[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of McGraw 7-19-2016 by L.L. No. 2-2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Trustees' regular meetings are held on the
first and third Tuesdays of each month, commencing at 6:00 p.m. at
the Village Office.
Special meetings of the Board of Trustees are all Board meetings
other than regular meetings. The Mayor or any Trustee, upon notice
to the entire Board, may call a special meeting. Notice must be given
to each member of the Board of Trustees by telephone, in person or
by e-mail at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting unless an emergency
requires the meeting to be held on less than 24 hours' notice.
A quorum of the Board must be present in real time to conduct
business. Presence at a meeting may be accomplished by electronic
means. A quorum of the five-member board of Trustees is three, regardless
of vacancies.
Executive sessions must be held in accordance with the New York
Public Officers Law § 105. A motion made from a properly
noticed and conducted open meeting must be enter into all executive
sessions.
The agenda is to be prepared by the Clerk at the direction of
the Mayor. The Mayor or any Trustee may have an item placed on the
agenda. When possible, items for the agenda must be presented to the
Clerk at least 48 hours before the meeting start time. The agenda
must be prepared by noon the day before the meeting; however, items
may be placed on the agenda at any time. If necessary, a supplemental
agenda may be distributed at the beginning of the meeting.
Pursuant to the New York Village Law and General Construction
Law, each member of the Board enjoys one vote. The Mayor may vote
on a matter but must vote in case of a tie. A majority of the duly
constituted body is necessary to pass a matter, unless otherwise specified
by state law. A vote upon any question must be taken by ayes and noes,
and the name of the members present and their votes must be entered
into the minutes.
A.
The Mayor presides at the meeting. In the Mayor's absence, the
Deputy Mayor presides at the meetings of the Board. The presiding
officer may debate, move, and take any action that may be taken by
other members of the Board. Board members are not required to rise,
but must be recognized by the presiding officer before making motions
and speaking.
B.
Every motion must be seconded before being put to a vote; all motions
must be recorded in their entirety in the Board's minutes.
C.
Once recognized, a member may not be interrupted when speaking unless
it is to call him/her to order. If a member is called to order, they
must stop speaking until the question of order is determined and,
if in order, they must be permitted to proceed. There is no limit
to the number of times a member may speak on a question. Motions to
close or limit debate may be entered and require a two-thirds super
majority vote to pass.
A.
The public may speak only during the public comment period of the
meeting or at such other times as a majority of the Board allows.
B.
Speakers must give their name and address and organization, if any.
C.
The presiding officer must recognize speakers.
D.
Speakers must limit their remarks to five minutes on a given topic.
E.
Speakers may not yield any remaining time they may have to another
speaker.
F.
Board members may, with the permission of the Mayor, interrupt a
speaker during their remarks, but only for the purpose of clarification
or information,
G.
All remarks must be addressed to the Board as a body and not to any
member thereof.
H.
Speakers must observe the commonly accepted rules of courtesy, decorum,
dignity, and good taste.
I.
Interested parties, or their representatives, may address the Board
by written communications.
A.
The Clerk is responsible for taking the minutes of the Board. Minutes
must consist of a record or summary of all motions, proposals, resolutions
and any other matter formally voted upon and the vote thereon. Minutes
must be taken while in executive session. Any action that is taken
as a result of matters taken up in executive session must be adopted
by a formal vote after emerging from executive session. Executive
session minutes must consist of a record or summary of the final determination
of such action, and the date and vote thereon; provided, however,
that such summary need not include any matter that is excepted by
the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
B.
Minutes must also include the following:
(1)
Name of the Board
(2)
Date, place and time of meeting;
(3)
Notation of the presence or absence of a Board member and time of
arrival or departure if different from time of call to order and adjournment;
(4)
Name and title of other Village officials and employees present and
the approximate number of attendees;
(5)
Record of communications presented to the Board;
(6)
Record of reports made by Board or other Village personnel; and
(7)
Time of adjournment and signature of Clerk or person who took the
minutes if not Clerk.
C.
Minutes should not contain a summary of the discussion leading to
action taken or include verbatim comments unless a majority of the
Board resolves to have the Clerk do so.
D.
The Clerk is responsible for creating a draft of the minutes within
the time frame provided for under the New York Opening Meetings Law.
The order of business shall be as follows:
All members of the public and all public officials are allowed
to tape or video record public meetings. Recording is not allowed
during executive sessions. Recording should be done in a manner that
does not interfere with the meeting. The Mayor may determine whether
the recording is being done in an intrusive manner taking into consideration,
but not limited to, brightness of lights, distance from the deliberations
of the Board, size of the equipment, and the ability of the public
to participate in the meeting. If recording is determined to be intrusive
and interferes with the meeting, the Mayor may direct that the recording
be stopped or undertaken in a different manner or location.
Meetings may be adjourned by motion.
The foregoing procedures may be amended from time to time by
a majority vote of the Board.
