HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1997 1217 CC REG ITEM 10DNO •7
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AGENDA REPORT
CITY OF MOORPARK CTTy OF MOORPAR& CALIFORNIA
City Council Meeting
of 1�' 1 199.i
ACTION: AdEDf eSo.
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BY: Cf • ptoe
TO: The Honorable City Council
FROM: Lillian E. Hare, City Clerk
DATE: December 11, 1997 (CC meeting 12/17/97)
SUBJECT: CONSIDER ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. 97- RESCINDING
RESOLUTION 97 -1276 AND ADOPTING REVISED RULES OF
PROCEDURE
The Council considered their Rules of Procedure at the Council
meeting of November 19. Staff was directed to make changes to the
resolution to reflect the Council's discussion. To implement the
Council's direction, Sections 2.1, 2.6, 2.9, 2.11, 2.12, 10.2 and
13 have been revised and the changes shown in legislative format.
The document subsections will be renumbered when the legislative
formatting is removed in the final document.
Mayor Hunter has requested that the Council consider making two
additional changes to the Rules of Procedure as follows:
1. Change the order of business under Section 2.1, Agenda, to
reverse the order of public comments and reordering of, and
Additions to, the Agenda. This section would be rewritten to
add that during reordering, items to be pulled from the
Consent Calendar would be identified. This change would allow
the public and staff to know which items would be individually
considered by the Council.
2. Revise Section 2.3, Special Meeting Agenda Format, to state
that the order of business of special meeting agendas will be
consistent with the order of business of regular meeting
agendas. This will allow the public to comment (under the
public comment section) on items not listed on the special
meeting agenda, which is not presently allowed.
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Rules of Procedure
December 11, 1997
Page 2
If the Council concurs with the revisions requested by the Mayor in
1. and 2. above, staff will include the revisions in the Rules of
Procedure resolution.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution No.97- rescinding Resolution No. 97 -1276 and
revising the Rules of Procedure after determining whether to
include (1) revisions to the order of business relative to Public
Comment and Reordering of, and Additions to, the Agenda; and (2)
revising the format for special meeting agendas to be consistent
with regular meeting agendas.
Attachment: 1) Draft resolution
000389
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING RULES OF
PROCEDURE FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS AND RELATED
FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES AND RESCINDING
RESOLUTION NO. 95 -1163.
WHEREAS, Section 2.04.040 of the Moorpark Municipal
Code requires that the City Council adopt Rules of Procedure to
govern the conduct of its meetings and any of its other
functions and activities; and
WHEREAS, a Council Ad Hoc Committee has recommended
revisions to the Rules of Procedure and the Council has
concurred with the recommendations;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of
the City of Moorpark that Rules of Procedure for City Council
Meetings and Related Functions and Activities are hereby
adopted, to read as follows:
SECTION ONE. The Procedures of the City Council shall
be as follows:
1.1 Purpose:
The purpose and intent of the City Council in adopting
the within rules shall be to provide directory guidelines
relating to the conduct of the public business by the Council.
In the event of any non - compliance with, or violation of, any
provision herein, such shall not be deemed to affect the
validity of any action taken, unless otherwise specifically
provided by law.
1.2 Procedures in Absence of Rules:
In the absence of a rule herein to govern a point or
procedure, Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall be
used as a guide.
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2.1 Agenda:
The Order of Business of each meeting shall be as
contained in the Agenda prepared by the City Clerk. The Agenda
shall be a listing by topic of the items of business which
shall be transacted or discussed in the following order:
1. Call to Order
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
4. Proclamations and Commendations
5. Reordering of, and Additions to, the Agenda
6. Public Comments
7. Announcements and Future Agenda Items
8. Public Hearings
9. Presentations /Action /Discussion Items
10. Consent Calendar
11. Ordinances
12. Closed Session
(If none are scheduled to be held prior to the
Agenda deadline, then Agenda shall so indicate)
13. Adjournment
Items which require a roll call vote shall be so
noted on the agenda. Presentations /Action /Discussion items
which are judged by the City Manager to be of high priority
shall be indicated by an asterisk.
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Special Meeting agendas will not list public comment but
will carry the notation at the bottom of the agenda that the
public may speak regarding any item listed on the agenda as per
Section 54954.3(a) of the Government Code.
2.4 Delivery of Agenda:
Barring insurmountable difficulties, the Agenda shall be
delivered ordinarily to Councilmembers each Friday preceding
the meeting to which it pertains.
The Agenda shall also be available to the general public
after it is posted. Agenda reports will not be available to
the general public until after distribution to the Council.
2.5 Call to Order:
The meeting of the Council shall be called to order by
the Mayor or, in his or her absence, by the Mayor Pro Tem who
shall serve until the arrival of the Mayor. In the absence of
both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem, the meeting shall be
called to order by the City Clerk. The City Clerk shall
immediately call for the selection of a temporary Presiding
Officer who shall serve until the arrival of the Mayor or Mayor
Pro Tem or until adjournment.
2.6 Roll Call / Ouorum:
Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the
City Clerk shall call the roll of the Councilmembers and the
names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. The
order of roll call shall be alphabetical with the Mayor called
last. Unless otherwise provided for by law, a majority of the
Council shall constitute a quorum sufficient to do business.
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Proclamations and Commendations shall be limited to the
second regular meeting of the month.
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Except with majority consent of the Councilmembers
present and voting, items may not be taken out of order.
Any Councilmember, the City Manager, the City Attorney
or the City Clerk may bring to the attention of the Council new
items of business for discussion and action in the event of an
emergency situation or when the need to take immediate action
comes to the attention of the City subsequent to the posting of
the agenda, as specified in Government Code Section 54954.2. A
two - thirds vote of the Council, or, if less than two - thirds are
present, a unanimous vote of those who are present, is required
to add an item to the agenda.
In addition to having the opportunity to reorder the
agenda as order of business number 5, the Mayor shall suspend
the item under discussion at 10:30 p.m. in order that the
agenda may be reordered by majority vote of the Councilmembers
present and voting. The City Clerk will notify the Mayor that
the time for reordering the agenda has arrived.
2.9 Public Comments:
Any member of the public may address the Council on any
subject within the jurisdiction of the City Council which is
not listed on the Agenda as a public hearing or
Presentations /Action /Discussion item. Speakers will be heard
in the order that their speaker cards are received by the City
Clerk prior to the Call to Order of the meeting. A limitation
of 3 minutes shall be imposed upon each speaker. Speaker cards
must be presented in person by the person wishing to speak.
The passing of time from one speaker to another or speaking in
place of another speaker is not allowed. No speaker will be
allowed to speak after all speaker cards are called. By
majority vote of the Councilmembers present and voting, the
number of speakers shall be limited at any single meeting. The
speaker shall be governed by the rules of Sections 6.1, 6.2 and
6.3. Councilmembers shall reserve their comments and responses
until the end of the public comments period.
Speakers may be heard at greater length at the end of
the agenda by majority vote of the Councilmembers present and
voting. The City Clerk shall hold over to the next adjourned
regular or regular meeting, timely submitted speaker cards of
speakers who were not heard during the public comments period,
and those speakers shall be given priority in the order that
their speaker cards were originally received during the public
comments period of the next meeting.
Speakers at a regular meeting will not be allowed to
address the same subject at an adjourned meeting of the regular
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meeting at which they spoke, except by a four - fifth's majority
vote of the Council.
2.10 Consent Calendar:
Minutes of previous City Council meetings, items of a
routine nature and items recommended to be received and filed
shall be placed on the consent calendar. All items may be
approved by one blanket motion by unanimous vote of those
present and voting. However, a Councilmember may abstain from
voting on any consent calendar item without requesting its
withdrawal, and the City Clerk shall record any such abstention
in the minutes. An abstention shall be considered to be a vote
in favor of the motion for purposes of determining unanimous
consent.
Prior to a motion on the consent calendar, any
Councilmember may request that any item be withdrawn from the
consent agenda for separate consideration. Items withdrawn
from the consent calendar shall be considered immediately in
the order that they were withdrawn, provided that the
Councilmember who requested that an item be withdrawn may also
request that it be considered under the
Presentations /Action /Discussion items portion of the Agenda.
All such items shall be considered at the end of
Presentations /Action /Discussion items in the order that they
were withdrawn from the consent calendar.
2.11
Items shall be placed under this topic if (i) a public
hearing is required by law; (ii) the item is the consideration
of an application or an appeal; or (iii) the item has been set
for public hearing by the City Council.
Public hearings shall be conducted in the following
order:
Staff review
Questions of Staff by Council
Hearing Opened by Mayor
Testimony by Applicant
Other Public Testimony
Rebuttal by Applicant
Questions by Council
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Hearing Closed by Mayor
Discussion by Council
Action by Council
Any public hearing which is continued from one meeting
to another shall be placed first on the Agenda under Public
Hearings, and if more than one, shall appear in the same order
as shown on the previous Agenda. The order of the Agenda under
Public Hearings may not be changed, except with the unanimous
consent of the Councilmembers present. At the beginning of a
continued public hearing, the Mayor shall say that anyone who
spoke at the previous public hearing will be limited to three
minutes.
Questions or comments from the public shall be limited
to the item under consideration and the speaker shall be
governed by the provisions of Sections 6.1 and 6.2. Depending
upon the extent of the Agenda and the number of persons
desiring to speak on an item, the Mayor may, at the beginning
of the hearing, limit testimony, but in no event to less than 3
minutes per individual. Speaker cards must be presented in
person by the person wishing to speak. The passing of time
from one speaker to another or speaking in place of another
speaker is not allowed. An applicant's presentation shall be
limited to 30 minutes with consultant participation generally
limited to answering specific Council questions. Quasijudicial
hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the principles
of due process, and the City Attorney shall advise the City
Council in this regard of any modification of, or addition to,
the conduct of the hearing set forth in this subsection.
2.12 Presentations.lAction./Discussign Items:
Items that involve the establishment of City policy and
items of a non - routine nature shall be placed under this topic.
Presentations to the City Council by other public
agencies or groups will be listed first under the
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Presentations /Action /Discussion heading. Continued
Presentations /Action /Discussion items will appear in the order
they previously appeared, following presentations.
Discussion /Action items shall be conducted in the
following order:
Staff Review
Questions of Staff by Council
Public Comment
Discussion by Council
Action by Council
Questions or comments from the public shall be limited
to the item under consideration and the speaker shall be
governed by the provisions of Sections 6.1 and 6.2.
Speakers will be heard in the order that their speaker cards
are received by the City Clerk for the item during which the
speaker wishes to address the Council. However, a
proponent /applicant may be heard first during the public
comment of a Presentations /Action /Discussion item, if so
determined by the Mayor, but no rebuttal by the
proponent /applicant shall be allowed. All speaker cards for
all items must be received prior to the beginning of the first
item of the Presentations /Action /Discussion portion of the
agenda. A limitation of 3 minutes shall be imposed upon each
speaker. Speaker cards must be presented in person by the
person wishing to speak. The passing of time from one speaker
to another or speaking in place of another speaker is not
allowed. No speaker will be allowed to speak after all speaker
cards are called.
At the beginning of the Presentations /Action /Discussion
portion of the agenda, the Mayor will announce that all speaker
cards for all items on the Presentations /Action /Discussion
portion of the agenda must be received prior to the start of
the first item taken under this section of the agenda.
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Any Councilmember who has not previously requested
during the meeting to have an item placed on a future agenda
may do so under this topic.
2.14 Closed Session
A Closed Session to be held at the conclusion of a
meeting shall begin no later than 11:30 p.m. If it is
determined by the Mayor and City Manager that a Special meeting
for Closed Session is required prior to a Regular meeting to
help control the length of the Regular meeting, it shall begin
at 5:45 p.m. unless less time is anticipated to be needed.
3.1 Selection and Term:
The Mayor shall be the Presiding Officer at all meetings
of the Council, except as otherwise provided in Section 2.3.
The office of Mayor is an elective office with a two year term.
In accordance with Government Code Section 36801, the
Council shall meet on the Tuesday after certification of the
results of each general municipal election (even numbered
years) and shall also meet at the last regular meeting in
November of each odd numbered year to choose one of its number
as Mayor Pro Tem. Each selection shall be by three (3) or more
affirmative votes, and a failure to achieve such total of
affirmative votes shall be deemed a selection of the incumbent
to remain in office. Each person so selected shall serve until
a successor is chosen (at any time) by three (3) or more
affirmative votes.
In the case of a vacancy in the office of the Mayor for
any reason, said vacancy shall be filled in compliance with
State law.
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The Presiding Officer may move, second and debate from
the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are
imposed on all councilmembers. He shall be accorded all of the
rights and privileges of a councilmember.
The Presiding Officer is responsible for the maintenance
of order and decorum at all times. The head of the City's
police agency or his designee shall be ex- officio sergeant -at-
arms of the Council. He shall carry out all orders and
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instructions given him by the Presiding Officer for the purpose
of maintaining order and decorum in the Council Chambers.
The Presiding Officer shall decide all questions of
interpretation of these rules, points of order, maintenance of
order or other questions of procedure requiring rulings. Any
such decision shall be final and shall be binding and legally
effective (even though clearly erroneous) for purposes of the
item under consideration, unless overridden by a majority vote
of the Councilmembers present and voting. Any Councilmember
may seek to have the Presiding Officer's decision overridden by
moving the question "Shall the decision of the Presiding
Officer be sustained ?"
(a) Any Councilmember desiring to speak shall address
the chair and, upon recognition by the Presiding Officer, shall
confine himself to the item under debate.
(b) A Councilmember desiring to question the staff
shall address his question to the City Manager, City Attorney
or Department head, as appropriate, who shall be entitled
either to answer the inquiry himself or to designate some
member Of his staff for that purpose.
(c) A Councilmember, once recognized, shall not be
interrupted while speaking unless called to order by the
Presiding Officer, a point of order is raised by another
Councilmember pursuant to Section 3.4 or the speaker chooses to
yield to questions from another Councilmember.
(d) Any Councilmember called to order while he is
speaking shall cease speaking immediately until the question of
order is determined. If ruled to be in order he shall be
permitted to proceed. If ruled out of order he shall remain
silent or shall alter his remarks so as to comply with the
rules.
(e) Councilmember shall accord the utmost courtesy to
each other, to City employees, and to the public appearing
before the Council. They shall refrain at all times from rude
and derogatory remarks, abusive comments and statements as to
integrity, motives or personalities.
(f) The right of a Councilmember to address the Council
on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases
in which his integrity, character, or motives are assailed,
questioned or impugned.
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(g) Any Councilmember may move to require the Presiding
Officer to enforce the rules. The affirmative vote of a
majority of the Council present and voting shall require him to
so act.
4.2 Limitation of Debate:
A Councilmember should not speak more than once upon any
one item until every other member choosing to speak thereon has
spoken. No member shall speak for a longer time than 5 minutes
each time he has the floor, without the approval of a majority
vote of the Council present and voting.
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Any Councilmember shall have the right to express
dissent from, or protest to, any action of the Council and to
have the reason entered in the minutes. If such dissent or
protest is desired to be entered in the minutes, this should be
made clear by language such as, "I would like the minutes to
show that I am opposed to this action for the following
reasons. . . ."
4.4 Conflict of Interest:
Any Councilmember prevented from voting on an item
because of a conflict of interest shall refrain from the
discussion and vote. Such member should leave the Council dais
immediately after announcing the conflict.
(a) Members of the staff and employees of the City
shall observe the same rules of procedure and decorum
applicable to members of the Council.
(b) The City Manager shall insure that all staff
members and employees observe such decorum.
(c) Any staff member or employee, including the City
Manager, desiring to address the Council or members of the
public shall first be recognized by the Chair. All remarks
shall be addressed to the Chair and not to any one individual
Councilmember or member of the public.
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SECTION 6. CONDUCT OF THE PUBLIC
6.1 Decorum and Order:
(a) Members of the public attending Council meetings
shall observe the same rules of order and decorum applicable to
the Council pursuant to Section 4.1.
(b) Wilful conduct that is disruptive, including but
not limited to, unauthorized remarks from the audience,
stamping of feet, whistles, yells and similar demonstrations
shall be prohibited by the Presiding Officer. Any person who
becomes wilfully disruptive while addressing the Council or
while attending the Council meeting shall be removed from the
room if the sergeant -at -arms is so directed by the Presiding
Officer. Aggravated cases shall be prosecuted on appropriate
complaint signed by the Presiding Officer.
No person shall address the Council without being
recognized by the Presiding Officer. Any member of the public
desiring to address the Council shall proceed to the podium and
wait to be recognized by the Presiding Officer. After being
recognized, the speaker shall state his name and address for
the record. All remarks and questions shall be addressed to
the Chair and not to any individual Councilmember, staff member
or other person.
The making of oral communications to the Council by any
member of the public during the "Public Comments" portion of
the Agenda shall be subject to the following limitations:
(a) No speaker shall be permitted to address the
Council under "Public Comments" on a public hearing item which
is on the agenda or which is not on the Agenda but which has
been scheduled or is under submission for a public hearing
before the Council.
(b) No speaker shall be permitted to address the
Council under "Public Comments" on a Presentations/
Action /Discussion item which is on the agenda.
(c) No speaker shall be permitted to address the
Council on an item which is currently before or is under
submission for consideration by a City commission, board,
committee or officer before which the speaker should make his
presentation, until that body has completed its deliberations
and taken its final action. In case the speaker should have
followed an otherwise available appeal procedure, the Presiding
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Officer shall not allow oral communication to the Council
outside that procedure.
(d) No speaker shall be permitted to include charges or
complaints against any employee of the City, or any employee of
a private firm or public agency providing a contract service to
the City, regardless of whether such employee is identified in
the presentation by name or by any other reference which tends
to identify the employee. All charges or complaints against an
employee shall be submitted to the City Manager for appropriate
action, and may also be submitted to members of the Council by
written communication.
(e) If it appears that several speakers desire to speak
regarding any item on the Agenda, the Presiding Officer may
reasonably limit the number of speakers on each side of the
issue. In this regard, preference may be given to speakers who
represent groups of persons who have designated a spokesperson.
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Video or audiotape, slide or similar presentation will
be disallowed unless relative to an item on the agenda. The
audio or videotape, slide or similar presentation must be made
by the person or agency making the presentation. The Council
may limit the total amount of time allocated for presentations
on particular issues and for each speaker. The same
limitations that govern speakers under Sections 2.7, 2.9 and
2.10 shall apply. Presentations shall be limited to the subject
matter jurisdiction of the Council. Those items not germane to
the agenda will be disallowed.
When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be stated
by the Presiding Officer or, at the request of the Presiding
Officer, by the City Clerk before debate. A motion so stated
shall not be withdrawn by the mover without the consent of the
person seconding it.
If the motion contains two or more divisible
propositions, the Presiding Officer may, and upon request of
any Councilmember shall, divide the same, unless a majority of
the Councilmembers present and voting votes not to do so.
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7.3 Precedence of Motions:
When a motion is before the Council, no motion shall be
entertained except the following, which shall have precedence
in the following order.
The ordinary motions rank as follows, and any
of them (except to amend) can be made while one of
a lower order is pending, but none can supersede
one of a higher order. Motions to limit
discussion, to call the question and to suspend
the rules require a two - thirds vote; all other
motions require only a majority vote:
Not Debatable:
To Fix the Time of Adjournment )
To Adjourn (when unqualified) ) Cannot
To Table ) be
To Limit Discussion (2/3 vote) ) Amended
To Call the Question (2/3 vote) )
To Suspend the Rules (2/3 vote) )
Debatable:
To Postpone to a Certain Time )
To Commit or Refer to Committee ) Can be
To Amend ) Amended
To Postpone Indefinitely )
The Motion to Reconsider: the motion can
be made when any other motion is before
the assembly, but cannot be acted upon
until the business then before the
assembly is disposed of; when called up,
it takes precedence over all other
motions, except to adjourn, and to fix
the time to which to adjourn.
Motions incidental to those before the
assembly take precedence over them and
must be acted upon first.
Such a motion shall be to set a definite time at
which to adjourn and may be amended by unanimous vote.
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Such a motion shall be in order at any time, except
as follows:
(a) When repeated without intervening business or
discussion;
(b) When made as an interruption of another
Councilmember while speaking;
(c) When discussion has been ended and vote on the
motion is pending; or
(d) While a vote is being taken.
A motion to adjourn "to another time" shall be
debatable, but only as to the time to which the meeting is
adjourned.
Such a motion shall be used to temporarily bypass
the subject and shall preclude all amendments or debate of
the subject under consideration. If the motion prevails,
the item may be "taken from the table" at any time prior to
the end of the next regular meeting.
Such a motion shall be used to limit the time
allowed each Councilmember to peak to, or to appoint a time
at which discussion shall close on, the question of the main
motion and any previously made amendment to the main motion.
If a motion to limit the time allowed each member to speak
passes, no member shall thereafter speak more than two times
to the question nor longer than the time allowed at either
time and no member shall speak the second time until every
member choosing to speak has spoken.
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Such a motion shall be used to close debate on, and
further amendment to, the main motion. If the motion fails,
debate shall be reopened; if the motion passes, a vote shall
next be taken on any previously made amendments to the main
motion and finally on the main motion.
Such a motion shall be used to suspend these rules
of procedure and shall include a statement of the purpose of
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the suspension. If the motion fails, the motion shall not
be renewed for the same purpose at the same meeting, but it
may be renewed for the same purpose at an adjourned meeting
of that meeting.
7.10 Motion to Postpone to a Certain Time:
Such a motion shall be amendable and debatable only
as to propriety of postponement and time set.
Such a motion shall be debatable only as to the
amendment. A motion to amend an amendment shall be in
order, but a motion to amend an amendment to an amendment
shall not be in order. An amendment modifying the intention
of a motion shall be in order, but an amendment relating to
a different matter shall not be in order. A substitute
motion on the same subject shall be acceptable, and voted on
before a vote on the amendment. Amendments shall be voted
first, then the main motion as amended.
Any Councilmember who voted with the majority may
move a reconsideration of any vote at the same meeting or
request an agenda item on the next regular meeting or
request a special meeting called to be held prior to the
next regular meeting to consider reconsideration. The
agenda item to appear on Discussion /Action as a two -part
item, e.g.,
Consider Reconsideration of
Reconsideration of vote on
After a motion for reconsideration has once been acted upon,
no other motion for a reconsideration thereof shall be made
without unanimous consent of the Council.
8.1 Restatement of the Motion:
Upon the request of any Councilmember, the
Presiding Officer shall verbally restate each motion
immediately prior to calling for the vote.
In acting upon every motion,
taken by voice, roll call or any other
vote of each Councilmember present can
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the vote shall be
method by which the
be clearly
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ascertained. The vote on each motion shall then be entered
in full upon the record. The order of voting shall be the
maker of the motion, the second and then the remaining
Councilmembers alphabetically, with the Mayor called last.
The Clerk shall call the names of all members seated when a
roll call vote is ordered or required. Members shall
respond 'aye', 'no' or 'abstain', provided that when a vote
is collectively taken by voice or when a method of voting
other than by voice or roll call is used, any Councilmember
not audibly and clearly responding 'no' or 'abstain' or
otherwise registering an objection shall have his vote
recorded as 'aye'.
Following the vote, the Presiding Officer shall
verbally announce whether the motion carried or was
defeated. The Presiding Officer may also publicly state the
effect of the vote for the benefit of the audience before
proceeding to the next item of business.
Any member may change his vote before the next item
of business is called.
8.3 Roll Call Voting:
The following matters require three affirmative
votes: a) adoption of ordinances, b) resolutions granting
franchises and c) resolutions and orders for payment of
money or appropriation of fund; a roll call vote shall be
used for these items. A roll call vote shall not be used
for any other item before the Council unless demanded by any
Councilmember. It shall not be in order for members to
explain their vote during roll call.
8.4 Failure to Vote:
Every Councilmember should vote unless disqualified
for cause. A Councilmember who abstains from voting on an
item because of being disqualified shall be considered as if
absent.
8.5 Tie Votes:
When no Councilmember abstains from voting, the
motion shall be lost on a tie vote. Any member who abstains
and is not considered absent shall be deemed to have
acquiesced to the motion and the motion shall be passed on a
tie vote.
When all Councilmembers are present, a tie vote on
whether to grant an appeal from official action or on a
quasi - judicial matter shall be considered a denial of such
appeal or matter, unless the Council takes other action to
further consider the appeal or matter. If a tie vote
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results at a time when less than all members of the Council
are present, the matter shall automatically be continued to
the agenda of the next regular meeting of the Council,
unless otherwise ordered by the Council.
SECTION 9. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTTONS
9.1 Definition:
The legislative acts of the Council (rules of
public conduct for long -term application) are taken by
ordinance.
Routine business and administrative matters
(usually more temporary and transitory in nature) are
accomplished by "resolution ", "minute order" or "motion"
(thereafter recorded by minute entry). Technically, all
three are equally as legally effective and binding; they
just vary in the formality of respective memorialization.
The most formal is referred to as a "resolution ", which will
be recorded by a separate document, numbered in sequence and
preserved in a separate set of books, in addition to being
referenced in the minutes. Such "resolutions" are used for
various reasons, such as when specifically required by law,
when needed as a separate evidentiary document to be
transmitted to another governmental agency, or where the
frequency of future reference back to its contents warrants
a separate document. The "motion" or "minute order" is a
Council action which is recorded simply by an item entry in
the minutes of the meeting at which it was accomplished, and
no separate document is made to memorialize it. The City
Clerk is empowered by State law to furnish certified
excerpts of the minutes in order to facilitate the
administrative process to which a particular action
pertains.
9.2
All ordinances shall be read in full either at the
time of introduction or passage, unless, after reading the
title, further reading is waived by a majority vote of the
Councilmembers present and voting.
When a resolution has been prepared in advance, it
need not be read in full or by title, except to identify it.
A majority vote of the Councilmembers present and voting
will require that the resolution be read in full.
When an ordinance of resolution has not been
prepared in advance, the Council, by majority vote of the
members present and voting, shall instruct the City Manager
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or the City Attorney to prepare it for presentation at a
specified later time in the same meeting or at a future
Council meeting.
A resolution may be presented verbally in motion
form, together with instructions for written preparation for
later execution, in an emergency situation or when the need
to take immediate action came to the attention of the City
subsequent to the posting of the agenda, as specified in
Government Code Section 54954.2. A two - thirds vote of the
Council, or, if less than two - thirds are present, a
unanimous vote of those who are present, is required to add
a resolution to the agenda. Such resolutions shall not be
presented when resolutions are required by law, in
improvement acts, zoning matters, or force account work on
public projects.
The City Manager or designee is authorized to
receive and open all written communications addressed to the
Council as a whole and give it immediate attention to the
end that all administrative business referred to in said
communications, and not necessarily requiring Council
action, may be disposed of between Council meetings. The
City Manager shall cause a copy of such communication to be
sent to each Councilmember.
INFAMON 93 . —I r"7 I I I Its I 1 •1
Any written communication received at City Hall
addressed to the Mayor and /or an individual Councilmember
shall be opened by the City Manager or his designee and a
copy of such communication shall be provided to each of the
other members.
Any Councilmember who receives any
written communication on any subject related to the business
of the City, whether or not received at City Hall, shall
cause a copy to be provided to the City Clerk who shall
cause a copy of such communication to be sent to each of the
other members.
All outgoing Councilmember correspondence created
will be copied to the fn±3:
Council in their reading file
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::.;; .PO.IO Letters produced by City staff for
Councilmembers will be created on official City letterhead
only.
• n 11 •
Any such communication which relates to an item
pending or to be brought before the Council shall be
included in the agenda packet for the meeting at which such
item is to be considered. If a Councilmember generates an
agenda item, the Councilmember will prepare a brief, written
explanation including action /recommendation to the full
Council. All agenda staff reports will be provided to the
full Council with the distribution of the agenda.
Regardless of the source, it will take a four -
fifth's majority vote of the Council to accept additional
agenda material on the day of the Council meeting at which
the item is to be considered.
All materials distributed by any person during a
public meeting related to the subject matter being discussed
or considered will be made available for public inspection
at the meeting if prepared by City staff or a member of the
Council, or after the meeting, if the materials were
prepared by some other person in accordance with Section
54957.5 (b) of the Brown Act.
written communication for a non public hearing
agenda item presented at the meeting for reading will be
acknowledged by the Mayor but not read. The Mayor will note
general content, and whether the content of the
communication is in opposition or support of an agenda item.
Written communication relative to a public hearing
item, if presented prior to the close of the business day,
will be copied for the Council, applicant, and the public
agenda binder.
The public shall tender a written request to the
City Manager and /or the Mayor regarding the placement on the
agenda of any items. The City Manager and Mayor will then
discuss and determine the appropriateness of the requested
item being placed on a future agenda.
Letters of appeal from administrative or commission
decisions shall be processed under applicable provisions of
the Municipal Code or other ordinance.
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000408
10.4 Research
Any research requested by an individual
Councilmember that results in a written response from staff
will be copied to all Councilmembers. This is not meant to
include copies of documents on file.
11.1 Schedule:
In addition to regularly scheduled meetings as set
forth in Ordinance No. 85, an adjourned meeting will be held
on the second Wednesday of the month as needed. The fourth
Wednesday will only be scheduled when required for meetings
with special purposes or for a study session on a complex
issue as determined by the Mayor and the City Manager.
The City Clerk will annually review the Rules of
Procedure with the Mayor and City Manager.
SECTION 13, Resolution No. 95 -i±63 is
......:......:..:...:...:.
hereby repealed.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 5th day of November, 1997.
ATTEST:
City Clerk
c:myfiles \lh \reports \procedur.97
Patrick Hunter, Mayor
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