It is the policy of the Pitkin County Library Board of Trustees to conduct its meetings in accordance with the Colorado Sunshine Law as set out in Section 24-6-402 of Colorado Revised Statutes in order to provide a fair opportunity to every resident who desires to address the Board of Trustees.
In order to ensure a fair opportunity for public comment and to allow the Pitkin County Library Board of Trustees to expedite its scheduled business, the following procedure for public comment is in effect. The Board will provide approximately fifteen minutes for public comment at or near the beginning of each Board meeting. The Board President has the right to expand the public comment period, if necessary, to up to thirty (30) minutes.
During the public comment period of the meeting, any person may speak as to any aspect of library business for a period of three minutes upon first registering their name and address with the Secretary of the Board Citizens will be called on to address the Board in the order they registered with the Secretary. A citizen may not cede their allotted time to another individual. There shall be a maximum of three (3) participants on the same subject. It is recommended that if there are several people who wish to speak on the same subject, they choose one speaker to speak for all.
Speakers are not to address nor engage in dialogue with individual trustees during the public comment period. Comments are to be addressed to the Board as a whole, not an individual Board member. Discussion between the speaker and the audience will not be allowed.
The President shall allow questions from Trustees to speakers for purposes of clarification. The time used by a Board member to ask a question or respond to their questions will not be counted against the citizen’s three-minute time allotment. Public comment is not intended to require the Board to answer any impromptu questions.
Action on items brought up during the Public Comment Period will be at the discretion of the Board of Trustees. Response from the Board may be in writing or addressed at the next scheduled Board meeting. Individuals who request to speak but cannot due to time constraints will be carried to the next regular meeting of the Board.
The President, in their discretion, may allow further reasonable participation by the public in a meeting as to business specifically before the Board. Persons desiring to make other presentations before the Board may apply in advance to the President or County Librarian to place the matter on a meeting agenda.
The Board welcomes written comments at any time. A response may be in writing or addressed at the next scheduled Board meeting.
Policy Approved: March 2024