to an end. Any person(s) judged by the Board and/or Chair of the Board to be causing undue disruption, or who does not follow the guidelines established by the Board, will be asked to leave the meeting. Refusal to leave the meeting may result in removal by local authorities or library administration.

Comments in Public Hearings

Comments during public hearings will be made at the appropriate time on the agenda set for that purpose. Comments are limited to the agenda topic of the public hearing.

Adopted by the Pierce County Rural Library District Board of Trustees, November 19, 1992.

First Revision: August 10, 2022

Download or print PDF of policy