(a)
Time of regular monthly meeting.
The council of the
city shall meet regularly once a month on the third Monday of each
month convening at 6:30 p.m., with the exception of those months in
which the third Monday falls on a holiday, in which case those meetings
would be held on the Tuesday following the third Monday.
(b)
Place of regular monthly meeting.
The regular monthly
meeting of the council shall be held at 1102 Lohmans Crossing, unless
a different place for any such meeting shall be fixed by the council
and posted officially upon the agenda of the council.
(Ordinance 2004-03-15-2, secs. 1,
2, adopted 3/16/04; Ordinance adopting Code; Ordinance 2022-08-15-03 adopted 8/15/2022; Ordinance 2022-11-22-03 adopted 11/21/2022)
(a)
Regular meetings are normally held on the third Monday of each month in the city hall, at a time determined by the council (charter section 3.11 requires this be established by ordinance). The date, location and time may be changed by vote of the council.
(b)
Other
types of meetings may be called by the mayor or the city manager:
(1)
Urgent public necessity meetings.
Urgent public necessity
meetings may be called by the above persons, or by a majority of the
members of the council, with two (2) hours’ notice. Such meetings
are to be called only in situations involving an immediate threat
to public safety or health, or for reasonably unforeseen emergency
situations for which there is as clear need for immediate council
action.
(2)
Special meetings.
Special council meetings may be called
at any time with seventy-two (72) hours notice to conduct city council
business as may be required between regular monthly meetings.
(3)
Workshop meetings.
Workshop meetings may be called to
explore one or more matters in detail, usually without taking action.
Occasionally, public hearings may be held in conjunction with workshop
meetings for the convenience of the public.
(4)
Public hearings.
Public hearings may be called with
notice as required by state law. A public hearing is held to allow
citizens to learn about, and to comment on, a specific subject under
consideration by the city council. Normally, no action will be taken
at a public hearing.
(Ordinance 2016-08-15-03 adopted 8/15/16)
(a)
The
agenda will be prepared by the mayor with the advice of the city manager
and with assistance from the city secretary. The mayor must include
an item on the agenda if requested by any single councilmember. The
mayor shall circulate the regular meeting agenda to all councilmembers
prior to regular meetings in sufficient time to allow for comment.
(b)
The
agenda for a regular meeting will include the following:
(1)
Determination of quorum and call to order.
(2)
Invocation, if a member of the local clergy is available.
(3)
Pledge of Allegiance.
(4)
Citizen participation, during which citizens may address the council
on any topic of general public interest.
(5)
Each ordinance, resolution or policy that the mayor, any single councilmember,
or city staff wishes to have the council consider. Each of these agenda
items shall be specifically described and there shall be provision
for citizens’ comments on each item for which a council vote
is planned.
(6)
Approval of minutes of previous meeting(s), if available.
(7)
Reports of officers and staff.
(8)
Reports/comments of mayor and councilmembers.
(c)
Routine
matters may be placed on a consent agenda, which will be treated as
one agenda item. Before the consent agenda is voted on, any item will
be removed at the request of any single member of the council, and
handled as a separate agenda item.
(d)
The
agenda for all meetings shall be posted by the city secretary or his/her
designee.
(e)
The
city secretary will assume responsibility for issuing to newspapers,
cable TV stations and the chairman of the communication/public relations
committee a copy of the preliminary agenda for all council meetings
for which posting is required.
(Ordinance 2016-08-15-03 adopted 8/15/16)
(a)
The
mayor (or, in the mayor’s absence, the mayor pro tem) shall
preside over all council meetings. In the absence of both the mayor
and mayor pro tem, the senior councilmember, as determined by length
of service, shall preside. In the event that two or more councilmembers
have the same length of service, the councilmember with the longest
city residency shall preside.
(b)
The
presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, and is authorized
to enforce compliance with the rules contained herein. The presiding
officer shall require councilmembers and citizens to limit discussion
to the question under consideration and as posted on the agenda.
(c)
The
city manager or his/her designee shall be present and on the dais
at all posted council meetings, except when excluded by the council
for an executive session.
(d)
The
presiding officer’s decision on a procedural matter can be overruled
by a majority vote. The motion to overrule may be made at any time
and must be seconded. The person making the motion may make a brief
statement and the presiding officer may explain his/her position,
but no other member may speak on the motion. The presiding officer
will then put the ruling to a vote of the council. Where applicable
in this division, the term “mayor” shall also refer to
any member of the council serving as presiding officer.
(e)
Any
or all of the provisions of this procedure may be suspended temporarily
by a majority vote, except such portions that embody provisions of
the charter or of state law.
(Ordinance 2016-08-15-03 adopted 8/15/16)
(a)
The
mayor must introduce every item on the agenda. The mayor may change
the order of the agenda. The council may elect not to take action
on any agenda item.
(b)
Any
agenda item before the council may be decided only by a motion, a
second, and a favorable vote by a majority of the members of the council
present and voting (unless state law, the charter, or this division
requires more than a simple majority).
(c)
Motions
should be “positive” rather than “negative.”
(d)
The
council may agree to limit debate on any agenda item. That agreement
must be formalized by a vote of a majority of the council.
(e)
The mayor must introduce each agenda item. The mayor, or the city manager, or the sponsoring councilmember, will present a clear statement of the topic to be considered. This is to be followed by a “citizen participation” period (see section 1.03.036). After “citizen participation” is closed, the mayor will invite councilmember and staff comments. Each councilmember shall be recognized to offer his/her comments at least once. The mayor shall make comments at this time.
(f)
There
shall be no limit to the number of times a councilmember may ask for
the floor, but a councilmember shall speak only when recognized by
the mayor. Councilmembers’ remarks shall generally be addressed
to the mayor, but councilmembers may ask questions of other councilmembers
or of the staff. Councilmembers may respond to remarks or questions
but will refrain from exchange or remarks with the public except that
a councilmember may ask a citizen a question of a factual or technical
nature.
(g)
No
main motion will be recognized until the mayor is satisfied that every
councilmember has had a reasonable opportunity to present his or her
comments on the general topic. Then mayor will request a motion and
a second. The mayor will repeat the motion. The mayor may not make
a motion, but may second a motion. After a motion has been made and
seconded, the mayor will recognize each councilmember for debate on
the motion. The mayor is not obligated to recognize any councilmember
for a second time until every councilmember wishing to speak has been
given the opportunity to do so. The mayor may enter the debate. When
the mayor is satisfied that each councilmember has had a reasonable
opportunity to address the motion, the mayor will call for a vote.
Debate will cease and the vote be taken.
(Ordinance 2016-08-15-03 adopted 8/15/16)
(a)
Generally.
In regular and special meetings these rules
will govern; where the rules are silent, the mayor is authorized to
determine reasonable rules or procedures; the mayor, at his or her
discretion, may rely on the most recent edition of Robert’s
Rules of Order unless they are in conflict with the city charter or
state statutes.
(b)
Main motions.
A new main motion may not be brought up
for consideration while another main motion is being debated. Each
main motion must be disposed of before another is made.
(c)
Secondary motions.
During the debate on a main motion,
secondary motions may be proposed. The following are the secondary
motions, listed in the order of their rank:
(1)
Motion to table the main motion, i.e., lay it aside and go on to
the next item on the agenda.
(2)
Motion to request that discussion cease and that the main motion
be voted on, i.e., moving the previous question.
(3)
Motion to limit discussion to a fixed amount of time.
(4)
Motion to postpone action on the proposal until some definite time
in the future.
(5)
Motion to refer the proposal to a committee.
(6)
Motion to amend the main motion.
(7)
Motion to postpone action on the proposal to an indefinite future
time.
(d)
Privileged motions.
Privileged motions may be made at
any time. The following are the privileged motions, listed in order
of rank:
(Ordinance 2016-08-15-03 adopted 8/15/16)
(a)
At
every regular council meeting there will be a general “citizen
participation” period for comments on any topic of general public
interest.
(b)
In
addition, at every regular and every special meeting, each agenda
item for which a council vote is planned will provide a period for
“citizen participation” on that particular subject. Such
citizen participation shall be completed before council discussion
of the topic starts.
(c)
Unless
invited by the mayor to speak at other times, members of the public
are entitled to speak only during a citizen participation portion
of a council meeting, and then only when recognized by the mayor.
Speakers should identify themselves by name and whether or not they
are residents of the city. The mayor may direct that citizen comments
be addressed to the council as a whole and not to individual councilmembers
nor to other members of the audience. Councilmembers should refrain
from responding to citizen comments during the “citizen participation”
period (except in the case of questions for which a straightforward
factual answer can be given).
(d)
The
mayor may limit the duration and number of times that a citizen may
speak. Should there be a large number of persons with essentially
the same message, the mayor may request that they indicate their view
by a show of hands. When it is apparent that a large number of citizens
wish to speak, the mayor may require persons to “sign in”;
the mayor may limit the time for “sign in”; a citizen
who has signed in may not yield any portion of his/her time to another
citizen.
(e)
Members
of the public attending council meetings shall observe rules of propriety,
good conduct, and meeting decorum policy, which is attached as exhibit
“A” to Ordinance 2016-08-15-03. The mayor is authorized
to remove from the council meeting room and to bar from attending
the remainder of the council meeting any person who does not adhere
to the meeting rules and meeting decorum policy. In case the mayor
shall fail to act, any member of the city council may move to require
the enforcement of the rules, and the affirmative vote of the majority
of the council present and voting shall require the mayor to act.
(Ordinance 2016-08-15-03 adopted 8/15/16)
