The Presiding Officer shall take the chair precisely
at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall immediately call the
Council to order.
In the absence of the Council President and
the President Pro Tempore, the City Clerk, or his or her assistant,
shall call the Council to order, whereupon, a temporary chairman shall
be elected by the members of the Council present. Upon the arrival
of the Council President or the President Pro Tempore, the temporary
chairman shall immediately relinquish the chair upon the conclusion
of the business immediately before the Council.
Before proceeding with the business of the Council,
the City Clerk or his or her deputy shall call the roll of members
and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. The
order of roll call and all votes for all Councilmen shall be in the
order designated by a majority of the Council at the beginning of
each yearly session and shall remain such until the next yearly session.
[Amended 3-2-2010]
A.
Promptly
at the hour set by law on the day of each regular meeting, the members
of the Council and the City Clerk shall take their regular stations
in the Council Chambers; and the business of the Council shall be
taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order:
(1)
Roll call.
(2)
Hearings from citizens.
(3)
Approval of minutes of previous meetings.
(4)
Departmental reports.
(5)
Communications from the Mayor and introduction and adoption of resolutions,
ordinances and local laws related to said communication.
[Amended 7-17-2018]
(6)
Communications from the Council and introduction and adoption of
resolutions, ordinances and local laws related to said communication.
[Amended 7-17-2018]
(7)
Communications from department/division heads and adoption of resolutions,
ordinances and local laws related to said communication.
[Amended 7-17-2018]
(8)
Communications from citizens.
(11)
Adjournment.
Unless a reading of the minutes of the previous
Council meeting is requested by a majority of the Council members,
the minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has
furnished Council members with a synopsis of such minutes.
Ordinances, resolutions and other matter or
subjects requiring action by the Council must be introduced and sponsored
by members of the Council, except that the Mayor or City Attorney
may present ordinances, resolutions and other matter or subjects to
the Council, and any Councilman may receive sponsorship thereof by
moving that such matters or subjects be adopted; otherwise, they shall
not be considered.
All reports and resolutions of the Council shall
be filed with the City Clerk and entered in the minutes.
No member of the Council may abstain from voting unless otherwise provided by law. A Councilman's silence shall be recorded as an affirmative vote, except as he or she may be excused from voting, pursuant to § 3.8 of the City Charter.
Every member of the Council desiring to speak
shall address the chair only before roll call votes on the subject
upon which he or she desires to speak and, upon recognition by the
Presiding Officer, such member shall confine himself or herself to
the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous
language.
A member of the Council, once recognized, shall
not be interrupted unless out of order, as herein otherwise provided.
If a member speaking is called to order, he or she shall cease speaking
until the question of order is determined and, if in order, he or
she shall be permitted to proceed.
The Councilman moving the adoption of an ordinance
or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate.
A Councilman may request through the Presiding
Officer the privilege of having an abstract of a statement of another
Councilman entered in the minutes. If a majority of the Council consents
thereto such statement shall be entered in the minutes.
The City Clerk may be directed by the Presiding
Officer to enter in the minutes a synopsis of the debate on any questions
appearing regularly before the Council.
[Amended 1-4-2010]
A.
Matter
which may be discussed. Any person desiring to address the Council
at a regularly scheduled Council meeting may do so, providing that
his or her business falls under the following headings:
(1)
Written communications. Interested parties or their authorized representatives
may address the Council by written communication in regard to matters
then under discussion by the Council, provided the request to address
the Council in writing is received and filed by the City Clerk on
or before noon on the Wednesday prior to the meeting.
(2)
Oral communications. Taxpayers or residents of the City, or their
authorized legal representatives, may address the Council on any matter
concerning the City's business and which is an agenda item for that
meeting; provided, however, that preference shall be given to those
persons who have notified the City Clerk in advance of their desire
to speak on the agenda item covered at the meeting. Persons granted
the privilege to speak before the Council shall limit their remarks
to the agenda item and shall be given the floor once.
(3)
Reading of protests, etc. Interested persons, or their authorized
representatives, may address the Council by the reading of protests,
petitions or communications relating to zoning, sewer and street proceedings
on agenda items only. Hearing on protests, appeals and petitions of
similar matters by the Council rests solely in the discretion of the
Council's presiding officer. These persons must state their names
and addresses and the organizations which they are representing.
B.
Addressing
Council after motion made. No person shall address the Council after
a motion is made by the Council without first receiving the approval
of the presiding officer.
C.
Manner
of addressing Council; time limit. Each person, after having received
permission from the presiding officer to address the Council, shall
step in front of the rail, give his or her name and address in an
audible tone of voice for the records, and unless extra time is granted
by the Council, shall limit his or her address to three minutes. All
remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not to any
member thereof. No person other than the Council and the person having
the floor shall be allowed to enter into any discussion, either directly
or through a member of the Council, without the permission of the
presiding officer. All questions shall be asked through the presiding
officer.
D.
Decorum
by persons addressing Council. Any person making personal, impertinent
or slanderous remarks or any person who shall become boisterous while
addressing the Council shall forthwith be barred from the audience
by the presiding officer.
While the Council is in session the members
must preserve order and decorum and the members shall neither by conversation
or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the
Council nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the
order of the Presiding Officer except as herein otherwise provided.
The Council shall designate a Sergeant-at-Arms
for its meetings. Upon instruction of the Presiding Officer it shall
be the duty of the Sergeant-at-Arms to expel from the Council Chambers
any person who is out of order or who in the opinion of the Presiding
Officer is violating the order and decorum of the meeting. The Sergeant-at-Arms
shall have the power and authority to summon an officer of the law
to enforce his or her orders in this regard if in his or her discretion
such officer of the law is needed.
The Councilmen, City Attorneys and newspaper
reporters shall be permitted within the rail of the Council Chambers
without the consent of the Council. The permission of a majority of
the Council shall be required for the presence of any other persons
behind the rail.
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order
and shall be decided without debate.
Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the deliberation
of the Council except when in conflict with any rules established
by the Council.
