(A) A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order, but a motion to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be entertained.
(B) No appeal from any decision of the presiding officer shall be entertained unless it is seconded, and no other business shall be in order until the question on appeal has been decided. The question on the appeal is not debatable and shall be put as follows: "Shall the decision of the chair stand as the judgment of the City Council?" It shall be deemed to be decided in the affirmative unless a majority of the votes given are to the contrary.
(C) Any member may make a parliamentary inquiry of the Mayor at any time during the meeting.
(D) Any member may make a point of order without a second at any time. The presiding officer may speak to points of order in preference to other members and shall decide all such questions, subject to appeal to the City Council by motion duly seconded, and no other business shall be in order until the question on the appeal has been decided.
(E) A motion to "Call the Question" or "Close Debate" can be made by any Council member who desires that a question under debate be at once voted on. This motion is not in order when someone else has the floor. When the motion has been made and seconded, all debate on the main question shall be suspended immediately. The Mayor shall then put the question in the following form: "A motion has been made and seconded to "Call the Question" (Close Debate)." If two-thirds of Council votes in the affirmative, then the main motion is brought to the floor, restated by the Mayor and voted on.
(F) Votes on motions to approve minutes, consent agenda, agenda, or adjourn may be taken without a roll call and the Mayor may put the question in the following form, "Without objection, it will be so ordered." If no objection is heard it will be so ordered and have the same effect as if it had been favorably voted upon. If there is an objection, then the roll will be called.
(G) The presiding officer shall put all questions in the order in which they are moved unless a subsequent motion shall be previous in its nature.
(H) Except as otherwise provided, no resolution or ordinance shall be reconsidered on the day upon which the final vote was taken. A member who voted on the prevailing side may:
(1) On the day upon which final vote was taken, give and have entered in the minutes a notice of intention to move a reconsideration at the next City Council meeting.
(2) On the day immediately following the vote on a resolution or ordinance, give the Municipal Clerk written notice of reconsideration. When such notice is given, any member may at the next City Council meeting move a reconsideration of the question. The affirmative votes of four members of the City Council may order a reconsideration taken up at the same meeting that notice of reconsideration is given. The motion for reconsideration opens for debate, and the question to be considered shall have precedence over every other motion except the motion to adjourn. When a motion is reconsidered, that vote is canceled as though it had never been taken. When a majority votes to reconsider, the question immediately recurs upon the question reconsidered. There shall be only one reconsideration, even though the action of the City Council after reconsideration is opposite the action of the City Council before reconsideration.
(3) After a notice of reconsideration, a special meeting is scheduled within ten days to address that reconsideration.
(I) Any previous vote may be rescinded by vote of four members of the City Council at any time provided the subject matter has not passed out of the control of the City Council.
(J) All motions shall require a second, unless otherwise provided.
(K) Any member may require the division of a question, when the sense of it will admit.
(L) When a question is under debate, the presiding officer shall receive any of the following motions but no other:
(1) To adjourn.
(2) To recess.
(3) To raise a question of privilege.
(4) To call for the order of the day, or the regular order.
(5) To lay on the table.
(6) To call the question.
(7) To limit or extend limits of debate.
(8) To postpone to a certain time.
(9) To refer.
(10) To amend.
(11) To postpone indefinitely.
When one of the motions referred to in divisions (L)(1)-(11) has been made, none of the others inferior to it in the order in which they stand above shall be made, and in proceeding to vote, motions pending shall be put in the order of their rank as arranged in divisions (L)(1)-(11). The first seven are not subject to debate. A motion to postpone to a certain time, refer, and amend or to postpone indefinitely may be amended; to call the question may be demanded before an amendment, which motion shall be decided without debate. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order provided that business of a nature to be recorded in the journal has been transacted since any previous motion to adjourn has been defeated. No motion or proposition of a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of an amendment. When a matter has been especially assigned to be taken up at a fixed time, or at certain stage of proceedings, such matter shall, at the appointed time or at any subsequent time, be in order upon the call of any member, and take precedence over all other business.
(M) After a motion is stated or read by the presiding officer, it shall be deemed to be in the possession of the City Council and shall be disposed of by vote; but the mover may withdraw it at any time before decision or amendment, by consent of the second.
(N) The City Council rules and order of business shall be observed in all cases unless suspended temporarily for good cause by a vote of five members present. Any member may move at any time for the suspension of any rule, and such motion must be seconded to entitle it to consideration.
(O) If any member, in speaking or otherwise, transgresses the rules of the City Council, the presiding officer shall, or any member may, call him to order; in which case the member so called to order shall immediately cease discussion unless permitted by the presiding officer to explain; and the City Council, if appealed to, shall decide the question without debate. If the decision is in favor of the member so called to order, he shall be at liberty to proceed; if otherwise, he shall not proceed without leave of the City Council to proceed in order.
(Ord. 26-08, passed 9-23-08)