MEETINGS
Rule 1. Regular meetings of the Council shall be held on the second Monday of each calendar month, or more frequently as shall be required, at the hour of 7:00 p.m., or such other time as Council may set by resolution. Any regular meeting falling upon a legal holiday shall be held on the next following Monday, at the same hour and place. Council meetings shall be held upon such premises as the Council may, from time to time, decide, provided, however, that the premises of the meeting shall always be sufficient to accommodate, insofar as practical, all members of the public who may wish to attend. The agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall be posted at least twenty-four hours prior to the scheduled time of such meeting.
Rule 2. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the President or any two Trustees upon at least twenty-four hours written notice given to each member and the Clerk, served personally or left at his or her usual place of residence, provided,
however, that any special meeting at which all members of the Council are present shall be a legal meeting for all purposes without such written notice. The Clerk shall post notice of the date, time, place and agenda of the special meeting, at least eighteen hours before the convening of the meeting, on the Village Office bulletin board and, when possible, at up to three other public places in the Village.
Rule 3. All meetings of the Council shall be public. Proposed minutes of each regular and special meeting shall be available for public inspection during regular business hours at the Village Offices not more than eight business days after the date of said meeting. Approved minutes of each meeting shall be available for public inspection during regular business hours, at the same location, not more than five business days after the meeting at which the minutes are approved. Tapes of regular and special meetings shall be available to the public at the Village Offices during regular business hours after transcription by the Clerk and shall be available to members of the Council at the Village Offices at any time during regular business hours.
Rule 4. Each Trustee and the President shall have the right to have any item of business placed on the agenda of a regular meeting. Residents may also request that any item of business be placed on the agenda of a regular meeting by notifying the Clerk at least forty-eight hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) prior to the convening of the meeting.
Rule 5. Council meetings shall conclude no later than 11:00 p.m., subject to Council's review and a conclusion that it should reconvene.
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Rule 6. The President shall preside at the meetings of the Council, and, in the absence of the President, the President Pro-Tempore shall preside. If both the President and the President Pro Tem are absent, Council may temporarily appoint one of its members to preside.
Rule 7. The regular order of business shall be as follows:
1. Call to order
2. Roll call
3. Adoption of agenda
4. Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting
5. Reports of Village officers and agents
6. Submission of current bills
7. Public requests and comments
8. Unfinished business
9. New business
10. Adjournment
Rule 8. These Rules and Robert's Rules of Order (the current edition) (where Robert's does not conflict with these rules) will comprise the parliamentary authority for the Council. The Chair shall decide all questions arising under this parliamentary authority, subject to appeal, by any Council Trustee, which appeal shall be determined by a majority vote of the Trustees present. (The form used is: "I appeal from the decision of the Chair.") The Chair shall preserve order and decorum and may speak to points of order in preference to other Trustees.
Rule 9. After all Council Trustees have had the opportunity to speak, the Chair may express his or her opinion on any subject under debate without relinquishing the Chair.
Rule 10. Any Trustee desiring to speak shall address the Chair, and, after his or her right to speak has been granted, shall not be interrupted except by a point of order raised by another Trustee. When two or more Trustees seek recognition, the Chair shall name the Trustee who is to speak first. No Trustee shall speak more than once on the same question unless every Trustee desiring to speak to that question shall have had the opportunity to do so. No person other than a Trustee shall address the Council except as otherwise provided herein.
PARTICIPATION BY THE PUBLIC
Rule 11. The Chair, at his or her discretion and subject to appeal as provided in Rule 8 hereof, may permit any person to address the Council during its consideration of any item of business. Likewise, the Chair's refusal to recognize any person shall also be subject to appeal.
Rule 12. Any resident or, with the permission of the Chair, any other person, may address the Council at the time it is considering public requests.
Rule 13. A person addressing the Council shall be requested to state his or her name and residential address. The Clerk shall summarize the comments made by the person insofar as possible and enter them in the minutes of the proceedings.
Rule 14. A person addressing the Council shall limit his or her remarks on a particular subject to three minutes. Communications of greater length shall be reduced to writing. No person shall have the right to speak more than once on any particular subject until all other persons wishing to be heard on that subject have had the opportunity to speak.
Rule 15. Any person who shall have a specific question for which he or she desires an answer from the President or any Trustee during consideration of public requests shall submit the same in writing to the Clerk at least three days prior to the scheduled date of the meeting. The Clerk shall immediately transmit the same to those to whom such questions are addressed. The President and Trustees shall endeavor to answer all questions posed, and, in the event of a refusal to answer any such question, the reason therefor shall be publicly stated.
MOTIONS
Rule 16. Verbal motions shall be restated by the Chair and written motions shall be read by the Clerk prior to voting on such motion. At the request of a Trustee, any motion shall be reduced to writing.
Rule 17. The previous question shall be put in this form: "I move the previous question," and, until decided, such motion shall preclude all amendments and debate on the main question. Moving the previous question requires a second and a two- thirds majority of those Trustees present for passage.
Rule 18. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order (except when a vote is being taken or when a Trustee has the floor), provided that there shall always be some intervening business proposed between two motions to adjourn. Motions to adjourn, to lay on the table and to move the previous question, and all motions relating to questions of order, must be decided without debate.
Rule 19. It shall be in order for any Trustee voting in the majority to move for a reconsideration of the vote on any question at that meeting or at the next meeting. A motion to reconsider, being considered and lost, shall not be renewed.
Rule 20. Any Trustee may demand a roll call vote, which vote shall be taken by the Clerk in alphabetical order, and such vote shall be entered in the minutes of the proceedings.
Rule 21. A majority of all Trustees voting in favor of any proposed motion, resolution, ordinance or appointment shall be necessary for passage or approval, unless a larger number is required by law or by the Village Charter. A majority is defined to be four votes, including the vote of the President.
Rule 22. Any ordinance proposed pursuant to Chapter VI of the Village Charter shall be proposed at a regular or special meeting of the Council, be laid upon the table for not less than thirty days and, prior to becoming operative, be published in accordance with State law and posted in two of the most public places in the Village.
MISCELLANEOUS
Rule 23. These Rules or any part thereof may be suspended temporarily in connection with any matter under consideration, except insofar as the same embody mandatory provisions of the Village Charter, by a majority vote of the Trustees, as defined in Rule 21.
Rule 24. These Rules may be altered or amended by a two-thirds vote of the Trustees, notice having been given in writing of the proposed alteration or amendment at a previous session.
Rule 25. A copy of the current series of these Rules shall be placed in the ordinance book provided to each Councilman at the commencement of the term of his or her office. Extra copies of the current rules shall also be maintained by the Clerk in the Village Offices for distribution to residents of the Village upon request.
Rule 26. A Sergeant at Arms shall be provided for all Council meetings.
Rule 27. No Village Trustee shall vote (including abstaining) with regard to any question, issue or decision wherein said Trustee has knowledge that the question, issue or decision will provide the Trustee, a member of his or her immediate family, or a business with which he or she is associated, with direct or indirect private benefit (financial or otherwise) which is distinguishable from the benefit to the public or a broad segment of the public.
Rule 28. Public requests and comments shall be limited to those items that do not appear on the meeting's agenda. Public requests and comments on listed agenda items shall be allowed for a time period of three minutes after discussion by Council, but before a motion is voted upon.
Rule 29. The Fire Marshall and the Chief of Police shall be present at all regular Council meetings to verbally report to Council on the monthly activities of the Fire Department and the Police Department.
Rule 30. There will be no smoking in the Broughton House during Council meetings.
ELECTRONIC MEETINGS
Rule 31. Electronic Meetings Authorized.
The Village Council may meet and conduct its meetings, in whole or in part, by electronic means using telephone conferencing or video conferencing technology without regard to physical place and physical presence requirements, in accordance with Section 3a of the Open Meetings Act, MCL 15.263a, as amended, through December 31, 2020.
Beginning January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, Village Council meetings may be held, in whole or in part, by electronic means using telephone conferencing or video conferencing technology due to circumstances requiring accommodation of any Village Councilmember absent because of military duty, a medical condition, or when a declared statewide or local state of emergency or state of disaster exists and the personal health or safety of members of the public or public body would be at risk if the meeting were held in person. As used in these Rules, the term "medical condition" means an illness, injury, disability, or other health-related condition, including the quarantine or isolation of a Village Councilmember to minimize the spread of a contagious disease.
Beginning January 1, 2022 members of the Village Council may participate by electronic means in Village Council meetings only to accommodate their absence due to military duty.
Rule 32. Conduct of Electronic Meetings.
An electronic meeting of the Village Council will be conducted in a manner that permits two-way communication so that members of the Council can hear and be heard by one another, and so that public participants can hear members of the Village Council and be heard by both the Council and other public participants. The Village may use technology to facilitate typed public comments submitted by members of the public participating in the electronically-held meeting that shall be read to or shared with members of the Village Council and other participants.
As permitted by the Open Meetings Act, a physical place is not required for an electronically-held meeting. Members of the Village Council and members of the public participating electronically in a meeting that occurs in a physical place are considered present and in attendance at the meeting for all purposes. For a meeting at which Village Councilmembers are physically absent due to military duty or a medical condition and who are being accommodated by remote participation, all other Village Councilmembers must be physically present at the meeting to be able to participate.
In addition to any other notice required by the Open Meetings Act, advance notice of an electronically-held meeting shall be posted on a portion of the Village's website that is fully accessible to the public. The public notice must be included on either the home page or a separate webpage dedicated to public notices for non-regularly scheduled or electronically-held public meetings that is accessible through a prominent and conspicuous link on the Village's website home page that clearly describes its purpose for public notification of non-regularly scheduled or electronically-held public meetings. Any scheduled meeting of the Village Council may be held as an electronic meeting as permitted by the Open Meetings Act if a notice consistent with this Rule is posted at least 18 hours before the meeting begins. Any notice of the meeting of the Village Commission held electronically must clearly contain all of the following:
(a) Why the Village Council is meeting electronically;
(b) How members of the public may participate in the meeting electronically (if a telephone number, internet address or both are required to participate, that information must be provided in the notice);
(c) How members of the public may contact members of the Village Council to provide input or ask questions on any business that will come before the Council at the meeting; and
(d) How persons with disabilities may participate in the meeting.
If an agenda exists for an electronically held meeting of the Village Council, the Village shall, on a portion of its website that is fully accessible to the public make the agenda of the meeting available to the public at least two hours before the meeting begins. This publication of the meeting agenda does not prohibit subsequent amendment of the agenda at the meeting.
A member of the general public is not required to register or otherwise provide his or her name or other information or otherwise fulfill a condition precedent to attend an electronically-held meeting, other than mechanisms established and required by the Village necessary to permit the individual to participate in a public comment period of the meeting.
Members of the general public otherwise participating in an electronically-held meeting of the Village Council are excluded from participation in a closed session of the Village Council that is held electronically provided that the closed session is convened and held in compliance with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act applicable to closed sessions.
Rule 33. Agenda for Regular Business Meetings; Electronic Meetings.
The order of business for all meetings of the Village Council conducted electronically and held during through December 31, 2020, and held beginning January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 for Village Council meetings held, in whole or in part, by electronic means using telephone conferencing or video conferencing technology when a declared statewide or local state of emergency or state of disaster exists shall be as follows: Call to order; Roll call; Adoption of agenda; Approval of minutes of previous meeting(s); Reports of Village officers and agents; Submission of current bills; Public requests and comments; Unfinished business; New business; and Adjournment. The order of business outlined in this paragraph is not applicable when electronic means is used to accommodate the absence of individual Village Councilmembers due to military duty or a medical condition.
Rule 34. Public Comments.
During Village Council meetings conducted electronically, members of the public attending the meeting, once recognized by the chair, shall identify themselves for the record and indicate the municipality where they reside. Comments by the public will be limited to two minutes for each speaker unless the time is extended by the chair or by vote of the Council. Comments by the public during electronic meetings will be restricted to the public requests and comments portion of the meeting.
Rule 35. Councilmember Attendance by Phone/Video.
A member of the Village Council who anticipates being absent from a meeting due to the circumstances set forth in the Open Meetings Act and these Rules may request accommodation of their absence to permit their remote participation in and voting on Commission business by two-way telephonic or video conferencing communication. A Village Councilmember who desires to attend a meeting by telephonic or video conferencing shall inform the Village Administrator, or the Village Administrator's designee, at least 24 hours before the meeting to permit any necessary technology to be put in place to accommodate participation of the absent member. Village Councilmembers attending a meeting by telephone or video conferencing may fully participate in the meeting, including voting and attendance in any closed session of the Village Council. A Councilmember participating by telephonic or video conferencing is not permitted to chair the meeting unless all Council members are participating by telephone or video conferencing.
Any member of the Village Council attending a meeting remotely must publicly announce at the outset of the meeting (which shall be included in meeting minutes) that the member is attending the meeting remotely. If the member is attending the meeting remotely for a purpose other than for military duty, the member's announcement must identify the member's physical location by stating the city, village or township and the state from which the member is attending the meeting remotely.
Rule 36. Other Boards and Commissions.
All other Village boards and commissions and the members thereof are governed by and shall conform to the provisions contained in these Rules setting forth the requirements and procedures by which absent members and the public may remotely participate in meetings electronically by telephone or video conferencing. In the event of any conflict between these rules and the bylaws or procedural rules of the other board or commission, this Rule is controlling authority.
(Res. 2000-21. Passed 3-27-00; Res. 2014-109. Passed 11-17-14; Res. 2020-101. Passed 12-14-20.)