121.02 RULES AND REGULATIONS.

   (a)    Agenda. The Mayor shall prepare an agenda or schedule of matters to be brought before Council. The agenda shall be given to the members of Council, the Mayor, the Law Director and Department Heads, just before the meeting, or, if possible, mailed to them at least one day before the meeting.

   (b)    Call to Order. The Mayor, or in his absence the President of Council, shall take the chair at the hour appointed for the meeting, and shall immediately call Council to order.

   (c)    Roll Call. The Clerk shall call the roll of the members, and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes.

(Ord. 2-1962. Passed 6-12-62.)

   (d)    Quorum. Three members of Council shall constitute a quorum to do business but a lesser number may adjourn.

(Ord. 62-2014. Passed 8-28-14.)

   (e)    Order of Business. All meetings of Council shall be open to the public. Promptly at the hour set by law on the day of each regular meeting, the members of Council, the Mayor, the Clerk and the Law Director shall take their regular stations in Council Chambers, and the business of Council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order:

      (1)    Roll call;

      (2)    Approval of minutes of previous meeting;

      (3)    Public comment;

      (4)    Introduction and adoption of resolutions and ordinances;

      (5)    Communications;

      (6)    Report of Mayor; officers; boards; commissions; committees;

      (7)    Unfinished business;

      (8)    New business;

      (9)    Miscellaneous;

      (10)   Adjournment.

(Ord. 88-2010. Passed 10-28-10.)

   (f)    Reading of Minutes. Unless a reading of the minutes of a Council meeting is requested by a member of Council, such minutes may be approved without reading if the Clerk has previously furnished each member with a synopsis thereof.

   (g)    Receiving Motion When Question is Before Council. When a question or a proposition is before Council or under debate, or when a motion has been made, no motions shall be received except the following:

      (1)    To adjourn (not debatable);

      (2)    To table the motion (not debatable);

      (3)    To request that discussion end, and that any motion being considered be voted on (not debatable);

      (4)    To postpone any action on a motion until some stated future time;

      (5)    To refer the proposal to a standing or special committee;

      (6)    To amend the main motion; or

      (7)    To postpone any action for an indefinite time.

   (h)    Motion to Reconsider. A motion to reconsider a subject that may have been acted upon favorably must be made before adjournment of that session of Council. A motion to reconsider any other subject may be made not later than the next regular meeting after such action was taken. A motion to reconsider may be made only by any member who voted with the winning or prevailing side. A motion to reconsider shall be in order at any time except when a motion on some other subject is standing.

   (i)    (1)    A motion to reconsider, being laid on the table, may be taken up and acted upon at any time when Council is engaged in the transaction of new or miscellaneous business.

      (2)    No motion to reconsider shall be made more than once on any matter or subject, and the same number of votes shall be required to reconsider the action of Council, as was required to pass or adopt the same.

   (j)    Motion to Take From the Table. A motion to take from the table shall be in order when that order of business is being transacted in which such matter to be taken up was laid upon the table, or under the head of new or miscellaneous business, and such motion shall be decided without debate, provided that the mover may be permitted to state briefly his reasons for the motion.

   (k)    Motion to Postpone Indefinitely. If a motion to postpone indefinitely be carried, the principal question shall be declared lost.

   (l)    Motion for the Previous Question. 

      (1)    The previous question shall be in the form, "Shall the main question now be put?" It shall be admitted only when demanded by two members, and until decided shall preclude further debate, and all amendments and motions. If the previous question is demanded on an amendment, it shall apply only to the amendment. If the motion for the previous question is carried, the question shall be put without further debate.

      (2)    If the motion for the previous question is carried, but before it is actually put in execution, the motion to which it is directed may be laid on the table.

      (3)    The requirement that two members must be in favor of a motion for the previous question may be altered, as desired by Council. The reason for requiring that more than one member be in favor of the motion, before it is submitted for vote is that consideration and discussion of a question should not be stopped by only one member. Of course, the motion for the previous question may be defeated, but that consumes additional time. If more than one member is in favor of the motion for the previous question, there is then more reason for submitting the motion to the members for action.

   (m)    Motion to Amend. A motion to amend is susceptible of but one amendment thereof. An amendment once rejected may not be moved again in the same form.

   (n)    Motion on Question of Privilege. Questions of privilege shall be, first: Those affecting the rights of Council collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings; second: The rights, reputation and conduct of the members of Council individually, in their capacity as such members. A question of privilege shall have precedence of all questions except a motion to adjourn.

   (o)    Special Committees. All special committees shall be appointed by the presiding officer, unless otherwise directed by Council. (Ord. 2-1962. Passed 6-12-62.)

   (p)    Standing Committees. The standing committees of Council shall be:

      (1)    Committee of the Whole;

      (2)    Finance;

      (3)    Public Works (Sewers and Drains);

      (4)   Planning and Zoning;

      (5)    Streets and Highways;

      (6)    Safety (Police and Fire Departments);

      (7)    Utilities;

      (8)    Drainage and Sewer Control Committee;

      (9)   Cemetery Board; and

      (10)   Fire Dependency Board.

   The Council with input from the Mayor shall appoint the chairman for each committee. This section applies to representatives to Committees appointed by Council and not to representatives to Committees appointed by the Mayor. The rules of proceedings of the Council shall be observed in the Committee of the Whole as far as the same may be applicable.

(Ord. 10-2008. Passed 2-14-08.)

   (q)    Suspension of Rules Relating to Reading Resolutions and Ordinances. Resolutions and ordinances of a general or permanent nature shall be fully read on three different days, unless the rules are dispensed with, upon the affirmative vote of four of the members. The vote on such suspension shall be taken by yeas and nays, separately on each resolution or ordinance, and the Clerk shall enter such vote on the minute book, together with the names of members voting yea and those voting nay.

(Ord. 62-2014. Passed 8-28-14.)

   (r)    Abstention Votes. A member of Council who desires not to vote on an issue before Council, because of conflict of interest or for any reason whatsoever, shall be entitled to enter an "abstention" vote, which indicates the member's desire to abstain from any vote on the issue. Should it be necessary procedurally to count the abstention vote as an affirmative or negative vote, such vote shall be counted with the majority side of the issue. However, in the Minutes and for all other purposes, the vote of the member shall be listed as an "abstention". (Ord. 74-1991. Passed 9-26-91.)

   (s)   Videotaping Council Meetings. The following rules shall apply to the videotaping of Council Meetings:

      (1)   Videotaping equipment must be silent, unobtrusive and must not project any light.

      (2)   All videotaping must take place at the rear of Council chambers on a platform supplied by the City, and located in such a fashion as to not interfere with the view of other audience members, nor interfere with the official videotaping of such meetings.

      (3)   Work sessions of Council may be video taped but due to the limited space for public observation the use of video recorders may only be done by use of a tripod situated in the space designated by the Clerk of Council. (Ord. 10-2013. Passed 2-28-13.)