In response to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, the County Board is conducting its meetings virtually. The below information outlines procedures for participation in these virtually-formatted meetings, in accordance with the Board-adopted 2021 Meeting Procedures.
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Regular and Recessed Meetings
Advance registration is required to speak at the Arlington County Board’s virtual meetings. Registration opens approximately one week prior to the meeting, once the Agenda has been posted.
To register online, visit the County Board website. Registration forms will be posted to the home page and meeting pages once available. To register by phone on Monday-Friday, call 703.228.3130. To register by phone on Saturday, call 571.414.1778.
- Registration for public comment will close at 8:30am on Saturday.
- Registration to speak on regular agenda items will close when the item is called by the Clerk.
Public Comment
The purpose of Public Comment is to alert the Board to items not on that day’s agenda, items already decided, or scheduled for future hearings. It is held at Saturday Regular Meetings at 8:30 AM, and is intended for new business only. You will have up to 2 minutes to speak, and only one speaker per topic will be heard.
Individuals registered to testify on Regular Hearing agenda items may speak for a maximum of 2 or 3 minutes per agenda item. Representatives of civic organizations may speak for a maximum of 2, 3, or 5 minutes. The 2-minute speakers are called first; 3-minute speakers are called second; and, finally, 5-minute speakers. In each category, speakers will be called in the order in which registrations are received.
You may also submit comments by email to countyboard@arlingtonva.us, by phone at 703.228.3130, or by mail to the County Board Office at 2100 Clarendon Blvd Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22201.
Consent Agenda Items
To speak on a Consent Agenda Item, you must request that the item be removed from the Consent Agenda for a hearing at the Tuesday virtual Recessed Meeting via email or by calling 703.228.3130.
Please email your request to countyboard@arlingtonva.us no later than 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the Regular meeting. List the agenda item number and your reason for removing the item. If the item can be removed, you’ll receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to speak the following Tuesday recessed meeting.
Items removed from the Consent Agenda will be heard no earlier than 6:30 p.m. on the following Tuesday. The registration form to speak at Tuesday’s hearing will be available online following the regular meeting on Saturday.
Broadcast and Online Streaming
Regular and Recessed meetings will be live-streamed on the County Website and broadcast live by ATV, the County’s cable channel, on Comcast 25 & 1085 and Verizon FiOS 39 & 40.
Accessibility
Spanish translation is available during the Public Comment period of the Saturday Regular meetings. For those with hearing impairments, Closed Captioning is available on both the Live Stream and Cable Broadcast. For any additional information, or to request special accommodations for virtual participation, please call 703.228.3130 between 8:00-5:00 on Monday-Friday , or 571.414.1778 on the day of the meeting.
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Open Door Mondays
For the safety of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic, the County Board is conducting virtual sessions for Open Door Monday until further notice. To participate, please submit an RSVP in advance and our staff will reach out with further details.
Registration opens at 8 a.m. on the Tuesday before the session and closes at 5 p.m. the day of the session.
- Virtual Open Door Mondays are held from 7 PM – 8:30 PM every Monday, excluding County holidays, the fifth Monday of each month, and during the months of August and December.
- Open Door Mondays offer Arlingtonians an opportunity to speak one-on-one, or in small groups, with a County Board Member in an informal setting. Board Members take turns hosting Open Door Mondays throughout the year.
- You may bring any issue to Open Door Mondays. The Board Member who is hosting will speak to everyone on a first-come-first-served basis, according to the order registrations were received.
- We ask that you be considerate of those waiting to speak by being brief and to the point.
- Sometimes the Board Member will be speaking to a group of people who have come to talk about the same issue. You can listen in, or contribute your thoughts, if appropriate.
On the day of the session, please follow the link or dial the number provided in your registration email to join the meeting. No special software is required – you will be directed to the meeting in your internet browser. Please enter your name when prompted so we know you are in the “room.”
Please note – you may be placed on a brief hold until the meeting begins at 7 PM. Once you have joined the meeting, please mute your microphone using the buttons in the meeting window or via the controls on your phone until you are called upon to speak.
We thank you for your patience while the Board member is in conversation with one or more residents, and look forward to speaking with you.
Accessibility
Spanish translation is available upon request, via the online registration form. For more information, or to request reasonable accommodations, email the Board office at countyboard@arlingtonva.us, or call 703-228-3130