Upon the appearance of a quorum, the Mayor shall take the chair
and call the Council to order.
The Mayor or, in his absence, the President of the Council shall
preserve order and decorum, and all questions of order shall be decided
by him. The President of the Council shall not forfeit his vote when
serving in the absence of the Mayor. The Mayor shall cast a vote on
matters before the Council only in the event of a tie, in which case
it shall be counted toward a majority.
Pursuant to the Code of the City of Oswego, New York, Article III, §
C3-01, of the City Charter, the Council at its January 1 meeting shall appoint a presiding officer or president whose duties shall be as follows:
A. The Council President shall preside at Council meetings in the absence
of the Mayor.
B. Present an annual legislative proposal, the parts of which he shall
refer to the appropriate committee for review and presentation to
the full Council during the ensuing year.
C. The Council President shall serve as an ex officio member of all
standing committees of the Council and shall chair discussions of
the budget by the Common Council.
D. Pursuant to the Code of the City of Oswego, New York, Article IV, §
C4-02, of the City Charter, the Council President shall become Acting Mayor of the City upon the Mayor's death, resignation, incapacity, or, at the Mayor's request, upon his absence from the City.
E. The Council President shall see that the Mayor's charge to the Committee provided for in the Code of the City of Oswego, New York, Article IV, §
C4-05, of the City Charter is carried out, including the scheduling of regular meetings and the availability of minutes of those meetings.
F. The Council President shall receive additional compensation of $5,000
per year.
The Council at its January 1 meeting shall elect a Council Vice
President who shall immediately assume the duties of the Council President
should the position of the Council President become vacant.
A. The Council Vice President shall receive additional compensation
of $2,500 per year.
No member shall speak unless recognized by the chair, and then
shall confine his remarks to the question before the Council.
Every member shall vote when a question is stated from the chair,
unless excused by a majority vote of the Council, or by the Chair
for a conflict of interest. The roll call vote shall be initiated
by the Councilor of the First Ward at the first meeting of the year,
by the Councilor of the Second Ward at the second meeting of the year,
and continuing sequentially. In the absence of the Councilor whose
turn it is to initiate the roll call vote, the Councilor of the next
numbered ward shall be first to initiate the vote continuing thereon
sequentially.
The following rules and procedures shall govern the presentation
of matters for Council action.
A. All petitions, reports, resolutions, formal motions and amendments
shall be reduced to writing by the members of the Council offering
the same.
B. Any resolution introduced at any meeting shall, before it is introduced,
be submitted to the appropriate committee concerned therewith. Questions
concerning the assignment of resolutions to committees shall be decided
by the President of the Council. Within five weeks of its referral
to committee, every resolution shall be reported back to the Common
Council, with the committee's favorable or unfavorable recommendation.
C. The Common Council may waive Rule VII, Subsection
B, at any Council meeting in order to consider matters that require action before the next scheduled committee meeting.
D. All resolutions, petitions, reports and formal motions will be filed
in the office of the City Clerk before 12:00 noon on the Thursday
immediately preceding the Monday Council meeting. In the event of
a holiday on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of the week preceding the
Council meeting, all resolutions, etc., will be filed in the office
of the City Clerk before 12:00 noon on the Tuesday preceding the Council
meeting.
When a question has been once put and decided, it shall be in
order for any member who voted with the majority to move for a reconsideration
thereof; but no motion for reconsideration of any vote shall be in
order after the second regular meeting following such vote. A motion
for reconsideration, if lost, shall not be repeated at the same meeting
of the Council.
When a question is under debate, no motion shall be heard but
to adjourn, to lie it on the table, for the previous question, to
postpone indefinitely, to postpone to a day certain or to amend, which
several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are
arranged. The motion to adjourn, to lie on the table and relating
to the priority of business shall be decided without debate upon the
main question.
No standing rule or order of the Council shall be rescinded,
changed or suspended, except by a vote of a majority of all the members
of the Council.
All questions of procedure shall be determined by the current
edition of Robert's Rules of Order, being governed by any and
all applicable New York State statutes and/or laws.
The Mayor shall be authorized to call special meetings of the
Common Council when it is necessary for the Council to consider matters
that require action before the Council's next regular meeting
or when requested to do so by the President of the Council. Notice
of the date, time, place and purpose of the meeting shall be provided
to all Councilors at least one day prior to such meeting. Only matters
listed on the agenda for the special meeting can be acted upon at
such meeting. The requirement for a public session prior to a special
meeting of the Common Council shall be waived. However, the Common
Council may conduct a public session at a special meeting upon an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Common Council.
There shall be a fifteen-minute public session prior to each
Common Council meeting which shall commence at 7:15 p.m. Members of
the public who wish to speak at the public session shall be required
to list their name and address on a sign-up sheet prior to the commencement
of the public session. Each member of the public shall be allotted
a five-minute time period to speak to the Mayor and the Common Council.
During the public session no person shall be permitted to use profanity,
to engage in name calling, or to personally attack any City officer
or employee or any other member of the public.