The following rules are established for the conduct of formal
and informal meetings of the city council:
(1)
Time and place of regular meetings.
The city council
shall meet in regular session on the second Monday of each calendar
month at 6:30 p.m. and on the fourth Monday of each calendar month
at 6:30 p.m. All regular meetings shall be in the council chambers
at the city hall. In the event of conflict between such regular meeting
days and any holiday or other city function, such meeting dates may
be changed or cancelled by order of the city council at least two
(2) weeks prior to such changes or cancelled dates. If the meeting
has not commenced within thirty (30) minutes after the designated
time, the mayor shall at that time adjourn the meeting, provided,
however, that the adjournment may be overruled by the affirmative
vote of at least three (3) councilmembers. Any recess shall not be
for a period in excess of one (1) hour from the time of recess.
(2)
Special meetings.
An informal session, or work
session, shall be held by the city council on recommendation by the
mayor or any two (2) councilmembers.
(3)
Procedure for submitting agenda items.
Any and
all ordinances, resolutions, motions or other matters to be brought
before the city council for its consideration by the mayor or any
councilmember shall be submitted by the mayor or by such councilmember,
as hereinafter provided, to the city secretary not later than 12:00
noon of the Monday of the week preceding the regular meeting at which
the same is to be considered. The mayor or his designee shall then
prepare a written agenda for the meeting, setting out the matters
so submitted to him, and shall send a copy of such agenda and any
ordinances or resolutions to be considered, by mail or other delivery
in sufficient time to be delivered to and received by each councilmember
not later than 5:00 p.m. of the Thursday preceding the meeting which
is to be held. Any ordinance or resolution not so sent shall not be
considered. Any request for placement of a matter on the agenda shall
be in writing and shall contain a short statement concerning the matter
and the particular action sought. Copies of such written requests
shall be included in the councilmembers' packets.
(4)
Items on agenda.
The order of business of each
meeting shall be contained in the agenda. The agenda shall be a listing
by topic of subjects to be considered by city council and shall be
included in the councilmembers' packets by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday
preceding the council meeting.
(A)
Public comment period.
A public comment period shall be placed on every agenda as governed by section 1.04.062.
(B)
Deferral of action on agenda items.
In the event
of a request for additional information or for delay to obtain additional
information by one (1) councilmember, the council must defer action
upon such agenda item to the next regular meeting of the city council
or such later meeting as shall be necessary to receive needed information.
Any agenda item may be deferred only once pursuant to this subsection.
(5)
Agenda procedure.
This section is designed to
establish an orderly procedure for handling agenda items:
(A)
Reading of agenda items; opening of discussion.
The mayor or city secretary shall read the item from the agenda and
make a brief explanation of any item on the agenda, to explain its
purpose and intent, if necessary.
(B)
Stating of question.
Before any vote is taken
on any question or ordinance before the city council, the mayor or
city secretary shall restate the motion having been submitted, naming
the councilmember offering the second thereto, and then call for the
question.
(C)
Announcement of vote.
The mayor or the city secretary
shall, at the conclusion of the vote on each question properly submitted,
announce the results.
(D)
Statement of results; end of discussion.
The mayor
or city secretary shall clearly state the results of any action taken
by city council at the conclusion of the vote. Following the vote
on any motion, councilmembers shall neither discuss the issue nor
explain their vote, and the mayor shall proceed to the next agenda
item.
(E)
Recording of votes.
All votes on any motion shall
be recorded and if not unanimous, should clearly state the name of
each councilmember voting and how they voted.
(F)
Roll call vote.
A roll call vote shall be taken
upon request of any councilmember. Such vote shall be in random order.
(G)
Rules of parliamentary procedure.
These rules,
and in all cases Robert's Rules of Order Revised, shall control the
deliberations of the city council.
(H)
Points of order.
The mayor shall determine all
points of order, subject to the right of any member to appeal to the
city council or request a parliamentary opinion of the city attorney.
(I)
Staff attendance.
(i)
City administrator.
The city administrator shall
attend all meetings of the city council unless excused.
(ii)
City attorney.
The city attorney
shall attend all meetings of the city council unless excused and shall,
upon request, give an opinion, either written or oral, on questions
of law. The city attorney shall act as the city council's parliamentarian.
(iii)
City secretary.
The city secretary
shall attend all meetings of the city council unless excused and shall
keep the official journal (minutes) and perform such other duties
as may be requested of the city secretary by the city council.
(iv)
Department heads.
Department heads
of the city, when there is pertinent business from their departments
on the agenda, shall attend such city council meetings.
(J)
Consent agenda.
The written agenda shall identify
those items requiring a vote by city council, excluding any ordinance
or matter requiring more than a majority vote or any other special
vote. Such items shall qualify for the consent agenda and may be approved
in a collective motion approved by a majority of councilmembers. The
mayor shall call for a motion to approve the items on the consent
agenda prior to the reading of the first item of business requiring
council action. Any councilmember may require a separate vote on any
item so listed by objecting to its inclusion on the consent agenda.
A motion to approve the consent agenda and the items included in the
consent agenda are not subject to debate.
(K)
Activity reports.
The city administrator shall
furnish copies of monthly activity reports prepared by department
heads. Such reports need not be included in councilmembers' packets.
(Ordinance 3103 adopted 8/28/2023)
The following rules shall control public comments, it being
the desire of the city council to hear from the public to stimulate
discussion of subjects which are properly a concern of the city council:
(1)
Statement of rules.
Immediately preceding the
opening of audience comments, the mayor shall summarize briefly the
rules governing public comments.
(2)
Recognition of persons desiring to comment.
Each
person desiring to comment must be recognized by the mayor or city
secretary, recognizing first individuals signed-up for public comments
and shall first give his or her name and address. Each person shall
address the city council as a whole and not any councilmember individually.
(3)
Time limit.
A time limit of three (3) minutes
shall govern each speaker for the first thirty (30) minutes of public
comments. Any additional speakers signed-up following the initial
thirty (30) minutes of public comments shall be governed by a time
limit of one (1) minute each.
(4)
Conclusion of comments.
Audience comments may
be concluded by the mayor, or, if appealed by a vote of three (3)
councilmembers. The mayor shall announce the conclusion of audience
comments.
(5)
Preservation of order.
The mayor shall preserve
order and decorum and, if necessary, shall cause to be silenced or
removed from the council chambers any person speaking out-of-order
or disrupting the order of the meeting.
(6)
Termination of comments.
In the event of pressing
business before the city council or matters requiring immediate city
council attention or action, city council may, by a vote of three
(3) councilmembers, set a maximum time limit for audience comments,
being the total allocation of time for such comments; or city council
may, by a vote of three (3) councilmembers, terminate audience comments
for a particular city council meeting.
(Ordinance 3103 adopted 8/28/2023)
Any councilmember shall upon request to the city administrator
be given at the time of request, any information or documentation
relative to the city affairs.
(Ordinance 3103 adopted 8/28/2023)
The city council shall have the right to limit the time for
discussion on any agenda item.
(Ordinance 3103 adopted 8/28/2023)
All appointments by the mayor to advisory committees shall be
subject to confirmation by the city council.
(Ordinance 3103 adopted 8/28/2023)
Any portion of these rules may be suspended at any time by an
affirmative vote of three (3) councilmembers. Such suspension shall
be effective solely for the time of that single meeting and shall
terminate upon adjournment of the meeting in which suspension was
approved.
(Ordinance 3103 adopted 8/28/2023)
No smoking, eating or drinking shall be allowed in the council
chamber in city hall when the city council is in session.
(Ordinance 3103 adopted 8/28/2023)
