(a) Meetings.
(1) Regular meetings. Regular meetings of Council shall be held in the Council Chambers at 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Regular meetings shall be held in the Council Chambers on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. whenever the date of a regular meeting falls on a legal holiday. Council may, by majority vote, change the day and hour of holding any regular meeting or adjourn the same to a day and hour determined by a like vote of the members present if constituting a quorum.
(2) Special meetings. Council shall hold such special meetings as may be found necessary, which may be called by the Clerk upon the written request of the Mayor or upon the written request of three members of Council. Any such vote or request for the calling of a special meeting shall state the subject or subjects to be considered thereat, and no other subject or subjects shall be considered except upon the approval of five or more of the members of Council in attendance at such special meetings. Twenty-four hours' notice in writing of such special meetings, if called by the Mayor or by three members of Council, shall be given to each member of Council and to the Mayor by personal service or by delivery thereof at their usual places of residence, but members of Council may waive such notice by their attendance at such special meeting.
(b) The Chair; Powers and Duties.
(1) Roll call. The President of Council, or the President pro tem, shall take the Chair at the hour appointed for Council to meet, and immediately shall call the Council to order. The roll shall then be called by the Clerk, who shall enter in the Journal of each meeting the names of members present thereat. In the absence of a quorum at the time appointed for a meeting, the members present may by a majority vote, take a recess or recesses, and cause the Clerk to procure the attendance of absent members.
(2) President pro tem. In case of the absence of the President of Council, the President pro tem shall call the Council to order. The Clerk shall call the roll and if a quorum is found to be present, the Council shall proceed until the appearance of the President of Council.
(3) Substitute chairman. The Chair, i.e., the President of Council or President pro tem, may call any other member to take his place in the Chair, such substitution not to continue beyond adjournment.
(4) Appeals from decisions of the Chair. The Chair shall preserve decorum and decide all questions of order, subject to appeal to Council. If any member transgresses the Rules of Council, the Chair shall, or any member may, call him to order and in the latter instance the Chair shall render a decision as to the point of order. In case of an appeal from a ruling of the Chair, the question shall be "Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the decision of Council?". The Chair shall be sustained unless overruled by a majority vote of the members of Council present.
(5) Votes. All questions shall be stated and put by the Chair as follows:
A. Roll call votes. The Chair shall declare the vote after the Clerk has announced the number of votes on each side.
B. Viva-voce votes. The Chair shall declare the vote without reference to the Clerk; if in doubt about a viva-voce vote, the Chair may direct, or any member may call for, a division of Council, which shall be taken by a voice vote.
C. Voice vote. The Chair shall count and declare the vote. It shall not be in order for members to explain their votes while the vote is being taken.
(6) Chair's power to vote. The President of Council shall have no vote except in the event of a tie vote of members of Council present, in which case the President of Council shall have the power to vote and his vote shall have the same legal effect as a vote of a member of Council. Any member of Council who is serving as chairman shall have the same power to vote as other members.
(c) Members' Duties and Privileges.
(1) Addressing the chair. Members, when about to speak to a question or make a motion, shall address the Chair as "Mr. President", or "Mr. Chairman", who shall pronounce the name of the member entitled to the floor.
Members addressing Council shall confine themselves to the question under debate and avoid personalities.
(2) Limitation of debate. No member shall be allowed to speak more than once upon any one subject until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken, nor more than twice upon the same subject, nor for a time longer than five minutes, without leave of Council as expressed by a majority vote of the members present.
(3) Voting. Every member present when a question is put shall vote on the same, unless Council shall, for special reasons, excuse him from voting. An excuse shall be granted only if the member states reasons for the request before voting begins and Council, by majority vote of the members present, accepts them. There shall be no debate upon this question.
(4) Division of a question. On demand of any member, a question under consideration which covers two or more points, shall be divided where the question admits of such division.
(5) Demand for roll call. Any member may demand a roll call vote upon any question before Council at any time before the decision on the question is announced by the Chair.
(6) Excusal from attendance. No member shall be excused from attendance at a Council meeting, except upon request to and permission by the President of Council prior to such meeting or by a vote of a majority of the members present.
(7) Excusal during meeting. No member shall be excused while Council is in session except upon permission of the Chair.
(d) Agenda.
(1) Order of business. The order of business at meetings of Council shall be as follows:
A. Pledge of Allegiance.
B. Roll Call, to determine presence of a quorum.
C. Approval or other disposition of minutes. It shall be the Clerk's duty to mail out the minutes of the preceding meeting to the Council together with the agenda for the current meeting. Therefore, such minutes shall not be read at the current meetings unless requested by a majority of the members present. If no objection is made to the Journal, the same shall be approved.
D. Reports and Communications from the Mayor, Clerk and other City officials.
E. Call of members in alphabetical order or other order designated by the President that each may present petitions or communications.
F. Reports of Standing Committees.
G. Reports of Special Committees.
H. Report of Committee of the Whole.
I. Citizens' comments on pending legislation or other items not included on the agenda.
J. Introduction and first reading of ordinances and resolutions which legislation shall be read by the City Law Director with priority given to emergency measures. In his absence, the Clerk of Council shall read the legislation. All such ordinances, and resolutions shall be filed with Clerk not later than 4:30 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the next regular meeting. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to include the same in the agenda of such meeting day, in their order upon the call. Legislation not filed with the Clerk and introduced upon such call shall not be read or referred to, but shall be held over until the next meeting, to be placed on the calendar and taken up on the regular call of the members, unless leave for immediate consideration be granted by a majority of the members present.
K. Second reading of ordinances and resolutions.
L. Third reading of ordinances and resolutions.
M. Other business.
N. Assignments to Committees.
O. Adjournment.
P. Upon motion of any Councilman, the order of business at any meeting may be altered by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present.
(2) Old business; meeting adjourned before completion. Following roll call and disposition of the minutes of the preceding meeting, the business of a regular meeting adjourned before completion shall commence at the point where the order of business at the preceding meeting was interrupted by the adjournment, unless the order of business is altered as provided in subsection (d)(1)P. hereof. At special meetings, the purpose named in the call shall have precedence over any other business.
(e) Committees.
(1) Appointment of committees. The following standing committees consisting of three members each are hereby authorized. Appointment of members to such committees shall be made by the President of Council.
A. Finance Committee
B. Safety Committee
C. Streets and Sidewalks Committee
D. Utilities Committee
E. Economic Development Committee
F. Public Works Committee
G. Parks and Recreation Committee
The President of Council may appoint such special committees as he deems necessary provided that matters referred to or pending before a standing committee may not without consent of its members be referred to or considered by a special committee.
(2) Committee of the Whole. The President of Council shall preside when Council resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole. These rules of Council shall govern the Committee of the Whole except that no limit shall be placed on time or frequency of speaking and that the previous question cannot be moved. All questions shall be decided by a majority vote of those members present. When this Committee arises, any measure, together with any amendments thereto, reported out, shall receive the immediate consideration of Council unless otherwise ordered placed upon the calendar.
(3) Meetings. Committees shall meet on call of the chairman, or on request of two members, communicated to the Clerk of Council.
(4) Quorum. A majority of members of a committee shall constitute a quorum.
(5) Temporary chairman. In the absence of the chairman, the member named next shall act as temporary chairman.
(6) Reports. Reports of committees shall be agreed to by a majority thereof. All documents referred shall be returned to Council with the report of the committee. Upon motion, and by a majority vote, Council may relieve a committee of further consideration of any question, and order it placed on the calendar. When any matter is referred to a committee with instructions to report at a time named in the order of reference, failure to report at such time, shall be considered as if reported back without recommendation unless the time for report is extended by Council. If no such extension is granted the committee shall forthwith return to the Clerk of Council the documents pertaining thereto, and the matter shall take its appropriate place on the calendar.
(f) Motions.
(1) Motions. When a motion is made it shall be stated by the Chair before debate. Any member may demand that it be reduced to writing. A motion shall not be withdrawn by the mover without the consent of Council. Unless otherwise required by law, a motion shall be deemed passed if it receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the members present including the Chair if entitled to vote thereon.
(2) Order of precedence. When a question is before Council, no motion shall be entertained except the following:
A. To adjourn.
B. To lay on the table.
C. The previous question.
D. To postpone to a time certain.
E. To refer.
F. To amend.
G. To postpone indefinitely.
Motions shall have precedence in the foregoing order.
(3) Motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn shall be in order at any time, except as follows:
A. When repeated without intervening business or discussion.
B. When made while another member is speaking.
C. When the previous question has been ordered.
D. While a vote is being taken.
A motion to adjourn is not debatable, except as to time to which the meeting is adjourned.
(4) Motion to lay on the table. A motion to lay on the table shall preclude all amendments or debate of the subject under consideration. If the motion prevails, the consideration of the subject may be resumed only upon motion of a member voting with the majority and with the consent of the majority of the members present.
(5) Previous question. The previous question shall be stated in these words: "Shall debate now close?". The motion shall pass if two-thirds of the members present favor it. If the motion is ordered, there shall be no further amendment or debate, but the question shall be put immediately.
(6) Motion to postpone. Motions to postpone may be amended as to time, excepting a motion to postpone indefinitely. If a motion to postpone indefinitely is carried, the principal question shall be declared lost.
(7) Motion to amend. A motion to amend shall be susceptible of but one amendment. An amendment once rejected may not be moved again in the same form.
(8) Motion to suspend rules. A motion to suspend the rule which requires three readings on three separate days must receive the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members elected to Council and shall be debatable. Upon the passage of such motion, the main question shall be to open to debate. All other rules may be suspended by a majority of members of Council present without debate.
(9) Motion to reconsider. A motion to reconsider a proposal that has been acted upon favorably, must be made before adjournment of the session of Council at which the vote was taken. A motion to reconsider any other action taken by Council, may be made not later than the next regular meeting after the vote of Council thereon. In either case such motion may be made only by a member who voted with the prevailing side. The concurrence of a majority of the members present shall be sufficient for reconsideration of a vote. If a motion to reconsider is lost, it shall not be entertained again.
(g) Miscellaneous Rules.
(1) Decorum in Council Chambers. The Chair shall maintain decorum in Council Chambers during sessions. Persons, other than members of Council, City officials and members of the press, shall not be permitted upon the floor of Council, or to address Council, except upon introduction by the Chair or a member of Council. If anyone, other than a City official desires to speak to a member of Council while it is in session, the member, if agreeable to the request, shall leave his seat and retire to the rear of the Council Chambers or elsewhere until the conversation is finished.
(2) Procedures for legislation. The following procedures shall apply to the passage of ordinances, resolutions and motions:
The initial reading of each ordinance and resolution shall be in its entirety, provided Council may require such reading to be by title only by majority vote of its members. The second and third readings shall be by title only, provided Council may require any second or third reading to be in full by majority vote of its members. Each ordinance or resolution shall be read on three different days, provided Council may dispense with this rule by a vote of at least three-fourths of its members.
The vote on the passage of each ordinance or resolution shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered upon the journal.
Each ordinance or resolution shall be passed, except as otherwise provided by law, by a vote of at least a majority of all the members of Council.
Action by Council, not required by law to be by ordinance or resolution, may be taken by motion approved by at least a majority vote of the members present at the meeting when the action is taken.
(3) Emergency measures. All emergency measures shall require three readings, unless the rule requiring such readings, two by title only is suspended as provided in subsection (f)(8) hereof. A roll call shall first be taken on the emergency clause and then a roll call on the legislation as a whole. In order to pass as an emergency measure, the affirmative vote of five members of Council on the emergency clause is required. It shall also be permissible to take one roll call vote on the legislation including the emergency clause, in which case, in order to pass as an emergency measure, the affirmative vote of five members of Council on the legislation containing the emergency clause is required.
(4) Clerk of Council. The Clerk of Council shall perform the clerical and record-keeping duties for the City Council. The Clerk shall attend all regular Council meetings, and any special, committee and Committee of the Whole meetings as requested. The duties of said Clerk shall be as follows:
A. Take minutes of regular Council meetings, and special, committee and Committee of the Whole meetings as requested.
B. Transcribe minutes into Council's official records.
C. Transcribe ordinances and resolutions into Council's official records.
D. Prepare written reports of minutes for Council and mail out.
E. Prepare Council's agenda and mail to members along with ordinances, resolutions, minutes and official correspondence upon notification by the President of Council of subject matter to be included in the agenda.
F. Certify ordinances and resolutions.
G. Publish ordinances and resolutions.
H. File for the record, petitions, committee reports and official correspondence to Council.
I. File appropriate ordinances, petitions and annexation papers with the counties.
J. File assessments with Council and maintain assessment record.
K. Any other duties that may be set forth in the Ohio Revised Code or prescribed by City Council.
(5) Agenda.
A. Copies of the council agenda shall be mailed to the following:
President of Council
Members of Council (7)
Clerk of Council
Mayor
City Auditor
City Law Director
Service Director
Safety Director
Chamber of Commerce Director
Public School Superintendent
Bellevue Gazette
Station WNRR Radio
Sandusky Register
B. Any person may, upon request and payment of a reasonable fee, obtain reasonable advance notification of all meetings at which any specific type of public business is to be discussed. Provisions for advance notification by include, but are not limited to, mailing the agenda of meetings to all subscribers on a mailing list or mailing notices in self-addressed, stamped envelopes provided by the person requesting such information.
C. All matters to be placed on the agenda shall be filed with the Clerk of Council no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the next regular meeting.
(6) Majority. Whenever the term "majority" is used herein, unless otherwise expressly indicated, it means a majority of those members elected to Council.
(7) Amending Rules. A majority vote is required to alter, amend, rescind or supplement these rules. Any proposed alterations or amendments or supplements shall be submitted in writing at a regular meeting and placed on the calendar for the next regular meeting under the order of new business. By unanimous recorded vote of all members elected to Council, such proposed alterations, amendments or supplements may be adopted at the meeting at which the same are submitted. Alterations or amendments or supplements to these rules shall be by ordinance so that the same may be properly codified.
(8) Quorum. A majority of all members elected to Council shall constitute a quorum.
(9) City Law Director. The City Law Director shall, when requested by a member of Council give a verbal opinion on any question of law concerning City affairs in open Council, but he may, if he deems the matter of importance, take a reasonable time to submit his opinion in writing. He shall be required to draw all ordinances and resolutions for Council's actions only upon the request of at least two members of Council.
(10) Robert's Rule of Order. Robert's Rules of Order is hereby adopted as the parliamentary procedure under which Council shall operate.
(Ord. 42-88. Passed 9-12-88.)