(A) The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council, except as provided in division (C) below. A member must be recognized by the Mayor in order to address the Council.
(B) As presiding officer, the Mayor shall have the following powers, in addition to those conferred elsewhere in this chapter:
(1) To rule motions in or out of order, including the right to rule out of order any motion patently offered for obstructive or dilatory purposes;
(2) To determine whether a speaker has gone beyond reasonable standards of courtesy in his or her remarks and to entertain and rule upon objections from other members on this ground;
(3) To entertain and answer questions of parliamentary law or procedure, subject to being overruled by a 2/3 vote of the membership of the Council;
(4) To call a brief recess at any time; and
(5) To adjourn in the event of an emergency.
(C) If the Mayor becomes actively engaged in debate on a particular proposal, he or she may delegate the duty to preside over the debate to the Mayor Pro Tempore or to any other member of the Council who is not so engaged and who acquiesces in the delegation.
(D) The temporary Chairperson may only preside over the debate and may not participate in it; however, he or she does not forfeit his or her right to vote on the issue by acting as temporary Chairperson. The Chairperson shall resume the duty to preside as soon as action upon the matter is concluded.
(1981 Code, § 2-8)