Thornton discusses rules of order changes: handouts to staff, signage, public comment and audiovisual policy refined

Thornton City Council on Oct. 7 reviewed a set of proposed amendments to the municipal rules of order and procedure. Staff framed the package as safety and clarity updates and asked council for direction on multiple items, including handout protocol, public-comment etiquette, sign rules, audience disruptions, virtual-meeting authority, remote participation limits and audiovisual materials during public comment.

Staff proposed that any materials intended for council be handed to staff (city manager or clerk) rather than distributed directly to council members, both for safety and to ensure materials are part of the official record. Council supported formalizing that practice in the written rules.

Staff also proposed clarifying that public comments be addressed to the council as a body rather than to individual council members or to other members of the audience, to avoid crosstalk and reduce staff involvement in private exchanges. Council debated the change: some members wanted to preserve the longstanding practice of speakers offering personal thanks or addressing a single councilor, while staff noted prior instances in which audience-to-audience exchanges complicated meeting administration. Council settled on language that directs comments to the council (not staff or audience members) while recognizing informal acknowledgements remain possible; staff said the rules should emphasize addressing the council as a whole.

On in-chamber signs, staff proposed a Fort-Collins-aligned rule: signs no larger than 11-by-17 inches, held directly in front of the holder's body, not attached to sticks or poles, not left unattended and not waved or used to disrupt business. Council accepted the 11-by-17 and 'held in front' approach and agreed staff may designate a rear area for assembled signage to avoid disruption.

Staff recommended an enforcement path for disruptive audience behavior (warning, adjournment and clearing the chambers, and, if necessary, police enforcement); council supported adding explicit enforcement authority with staff and the presiding officer authorized to call a point of order and take those steps if needed.

Council considered whether the rules should expand the city manager's authority to call fully virtual meetings in circumstances beyond pandemic-level emergencies. After discussion, council declined to broaden the authority in the rules and directed that fully virtual meetings continue to be authorized only where covered by current emergency-related language. Council also agreed to retain the current remote-participation limit (no more than four meetings per calendar year absent protected reasons).

On audiovisuals during public comment, council moved to restrict audio and video in the public-comment time and to treat multi-media or longer visual presentations as part of a separate "presentation" agenda slot that can be scheduled with advance notice and staff review. Staff will continue to accept and review still photos or PDFs submitted in advance for public comment; more extensive audio/video presentations will be offered as scheduled presentation items with prior notice and legal review.

Council also debated positioning of council comments in the agenda (some members proposed moving council comments earlier so the body could respond promptly to public commenters). After discussion the council left the agenda order unchanged but asked members to be mindful of comment length; council requested staff draft any language clarifying the agenda sequence for future consideration.

Staff will incorporate the agreed clarifications into a redlined rules-of-order draft and return it for formal adoption.