Rule 1: Regular meeting. The Council shall hold a regular meeting the Tuesdays immediately following the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Individual meeting dates may be moved to accommodate legal holidays. A schedule of regular meetings shall be approved by the Council and advertised by the Clerk each year. The meeting shall be held at the Noblesville City Hall and shall begin at 7:00 p.m.
Rule 2: Special meetings. The Mayor, Council President or Council Vice President in the President’s absence, or any five members of the Council may at any time call a special Council meeting. Any news media which have requested notice of meetings shall be given notice of special meetings as required by law.
Rule 3: Election of officers. At the first meeting in January, the Council shall elect from its members a President and Vice President and any meeting guidelines that are to be used that year.
Rule 4: Agenda. The Clerk shall prepare the proposed agenda for the regular meeting. A request to have an item of business placed on the proposed agenda must be received at least three working days before the regular meeting. Any Council Member may, by a timely request, have an item placed on the proposed agenda. The proposed agenda shall include, for each item of business placed on it, as much background information on the subject as is available and feasible to reproduce. A copy of all proposed ordinances shall be attached to the proposed agenda. Each Council Member shall receive a copy of the proposed agenda before the meeting and it shall be available for public inspection or distribution at least 48 hours prior to the regular meeting. The Council may, by majority vote, add an item that is not on the proposed agenda.
Rule 5: (A) Public request to address the Council. Any individual or group who wishes to address the Council shall make a request pursuant to the Meeting Guidelines adopted at the Council’s organization meeting in January of each year.
(B) Citizen input. Before any person will be allowed to speak to the presiding officer they must be recognized by the presiding officer and identify themselves by name and address; at that time they shall come forward before the presiding officer and speak into a microphone or at a place designated. Any person failing to comply with these rules may be ruled out of order by the presiding officer and at that time may be removed from the council room by the Chief of Police or his representative at the instruction of the presiding officer.
Rule 6. Order of business. Items shall be placed on the proposed agenda according to the order of business. The order of business for each regular meeting shall be as follows:
Call to order;
Any opening ceremonies deemed appropriate and agreed by majority vote at the first regular meeting of the year;
Roll call;
Recognition (if desired);
Minutes;
Petitions or comments by those citizens present;
Mayor’s comments;
Reports from committees and officers;
Claims;
Unfinished business;
New business;
Miscellaneous business;
Adjournment.
If unusual circumstances warrant, an item may be placed out of order on the proposed agenda with approval of the Council President. By motion seconded and majority vote of the Council, items also may be considered out-of-order when the proposed agenda is approved at the meeting.
Rule 7: Duties of the Clerk of the Council. The Clerk shall be the Clerk of the City Council and it shall be his or her duty as Clerk to keep the files and papers of the Council, to make and keep an accurate journal of the proceedings and minutes, to enter the votes of each Council Member on the passage of every ordinance and resolution or on any other vote whenever requested by two members of the Council, and to perform all other duties requested by the Council to insure the orderly progress and preservation of Council business.
Rule 8: Offices of the Council President and Vice President; powers; rules of succession. The Council President shall preside over all meetings of the City Council for that year he or she is elected, and shall continue to serve until a successor, if any, is elected at the first regular meeting the following January. The Vice President shall serve in the President’s absence for that year. Council members who serve as Council President and Vice President shall be entitled to vote on all matters and shall be considered Council Members for all purposes, including the determination of whether a quorum is present. The presiding officer shall have the following powers: (A) to rule motions in or out of order, including any motion patently offered for obstructive or dilatory purposes; (B) to determine whether a speaker has gone beyond reasonable standards of courtesy in his or her remarks and to entertain and rule on objections from other members on this ground; (C) to call a brief recess at any time; and (D) to adjourn the meeting in an emergency. In the event the President is unable to serve out his/her term as President, due to death or resignation, then the Vice President shall succeed as President of the Council until the first regular meeting the following January. The Council shall also elect a new Vice President from its members to serve until new officers are elected at the first regular meeting the following January. The Council may elect to reorganize by a motion approved by a 2/3 vote of the Council at any time.
Rule 9: Duty to vote. Every member must vote aye or nay unless the member recuses themselves from voting. A member may recuse him or herself from voting only on matters involving the consideration of his or her own financial interest or official conduct. The order of roll call votes shall be rotated so that the same order is not used for every vote. The first roll call will be alphabetical, the second roll call will begin with the second alphabetical name and end with the first, and so on, with the exception being that the presiding officer will always vote last. The presiding officer may request and provide the City Clerk with a Council member's name for the first roll call vote, the second roll call will begin with the next alphabetical name, and so on, with the presiding officer voting last.
Rule 10: Action by Council. The Council shall proceed by motion. Any member may make a motion.
Rule 11: Adoption by majority vote. A majority of all members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. A majority of all members of the Council, not only those present, is required to take any official action. When a two-thirds vote is required by law, a two-thirds vote of all members of the Council, not only those present is required.
Rule 12: Procedural Motions. In addition to those procedural motions allowed under Roberts Rules or by law, the following are procedural motions allowed during any meeting of the Council: (A) To postpone to a certain time. An item under consideration may be postponed to a particular date by motion, second, and a majority vote; (B) To commit or refer an item under consideration. An item under consideration may be committed or referred by motion, second, and a majority vote to an individual or department for further review and recommendation and returned for consideration at a later date; (C) Call of the previous question. The motion is not in order until every member has had an opportunity to speak one time.
Rule 13: Introduction of ordinances. A proposed ordinance shall be introduced at the first meeting at which it is actually considered by the Council. The ordinance must have been previously distributed to the Council members so that they are familiar with the contents of the ordinance.
Rule 14: Adoption of ordinances. An affirmative vote equal to a majority of all the members of the Council shall be required to adopt an ordinance or to take any action that has the effect of an ordinance. No ordinance shall be passed on the date which it is first read or introduced and final action shall not be taken on any ordinance until the second meeting at which it is considered except by unanimous vote of the Council. Any other action taken with regard to the passage or operation of any ordinance shall be done in compliance with statutory law. This rule does not apply to zoning ordinances.
Rule 15: Adoption of the budget ordinance. Any action with regard to adoption of a city budget shall be done in compliance with state statute. During the period beginning with the submission of the budget to the Council and ending with the adoption of the budget ordinance, the Council may hold any special meetings that may be necessary to complete its work on the budget ordinance. Any provisions of law concerning the call of special meetings do not apply during that period so long as each member of the Council has actual notice of each special meeting called for the purpose of considering the budget, and no business other than consideration of the budget is taken up.
Rule 16: Executive sessions. The Council may hold executive sessions as provided by law.
Rule 17: Quorum. A majority of the actual membership of the Council, excluding vacant seats, shall constitute a quorum. A member who has recused him or herself from consideration of an item shall be counted as present for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present and for purposes of a unanimous vote under Rule 14.
Rule 18: Public hearings. Public hearings required by law or deemed advisable by the Council shall be organized and a notice published as required by statute or administrative regulation. At the public hearing, the Council President or Vice President in the President’s absence, shall call the hearing to order, announce any rules for the specific hearing including the length of time for public comments and preside over it. When the allotted time expires and public input has concluded, the presiding officer shall declare the hearing ended after a motion, second and majority vote of the Council.
Rule 19: Quorum at public hearings. A quorum of Council shall be required at all public hearings required by state and federal law.
Rule 20: Committees. At its first regular meeting of the year, the Council President shall appoint the Council members to committees. All committees shall continue until a new President is elected and new committees are appointed. In the first year of a four-year term, the sitting President may appoint new committee members to replace members no longer in office until the new committees are appointed.
Rule 21: Repealer. The provisions of these rules of procedure take precedence over all prior ordinances and those parts of prior ordinances in conflict with the provisions of these rules, and such ordinances or parts of ordinances are hereby repealed.
Rule 22: Reference to Robert’s Rules of Order. To the extent not provided for in these rules, and to the extent it does not conflict with the spirit of these rules and the laws of the State of Indiana, the Council shall refer to the most recent published version of Robert’s Rules of Order for unresolved procedural questions.
(Ord. 1323, passed 2-11-80; Am. Ord. 1386, passed l-26-81; Am. Ord. 1481, passed 5-9-83; Am. Ord. 25-04-16, passed 4-26-16; Am. Ord. 16-05-18, passed 5-29-18; Am. Ord. 14-03-21, passed 3-9-21; Am. Ord. 54-12-23, passed 12-19-23)