RESOLUTION NO. 2026-XXX
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNION CITY
APPROVING THE CITY OF UNION CITY PUBLIC COMMENT SPEAKER
CARD AND REMOTE PUBLIC COMMENT QUEUE POLICY
WHEREAS, the Ralph M. Brown Act requires meetings of local legislative bodies to be open and public, and provides members of the public with an opportunity to address the legislative body on matters within the body’s subject matter jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, the City Council currently uses speaker cards to assist with organizing public comment during City Council meetings; and
WHEREAS, speaker cards assist staff in identifying who wishes to speak, the agenda item on which the person wishes to speak, and whether follow-up information is requested; and
WHEREAS, completing a speaker card and providing identifying information are requested for meeting administration and recordkeeping purposes, but are not required as a condition to providing public comment; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 707 requires eligible legislative bodies, including the City Council, to provide members of the public with an opportunity to attend and provide public comment remotely beginning July 1, 2026; and
WHEREAS, remote participants must be provided the same opportunity to comment, including the same time allotment, as members of the public attending in person; and
WHEREAS, hybrid City Council meetings will require staff to manage both inperson speaker cards and remote speaker queues during the same meeting; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to establish a consistent procedure for counting in-person and remote speakers before public comment begins so that the Mayor or other presiding officer may determine an appropriate public comment time limit for each item; and
WHEREAS, the proposed City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy establishes procedures for speaker cards, remote speaker queues, speaker count windows, speaker order, late speaker requests, public comment time limits, and speakers who are unavailable when called; and WHEREAS, the proposed policy is intended to support orderly meeting administration, preserve the public’s opportunity to comment, and provide clear procedures for in-person and remote public participation; and WHEREAS, the proposed policy does not establish a broader decorum policy, and is limited to public comment administration, speaker time limits, and immediate safety concerns involving the use of force or a true threat of force; and Resolution No. 2026-XXX
City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy
WHEREAS, the proposed policy provides that nothing in the policy shall be interpreted to prohibit public criticism of the City’s policies, procedures, programs, or services, or of the acts or omissions of the City Council, City officials, or City staff.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNION CITY AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals.
The City Council finds that the above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated into this Resolution.
SECTION 2. Approval Of Policy.
The City Council hereby approves the City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy, attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference.
SECTION 3. Implementation.
The City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and other appropriate City staff are authorized and directed to take all actions reasonably necessary to implement the City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy.
SECTION 4. Administrative Updates.
The City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney and City Clerk, may approve non-substantive administrative or clerical updates to the policy, speaker cards, agenda language, remote meeting instructions, and related public comment procedures as needed to maintain consistency with applicable law, meeting operations, or technology platforms.
Any substantive revisions to the policy shall be returned to the City Council for consideration.
SECTION 5. Effective Date.
This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption. The City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy shall apply to City Council meetings upon adoption, with remote speaker queue procedures applying to hybrid meetings when remote public comment is provided.
Resolution No. 2026-XXX
City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy
Resolution No. 2026-XXX
City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Union City at a regular meeting held on May 26, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
APPROVED:
GARY SINGH
Mayor
ATTESTED: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
THAI NAM N. PHAM
City Clerk
KRISTOPHER J. KOKOTAYLO
City Attorney
Attachment
1) Exhibit A - City of Union City Public Comment Speaker Card and Remote Public Comment Queue Policy