(A) Regular meetings. The regular meetings of the President and Board of Trustees of the village shall be held in the Village Hall, or at any other place in the village as the President and Board of Trustees shall provide, on the first and third Tuesday of each calendar month, unless the day of the regularly scheduled meeting is a public holiday, in which case the Board shall meet on a date set by the Board. All regular meetings shall convene at 6:00 p.m., unless otherwise ordered by the Board.
(B) Roll call; order of business. At the hour appointed for the meeting, the Clerk (or someone appointed to take his or her place) marking the absentees, and announce whether a quorum is present. Upon the appearance of a quorum, the Board shall be called to order, the President taking the chair and the Board appointing an acting President if the President should be absent. The following shall be the order of business:
(1) The reading of the minutes of the last regular or adjourned meeting, amendment and approval of the minutes;
(2) The presentation of petitions;
(3) Reports of village officers;
(4) Reports of standing committees;
(5) Reports of special committees;
(6) Communications to the Board, which may also be considered at any time;
(7) Unfinished business of preceding meetings;
(8) Motions, resolutions and notices;
(9) New business not otherwise provided for; and
(10) Applications for licenses and the like.
(C) Rules governing meetings.
(1) All questions relating to the priority of business shall be decided without debate. The President shall preserve order and decorum, decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Board and endeavor to conduct all business before the Board with fairness and impartiality, to a speedy and proper result. While the President is putting the question or deciding a point of order, the members shall be seated. No member shall leave the Council Chamber without permission from the Board.
(2) Prior to speaking, a member shall rise from his or her seat and say, “Mr. President”, but shall not proceed with his or her remarks until recognized and named by the chair. When two or more members rise at once, the President shall name the member who is first to speak. No member shall speak more than twice to the same general question, nor more than once to a “previous” question, without leave from the Board, nor more than once in any case, until every member wishing to speak shall have spoken. While a member is speaking, no member shall entertain any private discourse or pass between him or her and the chair.
(3) A member called to order shall immediately sit down, unless permitted to explain. If there is no appeal, the decision of the chair shall be conclusive, but if the member appeals to the Board from the decision of the chair, the Board shall decide on the cause without debate and the question shall be asked, “Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?”
(4) Every member who shall be present when a question is stated by the chair shall vote on the question unless excused by the Board or unless he or she is directly interested in the question, in which case he or she shall not vote.
(5) No motion shall be debated unless seconded. When a motion is seconded, it shall be stated by the chair before debate. Every seconded motion shall be reduced to writing if required by a member. After a motion or resolution is stated by the chair, it shall be deemed to be in possession of the Board, but may by consent of the party seconding the motion be withdrawn at any time before decision or amendment.
(6) (a) If the question in debate contains several distinct propositions, any member may have the question divided. When a question is before the Board of Trustees, no motions shall be made in order but the following:
1. Motion to adjourn;
2. Motion to lay on the table;
3. Previous question;
4. Motion to postpone indefinitely;
5. Motion to postpone to a certain time; or
6. Motion to amend.
(b) These motions shall be privileged and have precedence in the order in which they succeed each other. A motion to adjourn, to lay on the table and for the previous question shall be decided without debate. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order, except when a Trustee has the floor, when there is a vote being taken or when the preceding motion was one for adjournment. A motion for the previous question or to lay the question on the table shall, until it is decided, preclude all amendments and debate of the main question. A motion to postpone a question indefinitely or to adjourn it to a certain day shall, until it is decided, preclude all amendments to the main question. The “previous question” shall be as follows: “Shall the main question now be put?” A motion to adjourn the Board shall always be in order and shall be decided without debate, unless the motion shall be to adjourn to a certain day.
(7) In all cases where a resolution or motion shall be entered on the minutes of the Board, the name of the member making the resolution or motion shall also be entered on the journal. If any member requests it, the “ayes” and “nays” upon any question shall be taken and entered on the journal, but the “ayes” and “nays” shall not be taken unless called for previous to any vote on the question, unless otherwise provided by ordinance.
(8) When a member wishes to present a communication, petition or report, the member shall rise and address the chairperson in the usual form and, after briefly stating the subject of the communication or report, shall ask leave to present the communication, petition or report. No person except a member of the Board shall be permitted to address the Board unless by consent of two-thirds of the members of the Board of Trustees present.
(9) When any motion, resolution or matter has been passed upon by the Board, it may be reconsidered at the same or any subsequent regular meeting upon the motion of a member who voted with the majority, but a motion to reconsider shall not be entertained unless as large a number of Trustees is present as was present when the question was passed upon.
(10) All ordinances, petitions and communications to the Board of Trustees shall, unless otherwise ordered by two-thirds vote of all of the Trustees elected, be referred to appropriate committees. In no event can any of these be acted upon by the Board at any, but a subsequent, meeting held not sooner than one week after the report of the committee in charge.
(11) Upon passage of all orders, ordinances or resolutions appropriating money, the “ayes” and “nays” shall be entered on the record of the Board of Trustees. A majority of the votes of all of the members of the Board shall be necessary for passage.
(12) All bills or claims against the village shall be properly itemized, stating the nature and purpose of the claim and shall be filed with the Village Clerk at least one day before the regular monthly meeting of the Board. This division (C)(12) shall not apply to money allowed by ordinance against which claim can be filed before any meeting of the Board.
(13) All resolutions and amendments shall be reduced to writing and shall be read by the Clerk.
(14) The President or any Trustee persisting in a violation of any of the rules shall be subject to a fine as provided in this code, which sum shall be charged to the President or Trustee and deducted from his or her compensation, unless excused by a vote of the Board and the fine remitted.
(15) All charges against the President or a Trustee for improper conduct shall be made by a member of the Board and shall be reduced to writing, setting forth specifically the nature of the charge. No remarks or debate shall be permitted upon the charge until the question comes up for investigation and decision.
(16) The acting President, when selected from the Board, shall not be deprived of his or her right to vote or debate, but shall place some member in the chair if he or she desires to speak to a question.
(17) Speeches on all questions shall be limited to five minutes.
(18) (a) If a quorum of the members of corporate authorities of the Village of Hanna City is physically present as required by Section 2.01 of the Open Meetings Act, a majority of the public body may allow a member of the corporate authorities to attend a regular or special meeting by electronic means if the member is prevented from physically attending because of (1) personal illness or disability; (2) absence from the corporate limits of the village for personal employment purposes or for the business of the village; or (3) a family or other emergency. "Electronic means" shall mean a teleconference or any other means that enables concurrent ability to communicate with the member who is not physically present. Any member planning to attend a regular or special meeting by electronic means shall give written notice of his or her intent to the Village Clerk and Village Administrator. The notice shall be given at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. If the giving of the notice is not possible or is impracticable prior to the 72-hour deadline, then the member shall give notice at the member's earliest opportunity. The notice may be given by personal delivery, mail, fax transmission, e-mail, or other electronic means which creates a record of notice. The notice shall state the reason that prevents the member from physically attending the meeting.
(b) If the presiding officer of the public body is attending the meeting by electronic means, then the person who acts in the absence of the presiding officer shall chair the meeting. If there is none, then the presiding officer shall appoint a member of the public body who is physically present at the meeting to serve as chair of the meeting. The appointment of a chair shall be subject to the advice and consent of the public body. The presiding officer who is participating by electronic means shall be authorized to participate in the meeting to the extent authorized by law or ordinance except for those acts involved with chairing the meeting.
(c) Any Trustee who is part of the quorum physically present at the regular or special meeting as required by Section 2.01 of the Open Meetings Act may request that a vote be taken concerning whether the Trustee who is not physically present may attend such meeting by electronic means. The question shall be decided by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.
(2010 Code, § 170.04) (Ord. 21-08-01, passed 8-3-2021; Ord. 22-05-01, passed 5-3-2022)