121.06 RULES OF CONDUCT.

   (a)   Addressing the Assembly.

      (1)   The "Chair" is properly addressed as Mr. or Madam President or Mr. or Madam Chairman.

      (2)   Customs of formality are followed by the presiding officer. Members of the assembly are addressed as Mr. or Madam Mayor, Law Director, Finance Director, etc. All present in attendance shall be addressed as Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss.

      (3)   No member of the City Council or member of the assembly may speak, unless they are first recognized by the Chair.

      (4)   All members of the assembly, or any other individuals addressing the assembly, may not address one another directly, but must address all remarks through the Chair.

      (5)   City Council members may direct discussion to other City Council members with approval of the Chair.

      (6)   Council Rules apply to the City Council members, as well as all other speakers addressing the City Council. Violators of these rules will be warned one time by the Chair, that "these are the rules by which we function." Said violators will be requested to comply. No second warning will be made, only the request to surrender the floor (the privilege of speaking) at this time. Failure to comply during the rest of the meeting may lead to expulsion from the room, when determined appropriate by the Chair, or by a majority of the City Council.

   (b)   Discussion.

      (1)   When a question is pending, a member of the assembly can condemn the nature or likely consequences of the proposed matter in strong terms, but must avoid personalities and under no circumstances attack the motives of another member.

      (2)   Inflammatory statements will not be tolerated.

      (3)   Profane language is prohibited.

      (4)   In structured dialog, a member's remarks must be germane to the question before the assembly - that is, his or her statements must have bearing on whether the pending question shall be adopted. The "wandering" into other non-pending areas shall be considered "out-of-order" by the Chair.

      (5)   Polling - Although not a motion, if a question is asked of the City Council, then the City Council shall be polled either by the Chair or the Clerk of Council. If a poll is not conducted, and no objections are voiced, then the recommendation from the vocal portion of the City Council will be deemed as the wish of City Council as a whole. Polling is done by a roll call only.

      (6)   "Point of Order" may be called for by any City Council member, if the Chair has neglected a rule, or neglected to enforce a rule of the meeting. The City Council member does not need to first be recognized in this instance.

      (7)   "Personal Privilege" may be requested by a City Council member to speak on a particular matter of personal interest. The City Council member must explain the nature of the request. The Personal Privilege must be approved by the Chair. Personal Privilege shall not be used for political purposes.

      (8)   The President of Council may request comments from Committee Chairman or representatives regarding each pertinent piece of legislation without a motion for discussion.

   (c)   Citizen Participation.

      (1)    In general, citizens will not be recognized by the Chair to enter the debate on pending legislative matters. There are exceptions, such as zoning issues, development issues, etc. The Chair will determine when a citizen shall be recognized during the legislative process. The decision of the Chair may be overridden by the majority vote of the City Council.

      (2)    Citizens may comment on any legislative item on the City Council agenda during "Citizens Comments - Legislation."

      (3)    Citizens may comment on any issue, not limited to the City Council agenda during "Citizens Comments - General" at the end of the meeting.

      (4)    When the rules requiring an ordinance to be read on three separate occasions have been suspended, and there has been a motion for adoption, then the President of Council shall recognize citizens who wish to speak on the ordinance or resolution.

      (5)    Citizen participation shall be directed to the Chair, and shall otherwise be done in conformance with all Rules of Conduct outlined in Section 121.06 of this document.

      (6)    There is a five-minute time limitation for citizens to speak during "Citizens Comments - Legislation". There is a two-minute limitation for each other opportunity a citizen has to speak. The citizen may speak once under each order of business where citizen comments are allowed.

      (7)    Citizen comments are allowed at special meetings only regarding any legislation to be discussed, and prior to the City Council entering into the Legislative portion of the agenda. The time limitations shall be concurrent with the limitations established for regular meetings.

      (8)    Citizen comments during a public hearing are limited to three (3) minutes. However, additional time may be permitted subject to the discretion of the Council President. The decision of the Council President may be overridden by a majority vote of the City Council.

      (9)    Citizen comments, during the Committee of the Whole Meeting, may be permitted subject to the discretion of the Chair.

         (Ord. 2024-028. Passed 2-26-24.)