A.
Council shall function as a committee of the whole, as provided for
in the Charter (see Charter, Article V).
B.
At the time appointed for any meeting of Council, the Mayor shall
take the chair and call the meeting to order. If a quorum is present,
as provided for in the Charter, the Mayor shall proceed with the order
of business prescribed for the meeting. If a quorum is not present
at the time appointed for the meeting, the Mayor shall call the meeting
to order, but if a quorum has not developed within 1/2 hour of the
scheduled time, the Mayor shall declare the meeting adjourned for
lack of a quorum.
C.
Order of business.
(1)
The order of business for each regular meeting shall be as follows:
(a)
Roll call.
(b)
Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, of which a
copy shall have been furnished to each member of Council in advance
of the meeting. The minutes need not be read out at the meeting unless
required by a member of Council.
(c)
Recognition of the public.
(d)
Reports of the Manager and/or special advisory groups.
(e)
Unfinished business.
(f)
New business.
(g)
Adjournment.
(2)
At any meeting of Council, Council may agree to make changes in the
order of business for that meeting.
D.
Parliamentary authority. The current edition of Robert's Rules
of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern procedures to be followed at
meetings of Council, provided they are not inconsistent with rules
of Council, the Charter or the law. The Solicitor shall act as parliamentarian.
No action of Council shall be official unless approved by four
or more members, as provided for in the Charter, except that, during
the transition period between 1978 and the beginning of 1980, approval
by a majority of the members in attendance at a meeting shall be required
except where the law or the Charter requires an affirmative vote of
a majority of the members of Council (see Charter, Article VI).
[1]
Editor's Note: This section was amended pursuant to Ord. No.
1882, adopted 11-21-2016.
[Amended 12-12-1988 by Ord. No. 1491]
A.
Official actions of the Municipal Council shall be taken as provided
for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VI).
B.
The full text of every proposed ordinance shall be furnished to each
member of Council and to the Manager at least one week in advance
of the meeting at which Council is to vote on the ordinance and, along
with the copy, shall be a brief statement of the purpose or affect
of the ordinance. The ordinance need not be read aloud at the Council
meeting, but if anyone in attendance requests the reading of the entire
ordinance or any section of it, the requested material shall be read
by the Clerk. A reasonable number of copies of a proposed ordinance
shall be available at the City office at least one week before the
meeting at which action is to be taken on the ordinance.
C.
All resolutions presented to Council for adoption shall have one
reading only and shall be read in full.
Any Councilman who shall have a special personal or financial
interest in any matter before Council shall abstain from voting on
the question and shall inform Council of his reasons for abstention,
as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article V).
A.
Citizens shall be afforded opportunity to address Council at its
meetings, as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VI).
B.
The presiding officer may limit the time that any one individual
may speak, giving equal time to all desiring to speak, subject to
restrictions in the Charter.
C.
When a group of persons wishes to address Council on the same subject
matter, the presiding officer may request that a spokesman be chosen
by the group to address Council and to limit the number of individuals
addressing Council on the same matter, so as to avoid unnecessary
repetition.
D.
Any individual making offensive, insulting, threatening, insolent,
slanderous or obscene remarks, or who becomes boisterous or who makes
threats against any person or against public order and security while
in the Council chamber, shall immediately be barred by the presiding
officer from further attendance at the meeting unless permission to
continue is granted by the majority vote of the Council members present.
Council may make inquiry and investigation into the affairs
of the municipality as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article
VI).