[New; Ord. No. 2018-3176]
a. Regular meetings of the Common Council shall be held at the City
Hall on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 8:00 p.m., or
as otherwise indicated in the Annual Notice. Special Conference meetings
may be indicated in the Annual Meeting Notice or scheduled from time
to time. A Regular or Special Conference meeting may be adjourned
from time to time with any such adjourned meeting to be considered
a continuation of the last Regular or Special Conference meeting,
and the business shall be taken up thereat at the stage at which it
was left at the last adjournment.
The Secretary to Mayor and Council shall give notice to all
members of the Common Council not present at such Regular or Special
Conference meeting of the time of such adjourned meeting.
b. The President may or, at the request of four (4) Council members,
shall call a special meeting at any time. The Secretary to Mayor and
Council shall serve written notice in accordance with the Open Public
Meetings Act.
c. A majority of the membership of the Common Council shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller number may
meet and adjourn from time to time. All action of the Common Council
shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the membership,
except when otherwise provided by law. The President shall preside
at all meetings of the Council, and in the absence of the President,
the President Pro Tempore shall preside. In the absence of both, a
temporary presiding officer shall be elected by the members present.
d. If any vacancy shall occur in the Common Council the vacancy shall
be filled pursuant to State Law governing the filling of vacancies.
e. All communications to the Common Council shall be presented in writing
and referred to the proper committee and department head for report,
recommendation or action.
f. Prior to the Regular meeting, the Secretary to Mayor and Council
shall prepare an agenda containing matters on which formal action
is necessary and those matters on which discussion, action, or referral
should take place and formal action might be taken or the matter might
be placed on a future agenda for report. No new business shall be
considered at any Regular meeting of the Common Council which has
not been received by the Secretary to Mayor and Council by 2:00 p.m.
on the Tuesday preceding the meeting and which does not appear on
the agenda, except by consent of a majority of members present.
g. The presiding officer shall take the chair at the time appointed
for the meeting, call the members to order, and preserve order and
regularity in the transaction of business. The presiding officer shall
decide all questions of order without debate, such decisions being
subject to reversal provided the appeal is sustained by the majority
of members present.
h. The Secretary to Mayor and Council shall attend all meetings of the
Common Council to present the minutes, reports of committees and petitions,
keep regular minutes of the proceedings and perform such other duties
as may be assigned by law, ordinance, resolution or order of the Common
Council.
i. No member shall leave a meeting before adjournment without permission
from the presiding officer.
j. The following shall be the order of business at Regular meetings
of the Common Council:
1. Adequate Notice Compliance Statement
5. Reports (Mayor, President, Director of Administration)
6. Communications, Staff and Liaison Reports, and General Information
Items
7. Public Hearings on Ordinances
9. Final Consideration on Ordinances
10. Resolutions
(The Chairman of the appropriate committee shall read the title
of the proposed resolutions, provide any explanations or comments
deemed appropriate, and then the public shall be provided an opportunity
to comment thereon. If there are no comments, the resolutions can
be moved, if appropriate. The presiding officer shall control the
public comment and limit same to three (3) minutes per person on each
committee's resolutions, or as deemed appropriate.)
11. Items for Discussion, Action or Referral
15. Closed Session (if necessary)
k. No motions shall be debated until the same shall have been seconded.
When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be reduced to writing,
if desired by any member.
l. The following motions or questions shall not be debated:-
2. A motion to lay on the table.
3. All questions relating to priority of business.
4. A motion to read any written material relevant to the issue under
consideration.
5. A motion to take ayes and nays.
m. No member shall be permitted to withhold his vote without permission
from the Common Council. No member shall vote on any motion or question
if not within the Chamber or announced meeting room when the question
is put forth. A call for ayes and nays can be made by any member present.
The sense of the Common Council on any motion shall be taken viva
voce unless the ayes and nays are called for. When the ayes and nays
have been taken on any question, they shall be entered on the minutes.
n. When a motion or resolution has been made and carried in the affirmative
or negative, it shall be in order for any member voting with the majority
to move for the reconsideration of the vote at the same or next meeting.
o. Effective January 1, 2019, the following shall be the standing committees
of the Common Council, namely:
Committee on Community Programs & Parking Services
Committee on Finance
Committee on Law & Labor
Committee on Safety & Health
Committee on Capital Projects & Community Services
Committee on Administrative Policies & Community Relations
p. The President shall appoint all committees. The members of the standing
committees shall serve for the Council year in which they are appointed.
Special committees may be appointed at any time to examine and report
upon any particular subject. All standing and special committees shall
consist of not less than two (2) members nor more than three (3) members
of the Council and may also include the Mayor and appropriate staff.
q. The function of committees is to investigate and report to the Common
Council on the matters referred to them and to bring to the attention
of the Common Council such other matters which the committees may
deem appropriate. Committee members shall have no administrative authority,
except as may be specifically granted to them by ordinance or by the
Common Council. Committees shall make reports promptly upon all matters
referred to them. Generally, such reports should recite the facts
and contain the recommendations for the financing of any expenditures
not previously budgeted.
r. There shall be regular meetings of the committees of the Common Council
as each Committee Chairman or Department Head shall determine and
so advise the Secretary to the Mayor and Council for inclusion on
the Regular agenda.
s. All encumbered bills and claims against the City shall be presented
to the issuing department for approval by the Department Head who
shall be responsible for their verification and audit. The approved
bills shall be presented to the City Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer
by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday preceding the Agenda Setting Meeting. The
City Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer, or the Assistant City Treasurer,
or the Secretary to the Mayor and Council, if the City Treasurer or
Assistant City Treasurer are absent, shall provide final approval
and forward same to the Chairman of the proper committee for examination.
If payment is in order, the Chairman of the committee, or the person
acting on the committee's behalf, shall approve the bills and claims
for the committee and shall refer them to the President of the Common
Council for approval.
t. All bills and claims against the City, which have been audited and
approved, shall be ordered paid by resolution of the Common Council.
The resolution of the Common Council shall then be submitted to the
Mayor together with all bill and claim lists, for approval and or
disapproval. Upon the approval of the resolution by the Mayor, all
checks in payment of the bills and claims shall be signed by the Mayor
or Acting Mayor of the City, countersigned by the City Treasurer/Chief
Financial Officer or an Assistant Treasurer. In the event the Mayor
or Acting Mayor approves the resolution but disapproves a particular
claim or bill contained therein, such disapproval shall be noted on
the claim or bill, and it shall not be paid until it has been reapproved
by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Common Council.