(a) 
The town is a type A general law municipality and, as such, is governed by specific provisions of the Texas Local Government Code. The provisions of these rules of procedure are intended to aid in the orderly transaction of the affairs of the town and regulation of the conduct of the meetings of the town council. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of these rules and state law, the latter will prevail. In no event shall any deviation from or violation of these rules operate to invalidate or otherwise annul any action properly taken by the council.
(b) 
The town council, hereinafter referred to as “the council” consists of a mayor and five (5) council members (referred to in state law as aldermen), elected at large for uncompensated two-year terms of office. The council will be served by the town secretary at all scheduled meetings and its open proceedings will be recorded in their entirety. The business conducted in executive or closed sessions will either be recorded or will be preserved by a certified agenda.
(Ordinance 43 adopted 11/3/98)
(a) 
Regular meetings.
Regular meetings of the council will be held on the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the council chambers at town hall. Should the date of a regular meeting fall on a recognized town holiday, the regular meeting will be held on the next day, the Tuesday following that holiday, at 7:00 p.m. in the council chambers at town hall. A temporary adjustment of this schedule, for exigent reasons, will require a majority vote of the council. The mayor may cancel a regular or special meeting if less than three business items are to be placed on the agenda if cancellation does not unduly interfere with town business or if it is known that a quorum of the council will not be present. Notice of cancellation shall be posted at town hall in a conspicuous, easily accessible place, and on the Town's Internet website, setting forth the reason for cancellation.
(b) 
Special Meetings.
Special meetings as may be required from time to time shall be called by the mayor or, in his/her absence, the mayor pro tem, or upon the request of any three (3) council members. Special meetings require the presence of four (4) council members to constitute a quorum.
(c) 
Emergency Meetings.
Emergency meetings may be called by the mayor, or any council member to address an imminent threat to public health or safety or other urgent public necessity as the law may allow. The chiefs of the police and fire departments (or their representatives) may be in attendance or on call. During an emergency period, if warranted, the town hall will remain open and manned 24-hours a day by at least two council members on an 8-hour shift basis.
(d) 
Extended Meetings.
Any regular, special or emergency meeting may be, for good reason, and vote approval, extended by recess of the initial meeting and reconvened at a later time not exceed twenty-four (24) hours after the recess time of the initial meeting.
(e) 
Posting meeting agendas.
Agendas for regular and special council meetings will be posted at town hall in a conspicuous, easily accessible place, and on the Town's Internet website, for at least three business days before the scheduled date of the meeting. Agendas for emergency meetings will be posted at least one (1) hour in advance of the meeting.
(f) 
Executive Sessions.
An executive session is closed to the general public. The council may admit select individuals to attend and participate during such sessions. Executive sessions may only be convened after the council has first convened in open session. The agenda of the open meeting should identify the statutory provision for which the executive or closed session is called and should enumerate the basis and topic thereof.
(g) 
Quorum.
A minimum of three (3) council members (exclusive of the mayor) constitutes a quorum for the transaction of the town’s affairs. To achieve a necessary quorum, the commencement of the meeting may be delayed at the presiding officer’s discretion, for a maximum of thirty (30) minutes. If a quorum is not then obtained, the presiding officer shall adjourn the meeting, and indicate to the town secretary that the agenda items will be posted upon the agenda for the next regularly scheduled council meeting.
(h) 
Council Attendance and Voting.
All members of the town council will, as a matter of public duty, be expected to attend all regularly scheduled council meetings. Excused absences for health, employment, family vacations or other reasons will be authorized without specific permission; however, the town secretary should be notified of any absence as far in advance of the scheduled meeting as possible. Attendance of council members at council meetings is maintained as a matter of public record.
Council members are expected to vote on all issues coming before the council unless that member: (1) must abstain from participation because compelled to do so by law; or (2) should abstain from voting in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Where a council member is required by law to abstain from participation, the abstention will be considered to be an absence on the item for which abstention is required and the presence at the meeting of that member will not be counted towards a quorum. Where a council member abstains from voting for reasons other than being compelled by law to do so, the presence of that member will be counted towards a quorum; the abstention will be considered as a “non-vote” and will not be counted as a vote in favor of or against any motion or item including but not limited to those items for which a supermajority vote is required.
(i) 
Dress Code.
Council members shall appear at council meetings in neat, clean attire. Although strict business-like attire is not required, the conduct of the town’s official business deserves the dignity of appropriate dress.
(j) 
Succession of Office.
In the absence or disability of the mayor, the mayor pro tem will preside over the council. During the absence of both, a deputy mayor pro tem shall preside. The mayor pro tem and deputy mayor pro tem shall have and exercise the powers and duties of the mayor when serving in the absence of the mayor or mayor pro tem, respectively. The mayor pro tem and deputy mayor pro tem shall be appointed by the council to serve terms of one year to coincide with the town’s annual general elections; provided however, that the council may appoint or replace the mayor pro tem or deputy mayor pro tem by majority vote at its sole discretion. For purposes of meetings of the council, in the absence of the mayor, mayor pro tem and deputy mayor pro tem, if a quorum is present, the meeting shall be called to order by the senior-most councilmember present. Seniority will be determined by the total length of time served as a member of the council. The council shall then elect one of its members, upon nomination and vote, for the purpose of serving as the presiding officer of the meeting. Further succession because of prolonged or permanent absence or disability of elected officials, will, in order to maintain council viability, be determined by the provisions of the Texas Local Government Code.
(k) 
Special Duties of Council Members.
In addition to the broad duty of council members to establish policy and laws, a member of the town council may be appointed to assume responsibility as liaison to staff or to a town board or commission. Such assumption of responsibility may be continuous or occur on a one-time (project) basis. Such appointment may be effected simple majority vote during open session wherein the mayor shall only vote in the event of a tie. Such appointment will be duly reflected in the minutes of the meeting.
(l) 
Meeting agendas.
The town secretary shall be responsible for posting the agenda and distributing the agenda and the supporting documentation to the mayor and each councilmember. The mayor or any councilmember may place an item or items on the agenda for consideration and/or action. Citizens may request that a matter be placed upon the agenda after request and consultation with the mayor or any councilmember. The person requesting that a matter be placed on the agenda will be identified as the sponsor of the subject and may, at the mayor's request, introduce the matter to the council. If during a meeting of the council, a citizen or a councilmember inquire about a subject not on the agenda, any deliberation about the subject of the inquiry shall be limited to:
(1) 
A proposal to place the item on the agenda for a subsequent meeting;
(2) 
A statement of factual information, e.g., “This matter has been settled”; or
(3) 
A recitation of existing policy, e.g., “The town council does not get involved in raising funds for a political candidate.”
The format of the agenda will correspond to the order of business schedule as indicated under procedural rules of this article.
(Ordinance 43 adopted 11/3/98; Ordinance 05-28 adopted 12/5/05; Ordinance 08-01 adopted 2/25/08; Ordinance 09-03 adopted 3/16/09; Ordinance 12-03 adopted 6/4/12; Ordinance 26-01 adopted 1/20/2026)
(a) 
Council Minutes.
All open sessions of all council meetings shall be recorded and the recordings shall be preserved for a period of at least one (1) year. From the recordings, the town secretary will prepare a brief summary and result of each item on the agenda. The summary, or minutes of the meeting, will be presented to the council at the next scheduled meeting for council approval and signature of the mayor. Until council approval and signature, the minutes are not an official transcript. Copies of meeting minutes, stamped “preliminary,” or verbatim taped recordings of the meeting may be released upon citizen request, before the official minutes are approved.
(b) 
Executive Session Minutes.
A summary of deliberations in closed executive session will not be published in the minutes of the open meeting, however the tape recording or certified agenda of the executive session must be maintained in confidence for at least two years. Certified agendas or tape recordings of executive sessions may only be released in accordance with law. All final actions, decisions or votes as a result of closed executive sessions must be made in an open meeting, and the results reflected in the minutes.
(c) 
Release of Information.
In accordance with the provisions of the Texas Public Information Act, any citizen may request copies of council minute transcripts and/or actual verbatim recordings of open council meetings or any other public town information to the extent authorized by law. Such requests will be governed by the following:
(1) 
All citizen requests for information will be treated uniformly and courteously.
(2) 
The request for information must be in writing to identify the particular information being sought, along with the requestor's name, address and phone number. The request will be date and time stamped upon receipt.
(3) 
The reason for a citizen's request will not be required, nor will any inquiry into motives be made.
(4) 
The request for information will be accepted during normal business hours, when town hall is open for business, and should be provided in the medium requested, within ten business days, unless alternative arrangements have been made with the requestor.
(5) 
Under the Texas Public Information Act, the town is not obligated to conduct research, collect data or construct new records.
(6) 
A reasonable fee for staff time and copies may be charged if the request for information incurs an effort that exceeds 30 minutes, and materials in excess of five dollars ($5.00) value. Such fee, if any, will be based upon a log of actual time and materials consumed. Guidance for the fee amount charged may be obtained from the fee schedule published by the Texas General Services Commission (GSC).
(Ordinance 43 adopted 11/3/98; Ordinance 04-06 adopted 4/5/04)
(a) 
Order of Business.
The order of business for regular council meetings should be as follows:
(1) 
Call to Order
(2) 
Roll Call
(3) 
Invocation
(4) 
Pledge of Allegiance
(5) 
Presentation of Minutes
(6) 
Reports of Town Officials
(7) 
Citizen Comments - Non-Agenda Subjects
(8) 
Agenda - New Business/Old Business/Consent
(9) 
Council/Staff Comments
(10) 
Adjournment
(b) 
Rules of Order.
All meetings of the town council will be guided according to the rules in the latest edition of "Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised."
(c) 
Decorum.
When the meeting is called to order by the presiding officer, the following rules of decorum will apply:
(1) 
Only one person may speak at any one time during council meetings. This rule will be strictly observed and enforced.
(2) 
No person may speak until recognized by the mayor.
(3) 
Remarks shall be confined to the question before the council.
(4) 
When a council member is speaking, other members will not hold private discourse, nor in any manner interrupt or distract from attention to the speaker.
(5) 
Disrespectful personal remarks, profane language and disorderly or distracting conduct by any person in the council chambers after the call to order will not be tolerated.
(6) 
All persons in attendance at council meetings will be seated except the speaker at the lectern. Should the seating capacity of the council chambers be exceeded, the council may recess the meeting and move its proceedings to a location that will accommodate a larger number of seated participants.
(7) 
At times, widespread public interest in a controversial agenda item will generate a large, spirited citizen audience. As a result, decorum may be difficult to maintain. To promote order, the mayor should take the opportunity to address the audience, preferably before the call to order, and inform them in a cordial, sincere manner of the procedural rules that apply directly to them both as an observer and as a speaker.
(8) 
No persons in attendance at a council meeting will refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer when he exercises his responsibility to maintain the decorum and dignity of the proceedings.
(d) 
Presiding Officer.
The mayor serves as the presiding official over all council meetings. His primary duties in that role are as follows:
(1) 
Insure that the rules of procedure are followed and to maintain order and dignity at all meetings.
(2) 
Insure that after the call to order, only one person in the council chambers may speak at any one time.
(3) 
Introduce each agenda item in the order published and confine discussion to that order of business. The mayor may, however, in the best interest of efficiency and order, realign the sequencing of agenda items but shall not table, remove or cancel any action item on the agenda unless a majority of the quorum then present so votes.
(4) 
Recognize citizens to speak at appropriate times.
(5) 
Insure that each council member has an opportunity to speak to the agenda item under consideration at least once.
(6) 
Rule on actions or motions which are out of order.
(7) 
Insure that a roll call is executed on all votes, and that the result is announced.
(8) 
In the event of a tie vote, exercise the mayoral voting privilege to break the tie.
(e) 
Seating of the Council.
Prior to the call to order, the council will be seated facing the audience of citizens. The mayor will be seated in the center, with mayor pro tem to his right, and the senior council member to his left. The remaining council members, in order of seniority, will be, alternatively, seated from right to left so that the junior council members will be positioned to the far right and left. The town secretary may be seated to the outermost right or left of the council. Each person on the council will be identified by a name plate visible to the citizenry.
(f) 
Conduct of the Town Council Meeting.
(1) 
Opening.
At the exact time of the meeting the mayor shall assume the chair, call the meeting to order, and ask the town secretary to call the roll. The roll will be called in alphabetical order of last names, by reciting the full name and title of each person elected to the council. A quorum being present, the secretary will so state.
(2) 
Presentation of Minutes.
After the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the town secretary will present the minutes of the last preceding council meeting. After consideration by the council and corrections, if any, a motion should be made, seconded and voted upon to approve or disapprove the minutes as presented and/or corrected. Upon approval by majority vote, the mayor will then sign the minutes.
(3) 
Reports of Town Officials.
Such reports are designed to keep the citizens and council informed as to the activities, operations, status, plans and exceptional happenings of each department of operations and special projects. The reports will be brief, and contain factual information of interest to the council and the general public.
The format and subject of such reports will be at the discretion of each official but may not address agenda items at this stage of the meeting. Reports from the town secretary and town treasurer may be given at each meeting, and reports from the following officials should be rendered on a quarterly basis.
Police Chief
Fire Chief
Presiding Official - P & Z
Presiding Official - BOA
Special Project Official (s)
Other officials may be directed by the council
The council may question each town official by asking for recognition to speak from the mayor, however, prolonged discourse will be avoided so as to keep the report items of business to a maximum of 15 minutes overall.
(4) 
Citizen Comments - Non Agenda Items.
Citizens are encouraged to attend council meetings, and express their views. The following rules will apply to citizens wishing to address the council:
(A) 
They must sign the log provided in the council chambers, give their address and cite the subject. The log will be given to the mayor so that he may recognize each citizen to speak by name.
(B) 
The mayor will announce that this segment of the council meeting is intended for citizen comment on any subject except those matters that appear on the agenda. Those citizens wishing to address an agenda item will be recognized at the appropriate time. He will further state that any citizen comments at this time will not receive any verbal council response, nor must the citizen expect any discourse with the mayor or any council member. The mayor may further explain that this is a procedural rule, not intended to convey a lack of interest or discourtesy, but rather to provide time for all citizens to speak, and to move on to the new business of the council. He may further advise that all proceedings of the town council, including citizen comments, are recorded for record purposes. A citizen's request to turn off the recording mechanism shall be denied.
(C) 
Upon recognition by the mayor, a citizen wishing to address the council will approach the speaker's lectern and give their name and address before speaking.
(D) 
The entire council will give their undivided attention to the citizen speaking until he/she has completed their address.
(E) 
Each citizen will be limited to five minutes to address the council or as otherwise prescribed by the presiding officer.
(F) 
No personal attacks, profane language or disorderly, disruptive conduct will be permitted by any citizen speaker or any citizen member of the audience in support or opposition to the speaker's remarks.
(G) 
Should there be any violation of good order, dignity and these procedural rules, the mayor will maintain firm control by sounding his gavel and may take the following action as appropriate:
(i) 
Call the transgressing person(s) to order and advise of their infraction.
(ii) 
Inform the transgressing person(s) that unless the transgression ceases immediately, the person(s) will be ordered to leave.
(iii) 
Order the person(s) to leave.
(iv) 
Failure to leave immediately upon order may result in arrest.
(5) 
Agenda Items - New Business.
This is the most significant portion of the council meeting. For that reason, particular attention must be paid to the following:
(A) 
The recording mechanism is on and in good working order and additional tapes are available as required.
(B) 
All persons present in the council chambers observe the rules of order and decorum.
(C) 
Introduce each subject on the agenda in a clear, succinct and unbiased manner by the mayor and/or the sponsoring council member.
(D) 
Limit the testimony of citizens and "experts" to five (5) minutes each and take care to solicit opposing views.
(E) 
Insure that the council has sufficient information from the introduction and outside testimony so they may base an announcement of a main motion before council debate. For clarification and/or additional information the council may ask for "points of information" at this time.
(F) 
Only one council member may speak at any one time during debate or deliberation and only after being recognized by the mayor to do so.
(G) 
The mayor and all council members must confine the debate or deliberation to the question before the council.
(H) 
Recognize each council member to speak at least once on each subject.
(I) 
Employ the following parliamentary procedure terms during debate, as discussed in Robert's Rules of Order.
(i) 
Main Motion
- A proposal that introduces a subject for debate is a Main Motion.
(ii) 
Second
- An indication by a second member to have the motion debated.
(iii) 
Subsidiary Motion
- A motion, usually applied to the main motion for the purpose of changing it or to defer discussion (lay on the table).
(iv) 
Point of Information
- A request for specific information pertaining to the question before the council.
(v) 
Point of Order
- A motion that calls upon the mayor for a ruling.
(vi) 
Executive Session
- A meeting or a portion of a meeting, at which the proceedings are confidential.
(vii) 
Out of Order
- A motion, request or behavior which is in violation of the rules.
(viii) 
Previous Question
- A motion to stop debate.
(ix) 
Putting the Question
- Placing the motion before the council for a vote.
(x) 
State the Question
- A repeat, by the mayor, of a council member's motion to begin debate.
(6) 
Agenda Items.
Old Business and Consent Agenda Matters which were deliberated upon at a prior meeting but which were not concluded may be discussed during this portion of the meeting only where the matters are adequately identified on the agenda. The posted agenda may also contain a portion designated for consent items which may be passed and approved in one motion without discussion. However, any one council member may upon request made prior to the vote have any specific consent agenda item removed from the consent agenda portion for full deliberation.
(7) 
Council/Staff Comments.
At this point the mayor may ask each council or staff member for brief comments normally not to exceed six (6) minutes.
(A) 
General interest topics.
(B) 
Recommended future agenda items.
(C) 
Comments regarding a citizen's address on non agenda items.
(D) 
Others as appropriate.
(8) 
Adjournment.
At the conclusion of business, the mayor may ask for a motion to adjourn which should be seconded and approved by majority vote. The time of adjournment will be noted.
(Ordinance 43 adopted 11/3/98)