[Amended 10-6-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016]
The first regular or special January meeting of the City Council of each even-numbered year shall be an organizational meeting at which the President Pro Tempore and the City Clerk shall be selected, standing committees appointed, and rules of order for the ensuing two years adopted.
Regular meetings of the City Council shall be held once each month on such dates as the Council shall designate, each year, by amendment to its rules at its January meeting. No local law, ordinance, or resolution may be acted upon at a regular meeting unless a copy thereof shall have been delivered under the supervision of the City Clerk to each Council member at least 24 hours prior to said meeting. The foregoing notwithstanding, if the Mayor certifies that an emergency exists that threatens the health or safety of the citizens of Troy, legislation relating to said emergency may be adopted on less than twenty-four hours' notice to the Council members and the public, but only by unanimous vote of the Council.
Special meetings of the City Council shall be called by the City Clerk on the written request of the Mayor, the President of the City Council, or any two Council members, including the Chair of the standing or special committee of the Council having jurisdiction over the subject matter of the meeting. The request shall state the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. A written notice, giving the purpose or purposes and the time and place of the special meeting, shall be served under the direction of the City Clerk, personally or by mail, on each member of the Council at least 24 hours before the time of the meeting. Due public notice must be given, including at least eight hours' notice to the news media. Only matters pertaining to the purpose or purposes of the meeting, as set forth in the notice thereof, shall be considered at any such meeting.
The City Council may convene informational meetings each year. These shall be conducted specifically to facilitate answers for citizens who have questions regarding any aspect of City government affecting them, and public participation shall be restricted to such questions. The President shall preside over said meetings, and attendance shall be required of Council members, the Mayor, City Clerk, Corporation Counsel and/or appropriate staff, plus supervisors of all City agencies and offices regarding which questions may arise. Regional meetings of the Council may be held periodically throughout the City during each calendar year.
The City Council shall determine the rules of its proceedings, and may compel the attendance of all Council members at any special or regular meeting at which such proceedings will be under consideration. The Council may declare to be vacant the seat of any Council member inexcusably absent from three successive regular meetings; or may expel a Council member for conduct unbecoming a public official or for misfeasance in office. No seat shall be declared vacant and no Council member shall be expelled until the affected Council member has been served with written particulars of the charge or charges and has had an opportunity to be heard by the Council in the member's own defense. All such actions taken by the Council as delineated in this paragraph must receive a vote of 2/3 of the full Council.
A. 
Each regular or special meeting of the City Council shall include a period of time designated as a public forum, during which members of the public shall have the opportunity to address the Council on meeting agenda items and any other subject appropriate to the conduct of City government.
B. 
The structure of the public forum shall be set forth in the Council's rules of order, provided, however, that such rules do not abridge the following provisions:
1. 
The total time allotted for each speaker shall be at least five minutes.
2. 
Public input on meeting agenda items must occur prior to the Council's consideration of such items.
3. 
No citizen of Troy, nor an attorney representing a citizen of Troy, shall be denied the right to speak.
4. 
The presiding officer of the meeting shall have sole discretion in limiting a speaker's remarks if they are deemed disruptive, obscene, or defamatory.