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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.f. City Council Rules of ProcedureAGENDA ITEM: City Council Rules of Procedure AGENDA SECTION: Discussion PREPARED BY: Dwight Johnson, City Administrator Amy Domeier, City Clerk AGENDA NO. 2 f' ATTACHMENTS: Draft Rules of Procedure APPROVED BY: b; t RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion only 4 ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL City Council Work Session: June 10, 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ISSUE Historically the City Council has followed Robert's Rules of Order "Robert's Rules) as its parliamentary code. At this time, staff has found no record that Robert's Rules were officially adopted by the City. The City Council should consider adopting a simple set of rules that covers the minimum aspects and letting experience show what additional rules should be adopted. In addition, the City Council could consider adopting a different book of parliamentary procedure guidelines. City Council and staff can use that time to consider adopting a new rule or modifying an existing rule based upon situations at meetings over the past year. The Rules of Procedure would take precedence over the parliamentary procedure code book the City Council chooses. However, the code book would be used to serve as an additional tool should issues arise that are not covered within the rules. DISCUSSION Staff developed a preliminary list of pros and cons with adopting alternative meeting rules. Adoption of full version of Roberts Rules of Order Pros: Cons: Will handle any conceivable situation Widely recognized and often assumed to be the operating procedure Charts of most commonly used motions and procedures are available Been around a long time; fully tested Courts may give more deference to a well- recognized Very long, complex and difficult to read Contains over 86 motions that most organizations do not need Probably designed for large governing bodies with complicated business Many think they know it, but few do. Adoption of abbreviated rules of procedure Pros: Readily accommodates a less formal process Only a few pages; easily read and understood Readily adaptable /amendable to our own preferences Easier to adapt to new state laws, etc. Cons: May not cover the occasional complicated situation Informality may not necessarily be a good thing It is not known how many cities that have adopted abbreviated procedures or what their experiences have been RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends reviewing the proposed rules of procedure to begin moving forward with the adoption of the City Council Rules of Procedure and discuss whether or not there is interest in reviewing abbreviated or simplified parliamentary rules. 2 ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE INTRODUCTION In the belief that the best decisions are made by the best informed decision makers and that the public decision process is best served when the public has every opportunity to present views, the following areas are established to govern regular and special council meetings as well as formal public hearings. There are several goals behind these rules. 1. In general, free and open discussion by all interested parties should be an essential part of the decision- making process; 2. The City Council process should have as little procedural overhead as possible; and RULES 1. 3. Time is better spent on substantial matters rather than proforma matters. MEMBERSHIP The formal City Council membership consists of the four Council Members and the Mayor. All five have one vote each and all five can introduce motions. For purposes of leading the meeting, the Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor the Acting Mayor will preside. Process Quorum A majority of all City Council Members shall constitute a quorum to do business. Process City Organizational Meeting The organizational meeting of the City Council will be held during the first meeting of January each year. No conduct of the City's business shall be considered except those matters pertaining to the organization of the City Council. The Mayor, subject to City Council approval, may adjust the process of the meeting for reasons that include, but are not limited to the following. a. Filling in time before a scheduled item, i.e. a public hearing. b. Grouping several items to best make use of consultant time. c. Accommodating individuals who have attended the meeting specifically to provide input on an item. d. Considering minor items with significant time restraints. Process Agenda To be considered, an item must be on the agenda and the agenda must be distributed to the City Council at least two days prior to the meeting. An agenda can be modified with addenda by a majority vote but this should be used only for minor items or items with significant time constraints. 2. The Consent Agenda includes items that are routine or do not require further discussion. An item can be moved from the Consent Agenda to the action agenda at the request of any Council Member. 3. Since there will be audience and cable television viewers not familiar with each item, the chair will announce the title of the item. 4. The order of items on the agenda need not be followed absolutely. The Mayor, subject to City Council approval, may adjust the order of the Agenda for reasons that include, but are not limited to the following. a. Filling in time before a scheduled item, i.e. a public hearing. b. Grouping several items to best make use of consultant time. c. Accommodating individuals who have attended the meeting specifically to provide input on an item. Process Regular and Special City Council Meetings 1. Regular Meetings of the City Council will be held on the first and third Tuesday of each month or as otherwise adopted during the City Organizational Meeting. Special Meetings may be called by the Mayor or by two City Council Members. The notice of a Special Meeting to the City Council and Public will follow the same standards as outline in Minn. State Statute. 2. For these proceedings the City Council will use the `open discussion' procedure. That is, discussion is open to any member before or after a motion is made. This privilege is also extended to the City Administrator, City Clerk, Department Directors and any of the consultants who may have an interest in or can contribute to the item at hand. 3. At the discretion of the Mayor, subject to City Council approval, this privilege is also extended to those members of the audience who wish to provide input. The chair may also rule out of order any input felt to be redundant or irrelevant and may impose time limitations. 4. The standard motion procedure requires a second. A motion need only be made to be considered. This also applies to amendments. If amendments are made to the main motion the Mayor shall clarify the motion. 5. To eliminate confusion, only one amendment will be considered at a time and that amendment must be germane to the motion. An amendment cannot itself be amended. If a change to an amendment is deemed appropriate, the amendment should be withdrawn and reintroduced accordingly. 6. The general mode of voting on motions will be by acclamation but with enough clarity that the individual votes can be recorded in the minutes. The Mayor, City Administrator or City Clerk may request a clarification and /or a roll call may be taken. 7. The meeting will be video taped and the video tape will be retained for one year following approval of the minutes for that meeting. The standard retention can be extended in the judgment of the Mayor, City Administrator, City Clerk or any Council Member if such action is warranted. An audio recording of the meeting is not required. Process Public Comment /Response to Public Comment 1. Any person may observe City Council meetings. One copy of the agenda and all packet materials provided to the City Council will be made available for public review in accordance with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. During the Public Comment portion of the meeting the Mayor or Presiding Officer will recognize person wishing to provide comment on an item that is not already on the agenda. 2. All individuals wishing to provide comment must speak into a recording microphone and provide their full name and address. If public comment is provided, a response to the public comment will follow at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Discussions or debates between the Mayor, individual Council Members and persons providing comment is inappropriate and may reflect badly on the decision making process. Process Public Hearings Since a public hearing is a more formal procedure and often requires certain procedures and actions to be legal, the meeting rules are changed accordingly. 1. The primary purpose of a public hearing is to take input from the public. To accomplish this in the most effective manner the Mayor will introduce the hearing with an explanation of the issues. This explanation may be given by a person designated by the Mayor. 2. Following the explanations input from the public will be taken. Prior to accepting input, though, the Mayor will state the rules for individual presenters and any other procedural rules deemed appropriate to guarantee that all concerned parties have a fair and adequate opportunity to be heard. 3. All individuals wishing to provide comment must speak into a recording microphone and provide their full name and address. Individuals not wishing to speak in public may provide a written statement. If the City Council decides to not act on the issues at the public hearing meeting, it may by majority vote either continue the hearing to a date certain or close the hearing. 4. All speakers are expected to be business -like, to- the -point and courteous. Anyone not abiding by these rules will be considered out of order. 5. The City Council will refrain from initiating a discussion during the public input phase of the hearing except to clarify points brought up. These `point of information' requests should be held to a minimum. 6. Once the public testimony phase is complete a motion to close the public hearing should be made and the council will revert back to its open discussion mode of operation. From that point forward public input will only be appropriate when solicited by the City Council. 7. If the motion contains conditions, as may occur in conditional use or variance requests, those conditions will be conveyed in writing to the requester by the appropriate department director. Process Ordinances and Resolutions 1. All ordinances or resolutions shall be presented in writing and may be passed at the meeting at which they are introduced. Process Maintaining Order The City Council has the authority to preserve order at council meetings. Individuals who are disorderly do not have the right to remain in the Council Chambers. When the right to attend an open meeting is abused, the Mayor or Presiding Officer (subject to being overruled by the City Council), shall order removal of the person from the room. If the Presiding Officer fails to act, the City Council may, by motion, issue such an order. Necessary force may be used, including use of a police officer, to carry out the mandate. If a person is excluded from a meeting, the City Council must provide an opportunity for that person to give his or her interpretation of events to the City Administrator to satisfy any due process concerns. If the entire audience becomes so unruly that it is impossible to conduct the meeting, the Mayor should move for a continuance of the meeting to some other time and place. ADOPTION /MODIFICATION /SUSPENSION These rules can be adopted, modified or suspended in whole or in part by a majority vote of the council. If suspended, they are automatically reinstated at the next meeting INTERPRETATION The chair will interpret the rules. However, the chair's interpretation can be appealed by any council member and can be overruled by a majority vote.