(a) At all regular meetings, the business of Council shall be conducted in the following order:
(1) The call to order;
(2) The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag;
(3) The roll call;
(4) The approval of minutes of the last Council meeting;
(5) The reading of petitions, claims and communications;
(6) The reports of City officials and boards;
(7) The introduction of new ordinances and resolutions (to be referred to committees);
(8) Public hearings (if any);
(9) Council committee reports on new or pending legislation;
(10) Other business; and
(11) Adjournment.
The President shall have discretion to vary from the above-stated agenda order, but in no case shall any scheduled public hearing be moved up on the agenda.
(b)
The Director of Law shall prepare all ordinances and resolutions to be considered by Council and shall make the same available to Council members not later than noon on the Thursday preceding the next regular meeting of Council. The Law Director shall also prepare the agenda for such regular meeting of Council, which agenda shall be made available to the Mayor and members of Council by 4:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the next scheduled Council meeting. All requests and material for legislation shall be delivered to the Law Director by noon of the Tuesday preceding a scheduled Council meeting. The President of Council or the President's designee shall assign legislation to committee.
(c) Council shall cause full and complete minutes to be kept of regular and special Council meetings and the Clerk of Council shall distribute the same to members of Council, the Mayor, the department heads within a reasonable time.
(d) Council shall not adopt any ordinance or resolution unless such ordinance or resolution has been referred to a Council committee and reported out of committee for action by the committee chairperson.
(e) During the committee reports portion of the Council meeting the committee chairperson may put any legislation in the committee before Council for action. However, all measures held in committee will automatically be reported out to Council for action within 90 days from the date of submission to the committee, unless an extension of time has been approved by a majority vote of Council.
(f) Motions shall be used only for procedural purposes to advance the orderly transaction of the business of Council and shall not be substituted for resolutions or ordinances. All motions require a second for further consideration unless otherwise specified in this code.
(g) Motions tabled by Council shall be automatically removed from the table at the first regular meeting 60 days after tabling for voting or other action by Council.
(h)
Suspending the rules to enact legislation shall not supersede legal requirements that such measures enacted under suspended rules become effective 30 days after signing by the Mayor or approval by Council over the Mayor's veto unless the ordinance is declared an emergency and specifically calls for it to be effective in a shorter period of time. Upon the suspension of three-reading rules, Council may require only one reading by title only for immediate consideration of a new ordinance. A motion to suspend the rule shall prevail upon the affirmative votes of five Council members.
(i) A motion to reconsider shall take precedence over all other questions. Only a member who was absent and excused or who votes with a prevailing side may move for reconsideration of a Council action, provided that the motion to reconsider is made not later than the next regular meeting after such action was taken. No motion to reconsider shall be made more than once on any one matter and the same number of votes that is required to pass or adopt such matter is required to reconsider it.
In any situation where a member of Council elects to move for reconsideration of an ordinance or resolution, when such ordinance or resolution was the subject of a public hearing wherein one or more residents appeared and spoke or submitted statements in support or opposition to such ordinance or resolution, such statements being contrary to the result of a successful reconsideration, then in that event it shall be incumbent upon the moving Councilperson to have used due diligence in notifying the residents who appeared for or against such ordinance or resolution. Failure to attempt to give such notice by the moving Councilperson shall be grounds upon which Council may refuse to reconsider the legislation. Anyone wishing to be notified in the event of reconsideration shall submit his or her name, address and telephone number to the Clerk at the time of the public hearing.
(j) Voting by Council shall be by random roll call. When once begun, voting shall not be interrupted except that any member, upon first declaring their vote, may explain their vote in a statement consuming not more than two minutes.
(k) Any ruling of the President of Council may be appealed by any member if duly seconded. A vote shall be taken on such motion and, if approved, shall be debated and then put forth for voting to sustain or change the ruling. A majority vote shall prevail. Either the member making the appeal or the President may request a legal opinion from the Law Director as to the ruling made by the President. The President shall then put the question in a motion which in substance states: "Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?" If a majority of the members present vote 'yes' the ruling of the chair is sustained; otherwise, it is overruled.
(l) No member shall be allowed to speak longer than five minutes at one time on any question before Council. The President has discretion to allow a longer time if circumstances warrant. No member shall speak more than once on the same question until every other member desiring to speak on that question shall have had an opportunity to do so. There is no limit on the number of times a member may speak on a particular matter as long as the member's comments are not repetitive.
(Res. 1976-2. Passed 1-5-76; Ord. 1978-135. Passed 11-20-78; Ord. 1980-24. Passed 1-21-80.)
(m) When any member is about to address the Council, that member shall respectfully address themselves to the President or the chairperson of the committee and, when recognized by the chair, shall confine themselves to the question under debate, avoid personal attacks and refrain from impugning the motives of any other member's argument or vote. When two or more members ask recognition at the same time, the chair shall choose the member to be first to speak and the exercise of such discretion by the chair shall not be subject to appeal.
(n) If any member in speaking or otherwise transgresses the Rules of Council, the President shall call the offending member to order. The member so called to order shall immediately cease speaking unless permitted by the President to explain. Any member may by raising the point of order call the attention of the President to such transgression. The point of order shall be decided by the President without debate. Every such decision of the President shall be subject to appeal.
(o) Non-members in attendance at a Council meeting may request to be heard and the chair shall have discretion to allow them to speak. Non-members shall be limited to three minutes on any matter. Any non-member may only speak once on any matter. The chair has discretion to allow additional time if circumstances warrant. All questions by non-members should be directed to the chair.
(p) The President shall maintain proper Chamber decorum at all times. Any person may be removed from a meeting for being disruptive, profane, or disorderly.
(q) Audio or video recording of Council meetings will be permitted if it is not disruptive and does not interfere with proceeding at the discretion of the President.
(r) The Clerk of Council is charged with the duty of reading legislation and taking roll call votes. In the absence of the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk shall act in such capacity. In the absence of both clerks, the President of Council shall designate a person to act in such capacity.
(s) The determination that any part of this chapter is invalid shall not invalidate or impair the force or effect of any other part hereof except to the extent that such other part is wholly dependent upon the part declared invalid.
(t) References herein to the President of Council shall include the Vice President if the Vice President of Council is acting as presiding officer due to the President’s absence.
(Ord. 1982-72. Passed 4-5-82; Ord. 2001-087. Passed 8-13-01; Ord. 2020-034. Passed 6-15-20; Ord. 2022-002. Passed 2-7-22.)