The business of the Council shall be taken for consideration and disposition in the following order.
(A) Call to order. The Mayor shall take the chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall immediately call the Council to order. In the absence of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor shall call the Council to order. In the absence of both the Mayor and Vice-Mayor, the Town Clerk shall call the Council to order and an acting Mayor shall be selected to chair the meeting. Upon the arrival of the Mayor or the Vice-Mayor, the Vice-Mayor or acting Mayor shall immediately relinquish the chair upon the conclusion of the business immediately before the Council. The Mayor shall preserve order and decorum, decide all questions of order and conduct of the meeting, using as a guideline only the parliamentary rules contained in town's adopted rules of order, Robert's Rules of Order, or the Town of Florence Council rules of procedure. Strict adherence to Robert's Rules of Order is not necessary.
(B) Roll call. Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the Town Clerk, or his or her deputy, shall call the roll of the members, and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. If a quorum is not present, the members present must adjourn.
(C) Possible executive session.
(D) Community facilities districts meetings.
(E) Moment of silence.
(F) Pledge of Allegiance.
(G) Call to the public. Oral comments or suggestions from the citizens of the town who are present at Council meetings and wish to comment on issues before the Council involving the establishment of policies, procedures, programs, the expenditure of public funds and acquisition, use and maintenance of public facilities and improvements, shall be heard by the Council. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and shall be limited to three minutes per person, unless additional time is granted by the Mayor or by consensus of the Council. No person other than the individual recognized by the Council shall be allowed to speak, either in person or by proxy through the reading of written documents. However, the Council shall receive and later consider, at its discretion, any and all written petitions or communications that any member of the public wishes to present to it. At the conclusion of all public comments, the Mayor or any Council member may:
(1) Respond to citizen criticism;
(2) Ask staff to review the matter;
(3) Ask that the matter be placed on a future Council agenda; and
(4) Thank the individual for his or her comments.
(H) Ceremonial items, such as recognition and awards.
(I) Public hearings.
(J) Consent agenda. Routine matters requiring Council approval, but which do not require discussion, may be approved during the portion of the meeting by one all-encompassing motion, provided however, that any item may be removed from the consent agenda and shall be separately heard at the start of the unfinished or new business agenda if any member of the Council or the public so requests.
(K) Unfinished business. The Council shall consider any business that has been previously considered and that is still unfinished.
(L) New business. The Council shall consider any business not heretofore considered, including introduction of ordinances.
(1) Presentations.
(2) Items submitted by public/applicants.
(3) Mayor/Council-submitted items.
(4) Manager-submitted items.
(M) Reports by officers. Municipal officials and committees shall present any report required by the Council.
(N) Call to the public. Oral comments or suggestions from the citizens of the town, who are present at Council meetings and wish to comment on issues within the jurisdiction of the Town Council, shall be heard by the Council. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and shall be limited to three minutes per person, unless additional time is granted by the Mayor or by consensus of the Council. No person other than the individual recognized by the Council shall be allowed to speak either in person or by proxy through the reading of written documents. However, the Council shall receive and later consider, at its discretion, any and all written petitions or communications that any member of the public wishes to present to it. At the conclusion of all public comments, the Mayor or any Council member may:
(1) Respond to citizen criticism;
(2) Ask staff to review the matter;
(3) Ask that the matter be placed on a future Council agenda; and
(4) Thank the individual for his or her comments.
(O) Call to the Council. Oral comments or suggestions from individual Council members reading items or staff action will be allowed at this time. This is not intended to allow discussion or action on any item, but merely to provide the Council a chance to express its opinions regarding the need for future action by Council or staff.
(P) Executive session.
(Ord. 585-12, passed 9-17-2012; Ord. 626-15, passed 4-6-2015; Ord. 707-21, passed 12-6-2021)