January 28, 2010
Hampton City Council Adopts New
Citizen-Friendly Participation Format in February
The Hampton City Council is adopting a new citizen-friendly participation format for its public meetings. The “Audience Granted to the Public” portion of the meeting, which has traditionally taken place at the end of the meeting, will now be held from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The normal business meeting time for public hearings and other transactional business will remain at 7:00 p.m.
Both the Audience Granted to the Public and the business meeting sessions will continue to be televised. However, the earlier time Audience Granted to the Public session will provide a more predictable and convenient opportunity for residents to be heard.
This new format aligns with Council’s ongoing commitment to focus on citizen engagement. All Council Members embrace the citizen engagement which occurs at Council meetings and other civic events. However, they have shared a concern that the current format of Council meetings has required citizens to wait until the end of the Council session to be heard. The ending time of the Council business meeting varies from meeting to meeting and, at times, is very late in the evening. These factors are barriers for some residents’ participation. By providing a more convenient time for participation, we hope to increase citizen engagement.
Another added benefit to the change is that residents will have the opportunity to address matters of concern with City Council members before the business meeting portion of the agenda. While residents will still be allowed to speak during the 7:00 p.m. business portion of the meeting for public hearing items, this earlier Audience Granted to the Public will allow residents to address any item on the Council agenda (such as consent agenda items) before Council consideration at the business portion of the meeting.
The new Audience Granted to the Public approach will begin in February starting with the Wednesday, February 10 meeting. To help promote the change in format, letters will be sent to all residents who have appeared before City Council in the last year. The City will also inform all members of Boards and Commissions as well as neighborhood leaders. There will also be a transitional period during the month of February that will allow speakers who were not aware of the change to speak at the end of the business meeting.
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Media Contacts: Dianne R. Foster, Public Information Officer