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Rules of Decorum for Council Hearing Rooms

The following rules of decorum are for the safety of those attending meetings in the hearing room and to allow visitors to hear and see speakers. The rules of decorum apply equally to all individuals present in the hearing room.

  1. The maximum capacity for the hearing rooms is set by the City of Rockville Fire Marshall and must not be exceeded for safety reasons. The Fire Marshall has determined that no more than 269 individuals may be in the Council’s third floor Hearing Room at the same time.
  2. Visitors must not stand or sit in locations that block entrances or limit ingress or egress, including the aisles adjacent to seats.
  3. Visitors must be respectful of Councilmembers and speakers.
  4. The first row of the third-floor hearing room is reserved for the press and Montgomery County staff.
  5. Visitors must not walk in front of the presenters’ table unless they have been invited to by a Councilmember or Council staff (e.g., to receive a proclamation).
  6. Visitors must not interrupt Councilmember(s) or registered public speakers, or make sounds that impact the ability of those in the room to hear Councilmembers and other speakers. If the Council President or Committee Chair has warned a visitor to stop interrupting a meeting and the visitor continues the behavior, the President or Chair may require the individual to leave the hearing room; the visitor may continue to access the meeting remotely.* Visual aids such as signs must not block the ability of those sitting behind the person to see the Councilmembers or speakers.
  7. Cell phones must be in silent or vibrate mode. Individuals should exit the Council Hearing Room while having telephone conversations.

A Council staff member, the Council President or Committee Chair will remind you if you fail to follow these rules. If you do not comply after being reminded, you may be asked or required to leave the hearing room.

* Under Section 2-80 of the County Code: a person "who shall willfully interrupt or disturb council proceedings, after warning to desist, may be removed from the premises and shall be subject to punishment for a class A violation as set forth in section 1-19 of chapter 1 of the County Code.”