(A) Meetings conducted by the city, including, but not limited to, council, commission, board, agency or committee meetings, shall be conducted in an orderly manner to ensure that the public has a full opportunity to be heard and that the deliberative process of the body conducting the meeting is maintained at all times.
(B) While any meeting of the city is in session, the following rules of order shall be observed:
(1) While the meeting is in session, members of the body conducting the meeting shall preserve order and decorum, and members shall not, by conversation or other means, delay or interrupt the proceedings, disturb any other member or person addressing the body while speaking, or refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer. In addition, members of the body shall comply with the rules of decorum provided for in subsections (B)(3) and (B)(4) below.
(2) Employees of the city shall observe the same rules of order and decorum as those to which the body conducting the meeting is held accountable. In addition, employees shall comply with the rules of decorum provided for in subsections (B)(3) and (B)(4) below.
(3) Each person who addresses the body conducting the meeting shall do so in an orderly manner. The city believes that all city meetings must be conducted with the utmost professionalism and courtesy. At the discretion of the presiding officer, or a majority of the governing body, any person who acts in the following ways while addressing the body conducting the meeting may be barred from further attendance at the meeting, unless permission to continue is granted by a majority of the body conducting the meeting:
(a) Any person who makes personal, irrelevant, slanderous or profane remarks which disrupt the meeting;
(b) Any person who utters loud, threatening, or abusive language which disrupts the meeting; or
(c) Any person who engages in any other disorderly conduct which disrupts the meeting. Disorderly conduct includes, but is not limited to, addressing the council without first being recognized by the presiding officer; an individual repetitiously addressing the same subject; continuing to speak after the allotted time has expired; engaging in a discussion of information which is not within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body conducting the meeting or which is not relevant to the agenda matter currently being addressed or considered by the body conducting the meeting; failing to relinquish the podium; interrupting the presiding officer, members of the body conducting the meeting, or city staff members; intentionally blocking aisle ways or doorways; intentionally blocking or disrupting the video taping or audio recording of the meeting; persistent yelling, shouting, whistling, clapping, stomping feet, talking loudly, hissing, booing; or making obscene gestures.
(4) Each person who attends a city meeting shall conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and courtesy. At the discretion of the presiding officer or a majority of the governing body, any person who acts in the following ways at a meeting may be barred from further attendance at the meeting, unless permission to continue is granted by a majority of the body conducting the meeting:
(a) Any person who makes personal, irrelevant, slanderous or profane remarks which disrupt the meeting;
(b) Any person who utters loud, threatening, or abusive language which disrupts the meeting; or
(c) Any person who engages in any other disorderly conduct which disrupts the meeting. Disorderly conduct includes, but is not limited to, addressing the council without first being recognized by the presiding officer; an individual repetitiously addressing the same subject; continuing to speak after the allotted time has expired; engaging in a discussion of information which is not within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body conducting the meeting or which is not relevant to the agenda matter currently being addressed or considered by the body conducting the meeting; failing to relinquish the podium; interrupting the presiding officer, members of the body conducting the meeting, or city staff members; intentionally blocking aisle ways or doorways; intentionally blocking or disrupting the video taping or audio recording of the meeting; persistent yelling, shouting, whistling, clapping, stomping feet, talking loudly, hissing, booing; or making obscene gestures.
(C) The rules of decorum set forth above in subsections (B)(1) through (B)(4) shall be enforced in the following manner.
(1) The presiding officer shall request that a person who is breaching the rules of decorum comply promptly. If, after receiving a warning from the presiding officer and unless overruled by a majority of the governing body, a person persists in disrupting the meeting, the presiding officer shall order him to leave the meeting. If such person does not voluntarily leave the meeting, the presiding officer may, unless overruled by a majority of the governing body, order any law enforcement officer to remove that person from the meeting.
(2) Any law enforcement officer shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the meeting. To this end, therefore, it shall be the duty of the law enforcement officer, upon instruction of the presiding officer, to remove from the meeting any person who is disrupting the meeting.
(3) Any person who resists removal by a law enforcement officer shall be charged with a violation of this section.
(Ord. 2633 § 2, 2003.)