All meetings shall be conducted and noticed in conformance with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.
(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CLOSED MEETING. A meeting that is properly closed in accordance with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act that is part of a regular meeting, special meeting, or emergency meeting.
EMERGENCY MEETING. A meeting of an urgent or emergency nature that meets the requirements of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.
REGULAR MEETING. A meeting listed on the Town Council’s annual meeting schedule that meets the requirements of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.
SPECIAL MEETING. A meeting to consider matters of a non-emergency or non-urgent nature that is not listed on the Town Council’s annual meeting schedule and that meets the requirements of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.
QUORUM. Any three members of the Council, including the Mayor.
(B) Types of meetings.
(1) Regular meetings.
(a) The Council shall hold regular meetings at least once each month. The Council shall adopt a regular meeting schedule on an annual basis. Regular meetings may include work sessions and/or policy sessions.
(b) The Town Council holds regular meetings in the Council room at the town hall, located at 30 West Center, on the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m.
(c) The Council may elect to meet at alternate locations, dates and times. Any regular meeting may be canceled or rescheduled by a majority vote of the Council. Public notice shall be given by the Clerk/Recorder of such change in accordance with state law.
(2) Special meetings.
(a) The Mayor or two Council members may order the convening of a special meeting of the Council. Each order shall be entered in the minutes of the Council and provide at least three hours' notice to each Council member of the meeting. The Town Recorder shall serve notice of the special meeting on each Council member who did not sign the order by delivering the notice personally, by telephone conversation or voicemail, or by leaving it at the Council member’s residence.
(b) The special meeting shall otherwise comply with the noticing requirements of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act. Any action taken by the Council may not be reconsidered or rescinded at any special meeting unless the number of members of the Council present at the special meeting is equal to or greater than the number of members present at the meeting when the action was approved.
(3) Emergency meetings. An emergency meeting to consider matters of an emergency or urgent nature may be held if unforeseen circumstances make it necessary to do so. In such an event, in accordance with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act, the Council must give the best notice practicable of the time and place of the emergency meeting and the topics to be considered at the emergency meeting. An emergency meeting may not be held unless an attempt has been made to notify all of the Council members and a majority of the Council members, including the Mayor, approves the meeting.
(4) Closed meetings. Closed meetings may be held for the purposes and by following the procedures listed in UCA §§ 52-4-101 through 52-4-305. In accordance with this section, the closed meeting may be held upon a vote by two-thirds of the Council members present, including the Mayor, so long as a quorum is present. After conclusion of the closed meeting, no vote is required to resume to a public (open) session. In such a case, the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem shall announce the end of the closed meeting and the resumption of the public session.
(5) Public hearings.
(a) Public hearings are generally part of a regular meeting and shall consist of those items the Council is legally required to hold a hearing for or for items the Council wishes to receive public input on.
(b) The Mayor shall automatically schedule matters that state law or town ordinance requires a public hearing. Upon the request of three or more Council members, or two Council members and the Mayor, the Mayor may schedule a public hearing on any other topic.
(c) Public hearings will be held after providing proper notice as required by state law or town ordinance.
(d) When a public hearing is held, a member of the Town Council having knowledge about the issue will first present information on the issue and answer questions. The Mayor will then call upon the applicant to make a short presentation about the item on the Council agenda.
(e) Following comments from the applicant, the Mayor will declare the public hearing as opened or convened. No motion is needed to open or convene the public hearing.
(f) At that point, all parties interested in addressing the issue are invited to speak before any discussion is held by the Council or before any motion is made. The Mayor may provide a time limit for those addressing the Council during a public hearing and may limit redundant, irrelevant, or inappropriate comments from the public. The applicant should not speak during the public hearing. Each individual who speaks during the public hearing shall state his or her name before proceeding.
(g) Upon conclusion of the public comment, the Mayor will announce the closure of the public hearing. No motion is needed to close the public hearing.
(h) The Council may vote to continue a public hearing to a future specified date, time, and location if there is insufficient time to take all public comment.
(i) After the public hearing is closed, the Council may proceed with discussion on the matter at hand. As part of the discussion, the Council shall offer the applicant an opportunity to address comments made by the public and to answer questions asked by the Council. When discussion by the Council is finished, a motion may then occur for appropriate action.
(C) Notice of meeting schedule.
(1) Posting in general circulation. The Town Clerk/Recorder shall publish in at least one newspaper in general circulation within the city, a statement of dates, times and places of the regular Town Council meetings for the calendar year. Posting shall occur no later than the day preceding the day of the first regular meeting of the calendar year.
(2) Alternate postings. The Town Clerk/Recorder shall post in at least three locations, set forth by state code, the dates, times and place of each regular Town Council meeting for the calendar year at least one week prior to the first regular meeting of the calendar year. The Recorder shall check at reasonable intervals to ensure that these postings remain accurate and accessible to the public. The Town Council shall approve the selection of these locations, which may be physical locations, such as a public bulletin board or on an electronic medium, such as a town-sponsored web page or social media platform.
(D) Agenda. A written agenda for each meeting shall be prepared by the Town Clerk/Recorder, under the direction of the Mayor. In the event any member of the Council desires to add an item or items to any prepared agenda, consent must be obtained from another Council member or the Mayor. The Mayor may also add an item to the agenda. Any member of the general public may place an item on the agenda upon the approval of the Mayor or two Council members. The Mayor and Council members shall not unreasonably deny a request.
(1) Deadlines for filing or removal of agenda items. All items submitted for presentation or removal from the agenda must be requested no later than 5:00 p.m. of the Monday prior to the scheduled meeting. As an alternative, members of the general public may raise an item with the Town Council during a regular meeting’s public comment section of the agenda.
(2) Removal of agenda items. The Mayor has the authority to remove agenda items unless a Council member has placed it on the agenda. The Mayor must then have approval of that Council member to remove the agenda item. Any member of the general public may request to the Mayor to remove any item they submitted from the agenda at any time.
(3) Agenda preparation. Upon receiving all requests, the Clerk/Recorder shall add or delete the requested items to the prepared agenda.
(4) Posting of agenda.
(a) The regular Town Council meeting agenda shall be posted by the Clerk/Recorder no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting. Changes to the agenda may also be posted up until 24 hours prior to the meeting, as provided by law. The Clerk/Recorder shall distribute electronic copies of the agenda to a newspaper in general circulation within the community or other media outlet that has requested it. The Recorder shall post a copy of the agenda in three public places within the town. The Town Council shall approve the selection of these locations, which may be physical locations, such as a public bulletin board or on an electronic medium, such as a town-sponsored web page or social media platform.
(b) The Clerk/Recorder shall distribute printed or electronic copies of the agenda to members of the Town Council and to any person that is to appear on the agenda no later than 8:00 p.m. of the Tuesday prior to the meeting.
(5) Mayor’s right to alter agenda. The Mayor has the right to change the order of the agenda at his or her discretion.
(E) Quorum. Three members of the Council (including the Mayor, or including the Mayor Pro Tem if the Mayor is not present) shall constitute a quorum thereof for the transaction of all business except where otherwise required.
(F) Content/order of business. Town Council meetings will generally be conducted in the following order, unless otherwise specified:
(1) Invocation;
(2) Adoption of agenda;
(3) Approval of minutes of previous meetings/hearings;
(4) Consideration of specific items, or business (ordinances, resolutions and the like);
(5) Public comments;
(6) Financial report;
(7) Departmental reports;
(8) Miscellaneous items; and
(9) Adjournment,
(G) Invocation.
(1) Each Town Council meeting will begin with an invocation, not to exceed three minutes, comprised of a prayer, other supplication, moment of silence, inspirational thought or reading, and the like.
(2)
The purpose of the invocation is to set the tone of the proceedings of the Town Council. The invocation will be led by either a member of the Town Council or by a volunteer person who is a current resident of Oak City. The volunteer presenter may request to present the invocation within one week prior to a scheduled meeting. The request shall contain the following information to be included on the agenda: name and address of the person and the general nature of the presentation, i.e., prayer, supplication, inspirational thought, and the like. The presenter must be in attendance at the meeting and prepared to proceed on time. Volunteer presenters may only offer an invocation once in a six-month period of time.
(3) The invocation should promote thoughtful attention to public duty and high moral and ethical standards. It should promote peace, unity and tolerance in the community. It should not demean or degrade any person or group, disparage others, or be crude, vulgar or offensive to the public sense of decency.
(H) General meeting conduct.
(1) Discussions in the meetings are to be limited to agenda items and issues reasonably related thereto.
(2) Comments or presentation by the public that are redundant, irrelevant, or inappropriate may be limited by the Mayor.
(3) In order to ensure that the meetings proceed timely and orderly, the Mayor may impose a time limit on those desiring to address the Council.
(4) At the discretion of the Mayor, groups desiring to address the Council may be asked to select a spokesperson. A group shall be defined as an assembly of three or more people in attendance with similar viewpoints on a given issue. The names of each member of the group shall be provided to the Town Recorder, as well as the name of the spokesperson of the group. This information must be provided prior to the spokesperson being allowed to address the Council.
(5) Any person who exceeds a time limit, shows disrespect to any person attending or participating in the meeting, is disruptive, violates any law, or discusses irrelevant, redundant, or inappropriate issues may be removed at the direction of the Mayor.
(I) Decorum.
(1) Council members shall not engage in personal attacks and shall respect the viewpoints of staff, the public, and other Council members.
(2) Council members shall restrict comments to issues before the body.
(3) Council members shall avoid engaging in private discourse or other actions that may distract the attention of the Council or the audience from the business at hand or that might interfere with a person’s right to be heard after recognition by the Mayor.
(4) Council members shall demonstrate courtesy and not disrupt meetings.
(5) Violations of decorum or conduct of Council members shall be addressed by the Mayor, who may declare a Council member out of order. The Mayor or a Council member may also be declared out of order on vote of two or more members of the Town Council.
(J) Motions.
(1) Making motions. Any Council member, except for the Mayor, may make or second a motion. Motions should state findings for denial or approval within the motion. Council members may adopt by reference any findings contained in staff reports if the Council members have reviewed and agree with those findings and so state on the record. All motions shall be repeated if directed by the Mayor.
(2) Second required. Each motion of the Council must be seconded by a member of the Council. The Mayor is not allowed to second a motion. A motion that is not seconded is considered failed.
(3) Withdrawing a motion. After a motion is made and seconded, it shall be deemed in the possession of the Council, but it may be withdrawn at any time before decision or amendment by the consent of the author and Council member who seconded the motion.
(4) Motion to table. A motion to table an agenda item for further study should be accompanied by specific reasons for continuing the matter and, whenever feasible, a specific date to rehear the matter. The item should be placed on the next available Council agenda if feasible.
(5) Amending motions. When a motion is pending before the Council, any Council member may suggest an amendment without a second at any time prior to the Mayor calling for a vote on the motion. The amendment must be accepted by the author and the member that seconded the motion in order to amend the stated motion.
(6) Substitute motions. A substitute motion, which shall replace the original motion, may be made prior to a vote on the original motion. The substitute motion must be accepted by the author and the member that seconded the motion in order to substitute the stated motion. If not accepted, the member making the substitute motion shall wait until after a vote on the original motion to make a new motion.
(7) Reconsidering a motion. To recall a previous motion for further evaluation or action, a motion for reconsideration may be made by a Council member who voted with the majority. The motion to reconsider must pass with a minimum of three votes. If it is determined that the motion should stand as previously approved, no formal vote is necessary. If the former motion is to be amended or made void, the motion shall be put to a formal vote of the Council. Motions to reconsider a previous motion should normally take place during the same meeting the motion was made.
(8) Recesses. No motion is necessary to break for a short recess. In such a case, the Mayor shall announce that the Council is taking a break and announce the time the Council will reconvene. In addition, one or more Council members may take a short recess so long as a quorum remains in attendance.
(9) Adjourn. No motion is necessary to adjourn a meeting after conclusion of all business on the agenda. In such a case, the Mayor shall announce the adjournment of the meeting. Otherwise, if the business on the agenda has not been completed, a motion, stating the reason for adjournment, and a second are required to adjourn.
(K) Voting.
(1) Number of votes required. Unless otherwise provided by state law, town ordinances, or herein, the minimum number of votes required to make a determination on any item presented to the Council or to transact any business before the Council shall be three votes so long as a quorum is present.
(2) Changing a vote. No member shall be permitted to change his or her vote after the decision is announced by the Mayor, unless a motion for reconsideration or a substitute motion is made and approved as provided herein.
(3) Abstention. Every Council member has the right to abstain from voting.
(4) Conflict of interest; disqualification. If required to be disqualified from voting by the Municipal Officers’ and Employees’ Ethics Act because of a conflict of interest or other reason, a disqualified Council member shall not participate in the discussion or vote of that particular item.
(5) Roll call required. A roll call vote shall be required for the following types of actions:
(a) Ordinances;
(b) Resolutions;
(c) Actions that would create a liability for the city;
(d) Action on an item when a Council member specifically requests a roll call; and
(e) Action on an item for which a Council member is participating electronically.
(L) Meeting minutes. The Clerk/Recorder is responsible for creating, posting, storing and releasing all minutes of Council meetings. Draft minutes from Council meetings are reviewed by the Mayor and Council members and considered for approval during the next regular Council meeting. Approved minutes are posted to the state public notice website and to a town-sponsored social media page. Hard copies may be obtained from the Clerk/Recorder.
(Res. 2021-07, passed 10-21-2021
; Res. 2022-01, passed 2-17-2022
)