City of Franklin, WI Chapter 19 Council Proceedings

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Franklin 8-5-1997 by Ord. No. 97-1461 as Ch. 2 of the 1997 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 19-1 Meeting time and date.

A. Regular meetings. Regular meetings of the Council shall be held on the first and third Tuesdays of each calendar month at 6:30 p.m., except when otherwise scheduled by majority vote of the Council to accommodate summer schedules, holidays, election days and the like.

[Amended 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1708; 7-1-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-1755]

B. Special meetings. Special meetings of the Council may be called by two Alderpersons by filing a written request with the Clerk at least 24 hours prior to the time specified for such meeting. The Clerk shall immediately notify each Alderperson of the time and purpose of such meeting. The notice shall be delivered to each Alderperson personally or left at his or her usual place of abode. The Clerk shall cause an affidavit of service of such notice to be filed in his or her office prior to the time fixed for such special meeting. Special meetings may be held without notice when all members of the Council are present or consent in writing to the holding of such meeting. Unless all Alderpersons are in attendance, no business shall be transacted at a special meeting except for the purpose stated in the notice thereof.

C. Place of meetings. All meetings of the Council, including special and adjourned meetings, shall be held in the City Hall, except where a meeting is attended by a number of persons in excess of that number for which the facility may provide reasonable public access for the meeting or where the City Clerk, upon the advice and consent of the Mayor, has determined in advance of a meeting that such a large attendance is anticipated, and in either such event, the meeting may be adjourned to or scheduled at, respectively, a larger facility.

[Amended 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1708]

D. Quorum. Four Alderpersons shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may adjourn from time to time or compel the attendance of absent members. A call of the house may be ordered by majority vote.

[Amended 8-18-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-1976]

E. Remote meeting attendance permitted. Common Council meetings attendance by way of telephone and/or electronic audio and/or video communication is permitted for attendance by applicant representative(s) with regard to application items upon a meeting agenda, and also for City-retained consultants with regard to subject matter item(s) upon a meeting agenda, provided that live streaming for those meetings is enabled so the public would be able to watch and listen, and provided that the Chairperson for the subject meeting was informed of the remote attendance request at least 48 hours in advance of the start of the meeting, and determined that under the circumstances presented, i.e., travel distance, other scheduled work requirement, or the like, permission for remote attendance is appropriate, at least 24 hours in advance of the start of the meeting.

[Added 8-1-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-2553]

§ 19-2 Order of business.

A. Agenda. The business of the Council shall be conducted according to the agenda prepared by the Clerk. All matters intended to be placed upon a regular meeting agenda shall be submitted to the Clerk no later than 9:00 a.m. on the Friday during the week preceding the regular Tuesday meeting, and the Clerk shall distribute the agenda to Common Council members no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday during the week preceding the regular Tuesday meeting. No matters may be otherwise added to the agenda excepting those which are emergency in nature and could not have been submitted to the Clerk prior to the aforesaid deadline. The Clerk shall determine whether an item is emergency in nature, which determination shall consider whether, absent the consideration of such matter at the forthcoming meeting, harm may result to the health, safety and welfare of the community; irreparable harm may result to the applicant or some other individual or entity; or whether the subject matter being appropriate for Council determination would become moot, unavailable or preempted.

[Amended 12-16-1997 by Ord. No. 97-1482; 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1708]

B. Citizen comment period.

(1) Every agenda of City Council meetings shall include, immediately following roll call, an agenda item entitled "citizen comment period." Such agenda item shall authorize any person to address the City Council.

(2) During the citizen comment period, no person shall speak for longer than three minutes at each Council meeting, unless the City Council shall direct otherwise to an individual. City Council direction may take the form of unanimous consent.

[Amended 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1708; 8-18-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-1976]

(3) Nothing contained in this subsection is intended to limit in any way the right of the electorate to petition or in any manner contact City government officials.

C. Committee of the Whole. The Common Council members shall regularly meet as a Committee of the Whole on the first Monday of each calendar month at 6:30 p.m., except when otherwise scheduled by majority vote of the Common Council or the Committee of the Whole to accommodate summer schedules, holidays, election days and the like. All meetings of the Committee of the Whole shall be held in the City Hall, except where a meeting is attended by a number of persons in excess of that number for which the facility may provide reasonable public access for the meeting or where the City Clerk, upon the advice and consent of the Mayor, has determined in advance of a meeting that such a large attendance is anticipated, and in either such event, the meeting may be adjourned to or scheduled at, respectively, a larger facility. The Mayor shall preside over meetings of the Committee of the Whole, unless absent, in which case the Common Council President shall preside; in the further absence of the Council President, the Alderperson designated upon the rotation calendar for such service pursuant to § 33-1C of this Code shall call the meeting to order and preside until the Committee selects one of its members to preside for that meeting. Committee of the Whole meetings attendance by way of telephone and/or electronic audio and/or video communication is permitted for attendance by applicant representative(s) with regard to application items upon a meeting agenda, and also for City-retained consultants with regard to subject matter item(s) upon a meeting agenda, provided that live streaming for those meetings is enabled so the public would be able to watch and listen, and provided that the Chairperson for the subject meeting was informed of the remote attendance request at least 48 hours in advance of the start of the meeting, and determined that under the circumstances presented, i.e., travel distance, other scheduled work requirement, or the like, permission for remote attendance is appropriate, at least 24 hours in advance of the start of the meeting.

[Added 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1708; amended 8-18-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-1976; 8-1-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-2553]

§ 19-3 Presiding officer.

A. Control of meeting. The Mayor shall preserve order and conduct the meeting. A member may appeal from the decision of the presiding officer. Such appeal is not debatable and must be sustained by a majority of the members present, exclusive of the presiding officer.

B. Absence of Mayor. If the Mayor is absent at any meeting, the Council President shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and Council President, the Clerk shall call the meeting to order and preside until the Council selects an Alderperson to preside for that meeting.

C. Participation in debate. The presiding officer may speak upon any question.

§ 19-4 Committees.

A. Committee appointments. At the first regular Council meeting in May, the Mayor shall appoint the following committees, subject to Council confirmation:

(1) Finance Committee.

(2) (Reserved)[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection A(2), Labor Negotiations Committee, was repealed 12-4-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-1687 and 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1708.

(3) License Committee. The Committee shall review items as directed by the Common Council, items as may be required by the Wisconsin Statutes, applications for alcohol beverage licenses and permits and authorizations, special event permits, coin-operated amusement devices licenses and permits as may be required and/or permitted by the Wisconsin Statutes, and review licensed establishment concerns as may be presented by the Health Department, the Fire Department and/or the Police Department, and then submit its recommendations to the Council.

[Amended 11-15-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-2522]

B. Committee reports. Each committee shall, at the next regular meeting of the Council, submit or provide a written or verbal report on all matters specifically referred to it by separate action of the Council. Such report shall recom mend a definite action on each item and be approved by a majority of the committee. Any committee may require any City officer to confer with it and supply information in connection with any matter pending before it.

[Amended 8-18-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-1976]

§ 19-5 Ordinances and resolutions.

A. Ordinances, resolutions, bylaws, communications and other matters submitted to the Council shall be read by title and author and referred to the appropriate committee by the Mayor. No ordinance, resolution or bylaw shall be considered unless presented in writing and submitted to the Clerk. Unless requested by an Alderperson before final vote is taken, no ordinance, resolution or bylaw need be read in full. Before taking effect, all ordinances passed by the Council shall be signed by the Mayor, countersigned by the Clerk and published in the Official Newspaper.

B. All acts subject to the veto power of the Mayor shall be submitted to him or her by the Clerk and be in force upon his or her approval, evidenced by his or her signature or upon his or her failing to approve or disapprove within five days, which fact shall be certified thereon by the Clerk. If the Mayor disapproves, he or she shall file his or her objections with the Clerk, who shall present them to the Council at its next meeting. A two-thirds vote of all members of the Council shall then make the act effective, notwithstanding the objections of the Mayor.

§ 19-6 General rules.

Deliberations of the Council shall be conducted in accordance with the parliamentary rules in Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, incorporated herein by reference. No person other than a member shall address the Council, except by majority vote of the members present.

§ 19-7 Method of voting.

A. Voting shall be as follows: When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be stated by the member making the same or by the Mayor or be read by the Clerk before being debated. No motion shall be discussed or acted upon unless and until it has been seconded. No motion shall be withdrawn without the consent of the person making the same and the person seconding it.

B. When a question is under discussion, no action shall be in order except the following, which shall have precedence in the order in which they stand:

(1) To adjourn.

(2) To lay on the table.

(3) The previous question.

(4) To postpone to a certain date.

(5) To refer to a standing or special committee.

(6) To amend.

(7) To postpone indefinitely.

C. Any member desirous of terminating the debate may move the previous question, in which event the Mayor shall announce the question as "Shall the main question now be put?" If a majority of the members present vote in the affirmative, the main question shall be taken without further debate, its effect being to put an end to all debate and bring the question to a direct vote, first upon any pending amendments and then upon the main question.

D. Every member shall have the right to abstain from voting on any given matter. Any vacancy on the Common Council shall not diminish the number of votes required to take action where the voting requirement is for the concurrence of a majority or otherwise specified proportion of all the members of the Common Council; however, where the voting requirement is for the concurrence of a specified proportion of the Common Council or other phrase indicating its membership at the time action is taken, the required number is reduced by any vacancy. When a board member abstains upon any matter, such abstention shall not diminish the number required to take action where the requirement is for the concurrence of a majority or other specified proportion of all of the members of the Common Council; however, where the voting requirement is for the concurrence of a specified proportion of the Common Council or other phrase indicating its membership at the time action is taken, the required number shall be reduced by such abstention; in all cases, an abstention being treated as neither an affirmative nor a negative vote.

[Amended 2-15-1999 by Ord. No. 99-1536; 2-16-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-1782]

E. A majority of votes cast when a quorum is present shall be necessary for passage, adoption or approval of any proposed ordinance, motion, resolution or appointment, unless a larger number is required by statute.

F. It shall be in order for any member who voted in the affirmative on any question which was adopted or for any member who voted in the negative when the number of affirmative votes was insufficient for adoption to move a reconsideration of such vote, at the same or next succeeding regular meeting of the Council. A motion to reconsider having been lost shall not be again in order.

G. Roll call votes of the Aldermanic Common Council members shall be taken in a continuing alternating method per vote of the Common Council, alternating from a vote in order of numerical district designation (from District 1 through District 6), to a vote in reverse order of numerical district designation (from District 6 through District 1), to a vote in order of numerical district designation, and so on. Failure to comply with this subsection shall not affect the validity of any vote or Council action resulting therefrom.

[Added 5-7-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1713]

§ 19-8 Suspension of rules.

These rules or any part thereof may be temporarily suspended by a recorded vote of two-thirds of the members present at any Council meeting.

§ 19-9 Procedures for commencing projects.

[Amended 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1708; 7-18-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2285]

When specifically authorized for a proposed project or projects by a resolution approved by at least 2/3 of the members-elect of the Common Council and to maintain orderly development within the financial limitations of the community and to weigh the financial impact of the project on the short- and long-term basis:

A. Initiation of projects. Proposed projects shall be initiated by the following methods at a regular meeting of the Council:

(1) Recommendation of the City Engineer and/or the Board of Public Works.

(2) Request of Alderperson.

(3) Petition of property owners.

B. City Council action on adoption of motion to consider project. Refer project to respective committee for recommendation, as follows:

(1) To Board of Public Works: all public works projects.

(2) To committee of the whole: all public buildings and grounds.

(3) To Finance Committee: all projects for finance impact studies and methods of financing.

C. Procedural steps by Board of Public Works.

(1) Determine area affected by the proposed drainage project.

(2) Determine if proposed project can be feasibly done with City labor or if a private contractor would be required, or both.

(3) Estimate cost of labor, materials and rental equipment required with the use of City labor forces.

(4) Provide alternate cost of labor and materials, if a private contractor would be required.

(5) Submit a unit cost on the basis of area assessment benefits assessing:

(a) Cost of material and rental equipment.

(b) Entire costs.

(6) Propose alternate methods of assessment, if appropriate.

(7) Consider and recommend a project priority and start date.

(8) Incorporate the above determination into writing and submit the same along with recommendations to the Council via the City Clerk, who shall submit the same to the Finance Committee for its consideration and recommendations.

D. Procedural steps by the committee of the whole:

(1) Determine the short-term or long-term need for the public building or grounds with input from all interested departments, civic groups and citizens, where appropriate.

(2) Select site for proposed building.

(3) Solicit architectural design proposals from architectural or engineering firms along with estimated costs and estimated time for project completions.

(4) Review proposed designs and qualifications of the respective architectural and engineering firms and submit recommendations of the site, design and architectural or engineering firm, as well as estimated costs, to the City Clerk, who shall forward the same to the Finance Committee for its study and recommendations.

E. Procedural steps for the Finance Committee.

(1) Determine if funds are available for the proposed budget in the current budget on the basis of estimated costs of the project.

(2) Prepare a financial impact study on the basis of short- and long-term effects of the cost of the project on the debt limitations of the City and the community's ability to meet its obligations when due. Consider the effect of the project on the real estate property tax if the project is to be funded from the general fund rather than by special assessments.

(3) Solicit additional input from department heads, boards or committees, as required.

(4) Consider and recommend method of financing project.

(5) Consider repayment schedules of existing debts and recommend a project start date which will have the least financial impact on the City's debt repayment schedules.

(6) Submit recommendations to Council, including method of financing, proposed start date on the basis of available financing and effect of project costs in the City debt to the Council. If the project is recommended for reject, submit reasons.

F. Action upon committee recommendations.

(1) Committee recommendations shall be referred to the Council committee of the whole, which shall:

(a) Accept, reject or modify recommendation of said committees.

(b) Consider and recommend an assessment policy for drainage projects.

(c) Determine if the project is financially feasible.

(d) Recommend proposed project commencement date.

(e) If a determination has been made to recommend proceeding with the project, recommend commencement of financial arrangements, if necessary.

(f) Order the preparation of the appropriate resolutions for special assessments if the project is to be assessed.

(2) Where the committee of the whole was directed to make a study and submit recommendations, it shall incorporate in its recommendations the requirements of Subsection F(1) above.

G. Final determination by the Council. The Council, on receipt of recommendation from the committee of the whole, shall determine whether to proceed or not to proceed with the proposed project. If determination is made to proceed with the project, the Council shall direct that all necessary steps be taken by the appropriate officials to finance, schedule and complete the project.

§ 19-10 City participation in public construction projects.

[Added 7-18-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2285]

In accordance with § 62.15, Wis. Stats., any class of public construction or any part thereof may be done directly by the City without submitting the same for bids.

§ 19-11 Letting of bids for public construction projects.

[Added 11-5-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-2344]

No public construction project shall be let for bid unless the Common Council has previously authorized the solicitation of bids for such public construction project. This section does not apply to a public emergency as set forth in § 62.15(1b), Wis. Stats., and it does not apply to a public construction for which the cost does not exceed $25,000 as set forth in § 62.15(1), Wis. Stats.