[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of
the Village of Pleasant Prairie 12-6-1999 (Ch. 2 of the 1988 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The Village Board shall consist of the Village
President and four Trustees who shall be elected for two-year terms.[1]
A.
Regular meetings. Regular meetings of the Village
Board shall be held twice a month. The days and time shall be established
by resolution and approved by the Village Board. Any regular meeting
falling on a legal holiday shall be rescheduled by the Village Board.
[Amended 10-19-2009 by Ord. No. 09-55; 1-18-2010 by Ord. No. 10-02; 11-4-2019 by Ord. No. 19-34]
B.
Special meetings. Special meetings of the Village
Board may be called by the Village President, Village Administrator
or any two Trustees in writing filed with the Clerk at least 24 hours
prior to the time specified for such meeting. The Clerk shall immediately
notify each Trustee of the time and purpose of such meeting by causing
a written notice thereof to be delivered to each Trustee personally,
if he can be found, or, if he cannot be found, then by leaving a copy
of such notice at the home of such Trustee. The Clerk shall cause
an affidavit showing service of such notice as herein provided to
be filed in his office prior to the time fixed for such special meeting.
Special meetings may be held without such notice when all members
of the Board are present in person 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 Trustees shall be a regular meeting for the transaction of any
business that may come before such meeting.
C.
Adjournments. The Board may, by a majority vote of
those present, but not fewer that three affirmative votes, adjourn
from time to time to a specific date and hour.
A.
Designated. The Village President shall preside. The
Village Board, at the first meeting in each May, shall elect a President
Pro Tem to preside in the absence of the Village President. In the
absence of the President, the President Pro Tem shall preside. If
the President Pro Tem is also unavailable, the Clerk shall call the
meeting to order and the Trustees present shall elect one of their
number President Pro Tem.
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 members excluding the presiding officer.
A.
Roll call; procedure when quorum not in attendance.
As soon as the Board is called to order, the Clerk shall proceed to
call the names of the members in alphabetical order, noting who is
present and who is absent, and record the same in the proceedings
of the Board. If there is not a quorum present, that fact shall entered
on the journal and the Board may adjourn or the President or, in his
absence, the Clerk may issue a process to any Village policeman commanding
him forthwith to summon the absentees.
B.
Quorum. A majority of the members shall constitute
a quorum. The President shall be counted in computing a quorum.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
The business of the Village Board shall be conducted
in the following order and manner:
A.
Call to order by the Village President.
C.
Presentation of the minutes of preceding meetings
by the Village Clerk and approval of said minutes if correct, rectifying
mistakes if any exist.
D.
Public hearings, if any are scheduled.
(1)
All persons wishing to speak at public hearing shall
identify themselves by name and address, and address the Village Board
on the issue that is the subject of the hearing.
(2)
If the Village Board determines that a significant
number of people are in attendance to be heard at a public hearing,
a time limit of three minutes per speaker may be set to guarantee
all present have a reasonable chance to be heard. The time limit must
be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Village Board.
E.
Citizen comments.
(1)
All persons wishing to address the Village Board during
the citizen comment portion of the agenda may do so in the following
manner:
(a)
Each such person shall register at the signup sheet
at the speaker's podium prior to the beginning of the meeting by printing
his or her name, as well as signing it.
(b)
Each person may speak only once.
(c)
Each speaker may talk for five minutes, unless more
than five individuals sign up to speak, then the time limit shall
be three minutes.
(2)
The Village Board cannot take any official action
at the meeting on an item presented for consideration at citizen comments.
(3)
The rules for citizen comments may be waived by the
Village Board with a two-thirds vote of the quorum present.
F.
Administrator's report.
[Amended 9-4-2007 by Ord. No. 07-30]
G.
Consideration of correspondence presented to the Village
Board.
H.
Old or unfinished business from previous meetings.
I.
New business for consideration by the Village Board.
J.
Village Board comments and those comments by Village
staff that are requested by the Village Board.
[Amended 9-4-2007 by Ord. No. 07-30]
K.
Adjournment.
In the absence of the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk
shall act as Clerk Pro Tem.
The deliberations of the Village Board 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 person other than a member shall address the Board,
except by vote of a majority of the members present.
C.
No motion shall be discussed or acted upon until it
has been seconded, unless the rules permit one Trustee to initiate
action. No motion shall be withdrawn without the consent of the person
making the same and the person seconding it.
D.
When a question is under discussion, no action shall
be in order except the following motions, which shall have precedence
in the order listed:
E.
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 Board to a direct vote, first upon
any pending amendments and then upon the main question.
F.
Any Trustee may demand a roll call vote on any matter,
and such vote shall be entered in the proceedings. Every member shall
vote when a question is put unless the Board, by a majority vote of
those present, excuses him for special cause. A majority vote of all
members of the Board 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.
G.
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. A Trustee may not change
his vote on any question after the result has been announced.
A call of the Board may be requested at any
time by two or more members, and absent members shall be sent for,
but a call shall not be made after voting has commenced. When a call
of the Board has been requested and ordered, the door shall be closed
until the report of the policeman has been received and acted upon
or until further proceedings under the call are dispensed with by
a majority of the entire Board.
Whenever any disturbance or disorderly conduct
occurs in any meeting of the Board, the presiding officer may cause
the room to be cleared of all persons guilty of such disorderly conduct
except the Trustees. If any Trustee 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 Board as in other cases.
All demands or accounts shall be acted upon
at the time of presentation unless one or more members demand a reference.
A.
Publication. All general ordinances of the Village
and all regulations imposing a penalty shall be posted and shall be
immediately recorded, with the affidavit of posting, by the Clerk
in a book kept for that purpose.
B.
Effective date. Unless otherwise provided, all ordinances
shall take effect and be in force from and after passage and posting,
and posted copies thereof shall have appended the date of first posting.
A.
Clerk's responsibilities. The Village Clerk may create
a subsection on any Board agenda titled "Consent Agenda." In a consent
agenda, the Clerk shall place matters that, in the Clerk's judgment,
are routine and noncontroversial and do not require a special vote
or specific action of the Board.
B.
Procedure. The following procedure shall apply when
a consent agenda is used:
(1)
No separate discussion or debate may be permitted
on any matter listed on the consent agenda.
(2)
A single motion, seconded and adopted by a majority
vote of all members of the Board, shall be required to approve, adopt,
enact or otherwise favorably resolve all matters listed on the consent
agenda.
(3)
Any Trustee may request removal of any item or part
of an item included in the consent agenda. At the time the consent
agenda is considered, that item, as requested by the Trustee, shall
be removed without debate or vote.
(4)
If an item or any part of the item has been removed
from the consent agenda in accordance with this rule, the Board shall
consider that item at an appropriate time during the Board's regular
order of business
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 Board.
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.
