ARTICLE 1.500 CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE

Minutes of all regular and special meetings and study sessions shall be recorded. Such minutes shall be maintained in the office of the city secretary. The minutes shall reflect:

Approval of minutes of all but closed meetings or sessions shall be considered at the next regular council meeting. It shall not be necessary to read the minutes prior to approval. Such minutes may be revised by the city secretary to correct spelling, numbering and other such technical defects. Prior to approval, any member may, through the presiding officer, request the privilege of amending or correcting the minutes to accurately reflect the substance of the prior meeting. If any councilmember makes an objection to such amendment or correction, a majority vote of the council shall be necessary for adoption of the correction or amendment.

Minutes of closed meetings or sessions shall be reviewed periodically by the city council in closed session and shall be made available to the public only after the council determines that it is no longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy of an individual.

A journal of all proceedings of the council shall be kept by the city secretary and shall be entered in a book constituting the official record of the council.

The journal of proceedings shall be open to public inspection, except for proceedings of closed meetings as permitted by state law.

The mayor of the council, or in his/her absence, the mayor pro tempore, shall take the chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting, and shall immediately call the council to order.

In the absence of the mayor and the mayor pro tempore, the city secretary, or his/her assistant, shall call the council to order, whereupon a temporary mayor shall be elected by the members of the council then present.

Upon the arrival of the mayor or mayor pro tempore, the temporary mayor shall immediately relinquish the position of presiding officer upon the conclusion of the business immediately before the council.

Promptly at the hour set by law on the day of each regular meeting, the members of the council shall take their regular stations in the city hall, and the business of the council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order:

Departmental reports requested by city council members, in compliance with any adopted policy of the city council, shall be placed on the agenda. City council shall identify the specific items of a report that they wish to discuss. The agenda language shall be drafted to be sufficiently specific to apprise the public in general terms of the subject of each report. The city attorney shall approve the agenda language as to legal form prior to posting of the agenda.

Departmental reports shall be placed on the city council agenda consistent with Section 1.502 and this subsection.

Reports to be placed in city council packet for review, and when properly requested pursuant to Section 1.502, to be placed on agenda for discussion:

The city secretary shall be responsible for processing proposed agenda items as requested by the mayor or a councilmember and giving notice of council meetings. The draft agenda shall be available for review by the mayor and city attorney before finalization and giving of notice.

Any city council member may directly place an item reasonably related to the business and operations of the city on a regular council meeting agenda by providing a written submission to the city secretary along with all backup materials by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday prior to the city council meeting on which they wish the item to appear. All agenda items submitted by a councilmember in compliance with these procedures and within the time periods stated shall be placed on the final agenda unless the city council member who submitted the agenda item personally withdraws the item.

The agenda shall provide a time when the mayor or any councilmember may bring before the council any business that he feels should be deliberated upon by the council at a future council meeting. All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents, or other documents related to an agenda item requested at a council meeting shall be delivered to the city secretary by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday prior to the city council meeting on which it is to appear.

City council packets shall be distributed to the mayor and city council by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the city council meeting at which the item is to be considered. Distribution shall be by email unless a hard copy is requested by a councilmember, in which case a hard copy shall be made available at the office of the city secretary.

The mayor or mayor pro tempore or such other member of the council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a councilmember by reason of acting as the presiding officer.

Every member desiring to speak shall address the mayor, and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.

A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to be called to order, or as herein otherwise provided. If a member, while speaking, be called to order, he shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed.

The councilmember moving the adoption of an ordinance or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate.

A motion to reconsider any action taken by the council may be made only on the day such action was taken. It may be made either immediately during the same session or at a recessed or adjourned session thereof. Such motion must be made by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member, and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions or while a member has the floor; it shall be debatable.

Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the council from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the council.

The mayor shall state every question coming before the council, announce the decision of the council on all subjects and decide all questions of order, subject, however, to an appeal to the council, in which event a majority vote of the council shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order.

Any member of the public wishing to address an item not on that meeting’s agenda must sign-in with the city secretary prior to commencement of the meeting indicating that they wish to address the council on a nonagenda item. That person may then address the council during that portion of the meeting designated for the same in the order in which they signed in. Unless further time is granted by the council, such comments shall be limited to a total of three minutes.

Any member of the public wishing to address an item on that meeting’s agenda must sign-in with the clerk prior to commencement of the meeting indicating which item or items they wish to address. Prior to city council taking up each issue on the agenda, the mayor shall recognize any person having signed up to address the city council on that issue. Unless further time is granted by the council, comments shall be limited to three minutes per agenda item.

Each person addressing the council shall step up to the podium and shall give his/her name and address in an audible tone of voice for the record.

All remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and not to any member thereof.

While the council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum, and members shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the council or disturb any member while speaking nor refuse to obey the orders of the council or the mayor, except as otherwise herein provided.

Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the council shall be forthwith, by the mayor, barred from continued audience before the council, unless permission to continue be granted by a majority vote of the council.

The chief of police, or such member or members of the police department as he/she may designate, shall be sergeant-at-arms of the council meetings. He/she, or they, shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the mayor for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the council meeting.

Upon instructions of the mayor, it shall be the duty of the sergeant-at-arms, or any of them present, to place any person who violates the order and decorum of the meeting under arrest, and cause him/her to be prosecuted under the provisions of this code; the complaint to be signed by the mayor.

All ordinances shall be prepared by the city attorney and presented to the council only in printed or typewritten form. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the council unless ordered by a majority vote of the council, or requested in writing by the mayor, or prepared by the city attorney on his/her own initiative.

All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the council, have been approved as to form and legality by the city attorney or an authorized representative and shall have been examined and approved for administration by the mayor or an authorized representative, where there are substantive matters of administration involved. All such instruments shall have first been referred to the head of the department under whose jurisdiction the administration of the subject matter of the ordinance, resolution or contract document would devolve and be approved by said department head; provided, however, that if approval is not given, then the same shall be returned to the mayor with a written memorandum of the reasons why such approval is withheld. In the event the questioned instrument is not redrafted to meet a department head objection, or objection is not withdrawn and approval in writing given, then the mayor shall so advise the council and give the reasons advanced by the department head for withholding approval.

Ordinances, resolutions, and other matters or subjects requiring action by the council must be introduced and sponsored by a member of the council, except that the mayor or city attorney may present ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects to the council, and any councilmember may assume sponsorship thereof by moving that such ordinances, resolutions, matters or subjects be adopted; otherwise, they shall not be considered.

No ordinance shall relate to more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, and no ordinance, or section thereof, shall be amended or repealed unless the new ordinance contains the title of the ordinance or section amended or repealed.

The city secretary shall prepare copies of all proposed ordinances for distribution to all members of the council at least seventy-two (72) hours before the council meeting at which the ordinance is to be introduced. If the ordinance carries an emergency clause, copies of the ordinance must be distributed at least twelve (12) hours prior to the meeting of the council at which said ordinance is to be considered.

The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions and entered upon the official record of the council.

An affirmative vote of at least a majority of the members of the council shall be necessary to pass an ordinance, but a resolution, motion, or any other proposition may be adopted by a majority voting on the issue (except as otherwise specified in the city charter, city ordinance or the state statutes). When any vote is called each councilmember shall respond “yes (aye),” “no,” “abstain,” or “pass.” Any councilmember who responds “pass” shall be given an opportunity at the end of the roll call to change his/her vote to “yes (aye),” “no,” or “abstain.” Any “pass” response not so changed shall be recorded as an abstention.

In the event of a tie in votes on any motion, the mayor may vote to break the tie.

Upon passage, a number shall be assigned to each ordinance or resolution by the city secretary.

When passed by the council, an ordinance shall be signed by the mayor and be attested by the city secretary, and it shall be immediately filed and thereafter preserved in the office of the city secretary.

Any member of the city council may request the mayor to have prepared proposed ordinance(s) with such ordinance(s) to be placed on the agenda of the next scheduled council meeting, provided the ordinance(s) can be drafted and distributed to members of the council in accordance with time schedules set forth in subsection (e) of these rules.

Any member of the city council may request written legal opinions, relating to city business, from the mayor.

Upon receiving requests for a proposed ordinance or a written legal opinion, the mayor shall forthwith request same from the city attorney; and upon return receipt thereof, the mayor shall forthwith cause to have distributed the subject ordinance or written legal opinion to all members of the council so that all members of the council may be fully informed of the status of city affairs.

Any member of the council may, for purposes of inquiry, request a verbal opinion or advice on city legal matters directly from the city attorney.

Unless immediate consideration be moved, all resolutions shall be referred to the committee of the whole by the mayor; provided, however, that any resolution providing for the appropriation of money shall designate the particular fund from which the appropriation is to be made and shall not be granted immediate consideration unless the votes of the number of members required for the affirmation of such resolution shall be cast in favor of immediate consideration. An objection voiced by one member shall require a roll call upon the motion for immediate consideration. If no objection is voiced the city secretary shall record a unanimous consent to the motion for immediate consideration, and the chair shall proceed to state the principal question.

The council may create committees, boards, and commissions to assist in the conduct of the operation of the city government with such duties as the council may specify.

Membership and selection of members shall be as provided by the council.

Any committee, board, or commission so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created, or when abolished by a majority vote of the council.

No committee so appointed shall have powers other than “advisory” to the council or the mayor.