The Village of Antwerp Board of Trustees holds their monthly meeting the second Tuesday of the month. Meetings begin at 6:00 pm unless otherwise advertised and are held at the Village Hall, 2 VanBuren Street, Antwerp NY.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REGULAR BOARD MEETINGS POLICY

The Village of Antwerp Board of Trustees hereby establishes a Public Comment Policy to allow members of the public an opportunity to address the Village Board. In addition to public hearings, this time is set aside for the purpose of hearing comments and suggestions from citizens. Anyone wishing to speak should submit their concerns in writing to the Village Clerk before the close of business on the Friday before the meeting.

All comments made during the public comment period shall be subject to the following procedures:

The Village Board may vote to suspend public comment if the following are ignored:

1. In the event a group of people supporting or opposing the same position wishes to speak a spokesperson will be designated to express the group's concerns.

2. Public comment is not intended to require the public officials to provide any answer to the speakers. Discussions between speakers and members of the audience will NOT be allowed. In addition, after the speaker has made his or her comment he or she shall be seated without further debate, dialogue or comment.

3. Speakers will direct their comments to the Village Board as a whole and not to individual board members, the clerk, or members of the audience. Speakers will be courteous in their language and presentation. If possible, it is requested the speaker stand and state their name and address before presenting.

4. The Village Board will not likely take any action on the subject for which they have not had an opportunity to fully investigate and gather information.

5. Speakers will not direct comments to any individual or discuss any of the following:

a. Candidacy of any person seeking public office

b. Matters currently in litigation

c. Matters that are executive session items

d. Matters that are made confidential by law

6. If any provisions of this policy, at any time, conflicts with legal statute, the statute shall take precedence.

Adopted by the Village Board of Trustees on: 5/13/2025