Budget and Tax Rate Public Hearing Procedures

Meeting Procedures County Board Budget and Tax Rate(s) Hearings

BE IT RESOLVED that the County Board of Arlington, Virginia, hereby adopts the following revised meeting procedures for the Annual Budget and Tax Rate(s) Hearings of the County Board in Calendar Year 2017:

2017 MEETING PROCEDURES

COUNTY BOARD ANNUAL BUDGET AND TAX RATE(S) HEARINGS

 

1. Each public hearing begins at 7:00 p.m. If necessary, the hearing may be recessed at 11:00 p.m. to the following evening at 7:00 p.m. to hear those who have signed up to speak but have not yet been heard. However, the County Board may decide to continue the hearing later than 11:00 p.m
2. An advance sign-up procedure will be used for each hearing. Individuals may register at the County website at www.arlingtonva.us/cbo, call 703‑228‑3130 or visit the County Board Office (or such other sites as may be available and advertised) for assistance in signing up to speak. Citizens will be able to sign-up in advance beginning at 8:00 am five business days before each hearing date. Advance sign-up will close at 5:00 p.m. the day before each hearing.
3. Individuals may sign-up to speak for two minutes or three minutes. Those who wish to present longer statements for the record may do so by submitting them in writing to the Clerk (see #8 below). All two-minute speakers will be called first, in numerical order; three-minute speakers will be called second, in numerical order. Advance sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis. Speakers may cancel reservations by calling the County Board Office at 703-228-3130 by 5:00 p.m. the day before the scheduled hearing.
4. Individuals may also sign-up to speak the evening of the hearings. All speaker slips must be submitted to the Clerk by 8:00 p.m. on the first night of the hearings; no slips will be accepted after that time.   Sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis.
5. Order of Speakers: All two-minute, advance sign-up speakers will be called first in numeric order followed by two-minute, day-of sign-up speakers. Next, all three-minute advanced sign-up speakers will be called in numeric order followed by three-minute day-of sign-up speakers.
6. Repetitious testimony is discouraged.
7. Speakers may not donate time to others; the name of the person written on the slip must be the person presenting testimony.
8. Those wishing to submit written statements in lieu of oral presentations may do so at any time, except that citizens who wish Board members to receive written statements in time for the public hearing must submit those statements to the County Board Office no later than three business days before the hearing.
9. When written materials are provided, the Board requests eight copies. All written statements (letters, emails or copies of testimony) are a matter of public record. They are available to the public and the media in the County Board Office. Written statements and materials should be accompanied with full contact information by the submitter, including name, address, telephone and email.