Meeting Procedures County Board Budget and Tax Rate(s) Hearings
BE IT RESOLVED that the County Board of Arlington, Virginia, hereby adopts the following meeting procedures for the Annual Budget and Tax Rate(s) Hearings of the County Board in Calendar Year 2021:
2021 MEETING PROCEDURES
COUNTY BOARD ANNUAL BUDGET AND TAX RATE(S) HEARINGS
The procedures described below for virtual meetings apply only during a period of time in which the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and applicable County Board ordinances or policies allow public participation by virtual meetings.
- 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 pm.
- Advance online sign-up will be available for each hearing. Individuals may register at the County’s website at www.countyboard.arlingtonva.us, or by phone at 703‑228‑3130. Individuals 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. For virtual meetings, sign-up will close at 8:00 pm on the first night of the two hearings.
- 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). 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.
- 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.
Virtual Meetings: Individuals may also sign up to speak on either the budget or tax rate hearings by 8:00 pm on the first night of the hearings; no sign ups will be accepted after that time.
- Order of Speakers: All two-minute, advance sign-up speakers will be called first in the order of receipt, followed by two-minute, day-of-meeting sign-up speakers. Next, all three-minute advance sign-up speakers will be called in order of receipt, followed by three-minute day-of-meeting sign-up speakers.
Virtual Meetings: Order of Speakers: All two-minute speakers will be called first in the order of receipt, followed by all three minute speakers in order of receipt.
- Repetitious testimony is discouraged.
- Speakers may not donate time to others; the name of the person written on the slip must be the person presenting testimony.
- 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.
- When written materials are provided in-person, 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. Written materials may also be submitted by email at countyboard@arlingtonva.us.