New Public Participation Guidelines Approved for Test in April & May

Traditionally, STRS Ohio members have had an opportunity to address the Retirement Board during the first part of the board’s regular meeting each month, which begins at 10 a.m. However, this resulted in some members who live a long distance from Columbus having to arrive the night before or travel very early in the morning to speak at a meeting. By only attending the Friday meeting, members were also not hearing the detailed presentations or the ensuing discussion among the board members during the board’s committee meetings, which are held on Thursday prior to the Friday board meeting.

To address these issues, the Retirement board will convene its regular monthly meeting at 3 p.m. on the Thursday of its committee meetings and invite public comment at that time. Individuals wishing to address the board can personally sign up at any time during that day. Three minutes will continue to be the amount of time allocated to each speaker, up to a maximum of 20 speakers.

This change will also give the members of the Retirement Board time to more carefully mull over comments and suggestions before deciding at the Friday board meeting whether to accept committee recommendations. As in the past, all board and committee meetings remain open to the public.

The board will conduct a trial run of the change in April and May before deciding if it should become a permanent procedure. Meeting dates for upcoming committee and board meetings are:  

• Thursday, April 15, and Friday, April 16
• Thursday, May 20, and Friday, May 21; and
• Thursday, June 17, and Friday, June 18.  

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