A. 
At the second regular meeting in November in non-election years and at the meeting at which new council members are installed during election years, the city council shall determine the order of the line of succession following the criteria in this section.
B. 
Prior to the appointment of the new mayor and mayor pro tem, council members shall each be designated/identified by the length of time they have had of continuous service on the city council without having served as mayor.
1. 
The council member with the longest continuous service on the city council without having served as mayor shall be appointed mayor.
2. 
The council member with the second longest continuous service on the city council without having served as mayor shall be appointed mayor pro tem.
3. 
If two or more council members qualify equally for the mayor appointment the council member who received the most popular votes in his or her most recent municipal election shall be appointed mayor, and the member with the second highest vote total shall be designated mayor pro tem. If two or more council members qualify equally for the mayor pro tem appointment the council member who received the most popular votes in his or her most recent municipal election shall be appointed mayor pro tem.
C. 
If any council member who is sitting as mayor dies, resigns or otherwise vacates his mayoral position, or if any council member who is about to be appointed mayor dies, resigns or announces that he or she would prefer to continue service on the city council without holding the office of mayor, the members of the city council may, by majority vote, fill the vacancy by electing any council member to fill said unexpired term or full term, whichever is applicable; such election shall be without prejudice to said person serving a full term as mayor when his or her regular turn under these criteria occurs. If no person receives a majority vote, the position of mayor shall be filled by the mayor pro tem, who shall also serve without prejudice to serving a full term as mayor when his or her regular turn under these criteria occurs.
D. 
No person temporarily appointed to fill a vacancy on the city council shall serve as mayor or mayor pro tem during such appointment unless there is no available alternative. If the no-available-alternative circumstance should arise, the appointed person(s) having served the longest (in terms of months, weeks, days and hours) in such temporary capacity shall serve as required.
E. 
No person elected to the city council shall be given credit in determining his or her order in the line of mayoral or mayor pro tem succession for prior city council service not continuous with his or her current council service.
F. 
If the office of the mayor pro tem should become vacant for any reason, the office shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term.
(Ord. 888 § 2, 2004; Ord. 1203 § 2, 2023)
A. 
The city council shall hold regular meetings at the City Hall, located at 69-825 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, or at such other place as the city council may designate from time to time, on the first and third Thursdays of each month commencing at one p.m.
B. 
If at any time a regularly scheduled meeting falls on a legal holiday, such regularly scheduled meeting shall be scheduled on the next succeeding business day at the same time and place.
C. 
The city council may set study session(s) in the same manner as the setting of special meetings pursuant to Section 2.02.020.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978; Ord. 161 § 1, 1978; Ord. 208 § 1, 1980; Ord. 235 § 1, 1981; Ord. 272 § 1, 1983; Ord. 290 § 1, 1984; Ord. 486 § 1, 1990; Ord. 560 § 1, 1993; Ord. 627 § 1, 1995; Ord. 666 § 1, 1997)
Special meetings may be called by the mayor or a majority of the council members upon twenty-four hours' notice, as provided for in Section 54956 of the Government Code. Only matters contained in the notice of the special meeting may be considered at such special meeting.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978)
Three members of the city council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Motions may be passed by a majority if only three attend, but ordinances, resolutions granting franchises and payment of money require at least three affirmative votes. Less than a quorum may adjourn from time to time. Where there is no quorum, the mayor, mayor pro tem, or any member of the city council shall adjourn such meeting, or if no member of the council is present, the city clerk shall adjourn the meeting.
For the purpose of considering any item subject to vote of the city council, when a member of the council disqualifies himself or herself due to conflict of interest, his presence shall not be considered in determining the presence of a quorum. If the disqualification reduces those in attendance to less than a quorum, consideration on such items shall be deferred until a quorum of non-interested council members is present to discuss and vote on them.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978; Ord. 804 § 1, 2002)
Study sessions and all regular adjourned or special meetings of the council shall be open to the public; provided, however, that the council may hold closed sessions from which the public may be excluded for the consideration of attorney-client matters and matters authorized by state law.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978; Ord. 537 § 1, 1992; Ord. 588 § 1, 1994)
The order of business of each meeting shall be contained in the agenda prepared by the city manager. Any matter may be placed on the agenda for any meeting of the city council by the mayor, by any other member of the city council, by the city manager, city attorney, or by the city clerk. At least seventy-two hours before a regular meeting, the city council, or its designee, shall post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session. The agenda shall specify the time and location of the regular meeting and shall be posted in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public.
Matters that are not on the agenda can be raised by individual members of the city council for limited discussion, but action cannot be taken on such items unless they qualify as emergency situations, or as urgent matters as set forth in Government Code Section 54954.2(b), or otherwise qualify under that section.
No matter may be placed on the agenda for reconsideration unless such matter qualifies under the terms of Section 2.02.120.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978; Ord. 158 § 1, 1978; Ord. 628 § 1, 1995; Ord. 804 § 2, 2002)
Before proceeding with the business of the council, the city clerk shall call the roll of the council members and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. The order of roll call shall be by districts, except that the mayor shall be called last.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978)
A. 
The mayor shall be the presiding officer at meetings of the council. In the absence of the mayor, the mayor pro tem shall preside. In the absence of both the mayor and mayor pro tem, the council shall elect a temporary presiding officer to serve until the arrival of the mayor or mayor pro tem, or until adjournment.
B. 
The mayor shall be the official head of the city for all ceremonial purposes, and he shall perform all duties imposed upon him or her by the laws of the state or by ordinances of the city.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978; Ord. 605 § 1, 1994; Ord. 711 § 1, 1999; Ord. 888 § 1, 2004)
The presiding officer shall preserve order at all meetings, have the power to reasonably limit the time of any citizen speaking from the floor, state questions coming before the city council, and announce decisions on all subjects. The presiding officer may vote on all matters and may make or second motions.
The presiding officer shall determine all points of order, subject to the right of any member to appeal to the council. If an appeal is taken, the question shall be, Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustained? A majority vote shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978; Ord. 804 § 3, 2002)
A. 
Any council member desiring to speak shall address the chair and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself or herself to the question under debate.
B. 
A council member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted while speaking unless called to order by the presiding officer, unless a point of order is raised by another council member, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to questions from another council member.
C. 
Any council member called to order while he is speaking shall cease speaking immediately until the question of order is determined. If ruled to be in order, he shall be permitted to proceed. If ruled to be out of order, he shall remain silent or shall alter his remarks so as to comply with the rules of the council.
D. 
Council members shall accord the utmost courtesy to each other, to the city employees, and to the public appearing before the council, and shall refrain at all times from rude and derogatory remarks, reflections as to integrity, abusive comments and statements as to motives and personalities.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978)
Members of the administrative staff and employees and the public attending council meetings shall observe the same rules of order and decorum applicable to the council. Any person making impertinent or slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous while addressing the council or while attending the council meeting shall be declared to be out of order. Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of feet, whistles, yells or similar demonstrations shall not be permitted by the presiding officer.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978)
Unless a member of the council audibly votes in the negative or disqualifies himself or herself, or expressly declines to vote, his silence shall be recorded as an affirmative vote.
(Ord. 154 § 1, 1978)
A. 
The city council shall not reconsider or rehear any matter which has been previously acted on any more often than two additional times during any twelve-calendar-month period. The twelve calendar months shall begin on the date of the council meeting at which action was first taken.
B. 
Council action, for purposes of this section, shall not include a tie vote, a vote to continue a matter, a vote to table a matter, the mayor determining to table a matter, adoption or amendment to the city budget, or a vote on any matter that the city council is required by law to act on.
(Ord. 628 § 2, 1995)
A person appointed by the city council to fill a vacancy on the city council shall hold office only until the first Tuesday after the earliest date provided by law upon which a regular or special election can be held for city council members and at which a successor is elected for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(Ord. 170 § 1, 1979)
The business of the city council shall be taken up for consideration and/or disposition in the order determined by the city council. The presiding officer or a majority of the city council may change the order of business at any time during the meeting; however, business will be considered in the order set forth in the published agenda, unless modified pursuant to this section.
(Ord. 804 § 4, 2002)
At an hour set by the council for its regular meetings, each member of the city council, the city manager, city clerk, city attorney and such department heads or others as have been requested to be present shall take their regular stations in the council chambers.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, The New Roberts Rules of Order, 10th Edition (2000) (and hereafter by the most recently revised edition of Roberts Rules of Order), shall be used as a guide to the conduct of the meetings of the city council; provided, however, that the failure of the city council to conform to Roberts Rules of Order shall not, in any instance, be deemed to invalidate action taken by the city council. The city council, in accordance with its right to govern its own proceedings, reserves the right to proceed at any time otherwise than as prescribed or indicated in Roberts Rules of Order.
(Ord. 804 § 5, 2002)
The right of a council member to address the city council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which his integrity, character, or motives is questioned or where the welfare of the council is concerned. A council member raising a point of personal privilege may interrupt another council member who has the floor only if the presiding officer recognizes the privilege.
(Ord. 804 § 6, 2002)
Members of the city council shall have the right of free and full debate or discussion of any issue properly before the council and such right may not be curtailed except upon the vote of two-thirds of the members present. The council member moving the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or motion shall have the privilege of closing debate, subject to a city council majority ruling that debate should continue.
(Ord. 804 § 7, 2002)
A council member may request through the presiding officer the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the city council entered in the minutes. If there is no objection, or if the council consents by majority vote, such statement shall be entered in the minutes.
(Ord. 804 § 8, 2002)
Tie votes shall be lost motions or no action and the matter voted upon may be subject to further city council consideration as though the matter had never been previously considered.
(Ord. 804 § 9, 2002)
Every member of the council desiring to question any member of the city's staff during the council meeting shall, after recognition by the presiding officer, address his questions to such staff members. If the council member wishes to address questions to the city manager, city clerk, or city attorney, such staff members shall be entitled to answer the inquiry or to designate another staff member for that purpose.
(Ord. 804 § 10, 2002)
All regular and adjourned regular meetings of the City Council shall be recorded in an audio or video format and all such recordings shall be retained by the City for a period of at least twenty-five years.
(Ord. 946 § 1, 2006)
The city council, or its designee, may issue a subpoena pursuant to Section 37104 et seq. of the California Government Code requiring attendance of witnesses or production of books or other documents for evidence or testimony in any action or proceeding pending before it, so long as it serves any valid purpose within the jurisdiction of the city council.
(Ord. 958 § 1, 2007)