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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1747 - procedural rules for the city council ( Ordinance No. 1747 AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING PROCEDURAL RULES FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS; AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES; AND CONTAINING FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT~ BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE: Section 1. Procedural rules for the City Council of the City of West University Placet Texas are hereby adopted as set out in Appendix A, which is attached and made a part of this ordinance. Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances is hereby amended as set out in Appendix B, which is attached and made a part of this ordinance. Section 2. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with this Ordinance are repealed to the extent of the conflict only. Section 3. If any word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or other part of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall ever be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, neither the remainder of this Ordinance, nor the application of such word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or other part of this Ordinance to any other persons or circumstances, shall be affected thereby. Section 4. The City Council officially finds, determines and declares that a sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of each meeting at which this Ordinance was discussed, considered or acted upon was given in the manner required by the Texas Open Meetings Act, as amended, and that each such meeting has been open to the public as required by law at all times during such discussion, consideration and action. The City Council ratifies, approves and confirms such notices and the contents and posting thereof. Section 5. This Ordinance, which imposes no criminal penalty, shall take effect immediately upon adoption and signature. PASSED AND APPROVED on first reading on ,4+/ ~ ~ (J Councilmembers Voting Aye: Councilmembers Voting No: Councilmembers Absent: -~/'\ ..., l ~2. tf PASSED and APPROVED on second reading on AND ADOPTED on d'1X? , d;n1 · Councilmembers Voting Aye: Councilmembers Voting No: Councifmembers Absent: Signed: Recommended: ReView::] City Attorney Appendix A Rules of Procedure Schedule .Revised July 2003 Pa rt I. Gen era I Provis io n Rule 1. Scope of Rules. These rules shall govern the conduct of the Council and shaH be interpreted to insure fair and open del iberations and decision Inaking. Rule 2. Technical Parlianlcntary Forms Abolished. Except as specifically required by these rll]es~ the Council shall not use any formal points of parlimnentary order, personal privilege, parliamentary inquiry or other technical fonns. Rule 3~ Rulings; Matters Not Covcred~ The presiding officer shall rule, initially, on a]] questions of procedure. The ruling of the presiding officer Inay be appealed to the entire CounciL Any matter or order or procedure not covered by these rules shall be decided in the same manner. Rule 4~ I.nterpretation. These rules are intended to supplement and shall be interpreted to conform \vith the statutes of the State of Texas and the charter and ordinances of the City of West University Place. In general} these rules shall be interpreted to allo\v the n1ajority to prevail but preserve the right of the Ininority to be heard. Part It Time and Place of Meeting Rule 5. Regular Meetings.. The City Council shall meet in regular session on each second and fourth Monday in each calendar fTIonlh beginning at 6:30 PM. The City Council, by Inotion, resolution or ordinance, filay reschedule any regular lneeting. If a regular Ineeting falls on a legal ho] iday, it is autoll1atically rescheduled for the follo\ving Monday, un less reschedu led by the Cjty Council. Rule 6~ Special Mcetings~ Calling special meetings is governed by Section 2.09 orthe Charter, which currently provides: Special meetings may be called by the City Secretary at the request of the Mayor or hvo MClnbers of Council. The City Manager shall be notified of all speciallneetings. A request for speciallTIeeting shall be filed \vith the City Secretary in \vritten form unless made at a regular n1eetlng at \vh ich a] I Council .Mcnlbers are present. Rule 7~ Quorum, Majority Voting. Quorum and majority voting are governed by Section 2.10 of the Charter~ \vhich currently provides: A maj ority of Counci I, qualified and serving, shal] constitute a qllOfUlTI at al [ meetings for the transaction of business, and no action of the Council shall be of any effect unless it is adopted by the favorable vote of a nl~iority of Council present unless otherwise provided by this Charter. Part III. Agenda .Rule 8~ Preparation of Agenda; Requests.. The City Secretary shall prepare, post and distribute notices of meetings and the assel11bled agenda packages. The City Manager is responsible for assenlbling the agenda package for each Il1eeting. The City .Manager must place a subject on the agenda if the subject is requested by the Mayor or by t\vo or more Council M.embers. Other persons 111ay request the City Manager to place an item on the agenda. Rule 9~ Consent Agenda~ In preparing an Agenda the City Secretary may separately designate itelTIS as "Consent AgendaU \vhich n1ay be acted upon by the Council under .Ru Ie 35. The uConsent AgendaU shal] consist of routine items, \vhich in the City Secretmyls detennination can be appropriately considered as a group (\vithout separate discussion) at the Council Ineeting. Rule 10. Agenda Deadline.. All requests to place a subject on the agenda must be in \vriting (including fax or e-mail) and provided to the City Secretary or City Manager by 5:00 PM on the fifth day preceding the meeting. Rule 11~ Requests to Include or Exclude Items~ Each request to include or exclude an agenda itclTI shalt be fonvarded to all 1l1embers of the Council at the time the request is submitted to the City Secretary. When a Council lvle(nber \vill be absent fi'OITI a Illeeting, the Council Melnber lnay request that an item not be included and such request shall not be unreasonably denied. Rule 12~ Staff Withdra,vnl of Items. The City Manager Inay \vithdra\v an itenl on the Agenda prior to the CouncillTleeting, but in \vithdnnving the item shall state the reason therefore \vhich reason shall be transmitted to the Council. "Rule 13. Council Action to Defer, Continue or Not Act.. A CouncH Melnber \vishing to \vithdra\v, defer or continue an iteln lTIay make a motion to that effect. Such a motion shaH be considered before any other action on that itelTI. Ru Ie 14. I Reserved I Part IV.. Conduct of Meetings "Rule 15. Roll Call. Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the City Secretary shall call the roll of Members present, and enter those nalned in the minutes. The presiding officer shall determine the presence of a quonnTI as required by la\v and these rules. Rule 16. Call to Ol.der. The presiding officer shall call the Ineeting to order. Rule 17~ Presiding Officer~ The Mayor, or in the Mayor's absence or inability to perfonn, the Mayor Pro Teln, shall be the presiding officer at all Council meetings. If both the Mayor and Mayor Pro Teln are absent or unable to perfonn~ the lTIOst senior Council rvrember present shall preside. In the event t\VO or more Members equally possess the greatest senioritY, then the eldest person among then1 shall preside. For this purpose, seniority is measured by current, continuous service on the City Council. Rule 18. Control of Discussion. The presiding officer shalllTIoderate discussion of the Council on each Agenda item to assure full participation in accordance \vith these ru les. The presiding officer \vill preserve order and decoHnn, preventing the hnpugning of any Inemberts Illotives or other personal CQlnment not relevant to the orderly conduct of business. The presiding officer shall request all speakers to keep COlnments brief and relevant to the question before the Council. All persons present in the Ineeting rOQlTI should esche\v abusive, rude or inappropriate conduct. See Chapter 38 of the Texas Pennl Code regarding the uhinderingH of official proceedings. Rule 19~ Order of Consideration of Agenda. Except as othcl"\visc provided in these rules, each Agenda iteITI shall be considered in the numerical order assigned by the City Secretary. Each Agenda item shall be introduced by the presiding officer. To introduce an item, it shall be sufficient to identify the item by the number assigned by the City Secretary. I-Io\vever, as provided in Section 2.11 of the City Charter: Every ordinance shall be introduced in \vriting or printed fonn and have a clearly sUlnmarized and fully descriptive title or caption. After a nleasure j sin trod Heed, the standard procedure is as foIl O\VS: (1) Read iog of the measure by the City Secretary (or other person designated by the presiding officer). Reading ordinances or resolutions by caption or sunlmary is allo\ved if the full text is available as prescribed by the Charter. (Note: Section 2.11 of the Charter currently requires additional steps for ordinances: '~The reading aloud of the title or caption of the ordinance shall suffice as a reading provided that printed copies of the ordinance~ in the fonn required for adoption, are available to all menlbers of Council and that a reasonable number of additional copies is available to interested citizens present at the Council Ineeting. A majority of the Council qualiJied and serving may require an ordinance to be read in its entirety.") (2) The City Manager or other person Inay present a staff statclTIent. (3) Discussion. (4) ivlotion and second. (5) Additional discussion, if necessary. (6) Vote. Informal voice voting shall be used, unless a Council Member requests a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, the moving member votes tirst, the seconding o1ember votes second, the remaining members vote in alphabetical order and the presiding officer votes last (unless the presiding officer has JTIoved or seconded the illation). In case of a tie, the motion fails. Rule 20. Presiding Officerts Right to Enter into Discussion. The Mayor (or other presiding officer) as a Menlber of the Council may enter into any discussion. Rule 21... Limit on Remarks. Each Council Member shall limit his or her renlarks to a reasonable length. Rule 22~ .Presiding Officer.s Right to Speak Last. The presiding officer has the right to speak last on any iteITI. .Rule 23.. Closing Debate or Discussion~ Debate or discussion shall be closed on any item by the presiding officer \vith the concurrence of a majority of the Council present. Except as provided by Rule 33, a call for the vote shall not close discussion if any Melllber of the Counci I still \vishes to be heard or the presiding officer determines the continued participation of others \vi] I be helpful to the Council. Part V. Citizen Participntion Rule 24.. Public Participation. C0I1101ents and suggestions by the public are highly valued and encouraged during those parts of a nlceting designated for public participation. Speakers should register in advance and should lilnit their presentations to three Ininutes each. Speakers should direct all rClllarks and questions to the Council. The presiding officer [nay refer a Inatter for investigation, response or other action. The uTexas Open Meetings ActU requires the City to post a notice, in advance, listing every topic or subject to be considered by the Council. This la\v lnay prevent the Council [roln considering a subject raised by a nlelnber of the public. In this case, the presiding officer may refer the lllatter, and the Council may direct that the lnatter be p I aced 0 n the agen da for an U pcolTIi ng meeti ng. Rule 25~ l\tlanner of Addressing Council~ A person desiring to address the Council shaH step to the lectern or other designated place, state his or her nanle and address for the record. Rule 26~ Total Time Linlits~ Total time for pubHc comment on any subject under Council consideration can be lilnited to a fixed period by the presiding officer. A majority vote of the Council Jnay extend the tilne lilnitations of this rule. Rule 27~ Remarks to be Germane~ Public comments nlust be kept relevant to the subject betore the Council. The presiding officer shall rule on the relevance of conll11cnts. Persons luaking irrelevant, personal, ilnpertinent, or slanderous remarks may be barred by the presiding officer fr01TI further COlTI11lent before the Council during the meeting. .Rule 28~ Matters Not On the Agend3~ Discussion of n1atters not on the agenda is usually governed by Section 551.042 of the Texas Governlnent Code, \vhich currently provides; (a) ll: at a nlceting of a governmental body, a lnelnber of the public or of the governlTIental body inquires about a subject for \vhich notice has not been given as required by this subchapter~ the notice provisions of this subchapter do not apply to: (1) a statement of specific factual information given in response to the inquiry; or (2) a recitation of existing policy in response to the inquiry. (b) Any deliberation of or decision about the subject of the inquilY shall be limited to a proposal to place the subject on the agenda for a subsequent meeting. Part VI. Council Action Rule 29~ Motion .Required~ All action requiring a vote shall be nloved by a Member of the Council. Rule 30~ Motion to Reconsider~ Except in case of a tie vote, a nlotion to reconsider must be Inade by a Council t\1elnber \vho \vas on the prevailing side in the original action or by a Council Member absent at the time of the original action. The motion 111USt be made at a meeting \vhen the subject is on the agenda. See Rule 8. .Rule 31~ Less Thnn n Full Deck~ When only three M.elTlbers of the Council are in attendance at a meeting and an Agenda itClTI fails to receive t\vo aftinnative or negative votes~ the itelTI shall, upon the request of any Council Menlber in attendance at the nleeting, be continued and placed on the Agenda for the next Council meeting, and continued thereafter upon the Agenda for subsequent meetings unti l it shall receive sufficient affirmative or negative votes to pass or fail. If consideration of an ordinance is continued under this rule, the ordinance shall not be considered to have been read or voted upon. Rule 32. Call for V ote~ At the conclusion ( or closure) of debate or discussion, the presiding officer shall cal l for a vote~ provided ho\vever; a majority of the Council present Inay require a vote at any time. Rule 33.. Separate Consideration. Except as othenvise required by these rules each Agenda iten1 shall be voted upon separately and each separate vote shall be recorded by the City Secretary. Rule 34. Action on Consent Agenda~ Except as herein provided, the "Consent AgendaU shall be considered as a group (\vithout separate discussion on each iteln). When the Consent Agenda is introduced, each Council Member has the right to relllove any iteol, in \vhich case the itelTI is handled under Rule 19. AJter itelns are relTIoved, the presiding officer shall ask the Menlbers to indicate their votes on the remaining Consent Agenda items. Each Member may indicate a separate affirnultive vote on each fetnaining item by saying ~'aye," or the Member may indicate a different vote on any particular item, j n \vhich case that itenl is automatically removed froln the Consent Agenda and handled under Rule 19. The City Secretary shall record the votes on each iteln separately. "Rule 35. Consideration Out of Order. With the consent of the Council any Agenda item may be considered out of order, nt the request of a Council Member. :Rule 36. Recording Names of Moving lVlembers. The City Secretary shall record the name of the Council Menlber 111aking each olotion and seconding each motion. Ru Ie 37.. (Reserved I Rule 38. [Reserved] Part Vlt Miscellaneous Rule 39. Voting Required. Section 2.10 of the Chmter requires Metnbers to vote, as follo\vs: Each Inember of Council present shall vote on every action taken by Council unless the action involves the ll1cn1ber's own conduct or presents a possible confl iet of interest. In that case~ the melnber shall file \vith the City Secretary a \vritten statelnen t of the reason for abstai n ing. Any Mmnbcr prohibited froln voting by personal interest shall announce at the COlnlnencelnent of consideration of the Inatter and shall not enter into discussion or debate on any such matter. Any Council Member refusing to vote--and not excused fr0I11 voting- -shal] be reeQ I'd ed in the m in utes as voting in the affi rOlati ve. Rule 40. Suspension of Rules. These rules or any part hereof may be suspended for a specific purpose~ or any single 111eeting, by a vote or three-fourths of the Council Men1bers present. This does not apply to the City. Rule 4L Informal Requests. A Menlber of the Council, before or during the consideration of any nlatter~ or in the course of a hearing, Inay request and receive information, explanations or the opinions of the City Manager, City Attorney~ City Secretary or any City employee present, all subject to Rules 24 and 33. Appendix B Amend Section 2.,002 of the Code of Ordinances as folJows: Sec. 2.002. City Council rules of procedure. (a) in :.7~li{J.1nental}' .J.nrOC2~1~~'~.':::;; Rul:L::.;g A Ru les of procedure for the City COlll1ci l~ as set out in the "Rules of Procedure Schedule" attached to and Inade a part of this Code"l are hereby adoptedA Frotn tinle to tilue, the City Councillnay adopt parliatnentary procedures (including special rules for slTIall governing bodies) to supplelnent the rules in this seetioll. The City Councillnay appoint a parliatnentarian to advise on procedure. The presidin~ offie€f sha.11 ruh~, initiallJ", Oft all ttU~st.i0n3 0f proe€d:.~r€. The rulin; gf the presi€l ill; 0ffi€€f 111::lJT he ~~€al€g tEl tHe eutirg C@UliCil. (~) Et...,.s;ss;w:! -<Lnl~'S223~~I:~:::'A Ea@11111ea3ure skalll1€ intr@€l.uc~d. by th€ ~rgsiding 0ffi€€r in tl~e order sh€r..>r 11 €Ill th@ a,g€nda. ,.^Io.ft€l' it jg intrgduee€l, tkg ~rgCCdHr~ jg: (1) Reading; efth€ measure g~~ tR€ CitjO S€€retary (er 0ther pers0r: d.€3i;flated by the prcsidin; gffiger)~ Reagin; @reinancc3 0f res@!uti@H3 by eUl:Jtion or sunlJ-nary is alI€r:,'€d if the full t€::t is wT"ailable as preseril3c€l by thg ~karter. (0) The City r.fana;er Of otlH~r tJ€r3€Hl may present a, 8taff stat~nll€nt. (3) .J::' iS€~J8SifJn (1) ~.1oti0n aNd sec0fld. (5) ~~...gcl.itional d iScMssion, if r:eeessar7'. (~) "t.' 0 te. (e) V::;:L~;~. Infornlal ~T~0 j ee ~.Tetill; shall be tlsed, lHlless a C0MllCil ~,1era~€r f€E(lH~sts a fO.ll Gall ~;ete. ')~.~. 8. nall eall ..~ete, tl:e n:c~/il~&; RkCl1iber .,oetes first, tl:z S€GenMl:; n:en:Bzf ".~etes S2C0Hg, tl:e ren1ainia; nl€nl~erS ~/Ot0 in alphall€tieal eraef and tR€ f]r€sigiR; 0fficer ..~tJt€8 last (Nfiles8 tR€ ~rcsi€l.ing GffilH~r has m€r:€Hl 01" seconded th€ lR€Jtien). In eas@ ef a. tig, tllg 111€lti0n fails. '}.'kere th€rg is a SiR;h,~ T:0te 311 a .;ro II p 0f itgnlS, U fide r e ir€UH13tan ees .r~:he n~ 11 @I m€m~ € r f€ €Ii.! csts a separat€ .;ete, th€ ":ate on the groll~ is @CClllC@ to ~€ sanlB as a separate, identiBa.l T.~gtc on each :itenl. (cl) C.u.:-!2;~ .1::.s: !} 22 S:':.~:J:L The presid in; @fficcr T:,~ill pr€ser":e oro€r allcl clee0rNH1, preT.'entin.; the inlpM~fliftg 0f any nl€m~ grtg 1110tiyes or othgr ):Jcr8ofial €flfil111cnt 110t rehr":aRt to the 0recr!:; €0flfl~igt of busir:0ss. The presiding offieer shal I rB€1H.€8t all speakers to l:ee.~ €0111Rl€nt3 brigf an€l rele.T"ant to tlic €JM0Stioll bef~rg the C0ungiL In r2;Hlar rnegtin~8, all remarl:s b:; 1110[11 !3grs skeu 10 be €lir€€t€6 te the ghair, not 10 ether nlcnlbcr8~ ~^JI persons present in th€ R1CCtillg roonl ghould es@hcT.~,. ab:'lsiY.T@, ruse or inap13rtlpriat€ €f}ReHgt S€g C:Ra.~ter :: 8 of tk€ T€::as Penal Cod€ r€gardin; tRC Hh.il1deriH;u 0f official ~ro @€ e€l iR~8. (g) -<LDC:S!;Z ~n3;.:-::::.:;;S:~:3.T:. C:ofllIflents aNd 8M;;;€8ti0B8 B~' the pl1~lje ar€ hi;hl:," .:a.I:'H~d and €n~€nlra;eg €IN-ring those parts of a IR€ctili.; ses.igllated for publie partiBipati€Jfl. S tJ€akcrs 8110u Id rGgister in ad~:aRgg and sho'::ild I iIl1it the:ir pre8~Rtati0ns to tl:ree 111 inutes eaeh. Spcalu:rs Skglll~ €Iireet all rOlflarI:s aRB €iM€8ti0RS to th€ C0ungi IA fut~H"€3iflifl; o:ffieer~ ~,~,'k0 111ay rgfcr them a Inatt€f f0r ifl..~€stigatj 011; reSpOllS€ @r 0ther Retioll. The nT€:~a3 Cp0fl .r.1eetings ..^~0tn reflu ires th€ Cit~~ to l30st a notic€, in aft~:an€g, listir:; €TT~gr~~ t€1~ie or s:'lbj eet to bs €011Sid€refl b:rT the C:o:Jllci L Th is la'r,": ING:'" preyent tll€ ':€1Ul1cil fi"oni eonsiderin; a subjeet rais€€1 ~:'" a 1l:ten1b€r 0f the publi€c III this ease, the pr€8i€lict; effieer n1a~' r@fBf the 111atter, ancl tile C:011Rgi! ma~' €I ircst that the lHatt@f l1e plaeea 0" tl1G a.;€fiaa for an "df]COl1iin; meetint;. (f) E~;~y2;:'::S;: ~f,R:~'!2:;. ..A.N.j' ef the rHles preseribed by this s€@tior: 111ay ~e 8u8~cndcd, for any sin;;h~ 111ccthl;, bl~~ a yote eftkrec wurths gftlH~ C0~lfleil !.1~H11b€rs present.