(a) Newly elected officials.
(1) All newly elected officials shall present their certificate of election to the Law Director prior to being sworn into office and assuming their official duties.
(2) All newly elected officials shall attend training specific to their responsibilities as public officials within 120 days of taking office.
(b) Council meetings.
(1) The Council of the Village of Woodlawn, Ohio, shall consist of six members. Council shall meet at 7:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday of each month.
(2) The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of all Council meetings. The Mayor shall preserve order and decorum and confine members in debate to the question. Any member of Council may raise a point of order if he or she believes there is a violation of these rules, which shall be decided by the Mayor.
(3) A special meeting of Council may be called by the Mayor or by any three members of Council upon at least 12 hours' notice to each member by electronic mail to his or her Village email address. Whenever a special meeting is called by the Mayor, the Mayor shall advise the Clerk of Council of the date and time of the meeting for posting and notification of members of Council. Whenever a special meeting is called by three or more members of Council, a member shall be designated to advise the Clerk of Council of the date and time of the meeting for posting and notification of the Mayor and members of Council. The Clerk of Council shall post the notice of the Special Council meeting at the municipal building at least 24 hours' prior to the meeting, and if possible, the meeting notice shall also be posted on the Village website
(4) It is the Mayor or any Council member's responsibility to notify the Clerk of Council in the event of late arrivals or absence of any regularly scheduled or special Council, Committee and/or Commission meeting. Such notification shall occur a minimum of one hour prior to the meeting. In the event that the Mayor or the Council member is unable to reach the Clerk of Council, he or she must attempt to reach the Vice-Mayor to report his or her absence or late arrival. Upon motion duly made and seconded, and the affirmative vote of a majority of Council, Committee and/or Commission Members, the tardy or absent member may be excused.
(c) Holiday meetings. When any regular meeting of the Council falls due on a Village observed holiday, Council may reschedule the meeting or, if there are no outstanding issues, cancel the meeting. Council may move the December meeting as needed to avoid conflict with holiday plans.
(d) Open proceedings. The Mayor shall take the chair at the time appointed for the Council to meet, and shall immediately call the members to order and the Clerk of Council shall call the roll following the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer. The Mayor shall then seek approval or disposition by Council for the minutes of the preceding sessions. In the absence of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor shall perform such duties as are imposed upon the Mayor. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Vice-Mayor, the Council may appoint a temporary chairperson or presiding officer.
(e) Rules of order. In the absence of any rule upon the matter of business, Council shall be governed by “Robert’s Rules of Order”. The Law Director shall act as Parliamentarian.
(f) Order of business.
(1) The business of the regular meetings of Council shall be transacted according to the printed agenda, available to the public at every regular Council meeting, as follows:
A. Pledge of Allegiance;
B. Invocation;
C. Roll call;
D. Reading and disposal of the minutes of Council;
E. Motion to approve or amend agenda;
F. Appointments and confirmations;
G. Communications, petitions and claims of the public: 5-min time limit each;
H. Reports of Committees/ Commissions;
I. Report of the Municipal Manager;
J. Report of the Finance Director;
K. Report of the Law Director;
L. Reports and communications from the Mayor;
M. Approval of bonds, contracts, plats, etc.;
N. Ordinances and resolutions;
O. Miscellaneous business and/or new business; and
P. Adjournment.
(2) The Presiding Officer of the Council may at any time permit a member to present an ordinance, motion or resolution out of the regular order for the same, unless the same be objected to by a majority of the members present.
(g) Executive session. Council may hold an executive session for the sole purpose of the consideration of any of the following matters:
(1) To consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, evaluation, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual;
(2) To consider the purchase or lease of property for public purposes or the sale or lease of Village property by competitive bidding or in any manner provided by Village Charter or Ohio law. If the minutes show that all meetings and deliberations were conducted in compliance with this section, any instrument executed by the Village 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 Village concerning disputes involving the Village that are the subject of pending or imminent court action, or that pertain to any other legal matter requiring the attention of Council;
(4) Matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations or state statutes;
(5) Details relative to the security arrangements and emergency response protocols for the Village or other public office, if disclosure of the matters discussed could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the security of the Village or other public office;
(6) To consider confidential information related to economic development issues where the executive session is necessary to protect the interests of an applicant for economic assistance or the possible investment or expenditure of public funds made in connection with the economic development project.
(7) Where Council is sitting to decide an issue or matter in a quasi-judicial proceeding, but only after all of the evidence to come before such body has been heard.
(h) Standing committees.
(1) At no later than the first regular meeting of the Council after its organization, the Vice-Mayor shall appoint three standing Council members to each committee, naming one as the Chair and one as the Vice Chair. The Chair shall preside over his or her respective committee meetings. In the event the Chair is absent, the Vice-Chair may preside. Council shall have committees regarding the following named subjects:
A. Safety;
B. Law;
C. Finance;
D. Recreation;
E. Public service;
F. Economic development;
(2) With the exception of the Finance Committee, standing committees shall meet on an as-needed basis, as determined by the Chairperson of the Committee. Finance Committee shall meet once per month unless there is a lack of agenda items. Standing committees shall not take any action, but shall work by consensus, with the Chair of the Committee reporting the discussions of the Committee to Council. Two members of a committee need to be present to hold a meeting.
(3) The Vice-Mayor or Council by a majority vote may at any time reassign any member or members of any committee appointed by him/her and appoint a new member or members of such committee to serve in place of such a member or members so reassigned.
(4) In addition to the standing committees above, Council shall have a Committee of the Whole consisting of all the members of Council. A majority of the members of Council must be present for a Committee of the Whole meeting. The Committee of the Whole shall have no designated Chair. The Committee of the Whole shall meet on the second Tuesday of every month.
(i) Reports of the committee.
(1) The report of any committee of the Council, or municipal officer, concerning matters referred to the Council, shall be made in writing and shall be accompanied by the original papers upon which such report is based, unless otherwise ordered by the Council.
(2) If any matter referred by the Council to any committee, or officer, is not reported upon at the next scheduled Council meeting, such matter/s shall be brought to the attention of the Council by the Clerk of Council.
(j) Reference to committees.
(1) Any report, resolution, ordinance or matter to come before Council for consideration (except appropriation ordinances), including any request to censure a Council member, before their final passage, shall be referred either to the standing committee to which the subject matter is most closely related or to a committee specially appointed by the Presiding Officer. Any such committee shall consider the matter thus referred to it and report thereon to the Council without unnecessary delay.
(2) Any matter referred to a committee may, by two-thirds vote of Council (four out of six members) at any time prior to report of such committee, be taken from the hands of such committee for consideration.
(k) Voting. Every member present shall vote on any question on the call of the yeas and nays, and any member who refuses to vote on any questions when the yeas and nays are being taken, shall be deemed guilty of contempt of the Council. Violators of this rule will be subject to any ramifications under state law and further subject to public reprimand or censure, as approved by a majority of Council. This not apply for an abstention for reason of actual or possible conflict of interest. Every member's vote should be respected and should not be subjected to further critical or negative commentary.
(l) Introduction of legislation. Ordinances and resolutions shall be prepared by the Law Director at direction of the Finance Director, Municipal Manager, Mayor, or Members of Council. Copies of proposed ordinances and resolutions shall be delivered to all members of Council, the Mayor and the Municipal Manager, at least three days prior to their introduction in a Council meeting. In the event of an emergency, the three-day delivery period may be waived.
(m) Acceptable motions, order of precedence.
(1) When a question or proposition is before the Council, or under debate, no motion shall be received except the following:
A. To lay on the table;
B. For the previous question;
C. To postpone to a certain day;
D. To commit;
E. To amend;
F. To postpone indefinitely; and
G. To adjourn.
(2) The several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are herein arranged.
(n) Motions; when debatable, withdrawal. When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be stated by the presiding officer 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 decisions.
(o) Suspension of rules. These rules or any other rules may be temporarily suspended at any meeting of Council, by a concurrent vote of the majority of all members elected, except when a greater number is required by law or by these rules. The vote on such suspension shall be taken by the yeas and nays and entered on the journal. In case any rule herein shall not have been adhered to by Council, the same shall be regarded as having been suspended.
(p) Division of question. Any member, including the presiding officer, may call for a division of the question, and in either case, the same shall be divided if it contains questions so distinct that one being taken away, the other will stand as an entire question for decision.
(q) To refer; precedence. When there is a question, or when referring a given subject to a standing committee or select committee, the question of reference to a standing committee shall be put first.
(r) Limitation on debate or discussion. No member of Council, while Council is in session, shall engage in debate or discussion with anyone, save; the presiding officer, another member of Council, or someone who has either been granted by Council the privilege to address Council or is present at a Council meeting upon invitation of Council. All such debate or discussion shall be governed by, “Robert's Rules of Order”.
(s) Communications, petitions and claims of the general public.
(1) Any person may appear before the Council of the Village of Woodlawn, Ohio for the purpose of addressing Council, provided that such persons signs in prior to the meeting in a register book provided for such purpose.
(2) A person who has been permitted to address Council shall be granted a maximum of five minutes to address Council. Any person addressing Council who becomes disorderly, unruly, abusive or disruptive of Council shall be held in contempt of Council and be removed from the Council Chambers. Such person shall also be subject to having charges filed against him or her.
(3) In the event that the number of applicants to address Council is deemed by the Mayor and/or Village Council to be too numerous to handle in a regular Council meeting, a special meeting of Council shall be scheduled under Rule 20 herein for the purpose of hearing the applicants.
(t) To adjourn. The motion to adjourn shall always be in order, unless the Council is engaged in voting, and the motion to adjourn or to lay on the table, or for the previous question, shall be decided without debate.
(u) Hearing before Council. Any person or persons desiring a hearing on any matter pending before Council may make application, therefore Council may, by majority vote (at least four out of six) grant a public hearing by arranging for a specific time and place which may be during a regular Council meeting or at a special Council meeting.
(v) Conduct of Mayor and Councilpersons. The powers and duties of the Mayor and members of Council are enumerated by the Village Charter, State Statute and Village Ordinances. The Mayor and all Councilpersons shall conduct themselves at all times with courtesy, civility and decorum. The Mayor and Council shall be respectful of the time given by citizens to attend public hearings and council and committee meetings and endeavor to hear from them in a prompt and timely manner. Citizens' views shall be heard respectfully without reproach or admonition. The Mayor and members of Council shall hold themselves and each other accountable for complying with these standards and remember that Council does the peoples' business. Council members and the Mayor shall not use cell phones or communication devices while Council is in session. Side bar conversations shall be kept to a minimum.
(w) Conduct of the Mayor and Council persons regarding personnel. The Finance Director is the supervisor of all employees in the Finance Department. The Municipal Manager is the supervisor of all other Village employees with the exception of those employees who report directly to Council under Village Charter or ordinance. The Mayor (unless otherwise permitted by statute), any member of the Council, and/or any member of a committee thereof shall be able to communicate with but shall not give orders to any employee of the Village, either publicly or privately, unless that employee is assigned said duties and such orders are approved, in writing, by the Finance Director (in the case of an order given to an employee of the Finance Department) or the Municipal Manager (in the case of an order given to any other employee who does not report directly to Council) or noted in a job description.
(x) Travel policy. Resolution 08-2011 establishing a Council Member Travel Policy, as it may be amended from time to time, is hereby included as an Appendix to The Rules of Council.
(y) Evaluations. Council members are responsible for conducting evaluations of Village employees who report directly to Council (Municipal Manager, Finance Director, and Clerk of Council). Evaluations shall be performed annually, but may be performed more frequently in the case of an employee in probationary status. All Council members are expected to cooperate and provide feedback in a timely fashion to ensure that evaluations are performed in a timely and meaningful manner.
(z) Resignation. Resignation of a Council member who is otherwise qualified to continue in office shall not take effect until the same has been accepted by a vote of the majority of the members exclusive of the person tendering the resignation. If a Council member becomes unqualified to serve as a Council member during his or her term of office, the seat shall be considered vacated as of the date the council member became unqualified. Reference is further made in Section 2.13 of the Woodlawn Charter, “Vacancies.”
(aa) Return of Village property. Any Council member who is issued Village property for his or her use during his or her term of office shall return such property within thirty days of coming off Council. Such property shall be returned to the Village Police Chief. Council members who fail to return such Village property shall be billed for the replacement value of the property.
(bb) Amendment. Rules may be amended, altered or new rules adopted at any Council meeting, by a vote of the majority of all Council members elected and upon the report of a committee to which the subject has been referred from a previous meeting.
(Ord. 01-2007, passed 1-17-2007; Ord. 01-2009, passed 2-5-2009; Ord. 02-2010, passed 1-8-2010; Ord. 01-2013, passed 1-29-2013; Ord. 01-2014, passed 1-28-2014; Ord. 01-2015, passed 3-31-2015; Ord. 01-2018, passed 2-27-2018; Ord. 03-2019, passed 1-29-2019; Ord. 12-2021, passed 3-2-2021)