It is with great pleasure that I announce to you that the Board of Trustees has adopted a policy that includes an avenue for Members and the public to address the Board at their regularly scheduled quarterly meetings.

The Board meets the fourth Thursday of each quarter month, January, April, July, and October, beginning at 8am in the CFRS office. The Board’s agenda will now consist of a Public Comment section to be held immediately after the Board Chairperson calls the meeting to order. This session on the agenda is intended for commentary only to the Board and not an interactive discussion with the Board.

If you would like to address the Board on any topic at any of these meetings:

• Please contact the CFRS office before 3pm Eastern Time the day prior to the Board meeting.
  • When contacting the office to sign up to speak to the Board, you will need to provide your name, address, daytime phone number and topic you are addressing.
• You may also submit written comment to the Board prior to a meeting if you cannot attend a meeting.
• A list, based on order of receipt, and any submitted written material will be provided to the Board at the meeting.
• Each speaker will be limited to 3 minutes for their comments, but the Chairperson has discretion to shorten the time period if an unusually large number of individuals have registered to speak.
• Please note that any written or oral comments to the Board are subject to public record.

Please see the below for the policy provisions in detail.

10. Public Comment.
a) Effective upon the Board’s adoption every agenda for a regular Board meeting will provide the public an opportunity to address the Board at each meeting during posted public comment sessions, on any item under the jurisdiction of the Board. When a member of the public raises an issue not on the Board’s agenda, the item may be discussed, but no action may be taken at that meeting, except as provided below:
(i) The Board may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information; and
(ii) The Board may request that staff report back to the Board at a subsequent meeting
concerning any matter.
b) Individuals wishing to address the Board shall call the CFRS and give their name, address, daytime phone number, meeting date, and subject matter to be discussed.
c) Individuals may sign up until 3:00 p.m. the day prior to the meeting. Any individual unable to give advance notice prior to a Board meeting may attend the meeting and be given an opportunity to address the Board if time allows. Individuals may submit written comment to the Board prior to the meeting. Any written or oral comments to the Board are subject to public record.
d) The speaker’s name, address, daytime phone number, subject matter and speaking order will be formalized into a list based on order of received request and distributed by the Administrator to the Board at the meeting.
e) No person in addressing the Board, except as otherwise provided herein, shall be allowed to speak more than three minutes unless the Chairperson allows an extension of time. The duration of any address may be limited at the discretion of the Chairperson.
f) The Chairperson, as the presiding officer, may, at his/her discretion, shorten the time for speaking when an unusually large number of individuals have registered to speak. The Chairperson may allow an extension of this time if deemed appropriate.
g) During Board meetings, the Chairperson will call the names of those signed up to speak. Names will be called in the order in which they were received. If a name is called and that individual is absent, the Chairperson will proceed to the next name on the list. Individuals who are absent when their name is called will be moved to the bottom of the list and may speak if time permits. This will be at the discretion of the Chairperson.