Each meeting of council shall be opened with a prayer which shall precede the order business. The schedule of business for conducting meetings of council shall be as follows:
(A) Roll call. Roll call of members to determine if a quorum is present. Absent councilmen should be excused by motion, for cause.
(B) Minutes. Reading and approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, and correction of errors of omission or commission therein, if there are any.
(C) Introduction of persons appearing before council. Introduction of delegations or citizens wishing to appear before council.
(D) Reports from the mayor, safety-service director, city auditor, treasurer, director of law, and other public officials. The report of the mayor, auditor, and treasurer should be in writing, and any other reports from public officials should also, whenever possible, be in writing.
(E) Reading of communications. Should any communication call for council action which cannot be immediately taken, it should be referred to the appropriate committee by the presiding officer. Should there be any question about the committee to which any matter should be referred, council can, by majority vote, refer the matter to any committee.
(F) Second reading of ordinances and resolutions.
(G) Third reading of ordinances and resolutions and disposition thereof.
(H) Reports of committees. Since most matters coming before council require some investigation and study, the council shall refer such items to committees for investigation and report. The committees may then call meetings of their members and make such investigation as they deem necessary.
(1) In writing. Reports of committees should be in writing and signed by a majority of the members of the committees. Three is the usual number appointed to comprise a committee. Minority reports may also be presented, if desired, either written or oral.
(2) Standing committees. Standing committees are those which are permanent in their functions, but they may have a change in membership from one council to the next. (See § 30.30 for the standing committees of council.)
(3) Contents of reports. All petitions, ordinances, and resolutions presented to council shall be referred to the proper committee, for study and report. A committee report may include therein recommendations for approval of a number of items, including approval of the ordinances or resolutions which deal with the matters referred to the committee. Since it is possible that some members of council may approve of some items and disapprove of others, at the request of any member of council, a separate vote shall be taken on each item presented by the committee report.
(4) Legislation referred to committee.
(a) When ordinances and resolutions are to be prepared, council shall, by majority vote, request their preparation by the director of law. When they are prepared, they shall be referred to the committee concerned with the subject matter of the ordinance or resolution. The committee will then report out the ordinance or resolution at the next council meeting.
(b) Council may accept or reject any committee report, in whole or part. The director of law has the responsibility of preparing legislation in the manner prescribed by law. The committees to which legislation is referred shall not concern themselves with the fulfillment of legal requirements. They will only determine whether the subject matter has been fully covered. For instance, the finance committee may request that certain salary increases be granted. Council may approve such request and vote to have the director of law prepare the legislation needed to effect such increase. The legislation would be referred to the finance committee to determine whether all the approved increases are included.
(5) Preparation of legislation and reading.
(a) The Director of Law shall be given requests for legislation in writing not later than the Friday preceding the Council meeting at which the proposed legislation will be first considered. The legislation, as prepared by the Director of Law, will be distributed to each member of Council, and to the Mayor, Auditor, and Director of Public Service and Safety on or before the day proceeding the Council meeting at which the legislation will be considered. When the legislation is presented for reading in accordance with divisions (H)(8) and (H)(9), the title shall be read and the content of the legislation summarized. Legislation shall not be read in full unless requested to be so read by any Councilmember present at the meeting. The Clerk of Council shall ascertain that all members of Council present have read the legislation to be considered, and a vote on a suspension of the rules shall be taken by ayes and nays separately on each bylaw, resolution or ordinance. The Clerk shall enter such vote on the journal or minute book together with the names of the members so voting.
(b) If all members present affirm that they have read the legislation to be considered, and 3/4 of Council vote on suspension, the Clerk shall ask if any Councilmember present at the meeting desires that the legislation be read in full. (Ord. 16-1990, passed 3-27-90)
(c) If no requests are so made, the legislation will be summarized by the person or committee presenting the same for passage, the title shall be read, and the clerk shall reflect the reading of the legislation and record on the minutes or journal that the legislation was placed on first reading.
(6) Voting on legislation. Ordinances and resolutions shall always be voted upon separately, even though the committee report urging approval of such legislation may be adopted unanimously. The voting on such legislation shall be entered by the clerk in writing in the minutes as "aye" and "nay," together with the names of members of council voting "aye" and those voting "nay."
(7) Seconding of motions. Each motion shall be seconded before further action thereon.
(8) First reading of ordinances; resolutions. When committees report out ordinances, these can be set aside and given a first reading at the end of committee reports. Thus, all ordinances will be given a first reading at one time. Resolutions, unless permanent in nature, may be voted upon immediately, or acted upon at the same time as the ordinances.
(9) Second reading of ordinances; emergency ordinances. When an ordinance is presented, it shall be read by the clerk, and, if it is not an emergency ordinance, it should be set aside for second reading at the next meeting. If it is an emergency ordinance, requiring immediate action, the presiding officer should, after it is read by the clerk, entertain a motion to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by its title only for the second and third readings. If 3/4 of the members approve the motion, the clerk will then read the ordinance by its title only for the second and third readings. The ordinance is then ready for passage. After a member moves for passage, a vote will be taken. If a majority approves the passage of the ordinance, it shall be signed by the clerk and presiding officer and sent to the mayor for his signature.
(10) Clerk to enter vote in the minutes. The clerk shall enter in the minutes the vote on all ordinances and resolutions, together with the names of those voting "aye" and those voting "nay."
(`59 Code, § 111.08)