In accordance with the Charter, Section 210A,
the Council shall organize at 8:00 p.m. the first Monday of January
of each year, except that if the first Monday is a legal holiday,
the organization meeting shall be held on the first day following
which is not a legal holiday. The Chairman or the Vice Chairman of
the previous year's Council, if still in office, shall preside at
the organization meeting until new officers are elected as provided
in the Charter. Should neither the Chairman nor the Vice Chairman
of the previous year continue as a Council member, or not attend the
organizational meeting, the Township Manager shall serve as temporary
Chairman for the election of officers. The order of business shall
be as follows:
A. An oath of office shall be required by newly elected
officials and the swearing in of new Council members should be the
first order of business.
B. The Chairman for the current year shall be elected
by a majority vote of Council members present, provided that a quorum
is in attendance. In the event that a Chairman cannot be elected due
to a tie vote, the Chairman or Vice Chairman from the previous year
shall continue as Chairman, at the pleasure of Council.
C. A Vice Chairman shall likewise be elected.
D. The Township Manager shall serve as Secretary of the
Council and keep its minutes and other records, provided that the
Manager may select a member of the administrative staff to serve as
Assistant Secretary of the Council and perform the clerical functions
of the office.
E. The Council shall adopt, by resolution, a schedule
of regular meetings for the year, which schedule shall be posted prominently
at the Township Building. Any changes in the schedule of meetings
shall be posted at the Township Building at least 12 hours in advance
of any meeting date changed in accordance with the Charter, Section
210B(2).
F. When the organizational matters enumerated above have
been completed, Council shall proceed with the regular business of
the meeting which shall be set forth in the agenda in accordance with
the Charter, Section 210B(3)(b).
Should the Council be unable to organize at
the annual organization meeting for lack of a quorum, only essential
business shall be conducted until Council has been organized in accordance
with the Charter.
Council shall meet regularly, at least monthly, according to the schedule of regular meetings adopted at the annual organization meeting as provided in §
4-5D above.
Special meetings may be held on the call of
the Chairman or petition of a majority of the Council members, with
at least 12 hours' notice in advance of such meeting delivered to
the home address of each Council member. In addition, attempts should
be made by telephone to contact Council members. An agenda of the
matters to be considered at such special meeting will be included
in the meeting notice, and the business of the special meeting will
be limited to the matters stated in the notice and agenda. Should
any member of Council, other than the Chairman, desire to call a special
meeting against the wishes of, or in the absence of, the Chairman,
such member shall obtain the signatures of a majority of the Council
members to petition for such special meeting, stating the subject
of the meeting, which petition shall be delivered to the Township
Manager. Upon receipt of such petition, the Manager shall cause a
notice of the meeting, with agenda, to be delivered to the home address
of each Council member and a copy of same to be duly posted at the
Township Building. If the purpose of the meeting is to adopt an emergency
ordinance as set forth in the Charter, Section 213C, the requirement
of at least 12 hours' advance notice may be waived, provided that
advance notice is provided as quickly as possible consistent with
the nature of the emergency.
Council's rules of procedure shall be in such
detail as the Council chooses to provide but will include the following
provisions consistent with the Charter and normal good practice to
expedite the conduct of business:
A. Open public meetings.
(1) All meetings of Council, except executive sessions
for purposes authorized by general law, shall be open to the public
and reasonable opportunity shall be given for the public to speak
on any matter on the agenda for official action before official action
is taken. Unless specifically provided in the rules of procedure,
the Chairman may limit the time each person may speak, announcing
in advance the rule to be followed on this point, and giving equal
time to all who want to be heard, except that when a group of persons
desires to address Council on the same subject matter, the Chairman
shall request that one spokesman be chosen by the group to address
the Council, and may limit the number of persons addressing the Council
on the same matter so as to avoid unnecessary repetition, so long
as all opposing points of view have had opportunity to present their
position.
(2) Any citizen desiring to speak formally to the Council
on any matter shall be given an opportunity to be heard by notifying
the Township Manager in writing at least 24 hours in advance of the
time of the meeting of the subject on which such citizen desires to
be heard, and the Township Manager shall make provision early in the
meeting for including such item in the agenda for the meeting. The
Council may limit in the rules of procedure the amount of time granted
for such expression of views, but a reasonable amount of time shall
be granted for such citizen to present the point desired to be expressed.
(3) Citizens attending meetings of Council will be expected
to follow reasonable rules of decorum. Any person making insulting,
threatening or other offensive remarks against any person or against
public order and security while at Council meetings shall be denied
by the presiding officer further audience at the meeting, and should
such disruption continue, shall be denied attendance at the meeting.
Any ruling of the presiding officer in this regard may be reversed
by a majority vote of the Council members present on motion of any
Council member.
B. Council member participation.
(1) The Chairman shall be responsible for the orderly
conduct of business at each Council meeting and shall preserve order
and decorum at such meetings. The Chairman shall announce all decisions
of Council and shall decide all questions of order without debate,
subject to an appeal by any Council member. Any ruling by the Chairman
may be overruled by a majority of the Council members present.
(2) Every member of Council desiring to speak shall address
the Chair and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine
remarks to the question under debate, avoiding all indecorous language
or reference to personalities. When two or more members request the
floor at the same time, the Chairman shall name the one entitled to
speak. A member of the Council, once recognized by the Chairman, shall
not be interrupted when speaking unless it is for the purpose of calling
such person to order. If a member of the Council, while speaking,
is called to order, that person shall cease speaking until the question
of order is determined.
(3) The roll of members shall be called alphabetically,
except that the Chairman shall be called last.
All official actions of Council shall be by
the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or motion at an open public
meeting in the presence of a quorum, in accordance with the Charter,
Section 211. The self-executing provisions of the Charter, Section
213, shall govern the consideration and adoption of ordinances.