(1) Regular Meeting. The regular meeting of Council shall be held in the Council Chamber, Municipal Building, Spring Street, on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 6:30 p.m.
(Ord. 2015-16. Passed 8-10-15.)
(2) Holidays. Whenever the regular meetings of Council occur upon a legal holiday or on an election day, Council shall meet in regular session on the day following and at the place and hour fixed in subsection (1) hereof.
(3) Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or by any three members of Council. Notice of a special meeting shall be served upon each member and the Clerk personally, or left at the member's usual place of residence, by the Police Chief or his assistants at least twelve hours prior to the time of such meeting. The notice shall specify the particular business for which the special meeting is called.
(4) Election of New Officers. At the first meeting of a newly elected Council, the first business to be transacted shall be the election of a Clerk of Council and a President pro tem. After the President of Council has called the meeting to order as provided in subsection (5) hereof, Council shall proceed with the election of the Clerk and the President pro tem.
A. Clerk. The President of Council shall present to Council the written applications of all persons who seek the office of Clerk. Additional nominations for the office may be made by any member of Council. The person receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected Clerk, provided a quorum is present and in case of a tie in the balloting for Clerk, the President of Council shall vote to break the tie.
B. President pro tem. Nomination for President pro tem of Council may be made by any member of Council. The election of President pro tem shall be conducted under the same regulations as provided for the election of the Clerk.
C. Clerk pro tem. The Clerk pro tem shall be elected in the same manner as the President pro tem.
(5) Open Proceedings. The President of Council shall take the chair at the hour described in subsection (1) hereof and shall immediately call the members to order and instruct the Clerk to call the roll. The President shall then lead Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. The President shall then cause the minutes of the preceding session to be read and disposed of, unless otherwise ordered by Council. In the absence of the President, the President pro tem shall preside and in the absence of both the President and President pro tem, the Clerk shall call Council to order. If a quorum is present, Council shall appoint one of its members President for that meeting or until the appearance of the President or the President pro tem.
(6) Quorum. A majority of all members elected to Council shall constitute a quorum and the vote of the majority of those present and constituting a quorum shall be sufficient to transact business in the absence of other members, except in those cases where a different number is or may be required by the laws of the State or the rules of Council.
In the election or appointment of an officer of Council, the person receiving the highest number of votes of those present shall be elected or appointed, provided that a quorum is present.
(7) Attendance of City Officials. The Mayor, the Director of Public Service and Safety and the Law Director are specifically requested to attend each meeting of Council.
(8) Duties of Officers.
A. President. The President shall observe order and decorum, prevent personal reflections and confine members in debate to the question. He may in common with any other member, call any member to order who violates any of the rules and shall, when in the chair, decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to Council on the demand to two members. On such appeal, there shall be no debate, but the members making the appeal may briefly state the reason for the same, and the presiding officer shall have the same right to a similar brief statement.
B. President pro tem. In the absence of the President, the President pro tem shall discharge the duties and be clothed with the power of the President. The president pro tem shall at all times retain his right to vote as a Councilman while discharging the duties of President.
C. Clerk. The Clerk shall serve as the Secretary of Council and shall perform the duties usually assigned to that office. In addition, the Clerk shall perform such other duties as may be required by law or ordinance.
D. Clerk pro tem. In the absence of the Clerk, the Clerk pro tem shall discharge the duties of the Clerk. (A.O.)
E. Assistant to Clerk pro tem. The Clerk pro tem of Council may authorize a City employee to assist he/she in the performance of his/her duties in the preparation of the minutes of the meeting in the absence of the Clerk. Such City employee shall be authorized to receive pay at that employee's standard rate including overtime if applicable.
(Ord. 92-36. Passed 5-27-92.)
(9) Committees. It shall be the duty of the President, unless Council shall otherwise order, to appoint committees including the following standing committees: Finance; Streets and Sidewalks; Planning and Zoning; Sewer and Water; Refuse and Landfill; Electric Power and Distribution and Cable Television; Parks and Playgrounds; Traffic; Annexation; Grievance; Community Improvement Corporation and Safety. Committees shall meet on a regular basis and proper notification shall be made of such meetings in accordance with Chapter 107. A majority of the members of a committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(Ord. 90-80. Passed 11-12-90.)
(Ord. 90-80. Passed 11-12-90.)
(10) Order of Business. The business of all regular meetings of Council shall be transacted in the following order:
A. Roll call;
B. Reading and disposing of the journal;
C. Communication and petitions;
D. Reports from City officials;
E. Reports of standing committees;
F. Reports of special committees;
G. Third reading of ordinances and resolutions;
H. Second reading of ordinances and resolutions;
I. Introduction of ordinances and resolutions;
J. Miscellaneous business.
The President may at any time permit a member to introduce an ordinance, motion or resolution out of the regular order for the same, provided that two-thirds or five of the members present shall concur.
(11) Voting. Every member present shall vote on the question on the call for the yeas and nays, unless excused by the unanimous consent of Council. In taking the yeas and nays, the Clerk shall attempt to vary the roll call from one vote to another.
(12) Speaking. Upon recognition by the President, any member shall be allowed to speak from his or her own chair.
(13) Motions. When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be stated by the President before any debate shall be in order. Any such motion and any amendment thereto may be withdrawn by the movers thereof at any time before decision, if a majority of the members then present shall agree thereto.
(14) Division of Question. Any member may call for a division of the question or the President may direct the same.
(15) Precedence of Reference. When there is a question of referring a given subject to a standing committee, the question of reference to a standing committee shall be put first, before any debate shall be allowed.
(16) Adjournment. The motion to adjourn shall always be in order unless Council is engaged in voting.
(17) Nondebatable Motions. Motions to adjourn, to lay on the table or for the previous question shall be decided without debate.
(18) Order of Precedence of Subsidiary Motions. When a question or proposition is
before Council or under debate, no motion shall be received except the following:
A. To adjourn;
B. To lay on the table;
C. For the previous question;
D. To postpone to a certain day;
E. To commit, that is to refer back to committee;
F. To amend;
G. To postpone indefinitely.
The several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are herein arranged.
(19) To Table or Take From the Table. A motion to table or take from the table shall require for its passage a majority vote of all members present.
A motion to take from the table shall be in order only when that order of business is being transacted in which the matter to be taken up was laid upon the table. Such motion shall be decided without debate, provided the mover may be permitted briefly to state his reasons for the motion.
(20) Reconsideration. Any member who voted with the prevailing side may move a reconsideration of any action of Council, provided that the motion be made not later than the next regular meeting after such action was taken. A motion to table or take from the table is in order at any time except when a motion on some other subject is pending.
No motion to reconsider shall be made more than once on any matter or subject. The same number of votes shall be required to reconsider any action of Council as is required to pass or adopt the same.
(21) Introduction of Ordinances and Resolutions. Ordinances and resolutions may be introduced for a first reading by members of Council or by an officer of the City. If an ordinance or resolution is introduced by someone not a member of Council, then a member of Council must ask for a first reading of such an ordinance or resolution. A vote of Council on the first reading of an ordinance presented by someone other than a member of Council is not necessary.
(22) Adoption of Rules, Resolutions and Ordinances. The title of all rules, resolutions and ordinances of a general and permanent nature shall be read on three different days, unless three-fourths or six of all the members elected shall suspend the rule. The vote on such suspension of the rules shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered on the journal. The taking of the yeas and nays on a reading of a rule, resolution or ordinance of a general and
permanent nature is not necessary.
When any law of the State requires or may require more than a majority vote of the members to pass an ordinance, such as in the case of an emergency ordinance, the law of the State shall govern and the rule shall be subject thereto.
Rules and resolutions not of a general and permanent nature may be adopted after one reading.
The title of all rules, resolutions and ordinances of a general and permanent nature or granting a franchise or creating a right or involving the expenditure of money, or the levying of a tax or for the purchase, lease, sale or transfer of property, shall be read
on three different days, unless three-fourths of all the members elected shall suspend this rule.
Robert's Rules of Order, current edition, shall apply to the conduct of the meetings of Council in all cases which are not specifically covered by the rules of Council or by
(23) Appropriation of Money. No money shall be appropriated except by ordinance.
(24) Preservation of Order. Under the direction of the presiding officer, the Chief of Police shall preserve order and decorum.
(25) Amendments. These rules may be amended, altered or new rules adopted by a majority of all the members elected at any meeting of Council on the report of a committee to which the subject has been referred at a previous meeting.
(26) Suspension of Rules. These rules may be temporarily suspended at any meeting of Council by a vote of three-fourths, or six, of all members elected, insofar as such suspension is not in conflict with the status of the State Constitution. The vote on such suspension shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journal.
(27) Establishing and Distributing Agenda. The Clerk of Council shall establish an official agenda prior to each regular Council meeting setting forth the order of business and a brief description of all matters known to him to be presented to Council. The agenda shall be distributed to all City officials and all members of the general public requesting same just prior to each regular Council meeting.
(28) Passage Over Mayor’s Veto. This power of Council is covered by Ohio R.C. 731.27. The portion of this section which particularly concerns Council is as follows:
“When the Mayor disapproves an ordinance or resolution or any part thereof, and returns it to Council with his objects, Council may, after ten days, reconsider it, and if such ordinance, resolution or item, upon such reconsideration is approved by the vote of two-thirds (five) of all the members elected to Council, it shall then take effect as if signed by the Mayor”.
(29) Publication of Ordinances. All ordinances shall be published in summary form except as directed by vote of Council, and copies of such ordinances shall be provided to the St. Marys Community Library and Auglaize Council on Aging.
(Ord. 92-52. Passed 8-10-92.)