(A) Regular meetings.
(1) Time and place. The Council shall meet regularly at a day and hour to be fixed by the rules of the Council.
(2) Deferment. In the event a regular meeting pursuant to subsection (A)(1) of this section would fall on a legal holiday recognized by the town or a regular meeting cannot for good reason be held by the Town Council on a regular meeting date, the regular meeting shall automatically be held on the next secular day at the same time and place; provided, however, that for good cause the Council at a regular meeting preceding the regular meeting which will be deferred may defer the regular meeting to a subsequent date not later than one week after the deferred regular meeting date.
(B) Notice.
(1) This section constitutes notice of regular meetings to be held pursuant to subsection (A) of this section and no other notice shall be required.
(2) With respect to a special meeting which is called, in addition to the requirements of § 4.2 of the Town Charter, the Town Council will endeavor to have a legal notice of the meeting published once preceding the date of the meeting; provided, however, that the publication shall not be required in the absence of adequate time therefor or may be dispensed with for other good cause.
(C) Order of business.
(1) In regular and special meetings of the Town Council the order of business shall be as follows:
(a) Call to order by the Mayor;
(b) Determination of quorum;
(c) Citizen participation;
(d) Consent agenda including minutes of preceding meetings;
(e) Consideration of ordinances, resolutions and motions;
(f) Consideration of other matters on the agenda;
(g) Reports from Town Manager and Town Attorney;
(h) Statements, observations and inquiries by the Mayor and Council members;
(i) Concluding statement by the Mayor; and
(j) Adjournment.
(2) The Mayor has authority to vary the order of business when it is in the public interest and to facilitate the orderly hearing of matters of great public concern.
(D) Purpose of meetings. Regular and special meetings of the Town Council held in accordance with §§ 4.1
and 4.2
of the Town Charter, while open to the public and citizens of the town, fundamentally are administrative hearings, the principal purposes of which are to enable the Council to obtain information, consider, and determine legislative and administrative matters.
(E) Formal rules of evidence not required. In administrative hearings the Town Council shall not be required to observe any formal rules of evidence and may consider any matter which a majority of the present Council members concludes is reasonably reliable and calculated to aid the Council in reaching a reasonable determination of the issues involved.
(F) Preservation of order. The Town Council in its public meetings shall have the right to preserve order and to take such actions and follow such procedures as are necessary or reasonable to enable it to conduct the meeting and its business in a proper manner.
(G) Rules of procedure. Except as otherwise provided by applicable law or the provisions of this section, Robert’s Rules of Order, as amended, shall generally govern the public meetings of the Town Council.
(Ord. 1(1974) §§ 1–6; Ord. 15(1990) § 1; 1997 Code; Ord. 2(1998) § 1; Ord. 1(2001)§ 1; Ord. 11(2023) § 1)
Charter reference:
Similar provisions, see Charter Article IV