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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 1663 RESOLUTION NO. 1663 RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY ESTABLISHING COUNCIL POLICY ON COUNCIL MEETINGS AND RULES OF ORDER. WHEREAS, the City Council deems it advisable to set forth the policy relating, among other things, to matters appearing on the agenda prepared for Council action at regularly scheduled Council meetings; and WHEREAS, from time to time the Council has deemed it expedient and appropriate to review the conduct of its meetings in light of the growing City population and the numerous matters that are pre- sented to the Council for action; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest that the Council devote as much time and consideration as is possible to those items of policy which require Council attention and that it delegate to the City staff matters of administration; and WHEREAS, many matters regularly coming before the Council re- quire formal action but are non-controversial in nature and can be disposed of in an expeditious and proper manner, while other matters may be reported on by memorandum to the Council with copies thereof available for distribution to those members of the news media and public attending Council meetings; and WHEREAS, not only is it in the public interest that the Council establish an appropriate methodology for handling agenda items, but that rules of order in the conduct of its meetings likewise be set forth as a matter of policy. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: 1. AGENDA a. Preparation. The City Clerk, under the direction of the City Administrator, be and is hereby directed to prepare an agenda for each Council meeting -1- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 according to the order of business. b. Requests and content. Persons having business before the Council shall communicate with the City Clerk in writing, giving a brief outline of their business and a statement of the amount of time they expect will be required in presenting it before the Council. Such statement shall contain the name, title, if any, address and telephone number of each person Who will make any part of the presentation before the Council. c. Inclusion on Agenda. Upon receiving such communication, the City Clerk shall accord the matter a place on the agenda; provided, however, that correspondence or requests received after 2:00 p.m. of the Thursday next preceding a scheduled meeting and about which the Council has not had information and advice from the staff, shall be postponed for consideration to the next following meeting unless, in the opinion of the City Administrator, such correspondence is sufficiently urgent to require consideration although not regularly calendared. d. Consent Calendar. Prepared agenda which have been reviewed by the staff, mailed to the Council for study and which are then made available to the public at Council meetings, shall have grouped together for action at the beginning of the meeting those matters which are considered to be non- controversial and to require only routine action by the Council. The staff recommendations on action to be taken shall be indicated in a concise and summary form. These matters shall be listed under what is to be known as the "Consent Calendar." Adoption of the Consent Calendar may be made by one -2- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 motion only by roll call vote of the Council; provided, however, that the Presiding Officer should first advise the audience that the Consent Calendar matters will be adopted in toto by one action of the Council unless any Council member or any individual or organization interested in one or more Consent Calendar matters has any question or wishes to make a statement. In that event, the Presiding Officer shall defer action on the particular matter or matters and place same on the regular agenda for consideration in any order he deems appropriate. e. Content of Consent Calendar. The Consent Calendar shall include, but not be limited to, the following matters: (1) Procedural annexations and zoning matters (authorizing the circulation of petitions for annexation, setting the dates of public hearings, etc.); (2) Setting hearings; (3) Routine requests to the County for authority to inspect construction of buildings and improvements in tracts in the process of annexation to the City; (4) Acceptance of Improvements; (5) Release of bonds and filing of notices of completion; (6) Transfer of funds within approved departmental budget; (7) Approval of demands; (8) Assessment district procedural matters; (9) Adoption of ordinances; -3- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 (10) Personnel actions within approved budgetary limits and prior authorizations; (11) Approval of Minutes; (12) Installation of traffic signs; (13) Claims against the City; (14) Approval of agreements. f. Ordinances. All ordinances shall be set for hearing. After hearing, such ordinances may be introduced by motion of the Council and read unless reading is waived, in which event the title of the ordinance shall be read. Thereafter, the ordinance shall be adopted pursuant to general law. g. Written Memoranda. Reports of a detailed nature on work accomplished, projects completed and like matters which are set forth on the agenda, may be made by memoranda to the Council in advance of the meeting, with copies available from the City Clerk for distri- bution to the news media and to parties evidencing an interest in the matter to be covered. h. Staff Reports. Staff reports not on the agenda shall be limited to those matters informative in nature and which do not require action by the Council. In the event any staff member requests action on any matter not listed on the agenda as prepared and mailed to the Council, such matters shall not be heard unless a Councilman has requested the Presiding Officer to inform~y poll the Council on the question of considering such item. If a request is made and a majority of the Council present desired it, the matter shall be heardat any convenient time despite the fact that it has not been formally listed for -4- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 Council action. i. Emergency Agenda Matters. Unless as otherwise pro- vided herein, no matters other than those on the agenda shall be finally acted upon by the Council; provided, however, that if any Councilman or the City Administrator determines that any matter is of an emergency or urgent nature, it may be brought to the Council's attention with an explanation of the emergency or urgency stated in open Council meeting and it may then be considered and acted upon by the Counc il. 2. ORDER OF BUSINESS All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public except as provided by law. At an hour set by ordinance on the day of each regular meeting, the Councilmen, City Administrator, City Clerk and City Attorney and such department heads or others as have been requested to be present, shall take their regular stations in the Council Chambers, and the business of the Council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition in substantially the following order except as may be otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer or Council: (a) Roll Call; (b) Consent Calendar; (c) Bids and proposals; (d) Public Hearings; (e) Other Hearings; (f) Petitions - Written; (g) Presentations by Members of the Public or by Consultants; (Petitions - Oral) -5- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 (h) Correspondence: 1) Action 2) Informational (i) Reports of Boards & Commissions; (j) Staff Reports: Reports of City Officers; 1) City Administrator 2) Department Heads; (k) Unfinished Business; (1) Reports of Advisory Committees; (m) Consideration of new Ordinances & Policies; (Introduction of New Business) (n) Meetings; (0) Adjournment. 3. STUDY SESSIONS From time to time the Council will meet in a study session at a time and place to be designated by the Mayor. Such study sessions shall be noticed at the prior Council meeting and will be open to the public and the press. Such study sessions shall be devoted to matters regarding which the interchange of information preliminary to a regular meeting is deemed to be essential. No official action or formal vote shall be taken at such study session on any matter under discussion; provided, however, that the Councilmen in attendance shall be entitled to express their opinion on any matter under discussion. 4. SPECIAL MEETINGS Special meetings may be called by three or more members of the Council, by the Mayor, or by the City Administrator. The City Clerk shall prepare a notice of the special meeting stating time, place and the business to be transacted, and this notice shall be mailed or personally -6- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 delivered to each Councilman at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time of the meeting. Only matters set forth in the notice of the meeting shall be dis- cussed at such meeting. In the event of conflict between this paragraph 4 and the provisions of Section 54956 of the Government Code governing special meetings, the latter section shall prevail. 5. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER The Mayor, or in his absence the Mayor Pro Tempore, shall be the Presiding Officer and shall assume his place and duties as such immediately following his election. He shall preserve strict order and decorum at all meetings of the Council, state questions earning before the Council, announce its decision on all subjects and decide all questions or order, subject, however, to an appeal to the Council as a whole, in Which event a majority vote shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. He shall vote on all questions, and on any roll call his name shall be called last. The Mayor shall sign all ordinances and other documents adopted and approved by the Council at meetings at which he is in attendance. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall sign such documents as have been adopted and approved during the meeting at which he presided. 6. CALL TO ORDER - PRESIDING OFFICER The Mayor, or in his absence the Mayor Pro Tempore, shall take the chair at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall call the Council to order. In the absence of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tempore, the City Clerk or his assistant shall call the Council to order, whereupon a Mayor Pro Tempore shall be elected by the Councilmen from -7- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 their members present. Upon the arrival of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall relinquish the chair at the conclusion of the business then before the Council. The Presiding Officer shall have the right to vary the order of the agenda. 7. ROLL CALL Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the City Clerk shall call the roll of the Councilmen and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. 8. QUORUM Four Councilmen shall constitute a quorum for the trans- action of business. Less than a quorum may adjourn from time to time. When there is no quorum, the Mayor or any Councilman shall adjourn such meeting, or if no Councilman is present, the City Clerk shall adjourn the meeting. For the purpose of considering any item subject to vote of the Council, when a Councilman disqualifies himself due to conflict of interest, that Councilman's presence shall not be considered in determining the presence of a quorum. Consideration of such item thereof shall be deferred until a quorum of non-interested Council- men is present to discuss and vote on the item. 9. PREPARATION OF MINUTES AND ANNOTATED AGENDA The minutes of the Council shall be kept by the City Clerk and shall be kept in a minute book kept for that purpose, with a record of each particular type of business transacted set off in paragraphs with proper subheads; and said written minutes shall become the official records of the City of Gilroy, provided that the City Clerk shall be required to make a record only of such business -8- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 as was actually passed upon by a vote of the Council, and shall not be required to record any remarks of Councilmen, or of any other person except at the special request of a Councilman; provided further that a record shall be made of the names and addresses of persons addressing the Council, the title of the subject matter to which their remarks related and whether they spoke in support of or in opposition to such matter. The City Clerk is further instructed to secure the necessary equipment for the tape recording of all Council meetings; that said recording shall be in the nature of a stenographic aid to the City Clerk and that the City Clerk shall retain said tapes for a reasonable period of time; said period of time shall be determined in the absolute discretion of the Clerk. The City Clerk shall cause a copy of the minutes thereof to be forwarded to each Councilman, the City Administrator and department heads and other individuals designated by the City Clerk or City Administrator. 10. READING OF MINUTES Unless the reading of the minutes of a Council meeting is requested by a Councilman, such minutes may be approved without reading if the Clerk has previously furnished each Councilman with a copy thereof. 11. RULES OF DEBATE a. Presiding Officer may Debate and Vote. The Presiding may debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all Councilmen and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privi- leges of a Councilman by reason of his acting as the RESOLUTION NO. 1661 -9- Presiding Officer. b. Getting the Floor - Improper References to be Avoided. Every Councilman desiring to speak shall address the Chair and, upon recognition by the Presiding Officer, shall confine himself to the question under debate. c. Interruptions. A Councilman once recognized shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him to order, or as herein otherwise provided. If a Councilman while speaking be called to order, he shall cease speaking until the question of order be determined and, if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed. d. Motion to Reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be made only on the day such action was taken. The motion 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 Councilman and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions, or while a Councilman has the floor. It shall be de- batable. Nothing herein shall be construed to pre- vent any Councilman from making or remaking the same or other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council. e. Rules of Order. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, "Robert's Rules of Order, Revised 7 5th Anniversary Edition," shall govern the conduct of the meetings of the Council. -10- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 12. ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL Any person desiring to address the Council shall first secure the permission of the Presiding Officer so to do; provided, however, that under the following headings of business, unless the Presiding Officer rules other- wise, any qualified and interested person shall have the right to address the Council upon obtaining recognition by the Presiding Officer: a. Staff Reports. Interested parties or their authorized representatives may address the Council with regard to written communications referred to in the report of the City Administrator or any department head. b. Public Hearings. Interested persons or their authorized representatives may address the Council in regard to matters then under consideration. 130 MANNER OF ADDRESSING COUNCIL-TIME LIMIT a. Procedure. Each person addressing the Council shall step up to the microphone in front of the rail, shall give his name and address in an audible tone of voice for the records. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than a Councilman and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion without the permission of the Presiding Officer. bo Spokesman for Group of Persons. Whenever any group of wishes to address the Council on the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the Presiding Office'r to request that a spokesman be chosen by the group to address the Council, and in case additional matters -11- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 are to be presented at the time by any other member of said group, to limit the number of persons so addressing the Council, so as to avoid unnecessary repetitions before the Council. 14. VOTING BY COUNCILMEN All Councilmen present shall be required to vote. 15. DECORUM a. By Councilmen. While the Council is in session, the Councilmen must preserve order and decorum, and no Councilman shall, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb any Councilman while speak- ing or refuse to obey the orders of the Councilor the Presiding Officer, except as otherwise herein provided. b. By Other Persons. Any person making personal, im- pertinent or slanderous remarks or Who shall become boisterous while addressing the Council shall be forthwith, by the Presiding Officer, barred from further audience at said meeting before the Council, unless permission to continue be granted by a majority vote of the Council. 16. ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM The Chief of Police, or his duly authorized representative, shall be ex-officio Sergeant-at-Arms of the Council. He shall carry out all orders and instructions given him by the Presiding Officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum in the Council Chamber. Upon instructions of the Presiding Officer, it shall be the duty of any police officer present to eject from the Council Chamber any person in the audience who uses loud, boisterous -12- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 or profane language at a Council meeting, or language tending to bring the Councilor any Councilman into contempt, or any person who persistently interrupts the proceedings of the Councilor refused to keep quiet or take a seat when ordered to do so by the Presiding Officer and to place under arrest any person who is violating the law. 17. MEMBERS MAY REQUEST ENTRY OF PROTEST AGAINST COUNCIL ACTION IN MINUTES Any Councilman at his request shall have the right to have the reasons for his dissent from or protest against any action of the Council entered in the minutes. 18. ROLL CALL VOTE Upon request of any Councilman, a roll call vote shall be taken and recorded on any vote, otherwise a roll call vote need not be taken. Whenever a recorded or roll call vote of the Council is in order, the City Clerk shall call the names of the Councilmen, except that the name of the Presiding Officer shall be called last. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 3rd day of July, 1972, by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: BATREZ, DUFFIN, HUGHAN, PATE, SILVA, STOUT and GOODRICH NOES: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE COUNC ILMEMBERS : NONE APproye, d: " a" '?rf;:/" OJ ? , ' 4-~ .. /i / /~.4-UA-~~" ,~" P Mayor ATTEST: ;{ ~} ),1/' OYIA". .' .....X:'" .._~". v.< (.r ~,f Lt/ , V!.L-..I /,' -13- RESOLUTION NO. 1663 I, SUSANNE E. STEI~IETZ, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the attached Resolution No. 1663 is an original resolution, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 3rd day of July , 19 ~ at which meeting a quorum was present. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Gilroy, this 17th day of July , 19 J2-.