City of Lake Oswego, OR ARTICLE 12.02 City Council

§ 12.02.010 Rules Governing Council Meetings.

[Ord. No. 4, 4-6-1911; Ord. No. 1842, 8-24-1982]

The principles set forth in Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition, should be observed in the conduct of Council meetings. Strict adherence to the requirements of those rules is not required. A question on procedure may be raised during any meeting by any member of the Council. The chairperson for the meeting shall make a ruling on the question. The ruling of the chair is subject to modification or reversal by vote of a majority of the Council members voting on the question. No action of the Council may be challenged, declared void, or found to be in violation of the requirements of this section for the reason that the action was not in conformance with Robert’s Rules of Order and the principles set forth therein.

§ 12.02.015 Council Voting Procedures.

[Ord. No. 1795, 5-19-1981]

The order of voting for Council roll call votes shall be by numerical chair position. The Mayor shall be seated with three Councilors to the Mayor’s right and chair seven being the farthest to the mayor’s left. The order of voting shall be rotated weekly so that each of the seven Council members is called to vote first and last in a given period. No rotation of vote shall occur in any week in which no meeting is held. A week shall begin with Monday and end Sunday. Any meeting that begins in a week shall be considered to also end in the same week.

§ 12.02.020 through § 12.02.030. (Reserved)

§ 12.02.050 Meetings.

[Ord. No. 1656, 2-15-1977; Ord. No. 1732, 5-1-1979; Ord. No. 1757, 2-11-1980; Ord. No. 1851, 11-16-1982; Ord. No. 1862, 3-15-1983]

1. Date. Regular meetings of the City Council of the City of Lake Oswego, shall be held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.

2. Time and Place. The time and place of the meetings of the Council shall be specified in the notice of the meeting.

3. Holidays. If any regular meeting day coincides with a legal holiday of the State of Oregon, the regular meeting which would take place on that day shall be convened at the same time and place on the next regular business day.

4. For hearings before the City Council in which by ordinance, regulation or rule the only evidence to be presented to the Council is that which has been previously presented to a City Board or Commission, and the record of that previous proceeding is before the Council for its consideration, oral presentations will be limited to five (5) minutes per person or ten (10) minutes per group representative with an additional five (5) minutes allowed for rebuttal of presentations made by opposing speakers. This subsection does not apply to hearings governed by specific Code provisions.

§ 12.02.053 Comments During Council Meetings.

[Ord. No. 2688, Amended, 12-1-2015; Ord. No. 2445, Added, 2-7-2006]

Comments or testimony during City Council meetings from persons other than the Council or City staff will be entertained only during that part of the agenda where public comments are permitted, or at the discretion of the presiding officer. Persons desiring to address the City Council shall complete an information card containing name, address and such other information as required by the City Recorder for the record and return it to the City Recorder. Persons addressing the City Council shall give their name for the record. All remarks shall be directed to the whole Council. The presiding officer may limit comments or refuse to recognize the person if the person’s remarks become irrelevant, repetitious, personal, impertinent, abusive or slanderous, or if the person’s conduct is disorderly or disruptive. In the event that a member of the audience refuses to abide by the presiding officer’s order, that person may be denied further opportunity to address the Council and may be removed upon order of the presiding officer. Except as provided otherwise elsewhere in this Code or in rules of procedure adopted by the City Council, the order in which comments are to be received is left to the discretion of the presiding officer. The presiding officer may request that a spokesperson be selected for a group of persons wishing to speak.

§ 12.02.055 Exclusion Orders.

[Ord. No. 2447, Add, 2-7-2006]

1. If, during one or more City Council meetings, any person repeatedly engages in conduct that is disorderly, abusive or disruptive, or repeatedly fails or refuses to obey a ruling of the Mayor, Council President or other presiding officer regarding a matter of order or procedure, the City Council may vote to issue an order excluding that person from City Hall, and from any other buildings in which City Council meetings occur, in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

2. An exclusion order issued under Subsection (1) of this Section shall provide that, for a period of 60 days, the person who is the subject of the order is prohibited from entering or remaining at City Hall after 5:00 p.m. on any day when evening City Council meetings are scheduled to occur, and between 7:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on any day when morning City Council meetings are scheduled to occur, and shall also provide that the person is prohibited from entering or remaining at any building in which a City Council meeting takes place for the duration of that meeting. The exclusion period shall be 90 days for a second exclusion order issued to same person within a 24-month period, and 120 days for a third or subsequent exclusion order issued to the same person within a 24-month period. The exclusion period shall begin ten calendar days following the date of mailing or posting of the written notice required under Subsection (3) of this section, unless it is suspended as provided in Subsection (5) of this Section.

3. The City Manager shall mail written notice of an exclusion order to the last known address of the person who is the subject of the order. If no address is known, the City Manager shall post the notice in a public location at City Hall, and shall cause the notice to remain posted until the expiration of the exclusion period.

4. The written notice required under Subsection (3) of this Section shall include:

a. A description of the conduct warranting the exclusion order;

b. The duration of the exclusion period;

c. A description of the times of exclusion and buildings from which the person is excluded pursuant to Subsection (2) of this Section, together with a list of the City Council meetings that are scheduled to occur during the exclusion period as of the date of the notice;

d. A statement that violation of the exclusion order shall be a criminal trespass;

e. Examples of how the person may communicate with the City Council during the exclusion period other than by personal testimony, such as by letters, e-mail messages, written testimony or testimony through representatives;

f. Examples of how the person may monitor meetings of the City Council that occur during the exclusion period, such as by viewing live and replayed telecasts, viewing videotapes and reviewing minutes and news media accounts;

g. A description of the process for appealing the exclusion order as provided in Subsection (5) of this Section.

5. A person who is the subject of an exclusion order may contest the order by filing a written notice of appeal with the Municipal Court within ten calendar days following the date of mailing or posting of the written notice under Subsection (3) of this Section. The notice of appeal shall include the person’s name, address and telephone number, and shall include a description of the reasons why the person contends that the order is invalid. A timely filing of a complete notice of appeal as provided in this subsection shall suspend the effective date of the exclusion order until the Municipal Court rules on the appeal.

6. Upon timely receipt of a complete notice of appeal, the Municipal Court shall notify the appellant and the City Manager of the date and time of a hearing on the appeal. If, after reviewing the testimony and other evidence presented at the hearing, the Court finds that the validity of the exclusion order has been proven by a preponderance of the evidence, the Court shall enter an order upholding the exclusion order and establishing the commencement date of the exclusion period. If the Court finds that validity of the exclusion order has not been proven by a preponderance of the evidence, the Court shall enter an order vacating the exclusion order. The order of the Municipal Court shall be final.

§ 12.02.060 Council Member Expense Allowance.

[Ord. No. 1912, 4-16-1985; Ord. No. 2090, Amended, 3-15-1994; Ord. No. 2107, Amended, 10-4-1994; Ord. No. 2920, Amended, 12-20-2022; Updated 7-1-2000; Updated 7-1-2006; Updated 7-11-2005; Updated 8-17-1999; Updated 8-13-1996; Updated 8-16-1995; Updated 9-1-1997; Updated 9-1-1998; Updated 7-1-2007; Updated 7-1-2008; Updated 7-1-2009; Updated 10-7-2014; Updated 4-20-2015; Updated 7-1-2020; Updated 7-1-2021; Updated 6-29-2023; Updated 7-5-2024]

1. Pursuant to Lake Oswego Charter Chapter III Section 13, each member of the City Council shall receive the following allowance for expenses incidental to service on the Council: The Mayor shall receive $529.05 [updated 2024] per month and each Councilor shall receive $235.08 [updated 2024] per month. Once per calendar year following April 16, 1985, this amount shall be adjusted pursuant to and at the beginning of the first city payroll period following July 1. The City shall use the Consumer Price Index Western Region Size B-C (CPI) as of the prior year end. Following any adjustment, the City Recorder shall update the Lake Oswego Code by adjusting the allowance amounts set forth in this subsection to reflect any CPI adjustment.

2. In addition to the allowance to cover incidental expenses established in subsection 1 of this section, members of the City Council may receive an advance or reimbursement for special expenses incurred pursuant to service on the Council. As used in this section, "special expenses" means expenses arising from Council obligations or events outside of the normal course and scope of regular Council business. Such special expenses include the costs of attending training seminars and/or state or national meetings or conferences, such as the League of Oregon Cities or National League of Cities conferences. Members of the Council shall obtain and account for advances or reimbursements for special expenses in the same manner as required of City employees.

§ 12.02.065 Contract Review Board.

[Ord. No. 1611, 2-17-1976; Ord. No. 2091, Renumbered, 4-19-1994]

The City Council is hereby designated as the local Contract Review Board, and relative to contract concerns of this city shall have all the powers granted to the State Public Contract Review Board.

§ 12.02.070 Administrative Rules.

[Ord. No. 1611, 2-17-1976; Ord. No. 2091, Renumbered, 4-19-1994]

The City Council, acting as the local Contract Review Board, shall the power to adopt, and from time to time to amend, by resolution, administrative rules and regulations to provide for the efficient administrative and implementation of all matters relating to public contracts of the City of Lake Oswego.