HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions 86-340 N.C.S. 12/22/1986l~esOlllt1011 N®. 86-340 N.C.S.
of the City of Petaluma, California
REVISING RULES OF PROCEDURE
FOR THE PETALUMA CITY COUNCIL
AND REPEALING RESO, 8439 NCS
BE IT RESOLVED the City Council hereby adopts revised Rules for
Proceedings of the City Council attached to this resolution as Exhibit A.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Resolution 8439 NCS is hereby repealed
in its entirety .
Under the power and authority conferred upon this Council by the Charter of said City.
REFERET~~E: I hereby certify the foregoing Resolution was introduced and adopted by the App a t
reso .rules /¢~i~~~tl~~City of Petaluma at a (Regular) (Adjourned) (~~fii~) meeting
on the ..-22nd ....... day of ........._December ...........:............. 1s-8.6, by the
following vote: .. .-... ... -----••----••--•-.
AYES: Davis, Sobel, Woolsey, Cavanagh, Balshaw, Vice Mayo~encer, Mayor mat-tei
NOES
ABSENT: ____- .
C
ATTEST : . .... ................................. ..... -.......---------.........-............
City Clerk Mayor
Council File ...................................
CA t0-85 Res. Na......8.6.-.3.4.0.. N.es.
RULES FOR ;PROCE'EDINGS OF THE''C;ITY COUNCIL
I. MEETINGS
1. Regular meetings -Adjournment
Regular Council meetings shall. be held on the first and third
Mondays of each month, commencing- at seven p.m. When any such
Monday is a legal holiday, the regular .meeting thereof shall be held
on the next following day not being a legal holiday at the same
hour.
It shall be the intent of the Council to adjourn all meetings by
eleven p . m . of the meeting night . Matters not reached or
completed ,by eleven p . m . will: normally be continued to the next
adjourned or regular meeting .
2. Special meetings
Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or by three other
members of the City Council. At the request of the Mayor or three
other members of the Council,. the City Clerk shall prepare a notice
of each special meeting, showing the time, place and object thereof.,
which notice shall be delivered to the .Councilmembers at their
residences at least twenty-four hours before meeting time, unless
Councilmembers sign. a waiver of notice as authorized by State law.
The only subjects `which may' be 'act'ed upon at a special meeting of
the Council shall be those mentioned in .the -notice thereof.
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:L. MEETINGS continued.
3. Adjourned meetings
Any meeting of the Council may be continued or adjourned from day
to day, or for more than gone day-, . but not :.longer than until the
next regular meeting.. Such adjournment shall be pursuant to the
directions of tlie. Presiding Officer,, or upon vote by a majority of
those present at the meeting to be ,adjourned. It is not necessary
that a quorum be present for the purpose of adjou"rning a meeting
of the City Council to a later date.
4. Studv session
The Council may from time to time meet in study sessions open to
the public and news media, the time and place to be designated by
the Mayor.. Notice of such sessions will be given at the prior
Council meeting or by the City Clerk to those news media who have
requested notice in writing at least twenty-four hours in advance of
such meeting . Study sessions shall be devoted to the exchange of
information deemed essential before a regular Council meeting . No
formal vote or official action shall b.e taken at the Study Sessions,
but members of the Council in attendance shall be entitled to
express their opinions of any matter under discussion; providing,
however, that- nothing in this section shall prevent a polling of the
Council or the taking of any informal vote or consensus in any
matter under discussion. The participation of the public in such
sessions shall be within the discretion of the Presiding Officer and
subject to Council concurrence. Study sessions need not be so
designated, but may be called idea sessions, information sessions,
workshops, etc.
5. Location
All Regular meetings of the City Council shall be held in the
Petaluma City Hall, except when a different place is agreed upon by
a majority of the Council or provided for in these rules .
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II. OFFICERS• AND' ME_IVIBERS
1. Presiding officer -designation
The Pres~drrg Officer of all meetings of the. City Council shall be
the Mayor or, in the Mayor's absence, the Vice President, who
may, for all ceremonial purposes, be- .called the Vice Mayor of the
City, as ,provided in .Sections. 20 and 21 of the City Charter.. The
Presiding O,ffieer may introduce or second and debate any matter
before the. Council from the chair..
2. .Duties of Presiding :Officer
Decorum. and order shall. lie preserved by the Presiding Officer, who
will also decide. all questions of order, subject to appeal to the
Council. If a member transgresses the rules of the Council, the
Presiding Officer shall, or any member may, call him/her to order,
in which :case, upon order of the Presiding Officer, such member
shall reiinquisl the floor, unless permitted by the Presiding Officer
to explain.. The: Presiding Officer shall. control time of individual
presentations in accordance with these rules ..
3. Selection and terms of Vice Mayor
The Council shall. elect one of its members as Vice Mayor who shall
serve for a period of one year or until a successor is selected and
qualifies. No member of the Council shall serve consecutive terms
as Vice Mayor.
4. Clerk - 'Duties
The. City Clerk shall be the Clerk of the. -City Council, whose duties
at C'ouneil meetings shall be as :follows:;
A. Call and record the names of the .members present;
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YI. OFFICERS AND MEMBERS continued
B . Keep, and .record all minutes of the meetings of the City
Council.;
C. Read and present all communications and written reports,
proposed resolutions and ordinances;
D . Record the yes and no votes of the members of the
.Council on alI resolutions and .ordinances introduced and
adop ed;
E,. .Perform such other duties as shall be directed by the City
Council .
The Clerk shall prepare an agenda for each regular or special
meeting describing each item of ,business to be considered, .arid will
furnish a copy of the. agenda- to the Mayor, each Councilmember,
City Manag,er,, .City Attorney and ;Depar-tment .Heads, prior to the
meeting. The; .City Clerk shall. post. the agenda in a public area 96
hours prior to each Regular and Aeljourned meeting . Agendas for
Special meetings shall be posted 24 hours pr-ior to the meeting.
5. Temporary chairman
At any meeting at which the Mayor and Vice Mayor are absent, the
City Clerk shall call 'the meeting to. order and call the roll. If a
quorum is present.; the Council shall elect, by majority vote of
those present ~a temporary chairman, who will perform .the. duties of
the Presiding Officer until either the Mayor or Vice Mayor appears.
6.,, Seating •arrangement
Members of the Council shall occupy the seats in, the Council
.Chambers :assigned to them by ..the- Mayor; b'ut any two or more
member, s. may exchange seats by mutual agreement..
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II. OFFICERS AND MEMBERS contd.
7. Excusal from attendance
No member shall be excused from attendance at a Council meeting,
except upon notification to the City Clerk or City Manager.
8. Excusal during Council session
No member may leave the Council Chambers during a regular
session without permission of the Presiding Officer, unless he/she
steps down because of a conflict of interest.
III. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
1. Agenda
The business of all meetings of the Council will be transacted in the
order set out upon the agenda, and shall include the following items
of business, as applicable.
A. Roll call of members;
B. Reading of minutes of preceding meeting;
C. Public comment;
D . Consent calendar;
E. Consideration of unfinished business;
F. Petition and communications;
G. Public hearings;
H . Staff and Council Reports
I. Consideration of New business;
J. Closed Session
K . Adjournment
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III., CONDUCT OF BUSINESS cont'd;.
Minutes The reading. of the minutes 'of the preceding meeting may
be dispensed wfh unless. required on a vote of the majority of
members present. If no objection to the minutes is made., the same
will b.e deeme'd ap..proved .
Consent, Calendar Items which are noncontroversial, which -have
been. reviewed by the Council and staff :and which have, been made
available to; members of the .news media and the public at Council
meetings shall. be grouped together and listed under the Consent
Calendar.: Adoption of the Consent Calendar will be made by one
action ,only of the Council. .The Presiding Officer shall first advise
the audience f-hat the Consent Ca~Iendar matters sliall be adopted in
toto by one action of the Couneih unless any Councilmembe.r has a
question on an item. In that event, the :Presiding Officer may
defer action on "the particular matter or matters and .p-lace the same
on Elie regular agenda for consideration. in • any -order he/she deems
appropriate .
Agenda Order The order of the agenda shall be .established by the
City Clerk, who may fix a time for public hearings at a later time.
in the; meeting than its commencement:. Any item except a public
hearing noticed for a particular time may be taken out of order
upon direction of • the Presiding Officer, unless a majority of the
Council pr.esen_ts directs otherwise.
. Agenda .Posting The. .agenda for a Regular or Regular. Adjourned
meeting must. be posted in a place accessible to the public for 96
consecutive hours prior to the, meeting . The posted .agenda must
-iri'e~lud'e all items to be 'transacted or discussed'. However, there is
no speeifi`c prohibition of discussion of .items no.t on the agenda..
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.III. CONI)::UCT OF B,USIN.ESS contd.
The City Council is prohibited from taking any action on any item
not listed in the agenda, unless any one of the following conditions
exist
(a) . Upon .a determination by a majority vote of the legislative
body that an emergency situation exists ..
(b), Upon a determination by a two-thirds vote of the
legislative -body, or, if less than two-thirds of the members
are ;present, .a unanimous vote of those, members present, that
the need to take action arose subsequent to the agenda. being
posted..
(c) . 'The .item was posted for a prior meeting of the
'legislative body occurring not more: than five calendar days
prior to the date action was taken, on the item, and at the
prior .meeting. the item was continued to the meeting at which
action is being taken.
"'Action taken" "is defined under the Brown . Act as follows
'collective decision made by a majority of the members of a
legislative body, a collective c ommitment or promise by a majority of
the legislative body to make a positive or a negative decision, or an
actual vote by a .majority of the members of the legislative body
when. sitting as a body or entity, upon a motion, proposal,
resolution,. order .or ordinance' .
' ~ 2. Addressing .Council -Public Comment
The agenda will contain an item when the public may address the
Council. (1:) Items of interest to the public. and (2) Within the
subject :matter jurisdiction. of the legislative body. .Th e maximum
'time for .this .:agenda item ;shall, be 15 minutes. The Presiding
- .Officer s?zall: determine the number of persons wishing to speak and
establish time limits of 5 minutes maximum for individual
.presenfat'ons;.
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S. Perm_'s'sion required - To address Council
No person other than a member of the Council or a City official will
be permitted to address the Council. unless he is introduced .or
permitted by .the Presiding Officer, or a member of the Council
requests t~le Presiding Officer to permit, such person to address the
Council. Persons addressing the Council shall furnish the City
Clerk with their names and add"resses.
4. Time limit' on addressing Council - Generally
Persons who address the Council under specific agenda •tems will be
limited to ten. minutes, unless specific extension is approved by a
majority of members present.
IV. RULES OF COUNCIL
1. Amendment or adoption of rubes
The rules of ;thin article may be amended or new rules adopted by
resolution .
2. Change of rules, of Council
Any provision of -the rules in this article not governed by the
Charter may b;e temporarily changed at any meeting of the Council,
by a majority vote of all members present. The vote on ariy such
change shall be taken by a roll call acrd entered upon the records .
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IV. RULES OF COU;NGTL contd.
3. Introducing an ordinance -Printing or posting
An ordinance or resolution shall be deemed to have been introduced
when it is 'filed with the City Clerk and moved and seconded by
different members of the Council at .any regular meeting or at a
special meeting called for the purpose ,of introducing the ordinance.
The Clerk shall note the name of the persons moving and seconding
the proposal in the minutes.. The Clerk shall present an ordinance
for introduction at the proper time, at which time a vote of the
members shall determine whether the- ordinance shall be printed or
posted, as required by Section 45 of the City Charter.
4. Withdrawal of ordinance
An ordinance may be withdrawn at any time before it is acted upon
by the Council only with the consent. of the members moving and
seconding its adoption.
5. Introducing. ordinance- or resolution. out of regular order
The Presiding Officer may at any time permit a member to introduce
an ordinance or resolution out of; the regular order.
6. Introducing re'solut-ion; publication or posting
A :resolution may be introduced and .seconded by different members
of the Council and acted upon at the same meeting . It. "need. not be
pul?lshed or posted.
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IV. RULES OF COUNCIL eont'd.
7. Withdrawal. of resolution prior to action upon by Council
A resolution may- be withdrawn only with the consent of the
members moving and seconding itsadoption, at any time before- it is
acted upon 'by the Council.
8. Resolution to lay on table -Resumption
A resolution to lay on the table any matter will preclude all
amendments or debate on the subject concerned. If the resolution
prevails, consideration of the subject of the resolution laid on the
table may be resumed only upon motion of a member who voted in
favor of the resolution to lay on the table..
9. Reconsideration of question
After decision by the Council on any question,, except the adoption
of an ordinance,. any member who voted with the majority may move
a reconsider-ation of any action at the same or next succeeding
meeting., and the vote shall be held thereon, at the next succeeding
or regular meeting not less than. one week thereafter, provided,.
however., that. a resolution authorizing or relating to any contract
may be reconsidered at any time before the final execution thereof.
A motion to recons"ider will require the same number of votes as is
required to adopt an ordinance or resolution. After a resolution
for reconsideration has once been acted upon no other. motion or
resolution for a reconsideration thereof will be made without
unanimous "consent of the members present.
10. 'Tie. votes on .proposal
In case of a tie in votes on any p"roposal, the proposal is
considered lost.
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IV. COUNCIL RULES contd.
11. Right of appeal from Presd.•ing Officer's ruling .
Any member .may appeal to the Council from a ruling of, the
Presiding Officer. The member making: the appeal may state briefly
the r-eason for same, and the Presiding Officer may state briefly the
basis for the ruling; but, there will be no debate on the appeal,
and no other member may participate in the discussion. The
Presiding Officer will then put the question, "'Will the decision of
the chair be sustained?" If a majority vote "yes" the. ruling of the
Presiding Officer prevails; if otherwise, .it is overruled.
12. Voting
Every member present when a question. is put, including
presentation. of a resolution .for adoption,. should vote either "yes"
or °no" . At the beginning of any agenda item where a member has
a financial interest. in the question within the meaning of
Government Cod §87100 the nature and extent of the financial
interest shall be. disclosed immediately and the Council member shall
leave the dais thereby absenting himself../.herself from consideration
of the .item... The City Clerk shall record his/her vote as an
abstention.. In all other cases, whenever a member refuses to vote,
the City Clerk shall cast a vote of "yes" for such member.
13. Right to dissent or protest
Any member has the right to express dissent from, or protest
' against .any ordinance or resolution. presented to or adopted by the
Council., and have the reasons therefor entered upon the journal.. of
the Council's pro ceedings. Such dissent or protest must be in
writing,, couched in respectful language and presented to the
'Council not later than the next regular meeting following the date
or °passage of the actio n objected to.
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,IV. COUN'GIL RULES contd.
14. Motion to vote immediately
Any Counclmember, when recognized by the Presiding Officer, may
move to -vote immediately. Upon such motion, if seconded., all.
discussion shall be terminated and a vote taken on the motion. A
vote of :five. Council members (or-- if less than a full Council is
present, ~ two thirds) is necessary' to, sustain the motion. If the
motion carries; the vote on the proposal before the Council shall be
taken immediately, without further discussion.
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