(A) Regular meetings of Council will be held the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. unless a change is announced at a regular meeting of Council.
(1) Any elected officials unable to attend a Council meeting shall notify the city administration prior to the meeting.
(2) In the event that the President of Council is absent, the Vice President shall preside over the Council meeting. If the President and the Vice President are absent, Council, by majority vote, will appoint a President Pro Tempore to preside over the Council meeting.
(3) In the event that the Clerk of Council is absent, another individual employed or appointed by the City Administrator may serve as the Acting Clerk of Council for that Council meeting.
(B) All special meetings shall be limited to the discussion of the subject which was the reason for calling such a special meeting, except as provided by the Charter, which requires assent of the majority of the membership of Council to consider and act upon any other business properly presented. Providing legal notice of special meetings shall be the responsibility of the Clerk of Council.
(C) Special meetings of Council as a Whole may be called by the President of Council as required. They may also be called by any three members of Council who have specific items for discussion, in accordance with general law. A quorum of Council is required to conduct any business at a special meeting.
(D) The conduct of business of the Council may be in accordance with the following suggested agenda. With consent of the majority of the members of Council or by general assent, the order in which the items are disposed of may be changed.
(1) Call meeting to order by President.
(2) Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation.
(3) Roll call by Clerk of Council.
(4) Acceptance of minutes of previous regular meeting.
(5) Committee reports.
(6) Official reports (for example, Mayor's report).
(7) Communications.
(8) Communication from the residents.
(9) Ordinances and resolutions.
(10) Old business.
(11) New business.
(12) Meetings and announcements.
(13) Adjournment.
(E) The Clerk of Council shall furnish each member of Council, the Mayor, the Law Director, and the engineer with a copy of the minutes prior to the next regular meeting. The minutes need not be read at the meeting, but may be corrected and approved without reading. The minutes should give a complete and objective account of what happened at the meeting and shall become a permanent record which may be referred to concerning all business discussed and all actions taken. Every motion, whether adopted or rejected, should be recorded with the name of its maker, the person seconding it, together with the results of any action taken on the same.
(F) Debate shall be germane or limited to the item before the Council and shall be of a reasonable length so as not to delay the conduct of business needlessly.
(G) Any individual or organization outside the city wishing to address the Council may be required to make known his or her desire to the Clerk of Council at least 48 hours before the scheduled meeting. He or she shall include his or her name and the purpose of appearing before Council. His or her remarks shall be limited to the subject as stated in his or her request. The rule requiring permission does not apply in the case of a public hearing which has been properly announced.
(H) It shall be the duty of the Clerk of Council to give notice of the time, place, and purpose of any special meetings at least 12 hours in advance of the meeting, except in the event of an emergency requiring immediate official action, in accordance with the Charter and the Ohio Sunshine Law as provided for in R.C. § 121.22. In the event of such an emergency, the Clerk of Council shall immediately notify the news media that have requested notification of the time, place and purpose of the meeting. Notice of public hearing shall be published by the Clerk of Council.
(I) Any person or group seeking to receive notice of any change in regular meeting dates and any scheduled special meeting dates, as well as notice of a regular meeting at which any specific type of public business (such specific type to be designated by such person or group in writing) is to be discussed, may elect to receive email notifications on the city’s website.
(J) All official action shall be taken, and all deliberations upon official business shall be conducted by Council only in open meetings, except that Council may hold an executive session at a regular or special meeting by either placing the item on the agenda or by motion of Council and consent of a majority present and voting, notwithstanding any provisions under R.C. § 121.22, for the sole purpose of considering any of the following matters:
(1) To consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee or official. Except as otherwise provided by law, Council shall not hold an Executive Session for the discipline of an elected official for conduct related to the performance of his official duties or for his removal from office.
(2) (a) To consider the purchase of property for public purposes, or for the sale of property at competitive bidding, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal or private interest is adverse to the general public interest. No public employee or official shall use this division as a subterfuge for providing covert information to prospective buyers or sellers. A purchase or sale of public property is void if the seller or buyer of the public property has received covert information from a member that has not been disclosed to the general public in sufficient time for other prospective buyers and sellers to prepare and submit offers.
(b) If the minutes of Council show that all meetings and deliberations of Council have been conducted in compliance with this section, any instrument executed by Council purporting to convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of any right, title, or interest in any public property shall be conclusively presumed to have been executed in compliance with this section insofar as title or other interest of any bona fide purchasers, lessees, or transferees of the property is concerned.
(3) Conferences with an attorney for the city concerning disputes involving the city that are the subject of pending, possible, or imminent court action.
(4) Preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment.
(5) Matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or rules or state statutes.
(6) Specialized details of security arrangements where disclosure of the matters discussed might reveal information that could be used for the purpose of committing, or avoiding prosecution for, a violation of the law.
(7) Conference involving matters pertaining to future development of the community, including meetings with the Planning Commission or the Community Improvement Corporation and outside consultants, if premature disclosure of information could give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to any person.
(K) An ordinance or resolution is invalid unless adopted in an open meeting of the public body. An ordinance or resolution adopted in an open meeting that results from deliberations in a meeting not open to the public is invalid unless the deliberations were for a purpose specifically authorized in division (J) of this section and conducted at an Executive Session held in compliance with that section.
(L) Members of the public shall be entitled to speak during "Communications from the Audience" for a period of no more than five minutes unless granted additional time to speak by the President of Council, or an affirmative vote of a majority of Council. This time limit shall not be inclusive of questions asked of speakers. Those speaking during Communications from the Audience shall address their comments to members of Council, not to the audience.
(M) Communications that are received by the Clerk of Council/Finance Director shall not be read at Council meetings unless it constitutes official business upon which Council is required to be informed or take action. Communications received by the Clerk of Council/Finance Director that are not required to be read at a Council meeting shall be distributed to members of Council and the City Administrator along with any response that it is provided. Communications shall contain sufficient, credible information to identify the author. Credible identifying information shall include the sender's true name, and at least one of the following: an email address, a mailing address, telephone number, or other similar credible information to allow the author's identify to be verified. Screen or user names shall not constitute credible identifying information. Anonymous communications shall not be read at Council meetings or distributed to members of Council and the City Administrator. Communications appearing to be "bulk" in nature such as form letters and mass mailings or emails shall not be read at Council meetings or distributed to members of Council and the City Administrator.
(N) The President of Council, or other presiding officer, reserves the right to rule out of order disruptive, threatening, profane, abusive, slanderous, or otherwise unprofessional conduct of any Council Member or meeting participant that impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any person determined by the President of Council, or other presiding officer, to be violating this rule, or engaging in conduct defined in R.C. § 2917.12 which obstructs or interferes with the ability of Council to conduct the meeting, may be ordered to cease engaging in the offending conduct, and if they continue may be removed from the meeting by the President of Council, or other presiding officer.
(Ord. 13-2011, passed 4-20-11; Am. Ord. 38-2022, passed 12-21-22; Am. Ord. 45-2023, passed 11-15-23)