REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- The city of Rehoboth Beach announces new meeting procedures for meetings of the Board of Commissioners.
During the Oct. 5th Mayor and Commissioners meeting, discussions on updating procedures for meetings of the Board of Commissioners took place. According to the Office of the Rehoboth Beach Mayor, the goals of the new procedures is "...to give every commissioner a fair opportunity to be heard, give every member of the public a meaningful and equal opportunity to comment, and help our meetings remain focused, respectful, and productive."
One of the biggest changes refers to the public comment portion of meetings. There now will be two public comment periods. One at the beginning of the meeting specifically for agenda topics and one at the end of the meeting for non-agenda items.
Mayor Susan Stewart emphasized that the new rules are not being made to prohibit public comment.
Other changes include microphones. Commissioner microphones will begin each agenda item muted. If the commissioner wishes to speak, they will signal the mayor or presiding officer to be unmuted.
During public comment, the speaker must stop speaking and return to their seat. If the speaker continues, the microphone may be muted. Also, a buzzer will sound when a speaker's time expires.
The new rules are set to start Nov. 9th.
