1. Duties of Chairman. The Chairman of Council shall be responsible for the orderly conduct of business at each Council meeting and shall preserve order and decorum at such meeting.
2. Announcing Decisions. The Chairman of Council shall announce all decisions of the Council and shall decide all questions of order without debate, subject, however, to an appeal by any Council member. Any ruling by the Chairman may be overruled by a majority of the Council members present.
3. Recognition of Council Members. Every member of Council desiring to speak shall address the chair and, upon recognition by the Chairman, shall confine remarks to the question under debate, avoiding indecorous language or reference to personalities. A member of Council, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is for the purpose of calling such person to order. If a member of Council, while speaking, is called to order, said person shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined. When two or more Councilmen request the floor at the same time, the Chairman shall name the one entitled to the floor.
4. Official Actions.
a. Official action. Except as provided in subsection (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv), Council may not take official action on a matter of agency business at a meeting if the matter was not included in the final agenda as distributed pursuant to § 1-411(2).
(i) Emergency business. Council may take official action at a regularly scheduled meeting or an emergency meeting on a matter of agency business relating to a real or potential emergency involving a clear and present danger to life or property regardless of whether public notice was given for the meeting.
(ii) Business arising within 24 hours before meeting. An agency may take official action on a matter of agency business that is not listed on a meeting agenda if: (1) the matter arises or is brought to the attention of the agency within the 24-hour period prior to the meeting; and (2) the matter is de minimis in nature and does not involve the expenditure of funds or entering into a contract or agreement by the agency.
(iii) Business arising during meeting. If, during the conduct of a meeting, a resident or taxpayer brings a matter of agency business that is not listed on the meeting agenda to the attention of the agency, the agency may take official action to refer the matter to staff, if applicable, for the purpose of researching the matter for inclusion on the agenda of a future meeting, or, if the matter is de minimis in nature and does not involve the expenditure of funds or entering into a contract or agreement, the agency may take official action on the matter.
This § 1-413(4) shall not apply to conferences, working sessions or executive sessions as defined in the Pennsylvania Open Meetings Law.
b. Official actions of Council shall be taken by ordinance, resolution, or motion as provided in the Charter and this Administrative Code. Council action may be requested by a Council member by addressing the chair. Such request shall be by motion. After the motion is seconded the Chairman shall, unless he rules it out of order, immediately state the question. If the question is debatable or amendable he shall then ask if Council is ready for the question. When the debate, if any, has closed, the Chairman may request the Township Clerk to restate the question. The Chairman shall then put the question by requesting the roll.
5. Calling the Roll. The roll of Council members shall be called alphabetically by the Township Clerk, except that the Chairman shall be called last.
6. Time Limitations on Speaking. No member of Council shall speak more than 10 minutes upon the same motion in the same meeting, nor for more than 5 minutes at a time, without the consent of the majority of the Council members present. No Council member shall make a second speech on the same motion as long as any Council member who has not spoken on that motion desires the floor.
7. Additional Rules of Procedure. Additional rules of procedure, insofar as they are not inconsistent with the Charter and this Administrative Code, may be adopted by Council by resolution.
(Ord. 70, § 3.10 (d), 2-14-79)