SUNNYVALE CITY COUNCIL MOVES TO IMPROVE CITIZEN ACCESS

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – The Sunnyvale City Council has voted to evaluate a change in the format of City Council meetings aimed at improving citizen access.

Citizens wishing to address the Council on non-agenda items have traditionally had to wait until the end of the meeting to be heard. In an attempt to improve citizen access, the Council will now allot 15 minutes for public non-agenda comments immediately following consent calendar items. This will permit citizens to be heard much earlier in the evening.

Recognizing the fixed time allotment might have the unintended effect of limiting the number of speakers, Council established a three-minute maximum time for each speaker. If there are too many speakers to be heard in the initial time period, public comments will be continued at the end of the meeting.

The Sunnyvale City Council adopted the new schedule on a trial basis to run to November 2003