(A) Rules of order. Unless otherwise provided by law or by these rules, the procedure for Council meeting shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order (current edition). The Mayor, or Presiding Officer, shall maintain order, allow full discussion of all items on the agenda and get through all agenda items in the allotted meeting time.
(B) Mayor’s impartiality. The Mayor shall remain impartial during all debate, but may express his or her views, and should have the respect of all meeting participants. As per the City Charter, Ch. IV, § 17, “Mayor’s Function at Council Meetings”: “The Mayor shall be chairman of the Council and preside over its deliberations. He/she will cast a vote but he/she shall have authority to preserve order, enforce the rules of the Council, and determine the order of business under the Rules of the Council.”
(C) Call to order. Includes welcoming public members, a brief explanation of general conduct and courtesy, meeting procedure and a reminder that, except for staff, officers are all volunteers. If possible, a copy of the meeting agenda will be provided for all in attendance at the meeting.
(D) Recognition. Every Council member desiring to speak shall first address the Presiding Officer, and await recognition to obtain the floor. No persons other than members of the Council and the person having the floor shall enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Council, without the permission of the Presiding Officer.
(E) Main motion. The basis of discussion at a meeting is a motion. A motion is announced or put forward by a Council member for the purpose of focusing the discussion. Each motion requires a “second” before debate. No motion shall be debated until it has been seconded and announced clearly by the Presiding Officer.
(F) Discussion. When a motion is “put on the floor” for discussion by the Council, that discussion must focus on the substance of the current motion. All other discussion is out of order and not allowed. Another motion cannot be introduced while there is a motion on the floor.
(G) Order. Council members shall be acknowledged by the Presiding Officer in order. Once a motion has been introduced and seconded, it is the Presiding Officer’s responsibility to manage the discussion in an orderly manner. The Council member who seconds the motion is always given an opportunity to speak after the Council member who made the motion. In order to make sure that all participants who wish to speak are heard, the Presiding Officer will allow speakers who have not yet spoken to speak ahead of those who have already spoken.
(H) Amending a motion. A Council member who has the floor can move to amend the main motion currently being debated. An amendment is another motion that is used to change, by adding, subtracting or completely changing the main motion under discussion. When the amendment has been moved and seconded, all subsequent discussion must be on the substance of the current motion as amended. An amended motion can be amended once. An amendment can be passed by a simple majority vote of the Council. If an amendment is passed, defeated or withdrawn, the discussion goes back to the main motion on the floor with comments based on whether the amendment passed or not.
(I) Calling the question. If a Council member thinks that additional debate will be unproductive, he or she may “call for the question”, which can end the debate. If no other Council member objects, the meeting proceeds to the motion. If there is an objection, the Council members vote on whether to end the debate. A two-thirds’ majority vote is required to pass the motion and no debate is allowed. If the “call for the question” motion is passed, a vote on the main motion is taken with no additional debate.
(J) Voting. Prior to a vote, the Presiding Officer shall restate the motion or have the maker of the motion restate it to assure clarity of the issue. Except as otherwise provided by these rules or applicable law, when a quorum is present, a majority of the Council present in person or by speaker phone and voting shall decide a motion. Each Council member’s vote shall be recorded individually. A Council member who is present, but abstains from voting is still counted in the quorum. A Council member must be present in person or by speaker phone to vote.
(K) Abstentions. Council members should abstain from voting only when they have a conflict of interest or are not well informed on the issue that is being voted upon.
(L) Tie votes. A motion fails in the event of a tie vote.
(M) Point of order. If a Council member believes that the meeting is progressing outside the rules of order, he or she can raise a “point of order”. In such case, he or she states what rule or order has been violated or not enforced by the Presiding Officer. A point of order can be used to interrupt a speaker. The Presiding Officer has the responsibility of determining if the point is valid or not. A point of order cannot be used to comment on a motion out of turn.
(N) Point of privilege. A point of privilege can be used to interrupt a speaker. Any meeting participant who feels that his or her rights have been infringed upon or violated may bring this point by simply stating their problem. Privilege involves the comfort or accessibility of the meeting participant and can include such things as can’t hear, too noisy, unclear copies and the like or more personal actions such as misquotes, misinterpretations or insults. The Presiding Officer has the responsibility of determining if the point is valid.
(O) Challenge the Chair. If a meeting participant feels that his or her point of order or point of privilege was ruled on unfairly by the Presiding Officer, a challenge can be made to the Chair. The Presiding Officer will then ask for a motion to uphold the Chair’s decision and a vote is taken. The vote by the Council shall decide whether the Presiding Officer’s action on the point was valid or not.
(P) Point of information. A point of information is a question raised by a Council member while another has the floor. The Presiding Officer asks the speaker if he or she wants to entertain the question when asked. The speaker can refuse. A point of information is only a question and cannot be used to speak out of turn or harass a speaker or disrupt the flow of the meeting.
(Q) Table. Normal discussion or debate at a meeting may end in one of several ways. If a Council member feels that the decision and vote on a motion needs to be delayed for any legitimate reason, that person can move to “table” the motion. A Council member must be recognized by the Presiding Officer in order to table a motion and cannot request this action at the end of a speech. Generally, a specific time limit is mentioned when tabling the motion so as not to leave the motion dangling. A motion to table requires a simple majority vote of Council members present in person or by speaker phone. The discussion allowed after a motion to table is solely about the length of time the motion is to be tabled.
(R) Rescind. A Council member may make a motion to rescind only if the motion it refers to was passed at another meeting or on another day. This motion requires a two-thirds’ majority of the Council members present in person or by speaker phone to pass,
(S) Reconsider. A Council member can make a motion to reconsider if the motion under reconsideration was passed at that same meeting. The motion can only be made by a Council member who voted with the prevailing majority on the earlier vote on the motion. A two-thirds’ majority of the Council members present in person or by speaker phone is required.
(T) Suspension of the rules. Any motion for temporary suspension of the rules of order (usually used so that meeting participants can do something in violation of the rules) must have a majority vote of the Council members present in person or by speaker phone to succeed. There is no debate allowed. This motion cannot be amended and cannot be reconsidered at the same meeting.
(U) Adjourn. A motion to adjourn takes precedence over all other motions, except a motion to fix the time to adjourn. This motion cannot be debated or amended, nor can a vote to adjourn be reconsidered. A motion to adjourn cannot be made when a speaker has the floor, or when a vote is being conducted. A meeting cannot be adjourned without a motion by a Council member, a second and a majority vote of the Council members present in person or by speaker phone.
(V) Public comment. Members of the public desiring to address the Mayor and Council shall first sign in with their signatures, printed names, addresses and phone numbers before being recognized by the Presiding Officer. They must then state their names and addresses for the record. Unless otherwise designated by the Presiding Officer, each person shall have up to three minutes to present his or her comments. Groups with like comments should choose a spokesperson that will present their joint remarks.
(W) Comment period. City Council members normally should not directly respond to a public comment during the public open comment period. Council member comments should be held until the Council member comment period later in the meeting or referred to the city staff or a response at a subsequent time.
(X) Referral to city staff. The Council addresses policy and goals while the city staff addresses customers of city services. Council members should refer people with questions or complaints about city services to the city staff, explaining that if they are not satisfied with the results of the staff’s response, they should ask to be put on the next Council meeting agenda or present their issues during the public comment portion at the next Council meeting or address a letter to the City Council.
(Y) Anonymous communications. Anonymous and unsigned communications shall not be introduced in Council meetings.
(Z) Public comment during public hearings. Remarks shall be limited to the question then under discussion. All remarks and questions shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any individual Council member. Any remarks and questions regarding personnel or administration of the city shall be referred to the appropriate city staff by the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer may redirect other questions to a Council member as appropriate.
(AA) Questions of city staff by City Council members. Every Council member may address questions directly to the city staff, who may either answer the inquiry or designate another staff member to do so. Council members are encouraged to present their questions to the city staff prior to the meeting when possible.
(Ord. 2007-01, passed 4-5-2007)