[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of St. Francis as Ch. 2 of the 1981 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Common Council shall consist of the Mayor and two Aldermen from each aldermanic district, who shall be elected for four-year terms.
A. 
Regular meetings. Regular meetings of the Common Council shall be held on the first and third Tuesdays of each calendar month at 7:00 p.m. Any regular meeting falling on a legal holiday shall be held on the next following secular day at the same hour and place. All meetings of the Council, including special and adjourned meetings, shall be held in the City Hall.
B. 
Special meetings. The Mayor may call a special meeting by written notice to each member delivered to him personally or left at his usual abode at least six hours before the meeting. Special meetings may be held without such notice when all members of the Common Council are present or consent in writing to the holding of such meeting, such written consent to be filed with the Clerk prior to the beginning of the meeting. Any special meeting attended by all the Aldermen shall be a regular meeting for the transaction of any business that may come before such meeting.
C. 
Adjournments. The Council may, by a majority vote of those present, but not fewer than three affirmative votes, adjourn from time to time to a specific date and hour.
D. 
Meetings to be public. All meetings of the Common Council and subunits thereof shall be open to the public as provided in Subchapter IV of Ch. 19, §§ 19.81 to 19.89, Wis. Stats. Public notice of all such meetings shall be given as provided in § 19.84, Wis. Stats.
A. 
Designated. The Mayor shall preside. In the absence of the Mayor, the President of the Council shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and the President, the Clerk shall call the meeting to order and preside until the Aldermen present elect one of their number President Pro Tem for that meeting.
B. 
Duties. The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, decide all questions of order and conduct the proceedings of the meeting in accordance with the parliamentary rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, unless otherwise provided by statute or by these rules.
C. 
Appeals from decisions. Any member may appeal from a decision of the presiding officer. An appeal shall be sustained by a two-thirds vote of the Council.
Whenever it is necessary, by statute or vacancy, to elect a President of the Common Council it shall be done by secret ballot, without nomination, by majority vote of the Aldermen. If after 25 ballots there is no Alderman who has achieved a majority vote, the vote on the 25th ballot shall be tallied and any Alderman with a plurality of the votes cast shall be elected Council President. If there is a tie on the 25th ballot, balloting shall continue. At any subsequent ballot, if one Alderman receives a plurality of the votes cast he shall be elected Council President. If after 50 ballots there is no Alderman who has achieved a plurality of the votes cast, the 50th ballot shall be tallied. The City Clerk shall write the names of the Aldermen who have tied with the greatest number of votes on the 50th ballot and place them in a container. The City Clerk shall then have someone other than the Clerk or Alderman select a name from the container, and that Alderman shall be elected Council President.
A. 
Roll call; procedure when quorum not in attendance. As soon as the Common Council is called to order, the City Clerk shall proceed to call the names of the members by district, noting who is present and who is absent, and record the same in the proceedings of the Common Council. If there is not a quorum present, the fact shall be entered in the minutes and the Common Council may adjourn, or the Mayor or, in his absence, City Clerk may issue a process to any police officer commanding him forthwith to summon the absentees.
[Amended 7-1-2008 by Ord. No. 1259]
B. 
Quorum. Two-thirds of the Aldermen shall constitute a quorum. The Mayor shall not be counted in computing a quorum.
[Amended 12-18-2012 by Ord. No. 1333]
A. 
The business of the Council shall be conducted under the agenda system.
B. 
The City Administrator shall have responsibilities concerning the preparation of Council agendas and order of business as provided in § 105-12B(4) of this Code.
C. 
Unless otherwise approved by the City Administrator, requests from City officers and employees to the City Clerk and City Administrator for matters to be included as part of the agenda of any regularly scheduled Common Council meeting shall be made by noon on the Wednesday preceding such regular meeting. Supporting documents and/or information related to such requests shall be submitted by City officers and employees to the City Clerk by the end of business on the Thursday preceding such regularly scheduled meeting. The agenda and related packet for regularly scheduled meetings of the Common Council shall generally be available to the Mayor, Common Council and department heads no later than 6:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding a regularly scheduled Council meeting.
In the absence of the City Clerk, the Deputy City Clerk shall act as the City Clerk Pro Tem.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
The deliberations of the Common Council shall be conducted in the following manner:
A. 
When two or more members simultaneously seek recognition, the presiding officer shall name the member who is to speak first.
B. 
No motion shall be discussed or acted upon until it has been seconded unless the rules permit one Alderman to initiate action. No motion shall be withdrawn without the consent of the person making the same and the person seconding it.
C. 
When a question is under discussion, no action shall be in order except the following motions, which shall have precedence in the order listed:
(1) 
To adjourn;
(2) 
To lay on the table;
(3) 
To move the previous question;
(4) 
To postpone to a certain day;
(5) 
To refer to a committee;
(6) 
To amend; or
(7) 
To postpone indefinitely.
D. 
Any member desiring to terminate debate may move the previous question, in which event the presiding officer 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 Council to a direct vote, first upon any pending amendments and then upon the main question.
E. 
Any Alderman may demand an aye and nay vote on any matter and such vote shall be entered in the proceedings. Every member shall vote when a question is put unless the Council by a majority vote of those present excuses him for special cause. A majority vote of all members of the Council in favor of any proposed ordinance, resolution or appointment shall be necessary for passage or approval unless a larger number is required by statute. Except as otherwise provided by these rules, a majority vote of those present shall prevail in other cases.
F. 
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order, and a motion to adjourn or to lay on the table and a call for the previous question shall be decided without debate.
Any member voting with the majority may move for a reconsideration of the vote on any question at that meeting or at the next succeeding regular meeting. A motion to reconsider being put and lost shall not be renewed. An Alderman may not change his vote on any question after the result has been announced.
Whenever any disturbance or disorderly conduct occurs in any meeting of the Council, the presiding officer may cause the room to be cleared of all persons guilty of such disorderly conduct except the Aldermen. If any Alderman is guilty of disorderly conduct, the presiding officer may order the police to take him into custody for the time being or until the meeting adjourns. Such member may appeal from such order to the Council as in other cases.
A. 
Action of Council levying taxes, appropriating funds or creating City liability. Except upon the unanimous consent of all members present, no resolution or measure assessing or levying taxes, appropriating or disbursing money or creating any liability or charge against the City or any funds thereof shall be adopted without first having been referred to a committee and the report thereon of such committee having been made to the Council, unless the resolution is one that carries into effect the action of the Council upon a committee report. All other resolutions may be adopted at the same meeting at which they are introduced; provided, however, that action upon any resolution shall be deferred until the next meeting of the Council upon the request of 1/5 of the Aldermen present.
B. 
Purchases. No real property shall be purchased for a consideration of more than $100 by or under the authority of the Council until an appraisal thereof has been made by qualified and disinterested persons.
[Amended 4-20-2010 by Ord. No. 1285]
The following committees shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to the approval of a majority of the members of the Common Council, at the first regular meeting in May of an election year. A member shall serve as appointed, unless excused by a simple majority of the Common Council. Each committee will consist of three Aldermen and will elect its own Chairperson.
A. 
Finance Committee. This committee shall have jurisdiction over the following City functions: finances, claims, public grounds and buildings, and related problems.
B. 
License and Permit Committee. This committee shall have jurisdiction over the issuing of licenses and permits and related problems.
C. 
Legislative Committee. This committee shall have jurisdiction over the following City functions: rules, laws, ordinances, county and state legislation and related problems.
D. 
Labor Bargaining Committee. This committee shall consult directly with the Common Council and shall do all bargaining and negotiating as to wages, salary, benefits, terms and conditions of employment, whether with organized or nonorganized employees, officers, department heads, supervisory employees and professional or technical personnel, elected or appointed, except the Mayor and Council, and deal with matters pertaining to bargaining units and all matters under § 111.70, Wis. Stats.
[Amended 4-17-2012 by Ord. No. 1318]
A. 
Publication. All general ordinances of the City and all regulations imposing a penalty shall be published in the official paper of the City once and shall be immediately recorded, with the affidavit of publication, by the City Clerk in a book kept for that purpose. A printed copy of such ordinance or resolution in any book, pamphlet or newspaper and published or purporting to be published therein by direction of the Common Council shall be prima facie proof of due passage, publication and recording thereof.
B. 
Effective date. Unless otherwise provided, all ordinances shall take effect and be in force from and after passage and publication, and published copies thereof shall have appended the date of first publication.
These rules shall not be rescinded or amended unless the proposed amendment or motion to rescind has laid over from a regular meeting, and then it shall require a vote of 2/3 of all the members of the Council.
These rules or any part thereof may be temporarily suspended in connection with any matter under consideration by a recorded vote of 2/3 of the members present.