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PRESENTATION BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

TO PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY D/B/A PITTSBURGH REGIONAL TRANSIT’S BOARD

The regularly scheduled and special meetings of Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)’s Board are open to the public at large in accordance with the applicable provisions of Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, 65 Pa. C.S.A. § 701, et seq.  There are times when the general public, representatives from various groups, organizations, agencies, institutions, and governmental entities want to address the Board at its public meetings.  The purpose of this policy is to ensure that these individuals and entities have a fair and reasonable opportunity to do so.

If a member of the public who desires to participate in a Regular Board Meeting or Board Committee meeting and/or address the Board at a Regular Board Meeting needs a reasonable accommodation necessitated by a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act or “ADA,” please contact PRT’s Director of Systemwide Accessibility at ada@rideprt.org or (412) 566-5323 (and provide in your e-mail or voicemail, as applicable, your name, call back information, date of requested accommodation and a brief description of requested accommodation) at least seven (7) business days before the meeting date to submit your ADA accommodation request.  If an ADA accommodation request concerning a meeting cannot be fulfilled, PRT will work with the individual(s) seeking the accommodation to identify a reasonable alternative means to participate in the meeting and/or address the Board, as applicable. 

 

I. Making a Request to Address the Board In-Person

All requests to address the Board in-person must be in writing and received by PRT at least two (2) business days prior to the date of the meeting at which the speaker wants to appear.  Should the agenda for the meeting be publicly available for a period of time less than two (2) business days prior to the date of the meeting, and the requester wants to speak on an agenda item, then all requests made prior to the day of the meeting will be granted such that the requester has an opportunity to address the Board prior to Board action on the matter.  Note, no request made less than two (2) days before a Board meeting will be granted for a requester to comment generally to the Board on non-agenda items.  Rather, in these situations, requesters will be offered the opportunity to speak at the next scheduled Board meeting or another future Board meeting.  All requests must contain the following information:

  • The individual(s) name(s) and (if applicable) title and entity, organization, and/or individuals represented;
  • The purpose and nature of the comments to the Board;
  • Whether the purpose and nature of the comments are agenda items, specifically identifying the relevant agenda item number. If no number is provided, or the agenda item number does not match the purpose and nature of the comments, then the request will be considered a general comment request;
  • The number of additional individuals accompanying speaker and if they will be addressing the Board on behalf of an organization, their respective name(s) and title(s); and
  • Mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address of speaker and/or organization represented.

Requests to address the Board in-person may be submitted electronically by accessing the following link on PRT’s website and completing the online registration form:

http://www.portauthority.org/inside-Port-Authority/Port-Authority-Board/Address-the-Board/.

In the alternative, the above information may be provided to PRT in letter format or on the Request Form attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit “1.”  All such requests and information shall be submitted via hand delivery or via United States mail in a manner such that it is received by PRT at least two (2) business days, or as otherwise described above, prior to the date of the meeting at which the speaker wants to appear to the following addresses:

 

Pittsburgh Regional Transit
Attention:  Assistant Secretary of the Board
345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527

 

With a copy to:

Pittsburgh Regional Transit
Attention: Chief Legal Officer
345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527

 

II.Rules Governing In-Person Presentation

Presentation to the Board in-person shall be limited to three (3) minutes for an individual or five (5) minutes total for an agency or organization where more than one member of the agency or organization will make public comments.  The five (5) allotted minutes for public comment from an agency or organization with more than one member presenting can be divided amongst the members of the agency or organization at that agency or organization’s discretion.  No individual can comment more than once on any given topic.  Presentations must be germane to work or concerns of PRT.  

Any speaker(s) registered to address a topic or matter for which the Board will be taking official action at the subject meeting will be permitted to address the Board before the Board takes official action on the applicable topic or matter. 

Due to time constraints and the desire to address concerns effectively and efficiently, the Chairperson, Board members and/or PRT staff will not answer question(s) during a presentation.  The speaker may, however, direct specific questions to the Board, which questions must be written and submitted to the Chairperson of the Board at the meeting.  Responses may be prepared, as determined by the Board to be appropriate, and sent to the speaker or answered at a subsequent public meeting as soon as practical and may be answered by PRT staff or legal counsel designated by the Board to respond on the Board and/or PRT’s behalf.

Any individual, representatives or members of an agency or organization adhering to the above procedures will be permitted to address the Board.

 

III. Maintaining Decorum and Order of the Meeting

  1. The Chairperson of the Board is charged with maintaining order and decorum during public comment. The Chairperson is authorized and empowered to determine the appropriateness of the presentation, and to modify, alter or waive any of the aforementioned rules governing in-person presentations to the Board, to the extent permitted by law.  The Chairperson may interrupt a speaker to warn or direct an individual accordingly. If a commenter disobeys a directive from the Chairperson, the Chairperson may utilize any available remedies in accordance with applicable law or Robert’s Rules of Order to maintain order and decorum.
  2. Members of the public are responsible to deliver their comments in such manner as to not breach the order and decorum of PRT. Breaches of decorum include but are not necessarily limited to shouting, use of profanity or vulgarity, or speaking outside of allotted time. In addition, public comment may not be used for belligerent or abusive behavior including true threats, fighting words, or incitements to imminent lawless action.

IV. Amendments to Presentation Policy

PRT Legal and Public Relations staff are authorized by the Board to make any non-material amendments to the policy that may become necessary from time to time without further resolution of the Board (i.e., updating PRT’s mailing address, updating e-mail addresses, updating contact phone numbers, updating the PRT website links and/or updating the submission form).  All material changes to the policy can only be made by further resolution of the Board.

 

 

 

 

 

 Address the Board Request Form

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ORIGINALLY ADOPTED BY BOARD RESOLUTION:  October 24, 1986

FIRST AMENDMENT BY BOARD RESOLUTION:  January 22, 2010

SECOND AMENDMENT BY BOARD RESOLUTION: June 23, 2023