[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Wethersfield 4-6-2009.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former Ch. A180,
Town Council Rules of Procedure, adopted 1-7-1980, as last amended
2-19-2008.
Each newly elected Council shall meet for organization in the
Town Hall at a time to be announced on the first Monday following
the November Election in each odd-numbered year. The meeting shall
be called to order by the Town Clerk, who shall administer the oath
of office to all members, provided that in the absence of the Town
Clerk, the meeting may be called to order and the oath administered
by any citizen of Wethersfield authorized by law to administer oaths.
The Council shall then proceed to the election of a Chairperson and
Vice Chairperson to serve for the ensuing two years, who may also
be known respectively as the "Mayor" and the "Deputy Mayor" (Charter,
Sec. 304).
[Amended 7-16-2018; 3-7-2022]
The Regular Town Council Meeting will be held the first and
third Monday of each Month at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers
unless otherwise determined by the Council. If a meeting is adjourned
to a date, time, and place certain, a notice of the same shall be
conspicuously posted near the door of the meeting place, stating the
date, time and place of the adjourned meeting or instructions for
joining any adjournment to a regular meeting held solely by means
of electronic equipment. The schedule of regular meetings for the
ensuring year shall be filed in the Town Clerk's office as soon as
possible after the organizational meeting.
[Amended 3-7-2022]
Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Chairperson
or by not fewer than three members of the Council. If called by three
members, each shall advise the Town Clerk, in writing, including electronic
mail, by telephone, or in person, to that effect.
A.
Notice of a special meeting shall be prepared by the Town Clerk,
and a copy shall be served electronically and by mail upon each member
of the Council and the Town Manager or Acting Town Manager or left
at their usual places of abode not less than 24 hours before the time
of the meeting. The notice shall state the time and place of the meeting
or contain instructions for joining a special meeting to be held solely
by means of electronic equipment and the purpose for which the meeting
is called. A copy of said notice shall also be posted on the Town
Clerk's board at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.
B.
At a special meeting, no matter not included in the notice shall
be considered.
A.
No ordinance or resolution shall be adopted or appointment or removal
made except in a meeting of the Council open to the public (Charter,
Sec. 305).
B.
At least one public hearing, not less than five days' notice of which
shall be given by publication in a newspaper having general circulation
in the Town and by posting on the Town Clerk's board, shall be held
by the Council before any ordinance or resolution shall be acted upon
(Charter, Sec. 308).
C.
Budget hearing. There shall be a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on the
third Monday in April at a place to be determined by the Council,
at least five days' notice of which shall be given by publication
in at least one newspaper which has a general circulation in the Town
and by posting on the Town Clerk's board. At such hearing, any citizen
or property owner who desires it shall be entitled to be heard by
the Council on the Town and school budgets, and the hearing shall
be recessed from day to day until all such persons have been heard
(Charter, Sec. 705), provided that a notice of recess shall be conspicuously
posted on the door of the meeting place, stating the date, time and
place of the recessed meeting; provided, further, that any person
who desires to speak at the subject budget hearings shall initially
be heard for no longer than 10 minutes. After all persons who desire
to speak have spoken at any one budget hearing, those persons wishing
to speak for a second time shall be allowed to do so but shall not
exceed 10 minutes. After all persons have had a second opportunity
to speak, any person may thereafter speak.
D.
Public comment.
[Amended 7-16-2018; 3-7-2022]
(1)
Public comment sections at Regular Meetings are allowed during each
meeting for individual citizens' comments. During the public comment,
citizens may speak pertaining to any item on the agenda or of concern
to the Town.
(2)
(Reserved)
(3)
Each speaker shall limit his/her remarks to five minutes and shall
be heard only once at the beginning of the meeting and once at the
end of the meeting. This time restriction may be enforced by a timing
device. If a speaker exceeds the time limitation, the Chair shall
so notify the speaker and allow the speaker 30 seconds for summation.
The Chair, at his/her discretion, may grant the speaker additional
time. If a large number of citizens wish to speak, in the discretion
of the Chair, the time limit may be reduced to three minutes to accommodate
the crowd, and still allow the Council to conduct its business.
E.
If the Council needs to make a decision or needs additional information,
the Council should direct the Manager to get the facts, information
and/or recommendations it needs to make an informed decision in the
interest of all Town citizens. Citizens are encouraged to submit questions/concerns
in writing.
F.
Adjournment time: The Council establishes an adjournment time of
regular meetings of 11:00 p.m. If the adjournment time requires an
extension, it can be done via motion and a majority vote.
G.
Town Council members shall be able to participate in Council meetings
by telephone or electronic means; however, every effort should be
made by members to be at all meetings in person, and the use of telephones
or electronic means should only be used on when necessary. If a Councilor
wishes to participate electronically in a meeting noticed as a nonvirtual
meeting, the Councilor must notify the Town Manager or his/her designee
in writing or email no less than eight hours prior to the scheduled
time as indicated in the noticed meeting. When the Town Manager or
his/her designee is notified of such request, he/she shall send to
the requesting Councilor a link by which they may participate via
video conference or other similar method. If a Councilor fails to
notify the Town Manager or his/her designee in the time and manner
prescribed, then he or she will not be permitted to participate in
the meeting remotely. For Town Council meetings noticed as a virtual
meeting, there shall be no notification requirements for any Councilor
as described in this section.
[Amended 3-7-2022]
(1)
A member participating virtually shall be considered a person present at the meeting when determining a quorum under § A180-5. A councilor may speak and vote electronically in the same method and by the same procedure as they would as if they were there in person. It is the virtually participating Councilor’s responsibility to have a strong primary connection and a secondary connection to the Town Manager or his/her designee (cell phone, land line, etc.) in case of disruption. If at the time of a vote of the Council a member participating virtually is disconnected or loses audio connection to the meeting, the Chair shall afford that member three minutes to reconnect or use the secondary connection into the meeting before concluding the vote on the pending question before the Council. The meeting will be held in a room open and accessible to members of the public, using teleconferencing equipment that enables everyone in the room to hear. Any printed materials, reports, graphs, etc., utilized by the person phoning in must be available in the meeting room.
(2)
These
rules do not amend any Charter requirement regarding the number of
affirmative votes required to pass certain measures.
The presence of five members shall constitute a quorum, but
no ordinance, resolution or vote, except a vote to adjourn or to fix
the time and place of the next meeting of the Council, shall be adopted
by fewer than five affirmative votes (Charter, Sec. 305).
"Executive sessions" means a meeting of a public agency at which
the public is excluded for one or more of the following purposes:
A.
Discussion concerning the appointment, employment, performance, evaluation,
health or dismissal of a public officer or employee, provided that
such individual may require that discussion be held at an open meeting;
B.
Strategy and negotiations with respect to pending claims or pending
litigation to which the public agency or a member thereof, because
of the member's conduct as a member of such agency, is a party until
such litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise
settled;
C.
Matters concerning security strategy or the deployment of security
personnel, or devices affecting public security;
D.
Discussion of the selection of a site or the lease, sale or purchase
of real estate by a political subdivision of the state when publicity
regarding such site, lease, sale, purchase or construction would cause
a likelihood of increased price until such time as all of the property
has been acquired or all proceedings or transactions concerning same
have been terminated or abandoned; and
A.
The Chairperson or, absent a Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson shall preside at all meetings. The Chairperson shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide all questions of order without debate, except at said Chairperson's request, but subject to appeal to the Council. The Chairperson may speak and shall vote on all questions as is provided in § A180-14 of these rules. The Chairperson shall be an ex officio member of all committees without the right to vote, except that the Chairperson shall have the right to vote in those committees to which the Chairperson is appointed a member.
B.
In the absence of both the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson,
the Town Clerk may call the meeting to order, and the Council may
choose from its members a Chairperson Pro Tem who shall preside until
the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson appears.
C.
The Chairperson or, absent a Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson shall
represent the Town as titular head of the government at meetings of
such officials representing other municipalities, ceremonies and public
gatherings and upon such other occasions as said presence in such
capacity may be required.
The Town Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Council, keep a journal
of its proceedings which shall be a public record and perform such
other duties as may be assigned by the Charter or by action of the
Council or state statute (Charter, Sec. 501).
The Town Manager shall attend all meetings of the Council with
the right to speak but not to vote and shall perform such other duties
as may be assigned by law or by the ordinances or resolutions of the
Council (Charter, Sec. 403).
The Council may, from time to time, appoint such standing and
special committees in the manner and for such purposes as the Council
may designate.
[Amended 7-16-2018; 3-7-2022]
A.
Regular Meetings.
(1)
Pledge of Allegiance.
(2)
Recording of attendance by the Town Clerk.
(3)
Presentations.
(5)
Public
hearings on ordinances and resolutions.
(7)
(8)
Unfinished business.
(10)
Minutes.
(11)
Public comments.
(12)
Executive Session (if required). (Provide reason and attendees)
(13)
Adjourn.
A.
Except when a member of the Council has or desires the floor, the
Town Manager shall have the privilege of the floor for the purpose
of giving information to the Council on business and affairs of the
Town, and the Town Attorney shall likewise have the privilege of the
floor on the introduction or interpretation of any existing or proposed
ordinance or resolution or on any question of legal procedure.
B.
Except at a public hearing or as otherwise provided in these rules,
no person other than a member of the Council shall address the Council
except by the majority consent of not fewer than five of the members
of Council present.
A.
When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be stated by the Chairperson
and then be in possession of the Council and subject to amendment
or withdrawal, except that withdrawal cannot be made subsequent to
a voted amendment without the consent of the Council.
B.
When a motion is under debate, no further motion shall be received
except to adjourn, to recess, to table, for the previous question,
to limit or extend debate, to postpone to time certain, to refer to
committee, to amend or to postpone indefinitely, which motions shall
have precedence in the order indicated.
C.
Motions to table, to postpone to time certain or to postpone indefinitely,
once having been decided, shall not be reconsidered at the same meeting,
whereas a motion to refer a matter to a committee can be reconsidered
only at the meeting of the vote. Any other motion can be reconsidered
only at the same or the next succeeding meeting of the Council.
D.
Any motion to reconsider shall be in order only upon motion by a
member participating in the prevailing vote of the original motion,
and there shall be no reconsideration of the vote upon motion to adjourn,
for the previous question, or to reconsider.
The ayes and nays on each vote shall be recorded in the journal
(Charter, Sec. 305), thereby recording the vote of each Council member
or abstention.
A.
All ordinances and resolutions shall be introduced in written form
(Charter, Section 307).
B.
For purposes of this section, introduction shall mean the presentation
in written form at any regular or special meeting of Council, either
by a member of Council or by the Town Clerk, who shall present those
ordinances and resolutions filed with the Town Clerk's office by a
member of Council at any time prior to the meeting. Upon introduction,
all ordinances and resolutions shall automatically be set for public
hearing at the next regular or special meeting of Council, subject
to the notice requirements being met (Charter, Sec. 307). The terms
of this section shall not apply to emergency ordinances.
C.
It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk immediately upon the introduction
of any ordinance or resolution to prepare at least 15 copies of such
proposed ordinance or resolution. One copy shall be retained in the
Town Clerk's office for public inspection and one copy posted on the
Town signpost (Charter, Sec. 307). The Town Clerk shall also promptly
furnish each member of the Council, the Town Manager and the Town
Attorney with a copy of such ordinance or resolution.
D.
The copy of the proposed ordinance or resolution retained in the
office of the Town Clerk shall have endorsed thereon the name or names
of the member or committee introducing such document or filing the
same with the Town Clerk or have attached thereto the electors' petition,
as required under the Charter, Section 312, and at the end thereof,
under the caption "Statement of Purpose," shall contain a brief statement
of its purpose, which statement shall not be a part of the ordinance
or resolution. Where such document is introduced by electors' petition,
such copy shall be further endorsed by the Town Clerk, certifying
that the requirements of the Charter, Section 312, have been satisfied.
The statement of purpose and such endorsements shall be included on
all copies of the document to be prepared by the Town Clerk prior
to the final action taken on such document.
E.
Before any ordinance shall be acted upon, it shall be reviewed by
and such corrections as may be necessarily made therein by the Town
Attorney to ensure accuracy, clearness, conciseness and consistency
of text and phraseology as well as its constitutionality and consistency
with existing ordinances or statutes, and the copy of the ordinance
upon which final action is based shall bear the Town Attorney's endorsement
that such review has been made.
[Amended 3-7-2022]
A.
Notice of the passage of an ordinance or resolution shall be published
once in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town, and an
ordinance or resolution shall not become effective until 10 days after
such notice is published. An ordinance or resolution need not be published
in full but may be described by title or subject matter. The foregoing
provisions of this section shall not apply to emergency ordinances
(Charter, Sec. 308).
B.
All ordinances and resolutions, when passed, shall be endorsed by
the Town Clerk indicating the date and method of its adoption, then
recorded in a book kept for that purpose and the original copy filed
as a permanent record (Charter, Sec. 308, modified).
An emergency ordinance shall be only for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health and safety, shall contain an explicit
statement of the nature of the emergency and shall be adopted by not
fewer than six affirmative votes in the Council, and in no event shall
the annual budget or any appropriation, except as hereinafter provided,
constitute an emergency ordinance. For the purpose of meeting an emergency,
as herein defined, or to prevent the breakdown of any essential service
rendered by a department, board, commission or agency of the Town,
the Council, by an affirmative vote of not less than six of its members,
may appropriate, notwithstanding any other provision of the Charter,
a sum not to exceed $100,000. (Charter, Sec. 310).
The Council will conduct its meeting according to Robert's Rules
of Order. These rules may be revised as necessary, except that should
any of these rules be inconsistent with the provisions of the Charter,
then the Charter shall prevail.
A.
Any of these rules may be suspended by the affirmative vote of not
fewer than five members of the Council, provided that such action
is not inconsistent with any provisions of the Charter.
B.
Any amendment to these rules shall be submitted, in writing, at any
meeting of the Council and may be adopted by the affirmative vote
of not fewer than five members at a subsequent meeting of the Council.
