(A) Rules enumerated. The following rules shall prevail and govern all meetings of the Council.
(1) The Mayor, or the President of the Council in his or her absence, shall preside over the Council, shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide all questions of order, subject to appeal to the Council.
(2) While the Mayor or presiding officer is putting the question, no member shall leave his or her seat.
(3) Every member, previous to speaking, shall rise and address himself or herself to the presiding officer, and shall not proceed with his or her remarks until recognized by the presiding officer.
(4) When a question is under debate, the only motions in order shall be: to adjourn, to take a recess, to lay on the table, the previous question, to limit or extend limits of debate, to postpone to a certain time, to commit or refer, to amend, to postpone indefinitely. Each such motion shall take precedence in the order named, and the first five shall be decided without debate.
(5) A motion to adjourn shall always be in order when the floor can be obtained for that purpose, except while the yeas and nays are being called, while members are voting, when adjournment was the last motion, or when it has been decided that the previous question shall be taken.
(6) A motion to lay on the table is not debatable; and such motion may not be made with any condition included in it (that is, it must be simply a motion to lay on the table).
(7) A motion to refer to a standing committee shall take precedence over a similar motion to refer to a special committee.
(8) A question may be reconsidered at or during the same meeting or at the first meeting thereafter; provided, however, that a motion to reconsider must be made by a member who voted in the majority, and in case of a tie vote those who vote in the negative shall be considered the majority.
(9) All rules laid down in Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition, are hereby declared to be the rules governing the Council, except in case of conflict with the rules herein laid down and adopted.
(B) Suspension of rules. The rules may be temporarily suspended by a vote of two-thirds of those voting on the question of suspension; but shall not be repealed, altered or amended, except by ordinance.
(Prior Code, § 1-6-6)