(A) Regular meetings of the Council will be held the first Thursday of each month beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall or the Community Center.
(B) Times, dates and locations of regular Council meetings may be adjusted because of changing circumstances, to facilitate work sessions or in order to have a quorum of Council members at the meeting. Temporary changes to times, dates and locations of regular Council meetings may be made by the Mayor or three Council members. Permanent changes require the common consent of a quorum of all members of the Council. Regular meeting notice requirements must be followed and the meeting must be held within the city limits.
(C) Special meetings of the Council may be called at any time on the request of three members of the Council, by the Mayor or by the Mayor Pro Tem in the Mayor’s absence, by giving notice of the meeting to the Council members, news media which have requested notice and the public at least 24 hours in advance in a manner and for such time as the exigencies of the case may permit, but with a view to obtaining the largest possible attendance of Council members.
(D) Although the Council may choose other days on which to hold its meetings, the third Thursday of the month shall be the preferred alternate meeting time.
(E) Emergency meetings of the Council are special meetings which can be called when no more than 24 hours’ notice can be given. The minutes of the meeting need to state the nature of the emergency. Emergency meetings may be held by consent of a majority of Council members. An attempt must be made to notify the public or the press of the need for any emergency meeting.
(F) Workshop or training meetings of the Council may be held at the convenience of the Council at a time when as many Council members as possible can attend. These meetings may be held for Council goal setting, new Council member training or longer workshops for planning programs or projects. Goal setting retreats may be held out of town so long as no decision making or discussion toward decisions occurs. Any goals arrived at by any process should be confirmed in public at a regular Council meeting. The Council may decide the public is welcome at any of these meetings and they may be held without opportunity for public input.
(G) Executive sessions may be held by the Council pursuant to ORS 192.640, 192.650, 192.660 and 192.670. Only those staff members required to attend will be present. Normally, the City Recorder is required to attend.
(H) Public meetings of the Council will be held in accordance with ORS 192.610 through 192.695. All regular and special meetings will be open to the public and provide an opportunity for public input.
(I) (1) Public hearings shall be held:
(a) To gather public input;
(b) In anticipation of legislation; or
(c) Sitting in a quasi-judicial capacity.
(2) Public hearings shall be preceded by the notice required by law and shall be conducted in compliance with all applicable law.
(J) Except for quasi-judicial hearings, a pre-meeting conference with the issues’ chief proponents, city staff members and opponents may be useful. Questions of fact may be resolved at such conferences and time may be saved at the hearing. To preserve the impartiality required for quasi-judicial hearings and to avoid violation of the Open Meeting Law, ORS 192.610 to 192.690, pre-meeting conferences should be conducted by city staff members rather than Council members.
(K) Council members shall inform the Mayor or City Recorder as soon as practical if unable to attend any Council meeting. The Mayor will inform the Mayor Pro Tem if unable to attend any Council meeting.
(L) Seating in the Council Chambers of the City Hall is limited to a small number of citizens in attendance. When the Council or staff anticipates a large number of citizens in attendance for a particular meeting, the meeting place shall be moved to the Community Center or another facility if the Community Center is unavailable.
(Ord. 2007-01, passed 4-5-2007)