Loading...
98-01 City of Chanhassen Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota DATE: January 12, 1998 MOTION BY: Berquist RESOLUTION NO: SECONDED BY: 98-01 Mason A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS The following rules of procedure shall govern the conduct of City Council business: SECTION 1. MEETINGS. 1.01. Meetings. The City Council shall hold regular meetings the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 6:30 p.m. If a regular meeting falls on a legal holiday, such meeting shall be held at the same hour on the Tuesday succeeding the Monday holiday. However, in December the Council will have only one regular meeting which will be on the second Monday, December 14. Work sessions will be held every Monday at 5:30 p.m.; however, no work session will be held on a legal holiday or the third and fourth Monday in December. 1.02. Special Meetings and Emergency Meetings. Special meetings of the City Council may be called by the Mayor or by any two members of the Council in writing filed with the City Clerk, who shall then mail a notice to all the members of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting. The notice shall also be posted on the City's principal bulletin board. The notice shall also be mailed or otherwise delivered to each person who has filed a written request for notice of special meetings. The notice shall be posted and mailed, or delivered at least three (3) days before the date of the meeting. Emergency meetings may be held without prior notice when all Council members are present at the meeting or consent thereto in writing. Such consent shall be filed with the City Clerk prior to the beginning of the meeting. A good faith effort shall be made to notify each news medium that has filed a written request for notice of meetings. Notice shall include the subject of the meeting. 1.03. Place. All meetings shall be held in the Council Chambers of Chanhassen City Hall 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 preside. In the absence of both, the Council members 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 tern, 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: 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Call to Order (Pledge of Allegiance) Roll Call Approval of Agenda Consent Agenda Visitor Presentations Public Hearings Award of Bids Unfinished Business New Business Council Presentations Administrative Presentations Adjournment 1.07. Consent Agenda. Items of routine, or primarily administrative in nature, shall be presented by the City 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 Council member 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 shall become the last item on the agenda unless a Council member requests that it be heard earlier, i.e. if the question is short or persons are in attendance who are affected by the decision. If the action proposed to be taken involves a citizen(s) not in attendance, 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 midnight. 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 Meeting of the Year. 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 10:00 a.m. on the Thursday ten days prior to the 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 so determined by a majority of the Council may be considered by 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 than filing, is required or requested. The Mayor and each Council member shall be provided with a copy of the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and any other reports and information pertinent to the agenda. Staff' will make every effort to provide this information at least 120 hours prior to each regular Council meeting. Exceptions may occur during holiday weeks. No matter may be submitted for Council action by any administrative 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 designee or secretary pro tern, 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 on the consent agenda if each member has previously been provided with a copy. 3.03. Amendment of Minutes. The Council may, by motion carried by majority vote of all its 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/she shall state every question coming before the Council, announce the decision of the Council on all subjects and decide all questions of order, subject 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/she 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 procedure on all agenda items which such pertains: 1. State the question coming before the Council. Request a summation of the Manager's report (where such has been presented in writing to the Council). Request a report from advisory boards and commissions when said item has been referred to such. 4. Recognize citizens desiring to speak on said item. Recognize Council members desiring to speak, maintain order and decorum on items of discussion, and generally provide leadership for the Council to ensure 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 Council member by reason of his acting as the presiding officer. 5.02. Recognition by the Chair. Every member desiring to speak shall address the chair and upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself/herself 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/her 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/she shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined and if in order he/she 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 Council member may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an abstract of his/her statement on any subject under consideration by the Council, of the reason for his/her 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. 6.02. Procedure. Each person addressing the Council shall, if requested by the presiding officer, give his/her name and address in an audible tone for the records, and unless further time is granted by the presiding officer, shall limit his/her 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 Council member or any member of the administrative 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 determining 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 conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt 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, resolutions 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 present ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects to the Council. 10.02. Passage of Ordinances, Resolutions and Motions. Upon the vote on ordinances, resolutions and motions, the ayes and nays shall be recorded unless the vote is declared unanimous. Upon the request of any member of the Council, the vote shall be by roll call of all members of the Council as provided under the section "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 resolutions except as otherwise provided by state law or city ordinance. 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 members of the Council, as recorded by ayes and nays. 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: An ordinance shall be required for: all legislation regulating or governing people or property and which provides 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. Resolutions: Resolutions shall normally be adopted for actions of a temporary, routine or administrative nature. Motions: Motions shall be adopted on issues of parliamentary procedure or to introduce items of business, 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/she may deem necessary for the welfare of the people and efficient administration of the affairs of the City. He/she 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 the City Manager shall confine his/her discussions at the Council meetings to statements of fact, recommendations based on his/her 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/her, 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. SECTION 12. WAIVER. By 4/5ths vote of all Council members, 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 resolution and shall not be used or considered in determining the proper meaning, purpose or intention hereof. SECTION 15. SEVERABILITY. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge any provision of this resolution to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect any other provisions of this ordinance not specifically included in said judgment. SECTION 16. EFFECTIVE DATE. The "City Council Rules of Procedure" shall be adopted by the City Council 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 resolution: The "Rules of Procedure" as adopted each year shall be maintained by the City Council in such a manner as to accurately reflect the procedures in effect for each year; and The effective date for each years "Rules of Procedure" shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage. Publication is not required as long as the rules are available for inspection and the general public may review said rules during normal business hours. Passed and adopted by the Chanhassen City Council this 12th day of January, 1998. ATTEST: Don Ashworth, City Clerk/Manager YES Mancino Berquist Engel Mason Senn Nancy K. Mancino, Mayor NO None ABSENT None