A.
The Board shall organize at a meeting held at Curtis Hall on the day and time as designated in § C401 of the Charter.
B.
As prescribed in § C401 of the Charter, the Board shall, at its organization meeting, elect by an absolute majority vote of the total membership of the Board a President and Vice President. Until such election of the President is accomplished, the Township Manager shall serve as presiding officer. The Board may also elect such other officers as it may deem appropriate.
C.
In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall preside at Board meetings, as prescribed in § C603 of the Charter. In the event of the absence of both President and Vice President, the President's functions and duties shall be performed by the Commissioner with the most seniority in office.
B.
Regular meetings. In accordance with the provisions set forth in § C402 of the Charter, regular meetings of the Board shall be held at least once a month.
C.
Special meetings. Special meetings, in compliance with § C402 of the Charter, may be called by the President upon his own motion, or shall be called by the President upon the written request of at least one-third (1/3) of the Commissioners then in office. Written notice shall be given to all members of the Board by the Township Manager or, in his absence, by the officer calling the meeting. The notice shall specify the time and place of the subject meeting and shall contain a statement of the nature of each item of business then expected to be proposed for consideration.
D.
Emergency meetings. As provided in § C402 of the Charter, the Board may hold and take action at an emergency meeting at any time. Such emergency meetings may be called by the President of the Board upon his own motion or at the request of the Township Manager or any member of the Board, provided that a quorum is present as provided in § C404 of the Charter.
All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public in accordance with § C402C of the Charter and state statutes.
A.
The proposed agenda for any regular or special meeting of the Board shall be prepared by the Township Manager.
B.
The proposed agenda for any written or special meeting of the Board shall be forwarded to members of the Board at least 24 hours in advance of said meeting, except where an emergency makes such impracticable. At the same time, a copy of the proposed agenda shall be given to the public by posting it prominently in the Township Building.
C.
The title of any ordinance or resolution to be considered shall be published as part of the agenda.
D.
The proposed agenda may be amended at the meeting by a majority of the members present.
A.
At the time appointed for any meeting of the Board, the President shall take the chair and call the meeting to order. If a quorum is present, as provided in the Charter, the President shall proceed with the order of business prescribed for the meeting. If, upon the call of the roll, a quorum is not present, the President shall order recess for a maximum period of 30 minutes, and, if no quorum has developed by that time, the President shall declare the meeting adjourned and upon his own motion establish a new date for a meeting.
B.
Unless a majority of the Board votes otherwise, the order of business for each regular meeting shall be as follows:
A.
The President shall be responsible for the orderly conduct of business at each Board meeting and shall preserve order and decorum at such meetings.
B.
The Board, at its organization meeting, shall adopt rules governing its procedure. The President shall announce all decisions of the Board and shall decide all questions of order without debate, subject, however, to an appeal by any Board member. Any ruling by the President may be overruled by a majority of the members present.
C.
Every member of the Board desiring to speak shall address the Chair and, upon recognition, shall confine remarks to the questions under debate, avoiding all indecorous language or reference to personalities. Any member of the Board, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking, unless it is for the purpose of calling such person to order. If a member of the Board, while speaking, is called to order, that person shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined. When two or more members request the floor at the same time, the President shall name the one entitled to the floor.
D.
The roll of members shall be called alphabetically, except that the President shall be called last and the Vice President next to last.
E.
All votes of the Board on all proposed ordinances and on any other matter, when requested by any Commissioner, shall be taken by roll call.
F.
No second shall be required for the Board to consider any proposed action.
[Amended 5-15-2024 by Ord. No. 2472-24]
A.
Residents and taxpayers of the Township shall be provided the opportunity to address the Board of Commissioners or its Standing Committees on any agenda item. Such opportunity to address the Board shall be prior to any action of the Board or Committee on an agenda item.
B.
When addressing the Board or a Standing Committee, the following rules shall be in place:
(1)
Comments should be directed to the President/Chairperson/Presiding Officer, and not to staff members, consultants, other members of the public, or other individuals presenting at the meeting. If a member of the Board/Standing Committee or staff has information they wish to offer, they may be recognized and provide the information. The Presiding Officer may, at his or her discretion, refer a question or comment to a member of the Board/Committee or staff for a response, which response or follow-up may occur either at the meeting or after the meeting, as may be appropriate. A good-faith effort will be made to respond to good faith questions from the public in a timely manner.
(2)
If participating in person, residents/taxpayers shall speak from the podium or into a microphone designated by the Presiding Officer and be seated after speaking, at the conclusion of the comment and provided response, or upon request of the Presiding Officer.
(3)
If participating electronically, residents/taxpayers shall remain muted until their time to speak and mute themselves immediately following their comment.
(4)
There is no guarantee that comments made in the chat section of a virtual meeting will be monitored or responded to and, therefore, they shall not be considered formal comment to the Board/Standing Committee.
(5)
Residents/taxpayers wishing to provide comment must preface their comments by stating their full name and neighborhood of residence in the Township for the record.
(6)
It is expected that speakers will speak one time per agenda item. A speaker shall receive a maximum of three minutes to make a comment; however, the Presiding Officer may provide up to one additional minute of comment if the Presiding Officer determines there was a substantive misunderstanding on the part of the speaker, Board or Standing Committee during the speaker's initial comment period such that the speaker should have the ability to clarify their initial comment. This follow up minute is not intended for debate, interrogation or raising issues not raised during the initial comment period.
(7)
A timekeeper shall be designated for each meeting who will monitor the time and notify speakers when they have reached the time limit.
(8)
Reasonable accommodation shall be made to accommodate individuals with disabilities who need them. When possible, such requests should be made in advance of the meeting in accordance with applicable law.
(9)
When speaking to a specific agenda item, residents/taxpayers are asked to keep comments relative to the identified agenda item.
(10)
Comments concerning non-agenda items shall be made solely during the Citizens Forum portion of the agenda.
(11)
Members of the public may not disrupt the meeting or communicate speech that is not protected by the First Amendment.
(12)
Members of the public may not speak out from their seats or out of turn if participating virtually.
C.
The presiding officer or designee may (1) limit a speaker's statement that exceeds the stated time limits, is obscene, or otherwise in violation of applicable law; (2) request that an individual leave the meeting, with the assistance of law enforcement if necessary, where the individual is acting in a disorderly manner that interferes with the orderly progress of the meeting; or (3) call a recess or adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action.
D.
The guidelines listed above shall apply to meetings of the Board of Commissioners and its Standing Committees.
B.
Ordinance form and procedure shall be as set forth in § C501 of the Charter, unless otherwise required by law.
C.
All ordinances and resolutions passed by the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the President of the Board. The Official Seal of the Township shall be affixed to the copy of each ordinance and shall be attested to by the Township Manager.