[Amended 4-9-2001 by Ord. No. 7-2001; 12-18-2017 by Ord. No. 109-2017; 8-8-2022 by Ord. No. 72-2022]
A. At the time appointed for any meeting of the Council, the President shall take the Chair and call the meeting to order. If a quorum is present, as provided in the Charter, § 214, the President shall proceed with the order of business prescribed for the meeting. If, upon the call of the roll, a quorum is not present, the President shall order a recess for a reasonable period of time and if a quorum has not developed by that time, the President shall declare the meeting adjourned.
Editor's Note: Section 214 of the Charter provides:
§ 214. Quorum.
A quorum of Council shall consist of four Council members.
B. The President shall deal firmly with enforcing these rules and the rules guiding participation including, but not limited to, commotion, frivolous behavior or delaying debate and motions. The President shall see that Council debate is confined to the merits of the question and that personal comments and/or statements are avoided.
C. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall serve as the presiding officer. If both the President and Vice President are absent, the meeting shall not be called to order unless the President has designated a member of Council, in writing, to serve as the pro tem and presiding officer of that session.
D. No legislative or special legislative session of the Reading City Council shall be called to order and conducted in the absence of the Council Solicitor or its designee including either a staff attorney from its firm or the City Solicitor or a staff attorney from the City's Law Department to provide proper legal advice and avoid possible serious or potentially devastating consequences. Either the Council Solicitor, City Solicitor or a staff attorney from the City's Law Department or Council Solicitor's firm shall also be required to attend all other working sessions and committee meetings.