§ 30.49 ACTION BY COUNCIL; MOTIONS; DEBATE; RATIFICATION.
   (A)   Action by the Council. The Council shall proceed by motion, except as otherwise provided for in §§ 30.43 and 30.58. Any member may make a motion.
   (B)   Second required. Each motion requires a second.
   (C)   One motion at a time. A member may make only one motion at a time.
   (D)   Substantive motions. A substantive motion is out of order while another substantive motion is pending.
   (E)   Adoption by majority vote. A motion shall be adopted by a majority of the votes cast, a quorum as defined in § 30.55 being present, unless otherwise required by these rules or the laws of North Carolina. A majority is more than half.
   (F)   Voting by written ballot. The Council may choose by majority vote to use written ballots in voting on a motion. Such ballots shall be signed, and the minutes of the Council shall show the vote of each member voting. The ballots shall be available for public inspection in the office of the Town Clerk immediately following the meeting at which the vote took place and until the minutes of that meeting are approved, at which time the ballots may be destroyed.
   (E)   Debate. The Mayor shall state the motion and then open the floor to debate on it. The Mayor shall preside over the debate according to the following general principles:
      (1)   The maker of the motion is entitled to speak first;
      (2)   A member who has not spoken on the issue shall be recognized before someone who has already spoken; and
      (3)   To the extent possible, the debate shall alternate between proponents and opponents of the measure.
   (G)   Ratification of actions. To the extent permitted by law, the Council may ratify actions taken on its behalf but without its prior approval. A motion to ratify is a substantive motion.
(Ord. 2008-12, passed 11-20-2008; Am. Ord. 2015-07, passed 10-15-2015)