Rule I. To the extent that these Rules of Procedure
shall differ with Robert's Rules of Order, these rules shall govern.
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Rule II. Presiding Officer. The Mayor shall
be the presiding officer of the Council. In the Mayor's absence, the
Deputy Mayor may preside. In the absence of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor,
the Council shall choose the Chair. The presiding officer shall be
called last.
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Rule III. Call to Order.
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a.
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The Mayor shall take the Chair at the hour appointed
for the meeting and shall within five minutes of the appointed hour
call the Council to order.
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b.
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In the absence of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor,
the Clerk shall call the Council to order. The Clerk shall then determine
whether a quorum is present and, in the event a quorum is present,
call for the election of a Chair Pro Tempore. Upon the appearance
of the Mayor or Deputy Mayor, the Chair Pro Tempore shall forthwith
relinquish the Chair, and when the Deputy Mayor is presiding, he/she
shall likewise relinquish the Chair upon the appearance of the Mayor.
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Rule IV. Roll Call. At the beginning of each
meeting of the Council, the Clerk shall call the roll of the members
in alphabetical order, except that the presiding officer shall be
called last and the names of those present shall be entered in the
minutes. If any member appears after the roll call, the Clerk shall
enter in the minutes the time of attendance of such member.
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Rule V. Reading of Minutes. Reading of the minutes
of a Council meeting is deemed waived unless requested by a majority
of the Council, provided that the Clerk, at least three business days
preceding the day of the meeting, shall deliver a copy thereof to
each member of the Council.
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Rule VI. Voting.
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a.
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The vote upon every motion, resolution or ordinance
shall be taken by roll call in alphabetical order except that the
Mayor shall be polled last and the yeas and nays shall be entered
upon the minutes. No ordinance or resolution may be adopted without
the affirmative vote of a majority of all the members of the Council
or as otherwise required by law.
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b.
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Upon the call of the roll, no member shall discuss
or explain his/her vote; and the silence of any Councilperson who
is present shall be recorded as present unless he/she states directly
that he/she abstains.
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c.
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The minutes of each regular and special meeting
shall be signed by the Councilpersons present and by the Clerk, following
approval.
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Rule VI A. Consent Calendar.
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All resolutions previously sent to Councilpersons
prior to the meeting at which a vote on said resolution is anticipated
and upon which no discussion is anticipated shall be included in a
single resolution entitled "Resolutions by Consent." Resolutions by
Consent may be voted upon at regular meetings or special meetings
as applicable.
[Amended 1-16-2002 by Ord. No. 1887-2002] | ||
All resolutions listed on Resolutions by Consent
shall be adopted by a single roll call vote and no discussion thereon
shall be entertained at the time the Resolution by Consent is moved
for adoption.
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Any Councilperson, for any reason whatsoever
and said reason does not have to be disclosed, may remove any item
listed for consent at any time prior to the adoption of the Resolution
by Consent.
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In order to provide an orderly method of preparing
the Resolutions by Consent, Councilpersons should notify the Municipal
Clerk by 11:00 a.m. on the day on which the Council meeting is to
be held at which the Resolutions by Consent is to be adopted of the
matter to be removed from the Consent Calendar. Notwithstanding the
aforesaid, each Councilperson shall still have the right to remove
any matter from consent prior to the adoption of the Resolutions by
Consent even if said removal is subsequent to the aforesaid time and
day by notifying the Clerk or the Mayor.
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The Resolutions by Consent shall not be utilized
with respect to the adoption of ordinances or other matters as required
by law.
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Rule VII. Committees.
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a.
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There shall be no standing committee of the
Council, other than the committee of the whole. The rules of the Council
shall govern the meetings of the committee of the whole so far as
applicable.
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b.
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Special committees of the Council for legislative
purposes may be appointed by the Mayor (and Council) pursuant to resolution.
No special committee shall proceed to the consideration of any matter
referred to it unless a majority of the members of the committee shall
be present. All committee meetings shall be held at the municipal
building or in another public building. No special committee shall
report on a matter referred to it at the same meeting at which the
reference is made, except by unanimous consent of the members of the
committee.
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Rule VIII. Appointments by Council.
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a.
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The Council will consider such nominations for
offices to be filled in committee of the whole, which will report
to a regular meeting of the Council which shall vote thereon.
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b.
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In the discretion of the Chair, a group of nominations
may be considered together where there is no apparent division in
the Council as to the nominees included in the group.
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Rule IX. Rules of Debate.
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a.
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Question under consideration. When a question
is moved and seconded, it is under consideration and no motion shall
be received thereafter, except to adjourn, to lay on the table, to
postpone or to amend, until the question is decided. These motions
shall have preference in the order in which they are mentioned and
the first two shall be decided without debate.
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b.
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Presiding officer. Such member of the Council
as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the Chair, subject
only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed upon
all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges
of a Councilperson by reason of his/her being the Mayor or presiding
officer.
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c.
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Obtaining the floor; improper reference to be
avoided. Every member desiring to speak for any purpose whatsoever
shall address the presiding officer and, upon recognition, shall confine
himself/herself to the question under debate, avoiding all personal
attacks and indecorous language.
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d.
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Interruption. A member once recognized shall
not be interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him/her to order
or as herein otherwise provided. If a member while speaking be called
to order, he/she shall cease speaking until the question of order
is determined by the presiding officer and if determined to be in
order, he/she shall be permitted to proceed.
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e.
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Appeal. Any member may appeal from the decision
of the Chair upon a question of order. The Chair shall thereupon submit
to the Council the question, "Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?"
and the Council without debate shall decide by a majority vote.
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f.
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Closing debate. Any Councilperson shall have
the privilege to move the question to be called.
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Rule X. Manner of Addressing Council. In the
proper order of business, anyone in the audience may address the Council
upon recognition by the Chair. A person addressing the Council shall
step up to the microphone, shall give his/her name and address in
an audible tone of voice for the record and shall adhere to the time
limit, if any, fixed by Council. All remarks shall be addressed to
the Chair and not to any member thereof, unless the Chair so directs.
No person, other than members of the Council and the person having
the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either
directly or through a member of the Council, without the permission
of the presiding officer. No question shall be addressed to a Councilperson
other than through the presiding officer.
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Rule XI. Decorum.
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a.
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By Councilpersons. While the Council is in session,
the members shall preserve order and decorum and a member shall neither
by conversation or otherwise, except as herein provided, delay or
interrupt the proceedings or disturb the peace of the Council or any
member while speaking or refuse to obey orders of the Council or its
presiding officer.
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b.
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Others. Any person making impertinent or slanderous
remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Council
may be barred by the presiding officer from further appearance before
the Council, at that meeting, unless permission to continue or again
address the Council be granted by the majority vote of the Council.
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Rule XII. Enforcement of Decorum. The presiding
officer may utilize all appropriate Borough personnel to maintain
order and decorum at the Council meetings.
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Rule XIII. Preparation of the Minutes.
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a.
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The minutes of each Council meeting shall contain
every formal action of the governing body whether such action is represented
by a motion, resolution or an ordinance.
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b.
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Remarks of Councilpersons. A Councilperson may
request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of including
in the minutes, an abstract of his/her statement reasonable in length
on any subject before the Council. Such abstract shall be entered
in the minutes.
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c.
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Council committee reports. A Council committee
may request that any detailed written report of the committee be made
a part of the minutes. Such report shall be first filed with the Clerk
and shall be included in the minutes upon the consent of the Council.
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