(A) A
SPECIAL MEETING is any non-emergency meeting of the Council held at any time other than that specified in § 30.02. The Council acknowledges that special meetings of the Town Council, although sometimes needed for the effective governance of the town, create significant burdens on town staff and may impose significant costs on the town. Excluding quarterly public hearings, budget workshops and properly called emergency meetings under § 30.04, and recognizing the provisions of G.S. § 160A-71 regarding the calling of a special meeting, in order to control those burdens and costs, the Council shall seek to limit the number of special meetings called in any calendar year to 12 or fewer, with the goal of no more than three meetings held each calendar quarter. To facilitate this end, the Council shall ordinarily refrain from scheduling a special meeting when the item of business for which a special meeting is considered may be adequately addressed at another meeting of the Council. In general, special meetings shall be used for matters involving the following:
(1) Decisions, although not constituting an emergency, which must be made prior to another scheduled meeting of the Council;
(2) Issues of scope or complexity that they cannot be accommodated within the available times for other scheduled meetings of the Council; or
(3) Matters which, due to their nature, require the attendance of non-staff guests who are unavailable at other scheduled meetings of the Council.
(B) The Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore or any two members of the Council may, at any time, call a special meeting by signing a written notice stating the time and place of the meeting, and the subject to be considered.
(C) Notice of the meeting shall be given to Council members as provided in this division (C), preferably 48 hours, but not less than six hours, before the meeting:
(1) Written notice shall be delivered personally to each Council member; or
(2) If notice cannot be personally delivered, notice may be left at the Council member's usual place of dwelling. In this event, administration shall make every reasonable effort to contact the Council member by telephone.
(D) Special meetings may be held when all Council members are present and consent thereto or when those not present have signed a written waiver of notice, provided that the notice to the media required by division (E) below is given.
(E) Administration shall give notice of a special meeting to the public and the media at least 48 hours before the meeting by:
(1) Posting a notice of the time and place of the meeting on the town’s principal bulletin board;
(2) Mailing or delivering notice of the meeting to each of the media who has requested it in accordance with the Open Meetings Law;
(3) Mailing or delivering notice of the meeting to any person who has filed with the Clerk a written request for it in accordance with the Open Meetings Law; and
(4) Posting of notice of the meeting on the town’s Web site.
(F) Only those items of business specified in the notice may be transacted at a special meeting unless all members are present or have signed a written waiver of notice and all members present agree.
(G) A special meeting may also be called or scheduled by vote of the Council in open session during another duly called meeting. The motion or resolution calling or scheduling the special meeting shall specify its time, place and purpose.
(Ord. passed 6-21-2011; Ord. passed 3-20-2014)