Meeting times and places.
(A) Regular meetings. Regular meetings of the City Council shall be conducted at the Erlanger Municipal Center, at 505 Commonwealth Avenue, Erlanger, Kentucky, at 7:00 p.m., prevailing time, on the first Tuesday of each calendar month, unless that day is a legal holiday, in which event the regular monthly meeting shall be conducted at the same time and place on the third Tuesday of the same calendar month.
(B) Special meetings. Special meetings of the City Council may be called by the Mayor or upon written request of a majority of the City Council. In the call, the Mayor or Council shall designate the purpose, time and place of the special meeting with sufficient notice for the attendance of Council members and for compliance with KRS Chapter 61. At a special meeting, no business may be considered other than that set forth in the designation of purpose.
(C) Regular caucus meetings. The City Council shall regularly meet on the third Tuesday of each calendar month, for the purpose of caucusing and having informal discussions on matters involving future legislative action of the City Council.
(D) Ad hoc committees (task forces). Ad hoc committees and task forces may be created either by the Mayor or by a majority of City Council members at any regular City Council meeting and regular caucus meeting for a limited or continuing purpose. Each committee shall consist of at least two Council members including a chairperson and vice-chairperson, with no limitation as to how many ad hoc committees a member of the City Council may serve. The chair shall work with the City Clerk to make sure all provisions of the Kentucky Open Meetings Act are properly followed.
(1) Each ad hoc committee shall be required to have a mission statement, or a clear-cut directive and goal.
(2) The benefit to the staff, residents, or businesses should be primary and comprehensible.
(3) Each ad hoc committee shall have regular meetings, no less than quarterly and at least three people should be in attendance at the meetings. This can include any combination of staff or Council members. If an ad hoc committee or task force routinely has less than three people in attendance, then it may be abolished by the Erlanger City Council.
(4) Each ad hoc committee should have a projected timeline to achieve its intended goal and should abolish it once the goal is met.
(5) All ad hoc committees’ meetings should be scheduled to avoid overlap with other city meetings and should be in the small Council Chambers.
(6) All minutes, including unapproved minutes shall be sent to the City Clerk within five calendar days of the ad hoc committee meeting. The City Clerk shall create a minutes template for uniformity for all meetings. The City Clerk shall collate minutes into one file, published monthly. If the minutes are unapproved, the City Clerk shall mark the minutes unapproved.
(E) Ad Hoc Budget Committee.
(1) An Ad Hoc Budget Committee shall be created at the first regular caucus meeting of the members of the City Council in each calendar year. This Committee can consist of at least two Council members including a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson and will exist annually until the approval and passage of the next fiscal year budget. The Chair shall work with the City Clerk to make sure all provisions of the Kentucky Open Meetings Act are properly followed.
(2) Pursuant to KRS 91A.030, the Executive Authority of the city shall propose the budget and a budget message at least 30 days prior to the to the beginning of the fiscal year it covers. The Ad Hoc Budget Committee shall meet after the Executive Authority’s proposed budget and message and shall make a recommendation to the legislative body making appropriations for the fiscal year in such sums as the legislative body finds sufficient and proper, whether greater or less than the sums recommended in the budget proposal.
(F) Order of business. Unless otherwise decided by the City Council at the beginning of any regular meeting thereof, the order of business at regular meetings of the City Council shall be as follows:
(1) Call to order. At the time appointed by ordinance for the regular meeting of the members of the City Council, the presiding officer shall call the meeting to order;
(2) Invocation. Divine guidance may be asked by the clergyman or layman;
(3) Pledge to the flag. All present are requested to participate;
(4) Roll call. The Clerk shall note in the minutes the names of those members present when the meeting is called to order. The Clerk shall note in the minutes the names of those members who take their seat after the call to order, noting their time of arrival;
(5) Minutes. The proposed minutes of the proceedings of the previous regular meeting and of all intervening special meetings, shall be reviewed, corrected and approved by the members of the City Council; and signed by the presiding officer and attested by the Clerk;
(6) Approval of agenda. The agenda shall be reviewed, corrected and approved by the members of the City Council. This must be done in the form of a motion;
(7) Special presentations. Special presentations;
(8) Comments by those other than Council members. The City Council may be addressed by anybody who registers to speak by providing their name, address, phone number and topic on the sign-in sheet located on the table inside the entrance to Council Chambers; but for no longer than three minutes. The Mayor may allow comments from individuals other than Council members, later in the meeting, and prior to the reading of legislation;
(9) Mayor s report;
(10) City Administrator’s report;
(11) City Attorney’s report;
(12) Report on capital projects and report from department heads;
(13) Reports of task forces. Each task force Chairperson shall be queried for an oral report of activities and/or recommendations;
(14) Bids;
(15) Unfinished business. The presiding officer shall call for unfinished business and recognize those members of Council who desire to present petitions, communications or introduce motions. There shall be no interruption of business under this call;
(16) New business. The presiding officer shall call for new business and recognize those members of Council who desire to present petitions, communications or introduce motions. There shall be no interruption of business under this call;
(17) Legislation.
(a) Municipal orders and resolutions shall be read by title only and acted upon separately;
(b) Newly introduced ordinances shall be read by title and summary, without any vote; and
(c) Ordinances previously read for the first time at any previous meeting of the City Council shall be read a second time by title and summary, and submitted to the City Council for the vote thereof;
(18) Announcements. Announcements; and
(19) Adjournment. Adjournment may be by motion or declaration of the presiding officer.
(G) Manner of voting. All votes of the members of the City Council shall be via voice; and their votes on ordinances shall be by roll call. Their votes on anything else shall be by roll call only if requested by the Mayor or any member of the City Council.
(H) Division of question. A question under consideration that involves two or more issues shall be divided according to those issues upon the request of any member of the City Council therefor prior to the commencement of the vote thereon.
(I) Amendment. These rules of procedure may be amended only by the adoption of municipal order in regard thereto.
(J) Procedures for all meetings.
(1) Quorum. Pursuant to KRS 83A.060, unless otherwise provided by statute, a majority of
the members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum and a vote of a majority of a quorum shall be sufficient to take action.
(2) Presiding officer. Pursuant to KRS 83A.130(5), the Mayor of the city shall preside at the meetings of the City Council. In the absence of the Mayor at any meeting of the City Council, the member of the City Council who is present at that meeting and who received the greatest number of votes at the last general election thereof shall preside at that meeting.
(3) Parliamentary procedure. Unless otherwise provided in these rules of procedure, meetings of the City Council shall be conducted pursuant to the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. In the absence of a rule applicable to a particular procedural issue, the issue shall be determined by the presiding officer, but subject to an immediate appeal to City Council by any member thereof.
(4) Legislation procedure. Legislation may originate from either the executive or the legislative branch. All legislation should first be discussed at a caucus meeting prior to any first reading.
(a) All proposed legislation, regardless of source should be sent to the City Attorney, Mayor and City Administrator prior to any discussion. The City Attorney, Mayor, and City Administrator shall work with the legislator that is sponsoring the legislation but should not hinder or stop the legislator from sponsoring the legislation.
(b) Proposed legislation, in its final form for first reading, shall be received by the City Clerk no later than 12:00 p.m. on the Friday before the Council meeting. Once the City Clerk receives the legislation in final form, there can be no further changes outside of approved floor amendments.
(c) Unless there is a statutory deadline, floor amendments are only allowed for non-substantive changes. Any substantive changes, if supported by a majority of the legislative body, shall require a new first reading at the next regularly scheduled or special meeting.
(K) Procedures for virtual meetings.
(1) If the Mayor or a majority of Council determines a meeting needs to be virtual, due to health concerns or other government orders, only essential items may be placed on the agenda.
(2) Essential items are any of the following:
(a) Emergency legislation that is necessary to protect or sustain human life or a public/employee safety issue.
(b) Legislation that is time sensitive with statutory deadlines.
(3) The Mayor or Council, if a special meeting is called by Council, shall set the agenda for all virtual meetings and shall make an initial determination of what is essential. Council can add an item to a virtual meeting that they think is essential, only if there is both a legislator that sponsors and cosponsors the item.
(4) The public shall be afforded an opportunity to participate in the virtual meeting and to comment on any essential items.
(Mun. Ord. 04-05-22-01, passed 4-5-2022)