Ordinance 067bCITY OF CHANHASSEN
CARVER AND HENNEPIN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA
40 ORDINANCE NO. 67-B
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF CITY
COUNCIL BUSINESS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHANHASSEN ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. MEETINGS.
1.01. Regular Meetings: The City Council shall hold regular
meetings on the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m.,
provided that when the day fixed for any regular meeting falls on a day
designated by law as a legal holiday, such meeting shall be held at the
same hour on the next succeeding Monday not a holiday.
1.02. Special Meetings: Special meetings of the council may be
called by the mayor or by any two members of the council by writing filed
with the Manager. At least one day before the meeting, the Manager shall
notify each member of the time, place, and the purpose of the meeting by
causing written notice thereof to be delivered to him personally if he
can be found, or, if he cannot be found, by leaving a copy at the home of
the member with some person of suitable age and discretion. Special
meetings may be held without prior written notice when all council mem-
bers are present at the meeting or consent thereto in writing. Such con-
isent shall be filed with the Manager prior to the beginning of the
meeting. Any special meeting attended by all the council members shall
be a valid meeting for the transaction of any business that may come
before the meeting.
1.03. Place: All meetings shall be held in the council chambers of
the Chanhassen Municipal Building unless there is a published or posted
notice designating another location.
1.04. Presiding Officers: The Mayor shall preside at all meetings
of the Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the Acting Mayor shall pre-
side. In the absence of both, the Councilmen shall elect one of their
number as temporary chairman to so preside.
1.05. Quorum: Three members of the Council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business of the Council, but a smaller
number may adjourn from time to time.
1.06. Order of Business: At the hour appointed for meeting, the
members shall be called to order by the Mayor, or in his absence by the
Acting Mayor, or in the absence of both by the City Manager. In the
absence of the City Manager, the Mayor shall appoint a Secretary pro tem,
as the case may be, shall call the roll, note the absentees and announce
whether a quorum is present. If a quorum is present, the council shall
proceed to business which shall be conducted in the following order:
1. Call to Order (Pledge of Allegiance)
2.
Roll Call
3.
Approval of Agenda
4.
Consent Agenda
40 5.
Visitor Presentations
6.
Public Hearings
7.
Award of Bids
8.
Approval of Minutes
9.
Unfinished Business
10.
Approval of Accounts
11.
New Business
12.
Council Presentations
13.
Administrative Presentations
14.
Adjournment
1.07. Consent Agenda. Items of a routine, or primarily
administrative in nature, shall be presented by the Manager as a
part of the "consent agenda". All items so submitted shall have
one clearly understandable recommended action so that all items
may be voted upon as a group without discussion. The Mayor shall
ask if there is anyone present, written correspondence received,
or any councilmember wishing to discuss any item prior to calling
for a vote approving the consent agenda. Any items requiring
discussion shall be removed from the consent agenda and placed
under the "council presentations" section of the agenda. If the
action proposed to be taken involves a citizen(s) not in atten-
dance, action shall be tabled to allow notification of the
council's intent to discuss the proposed action.
• 1.08. Curfew. No additional agenda items shall be discussed
after 11:30 p.m. No meetings shall continue past 12:00 mid-
night. Meetings adjourned under this policy shall be continued
to a time specified by the Council. The continued meeting will
start at the point on the agenda where the adjournment occurred.
1.09. First Regular. At the first regular Council meeting
in January of each year, the Council shall (1) designate the
depository of City funds, (2) designate the official newspaper,
(3) choose an Acting Mayor from the membership of the council who
shall perform the duties of the Mayor during the disability or
absence of the Mayor, and (4) review the Rules of Procedure of
the city council and make any necessary changes.
SECTION 2. AGENDA FOR REGULAR MEETING.
2.01. Filing Deadline. All matters to be submitted to the
Council shall be filed with the City Manager's office not later
than 12:00 noon on the Monday prior to the following Monday
Council meeting at which consideration is desired. In unusual
circumstances and when the matter does not require investigation,
an item may be accepted after said deadline upon the approval of
the City Manager or Mayor. 2.02 Maintenance of Agenda: No
item of business shall be considered for action by the Council
which does not appear on the agenda for the meeting, except that
an item of urgent business which requires immediate action and is
is so determined by a majority of the Council may be considered by
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the Council whether or not there is a full membership present.
The Council will hear all responsible citizen petitions, requests
and statements; however, such items which do not specifically
appear on the agenda shall be deferred to a future meeting for
more careful consideration and study if Council action, other
is than filing, is required or requested.
The Mayor and each Councilman shall be provided with a copy of
the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and any other
reports and information pertinent to the agenda at least seventy-
two hours prior to each regular Council meeting.
No matter may be submitted for council action by any administra-
tive official, department head or employee unless it has first
been presented to the City Manager or Mayor for inclusion on the
agenda. The City Manager and Mayor shall establish the agenda
for each regular and special meeting.
SECTION 3. MINUTES.
3.01 Record of Council Meetings: The City Manager or the
Manager's designate or secretary pro tem, shall keep a record of
all Council meetings.
3.02 Reading of Minutes: Unless a reading of the minutes of
a Council meeting is requested by a member of the Council, such
minutes may be approved without reading if each member has pre-
viously been provided with a copy.
• 3.03 Amendment of Minutes: The Council may, by motion
carried by majority vote of all it's members, amend the minutes.
Such amending motion shall become a part of the minutes of the
meeting at which the amendment was made.
SECTION 4. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER.
The presiding officer shall preserve strict order and decorum
at all meetings of the Council. He 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
questions of order. He may vote on all questions and on a roll
call vote determine the order in which votes are cast.
The presiding officer shall normally use the following proce-
dure on all agenda items which such pertains:
1. State the question coming before the Council.
2. Request a summation of the Manager's report (where
such has been presented in writing to the council).
3. Request a report from advisory boards and commissions
when such item has been referred to such.
4. Recognize citizens desiring to speak on such item.
5. Recognize council members desiring to speak, maintain
order and decorum on items of discussion, and
generally provide leadership for the council to
insure timely and efficient decisions on each item.
6. Announce the council decision.
SECTION 5. RULES OF DEBATE.
5.01. Participation by Presiding Officer. The mayor or
other presiding officer may move, second and debate from the
chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by the
rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of
the rights and privileges of a councilman by reason of his acting
as the presiding officer.
5.02. Recognition �j the Chair. Every member desiring to
speak shall address the chair, and upon recognition by the
Presiding Officer shall confine himself to the question under
debate avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
5.03. Speaking Privileges. A member, once recognized, shall
not be interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him to
order or to vote on a motion to close a debate, 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.
5.04. Reconsideration. A motion to reconsider any action
taken by the council may be made at any time following original
action. A motion to reconsider must be made by a member of the
Council who voted with the prevailing side. Should a motion to
reconsider fail, an additional request for reconsideration cannot
occur for a period of six months following the date of the first
motion for reconsideration. If a motion to reconsider is passed,
then parties entitled to notice shall be notified and action
shall be taken at the next regular meeting following passage of
the motion to reconsider. Should the city council determine that
other parties are not likely to be affected by an item presented
for reconsideration, the city council may, at its discretion, act
on the original action the same evening as the council votes on
reconsideration.
5.05. Statements for the Record. A councilman may request,
through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an
abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by
the council, of the reason for his dissent from or support of any
action of the council, entered in the minutes. Such a request
may be made at the time of said action or consideration or at the
time of the adoption of said minutes. Unless the council, by
motion, objects, such statements shall be entered in the minutes.
SECTION 6. ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL.
6.01 Permission: Any person desiring to address the Council
shall first secure the permission of the Presiding Officer.
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6.02 Procedure: Each person addressing the Council shall,
if requested by the presiding officer, give his name and address
in an audible tone for the records, and unless further time is
granted by the Presiding Officer, shall limit his address to five
minutes, except at a public hearing when the limit shall be ten
minutes. All remarks should be addressed to the Council as a
body and not to any member. No person other than the Council and
the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any
discussion, either directly or through a member of the Council,
without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No question
shall be asked a Councilmember or any member of the administra-
tive staff except through the presiding officer.
SECTION 7. GENERAL RULES OF ORDER.
Robert's Rules of Order Revised and Robert's Parliamentary
Law shall be accepted as an authority on parliamentary practice
on matters not specifically covered and in case of a conflict
these rules shall govern.
SECTION 8. VOTING.
Unless a member of the Council states that he is not voting,
his silence shall be recorded as an affirmative vote. In deter-
mining whether the motion has passed by the required number of
affirmative votes, a Council member who orally elects not to vote
shall be considered as having voted against the motion in the
tallying of the votes, and his election not to vote shall be duly
noted in the minutes as an abstention.
• SECTION 9. DECORUM AND ITS ENFORCEMENT.
The Council members, while the Council is in session, must
preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither, by con-
versation or otherwise, delay or interrrupt the proceedings or
the peace of the Council, nor disturb any member while speaking
or refuse to obey the orders of the Council or its presiding
officer, except as otherwise herein provided.
SECTION 10. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, MOTIONS AND REPORTS.
10.01 Introduction of Matters for Action: Ordinances, reso-
lutions and other matters or subjects requiring action by the
Council shall be introduced and sponsored by a member of the
Council, except that the City Manager or City Attorney may pre-
sent ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects to the
Council.
10.02 Passage of Ordinances, Resolutions, and Motions:
Every ordinance and resolution shall be presented in writing and
read in full at a Council meeting; provided, however, that the
reading of an ordinance or resolution may be dispensed with by
unanimous consent. Upon the vote on ordinances, resolutions and
motions, the ayes and nayes shall be recorded unless the vote is
declared unanimous. Upon the request of any member of the
40 Council, the vote shall be by roll call of all members of the
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Council as provided under DUTIES OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER in this
resolution. A majority vote of all members of the Council shall
be required for the passage of all ordinances, motions and reso-
lutions except as otherwise provided by state law or city ordi-
nance.
10.03 Readings of Ordinances: Every ordinance other than
emergency ordinances shall have two public readings as provided
in Subsection 10.02 of this section, and.at least seven days
shall elapse between the first reading or waiver thereof and the
second reading or waiver thereof.
10.04 Emergency Ordinances: An emergency ordinance is an
ordinance necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, morals, safety or welfare in which the emergency
is defined and declared, passed by a vote of at least four mem-
bers of the Council, as recorded by ayes and nayes.
10.05 Contents of Minutes: All ordinances and resolutions
shall be filed with the Manager and made a part of the minutes.
Reports, petitions, and correspondence shall be filed with the
Manager and made a part of the minutes by reference.
10.06 Ordinances, Resolutions, and Motions:
1. An ordinance shall be required for: all legislation
regulating or governing people or property and which pro-
vides a penalty for its violation; all permanent rules of
the organization and operation of the Council; all
actions required by statute to be in ordinance form. The
City Attorney shall be consulted should there be a
question as to whether the action posed by the Council
requires an ordinance format.
2. Resolutions: Resolutions shall normally be adopted for
actions of a temporary, routine, or administrative
nature.
3. Motions: Motions shall be adopted on issues of
parliamentary procedure or to introduce items of busi-
ness, i.e. ordinances, resolutions, etc.
SECTION 11. CONDUCT OF CITY EMPLOYEES.
11.01 City Manager: The City Manager may take part in the
discussion of the City Council and may recommend to the Council
such measures as he may deem necessary for the welfare of the
people and efficient administration of the affairs of the City.
He shall have all the rights, powers and duties prescribed by
City Ordinance in regard thereto, however, it is recognized that
the City Council is the policy making body for the City and City
Manager shall confine his discussions at the Council meetings to
statements of fact, recommendations based on his knowledge and
experience and explanations of the reasons for the same, and any
matters pertaining to administration.
11.02 City Attorney: The City Attorney may not take part in
the discussions of the City Council except to answer questions
directed to him, comment on matters involving legal issues or
procedures of the City, and to present factual material to the
Council.
11.03 Other City Employees: No City Employee, other than
the City Manager or City Attorney, shall enter into discussions
of the City Council except to answer questions directed to such
employee, or to present factual information. The above
regulations of City Employees shall not be construed to limit the
appearance before the City Council of any City Employee when such
appearance is made as a taxpayer or member of the public, for or
against some particular issue under discussion by the Council
when such employee has an interest in the outcome thereof.
11.04 Grievance Committee: The Council shall sit as a
Grievance Committee. Any employee may appear before the
Committee to discuss anything the employee wishes to discuss.
SECTION 12. WAIVER.
By 4/5 vote of all Councilmen these rules may be waived.
SECTION 13. ADJOURNMENT.
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and decided
without debate.
SECTION 14. MISCELLANEOUS.
Section, subsection, and paragraph headings used herein are
not part of this ordinance and shall not be used or considered in
determining the proper meaning, purpose or intension hereof.
SECTION 15. SEVERABILITY.
If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge any provi-
sion of this ordinance to be invalid, such judgement shall not
affect any other provisions of this ordinance not specifically
included in said judgement.
SECTION 16. REPEAL.
City Ordinance No. 67-A adopted on January 4, 1982 is hereby
repealed.
SECTION 17. EFFECTIVE DATE.
State law requires the adoption of "City Council Rules of
Procedure" each year. Such rules shall act as the format and
control activities for the ensuing year. As such, the following
are hereby incorporated as a part of this ordinance:
1). The "Rules of Procedure" as adopted each year shall be maintained
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by the City Clerk in such a manner as to accurately
reflect the procedures in effect for each year; and
3). The Clerk shall prepare, after passage, a codified
"Rules of Procedure" ordinance, accurately reflecting
yearly modifications of the city council - such codifi-
cation being entitled "Ordinance 67-B, An Ordinance
Establishing Rules of Procedure for the Conduct of City
Council Business".
Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of
Chanhassen this 10th day of January, 1983.
ATTEST:
2 1! '
Don Ashworth, City Manager
0
s L. Hamilton,
r
2). The effective date for
shall be in full force
each years "Rules of
and effect from and
Procedure"
after its
passage. Publication
shall not be required
so long as
such rules are available
for inspection and
the general
public is notified as
to such availability;
and
3). The Clerk shall prepare, after passage, a codified
"Rules of Procedure" ordinance, accurately reflecting
yearly modifications of the city council - such codifi-
cation being entitled "Ordinance 67-B, An Ordinance
Establishing Rules of Procedure for the Conduct of City
Council Business".
Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of
Chanhassen this 10th day of January, 1983.
ATTEST:
2 1! '
Don Ashworth, City Manager
0
s L. Hamilton,
r