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HomeMy WebLinkAbout014 08 i ,.-;- .~~ C<'-, ~ re 0" ~,~-: j,~, tiG' " \r- --- U~ /, I I,) I. "- .JIlt', 'I" '::) (:7'-':/:~iVU CA 1 PH / ,~ STATE OF WASHINGTON COUNTY OF JEFFERSON Regarding the Removal of Persons } Who Disrupt the Public Meetings } of the Jefferson County Commissioners } RESOLUTION NO. 14-08 WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners (or "BoCC") holds a meeting open to the public on the first four Mondays of any particular month and, in accordance with law, at other times; and, WHEREAS, citizens feel strongly about many issues and should be allowed to provide opinions, statements, concerns and questions to their elected officials during these public meetings; and, WHEREAS, there is a public comment portion of the Monday public meetings of the BoCC where citizens can and do provide their opinions, statements, concerns and questions; and, WHEREAS, any and all ofthe public meetings of the BoCC are a legislative session of the Legislature or governing body for the municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Washington that is Jefferson County and the County's official business needs to get done during these public meetings; and, WHEREAS, disruptions to the public meetings of the BoCC should not and will not be tolerated; and, WHEREAS1 State law, specifically the Open Public Meetings Act at RCW 42.30.050, provides for a process of removing a person or persons who are interrupting a public meeting of a governing body such as the BoCC; and, WHEREAS, the BoCC wishes to memorialize its protocol for removal of a disruptive person or persons in order to state ahead of time the expectations for themselves and for citizens present at any public meeting of the BoCC. ( NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS: The person serving as Chair ofthe Jefferson County Commissioners shall use the following procedure with respect to a person or persons who are disrupting or interrupting a public meeting of the County Commissioners: 1. Chairperson of the County Commissioners asks for order, i.e., the ability for the County Commissioners to continue to transact its business at a normal conversational level. 2. Ifnecessary, the Chairperson of the County Commissioners asks offending person or persons to be quiet and behave in an orderly manner. RESOLUTION NO. 14-08 re: Removal of Disruptive Persons Page: 2 3. In the absence of the offending person or persons becoming quiet and/or not behaving in an orderly manner and if the Chair states for the record that he or she has concluded that the actions of the offending person or persons are interrupting the County Commissioners' ability to conduct its business, then 4. The Chairperson ofthe County Commissioners may direct Staff to ask the Sheriffs Deputy to remove offending person or persons. 5. Upon an express request by the Chair of the County Commissioners to remove a person or persons from the location where the public meeting is being held, then the Sheriff's Deputy shall accomplish that removal. 6. If after removal of the offending person or persons the Chair of the County Commissioners concludes that the business of the County Commissioners cannot be transacted and states that conclusion for the record, then the Chair may then order the meeting room cleared and continue in session or may adjourn the meeting and reconvene at another location selected by a majority vote of the members. In such a session, final disposition may be taken only on matters appearing on the agenda. Representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session held pursuant to this section, APPROVED AND SIGNED this 19th day of February, 2008. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ~ t! .' r oJ /0/' , .. '-" . :A -~" . J DaU~. ~) ~; '" ATTEST: ()t<J;.L 1~ C/11 C otulieMatthes, CMC ' Deputy Clerk of the Board JO~~ OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT RCW 42.30.010 Legislative declaration. The legislature finds and declares that all public commissions, boards, councils, committees, subcommittees, departments, divisions, offices, and all other public agencies of this state and subdivisions thereof exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of this chapter that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created. RCW 42.30.030 Meetings declared open and public. All meetings of the governing body of a public agency shall be open and public and all persons shall be pennitted to attend any meeting of the governing body of a public agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, RCW 42.30.050 Interruptions - Procedure. In the event that any meeting is interrupted by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of individuals who are interrupting the meeting, the members of the governing body conducting the meeting may order the meeting room cleared and continue in session or may adjoum the meeting and reconvene at another location selected by majority vote of the members. In such a session, final disposition may be taken only on matters appearing on the agenda, Representatives of the press or other news media. except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session held pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the governing body from establishing a procedure for readmitting an individual or individuals not responsible for disturbing the orderly conduct of the meeting. RCW 42.30.130 Violations - Mandamus or injunction. Any person may commence an action either by mandamus or injunction for the purpose of stopping violations or preventing threatened violations of this chapter by members of a governing body. 1 '- " ] ];]5 a.m" Appt JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners Temporary Interim County Administrator DATE: February 19, 2008 SUBJECT: Discussion and Possible Adoption re: Resolution Regarding Removal of Persons Wbo Disrupt the Public Meetings ofthe Jefferson County Commission STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The proposed resolution will memorialize and clarify the protocol for removal of a disruptive person or persons from County Commissioners' meetings" ANALYSIS: The Open Public Meetings Act, RCW 4230.050, addresses Interruptions - Procedure and provides a process of removing a person or persons who are interrupting a public meeting of a governing body. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board approve the resolution" REVIEWED BY: dll(J Frank Gifford, f Temporary Interim County Administrator ;2..//3/0 f5 I / Date \