[R.O. 2016 § 113.100; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.645), 7-11-1995]
Members shall occupy the respective seats in the Council Chamber assigned to them by the Mayor.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.110; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.650), 7-11-1995]
When recognized by the Chair, a member shall confine himself/herself to the question under debate, avoid personalities, and refrain from impugning the motives of any other member's argument or vote. No member shall address the Chair or demand the floor while any vote is being taken.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.120; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.655), 7-11-1995]
No member stopped from voting by personal interest shall remain in the Council Chamber during the debate and vote on any such matter.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.130; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.660), 7-11-1995]
Every member present when a question is put shall vote either "yea" or "nay," unless Council shall, for special reason, excuse him/her from voting. Application to be excused from voting must be made before the votes are called for. The member having briefly stated the reason for his/her request, the decision thereon shall be made without debate.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.140; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.665), 7-11-1995; Ord. No. 350-00 § 1, 12-12-2000]
A. 
All votes of the City Council shall be voice votes except that the "ayes" and "nays" of the members (a roll call vote) shall be entered as follows:
1. 
On any question to adopt an ordinance;
2. 
On any question to close any meeting or vote;
3. 
On any question during any closed meeting;
4. 
On request of the Mayor; or
5. 
Upon request of any two (2) City Councilpersons.
B. 
A request for a roll call vote by the Mayor or two (2) City Councilpersons may be made before any vote or immediately after any voice vote.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.150; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.670), 7-11-1995]
Any member may appeal to the Council from a ruling by the Presiding Officer. If the appeal is seconded, the member may briefly state his/her reason for the same, and the Presiding Officer may briefly explain his/her ruling, but there shall be no debate on the appeal, and no other member shall participate in the discussion. The Presiding Officer shall then put the question, "Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?" If a majority of the members present vote "yea," the ruling of the Chair is sustained; otherwise, it is overruled. For purposes of this Section, the Chair may not vote on the question. A tie vote sustains the Chair.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.160; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.675), 7-11-1995]
Any member shall have the right to express dissent from or protest against any ordinance or resolution of Council and have the reason therefor entered upon the minutes. Such dissent or protest must be filed in writing, couched in respectful language and presented to the Council not later than the next regular meeting following the date of passage of the ordinance or resolution objected to.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.170; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.680), 7-11-1995]
Councilpersons shall attend all regular and special Council meetings.
[Ord. No. 1484-22, 7-12-2022]
Regular attendance at scheduled Board and Committee meetings is a principal duty of the elected City Councilpersons. Failure to attend three (3) consecutive regular scheduled Board meetings or three (3) consecutive scheduled committee meetings, without a medical excuse or being excused by a majority of the entire City Council, may be considered grounds for impeachment. Notice of absence will be directed to the Mayor, City Clerk and City Administrator, or designee, prior to the scheduled meeting. If circumstances do not allow advance notice, then notification will be made no later than the Wednesday before the next scheduled meeting. The City Council will address the absence under the Council Discussion section of the agenda.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.180; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.685), 7-11-1995; Ord. No. 979-12 § 1, 1-10-2012]
Except as otherwise provided by law or ordinance, the proceedings of the City Council shall be controlled by the 11th Edition of "Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised."
[R.O. 2016 § 113.190; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.690), 7-11-1995]
No Councilperson shall leave the chambers during a meeting without requesting and receiving approval from a majority of the Councilpersons present. If the Councilperson proceeds and leaves without obtaining that majority vote, any and all matters voted on that night, his/her presence will count as an affirmative vote on all motions and orders.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.200; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.695), 7-11-1995]
No Councilperson nor the Mayor shall vote on any issues that they have or are an interested party in. If they are an interested party, they shall request approval from the majority of the Councilpersons present to excuse themselves from the chambers while that matter is being discussed and voted on. The person who has an interest shall notify the remaining Councilpersons of his or her interest and thus the absence from the chamber and the vote that Councilpersons vote shall not count as affirmative or negative to the vote but shall be recorded as excused and abstinence and give a brief statement as the reason.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.210; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.700), 7-11-1995]
The City Administrator shall be responsible for having the agenda on the Council meeting prepared and distributed to the Councilpersons and shall post notice of such meeting in conformance with Chapter 610, RSMo. For any other public meeting, the chairman of the committee is responsible for having the notice posted in conformance with Chapter 610, RSMo., and for either announcing or distributing a written agenda for the said meeting.
[R.O. 2016 § 113.220; Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.705), 7-11-1995; Ord. No. 209-98 § 2, 6-16-1998; Ord. No. 227-98 §§ 1 — 2, 10-13-1998; Ord. No. 456-03 § 1, 4-15-2003; Ord. No. 643-05 § 1, 10-11-2005]
A. 
The public shall be allowed to address the City Council only at regular monthly meetings and only as provided for in this Section.
B. 
Any person wishing to address the City Council must first address such request in writing to the City Administrator or the City Clerk by Noon of the Thursday preceding the Tuesday Council meeting. Each such request shall set forth the issue or issues to be discussed and the date that the person proposes to appear before the City Council. No person shall be denied the right to speak due to the nature of an issue to be discussed so long as the issue relates to the City's business or a matter over which the Council has control. Priority for speaking will be given in the order that completed written requests are received. Individuals who are neither residents of the City nor taxpayers to the City may address the Council, subject to a motion supported by a majority of the Councilpersons present to deny the opportunity for comment to a non-resident individual who is also not a taxpayer to the City.
C. 
Repetitive, irrelevant or abusive remarks from the public or matters not concerning the City's business or any matter over which the Council has no control may be closed off at any time by the Presiding Officer or by the majority vote of the Councilpersons present.
D. 
Each speaker shall be limited to a ten-minute time period, even if the person wishes to speak on more than one (1) issue.
E. 
Each person addressing the City Council shall maintain a civil attitude and decorum and shall give his/her name and home address or place of business in an audible tone of voice for the record. Loud or boisterous conduct will not be tolerated or allowed.
F. 
All remarks shall be presented to the City Council as a whole and not to any individual member thereof. This is a procedural requirement and is not intended to limit the content of any remarks. No person other than City Councilpersons, City staff and the person having the floor shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a City Councilperson, without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No question may be asked of a Councilperson or a member of the City staff without the permission of the Presiding Officer.
G. 
The Presiding Officer at each meeting of the City Council shall have the responsibility to rule out of order any person violating these rules and may direct such individual to conduct themselves in a manner that complies with these rules of conduct. Any failure to abide by the order of the Presiding Officer may result in forfeiture of the remaining time allocated for the address or, in extreme cases, removal from the Council Chambers. Additionally, any Councilperson may request a ruling on whether any individual appearing before the Council is out of order and the Council may, by majority vote, direct that an individual who is out of order be ordered to cease his/her presentation and be seated or be ejected from the Council Chambers.
H. 
No issue brought up in an address to the Council under this Section shall be acted upon by the Council during the portion of the meeting set aside for public addresses to the Council; any issue raised by a member of the public shall only be acted upon at the same Council meeting if added to the agenda under new business by a majority vote of the Council.
I. 
To avoid the perception that a statement is true because there is not an immediate response, the Presiding Officer shall emphasize in an appropriate manner that City procedure is for staff to respond, when warranted, to comments directly to the person speaking at a later date after staff has had an opportunity to review the matter commented upon.
J. 
Each person appearing before the City Council shall be provided with a copy of this Section prior to their appearance. As a condition to making an address to the Council, each person shall acknowledge receipt of a copy of this Section in writing.
[1]
Editor's Note: R.O. 2016 § 113.230, adopted 7-11-1995 by Ord. No. 72-95 § C(1.710), was repealed 6-16-1998 by Ord. No. 209-98 § 1.