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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-035NOTE Amended by Ordinance No 90-026 NOTE Repealed by Ordinance No 2001-193 NO V -3S' AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF DENTON, TEXAS, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 76-48, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas, and the City Charter of the City of Denton, Texas, authorize the City Council of said City to promulgate and establish rules of procedure to govern and conduct meetings, order of business, decorum, etc , while acting as a legislative body representing said City, and WHEREAS, because of its desire to effectively and efficiently serve the public through the medium of public meetings it has become necessary to amend the guidelines relating to proper conduct of all parties present for such meetings, now, therefore, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS SECTION I Ordinance No 76-48 is hereby amended to read as follows 1 AUTHORITY 1 1 Charter Pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 07 of the Charter of the City of Denton, Texas, the City Council hereby enacts these rules of procedure for all meetings of the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas During any meeting a reasonable opportunity shall be given for citizens to be heard under these rules These Rules of Procedure are enacted as guidelines to be followed by all persons in the Council Chamber including the City Administrative Staff, news media, and visitors 2 GENERAL RULES 2 1 Meetings to be Public All official meetings of the Council, except executive meetings or sessions permitted by the Texas Open Meetings Law, and all sessions of a Committee of the Council shall be open to the public 2 2 Quorum Four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business (Charter, Section 2 06) 2 3 Compelling Attendance No member shall be excused from attendance at a Council meeting except for good and valid reasons 2 4 Misconduct The Council may punish its own members for misconduct 2 5 Minutes of Meetings An account of all proceedings of the Council shall be kept by the City Secretary and shall be entered in a book constituting the official record of the Council 2 6 Questions to Contain One Subject All questions submitted for a vote shall contain only one subject If two or more points are involved, any member may require a division, if the question reasonably admits of a division 2 7 Right of Floor Any member desiring to speak shall be recognized by the Chairman, and shall confine his or her remarks to the subject under consideration or to be considered No member shall be allowed to speak more than once on any one subject until every member wishing to speak shall have spoken 2 8 City Manager The City Manager, or Acting City Manager, shall attend all meeting of the Council unless excused He may make recommendations to the Council and shall have the right to take part in all discussions of the Council, but shall have no vote (Charter, Section 5 03(d)) 2 9 City Attorney The City Attorney, or Acting City Attorney, shall be available upon request for all meetings of the Council unless excused and shall, upon request, give an opinion, either written or oral, on questions of law The City Attorney shall act as the Council's Parliamentarian RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 2 2 10 City Secretary The City Secretary, or Acting City Secretary, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused, and shall keep the official minutes and perform such other duties as may be requested of him by the Council 2 11 Officers and Employees Any officer or employee of the City, when requested by the City Manager, shall attend any meeting of the Council If requested to do so by the City Manager, they may present information relating to matters before the Council 2 12 Rules of Order These rules govern the proceedings of the Council in all cases, except that where these rules are silent, the most recent Edition of Roberts Rules of Order revised shall govern 2 13 Suspension of Rules Any provision of these rules not governed by the City Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended by the affirmative vote of four members of the Council The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas and noes and entered in the minutes of the Council 2 14 Amendment of Rules These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by the affirmative vote of four members of the Council, provided that the proposed amendments or new rules shall have been introduced before the City Council at a prior Council meeting 3 CODE OF CONDUCT 3 1 Councilmembers (a) During Council meetings, Councilmembers shall preserve order and decorum and shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings nor refuse to obey the orders of the Mayor (or Chairman) or the rules of the Council (b) A councilperson, once recognized, shall not be interrupted while speaking unless called to order by the Mayor RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 3 (or Chairman), unless a point of order is raised by another member or the parliamentarian, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to questions from another member If a Councilperson is called to order while he is speaking, he 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 to be not in order, he shall remain silent or shall alter his remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council 3 2 Administrative Staff (a) Members of the administrative staff and employees of the City shall observe the same rules or procedure and decorum applicable to members of the Council, and shall have no voice unless and until recognized by the Chair (b) While the presiding officer shall have the authority to preserve decorum in meetings as far as staff members and City employees are concerned, the City Manager also shall be responsible for the orderly conduct and decorum of all City employees under his direction and control (c) The City Manager shall take such disciplinary action as may be necessary to insure that such decorum is preserved at all times by City employees in Council meetings (d) All remarks and questions addressed to the Council shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any individual member thereof (e) No staff member, other than a staff member having the floor, shall enter into any discussion either directly or indirectly without permission of the presiding officer 3 3 Citizens: (a) Citizens are welcome and invited to attend all meetings of the Council, and will be admitted to the Council Chamber up to the fire safety capacity of the room RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 4 (b) All citizens will refrain from private conversations in the Chamber while the Council is in session (c) Citizens attending Council meetings shall observe the same rules of proprietry, decorum, and good conduct applicable to the administrative staff Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous 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, and such person shall be barred from further audience before the Council during that session of the Council (d) Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of feet, whistles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be permittd by the presiding officer, who shall direct the Sergeant -at -Arms to remove such offenders from the room In case the presiding officer shall fail to act, any member of the Council may move to require him to act to enforce the rules, and the affirmative vote of four (4) members of the Council shall require the presiding officer to act (e) No placards, banners or signs of any kind will be permitted in the Council Chamber except exhibits, displays and visual aids used in connection with presentations to the Council provided that such exhibits, displays and visual aids do not disrupt the meeting 3 4 Enforcement The City Manager, in the absence of a designated law enforcement officer, shall act as Sergeant - at -Arms for the Council, and shall furnish whatever assistance is needed to enforce the rules of decorum herein established 3 5 Seating Arrangement The City Secretary, City Manager and City Attorney shall occupy the respective seats in the Council Chamber assigned to RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 5 them by the Mayor, but any two or more members of the Council may exchange seats 4 TYPES OF MEETINGS 4 1 Regular Meetings The Council shall meet at seven o'clock p m on the first and third Tuesday of each month or at any other times set by the Council, unless postponed or canceled for valid reasons All regular meetings of the Council will be held in the Municipal Building at 215 East McKinney Street 4 2 Special Meetings Special meetings may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager, or by any three members of the Council The call for a special meeting shall be filed with the City Secretary in written form, and he shall post notice thereof as provided by law 4 3 Emergency Meetings In case of emergency or urgent public necessity, which shall be expressed in the notice of the meeting, an emergency meeting may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager or by three members of the Council, and it shall be sufficient if the notice is posted two hours before the meeting is convened 4 4 Executive Meetings The Council may meet in an executive meeting or session pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Law (Article 6252-17, V T C S ) 4 5 Recessed Meetings Any meeting of the Council may be recessed to a later time, provided that no recess shall be for a longer period than until the next regular meeting 4 6 Notice of Meetings The agenda for all meetings shall be posted by the City Secretary on the City's official bulletin board and notice of all meetings shall be given by the City Secretary pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Law (Article 6252-17, V T C S ) RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 6 5 CHAIRMAN AND DUTIES 5 1 Chairman The Mayor, or in his absence, the Mayor Pro-Tem, shall preside as Chairman at all meetings of the Council In the absence of both the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem, the Council shall elect a temporary Chairman (Charter, Section 2 03) 5 2 Call to Order The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the Mayor, or in his absence, by the Mayor Pro-Tem In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro-Tem, the meeting shall be called to order by the City Secretary, and a temporary Chairman shall be elected as provided above 5 3 Preservation of Order The Chairman shall preserve order and decorum, and confine members in debate to the question under discussion The Chairman shall call upon the Sergeant -at -Arms as necessary to enforce compliance with the rules contained herein 5 4 Points of Order The Chairman shall determine all points of order, subject to the right of any member to appeal to the Council If any appeal is taken, the question shall be, "Shall the decision of the Chairman be sustained?" If a majority of the members presents vote "No", the ruling of the chair is overruled, otherwise, it is sustained 5 5 Questions to be Stated The Chairman shall state all questions submitted for a vote and announce the result A roll call vote shall be taken upon the request of any member, and upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions 5 6 Substitution for Chairman The Chairman may call any other member to take his place in the chair, such substitution not to continue beyond adjournment 5 7 Call for Recess The Chairman may call for a recess of up to fifteen (15) minutes at regular intervals of RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 7 approximately one hour at appropriate points in the meeting agenda, or if requested by any two members 6 ORDER OF BUSINESS 6 1 Agenda The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the agenda prepared by the City Manager The agenda shall be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Council Conduct of business at Special Meetings will likewise be governed by an agenda and rules of procedure contained herein 6 2 Presentations by Members of Council The agenda shall provide a time when the Mayor or any Councilperson may bring before the Council any business that he feels should be deliberated upon by the Council These matters need not be specifically listed on the agenda, but discussion and formal action on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent Council meeting 6 3 Presentation by Citizens Any person who wishes to place a subject on the Council agenda shall advise the City Manager's Office of that fact and the specified subject matter to which he desires to place on the agenda no later than 5 00 P M Wednesday prior to the Council meeting at which he wishes the designated subject to be considered Any person who wishes to address the Council without having made this preparation must have the unanimous consent of the Council and will be scheduled after all other regular business on the agenda has been completed This rule does not apply to anyone appearing at a public hearing in response to an official agenda notice 6 h Time Limit Speakers before the Council are requested to limit their remarks to five (5) minutes or less 6 5 Oral Presentations by City Manager Matters requiring the Council's attention or action which may have developed since the deadline for delivery of the written communication to RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 8 the Council may be presented orally by the City Manager If formal Council action on a subject is required, such action may be taken provided the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Law have been satisfied 7 CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS 7 1 Printed or Typewritten Form All ordinances and resolutions shall be presented to the Council in printed or typewritten form The Council may, by proper motion, amend any ordinance or resolution presented to it and direct that the amended ordinance be placed on the next Council Agenda for adoption 7 2 City Attorney to Approve All ordinances, resolutions, and contracts and amendments thereto, shall be approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney, or he shall file his written opinion on the legality of such ordinance, resolution or contract prior to submission to the Council (Charter, Section 6 02) 7 3 Distribution of Ordinances and Resolutions The City Manager shall prepare copies of all proposed ordinances and resolutions for distribution to all members of the Council at the meeting at which the ordinance or resolution is introduced, or at such earlier time as is expedient 7 4 Recording of Votes The ayes and noes shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions and the vote of each member shall be recorded in the minutes (Charter, Section 2 06(b)) 7 5 Majority Vote Required An affirmative vote of four (4) members is necessary to repeal any ordinance or take any official action in the name of the City except as otherwise provided in the Charter or by the laws of the State of Texas 7 6 Demand for Roll Call Upon demand of any member, the roll shall be called for yeas and noes upon any question before RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 9 the Council It shall not be in order for members to explain their vote during the roll call 7 7 Personal Privilege The right of a member 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 7 8 Dissents and Protests Any member shall have the right to express dissent from or protest against any ordinance or resolution of the Council and have the reason therefor entered upon the minutes Such dissent or protest may be filed in writing, and presented to the Council not later than the next regular meeting following the date of passage of the ordinance or resolution objected to 7 9 Voting Required No member shall be excused from voting except for lack of information and except on matters involving the consideration of his own official conduct, or where his personal interests are involved, and in these instances he shall abstain Any member prohibited from voting by personal interest shall announce at the commencement of consideration of the matter and shall not enter into discussion or debate on any such matter The member having briefly stated the reason for his request, the excuse from voting shall he made without debate 7 10 Order of Precedence of Motions (a) The following motions shall have priority in the order indicated 1 Adjourn (when unqualified) and is not debatable and may not be amended, 2 Take a recess (when privileged), 3 Raise a question of privilege, 4 Lay on the table, 5 Previous question (2/3 vote required), 6 Limit or extend limits of debate (2/3 vote required), RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE l0 7 Postpone to a certain time, 8 Commit or refer, 9 Amend, 10 Postpone indefinitely, 11 Main motion (b) The first two motions are not always privileged To adjourn shall lose its privilege character and be a main motion if in any way qualified To take a recess shall be privileged only when other business is pending (c) A motion to adjourn is not in order 1 When repeated without intervening business or discussion, 2 When made as an interruption of a member while speaking, 3 While a vote is being taken (d) Can be amended - others cannot be amended (e) A motion to amend shall be undebatable when the question to be amended is undebatable 7 11 Reconsideration A motion to reconsider any action of the Council can be made not later than the next succeeding official meeting of the Council Such a motion can only be made by a member who voted with the majority It can be seconded by any member No question shall be twice reconsidered, except by unanimous consent of the Council, except that action relating to any contract may be reconsiderd at any time before the final execution thereof 7 12 The Previous Question When the previous question is moved and seconded, it shall be put as follows "Shall the main question be now put?" There shall then be no further amendment or debate, but pending amendments shall be put in their order before the main question If the motion for the previous question is lost, the main question remains before the Council An affirmative vote of three/fifths of the Council RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 11 shall be required to move the previous question To demand the previous question is equivalent in effect to moving "that debate now cease, and the Council immediately proceed to vote on the pending motion" In practice, this is done with the phrase "Call for the Question", or simply saying "Question" 7 13 Withdrawal of Motions A motion may be withdrawn, or modified, by its mover without asking permission until the motion has been stated by the Chairman If the mover modifies his motion, the seconder may withdraw his second After the question has been stated, the mover shall neither withdraw it nor modify it without the consent of the Council 7 14 Amendments to Motions No motion or proposition of the subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be in order 7 15 Appropriations of Money Before formal approval by the Council of motions providing for appropriation of money, information must be presented to the Council showing the purpose of the appropriation In addition, before finally acting on such an appropriation, the Council shall obtain a report from the City Manager as to the availability of funds and his recommendations as to the desirability of the appropriation 7 16 Transfer of Appropriations At the request of the City Manager, and within the last three (3) months of the budget year, the Council may by resolution transfer an unencumbered balance of an appropriation made for the use of one department, division, or purpose, but no transfer shall be made of revenues of earnings of any nontax supported public utility to any other purpose RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 32 8 CREATION OF COMMITTEES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 8 1 Council Committees The Council may, as the need arises, authorize the appointment of "ad hoc" Council committees Any committee so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created or when abolished by a majority vote of the Council 8 2 Citizen Boards Commissions and Committees The Council may create other Committees, Boards, and Commissions to assist in the conduct of the operation of the City government with such duties as the Council may specify not inconsistent with the City Charter or Code Memberships and selection of members shall be as provided by the Council if not specified by the City Charter or Code Any Committees, Boards, or Commissions so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created, or when abolished by a majority of the vote of the Council No Committee so appointed shall have powers other than advisory to the Council or to the City Manager, except as otherwise specified by the Charter or Code 9 VOTES REQUIRED Questions on which the voting requirement is varied by the Charter, State Statutes and these rules are listed below 9 1 Charter and State Statutory Requirements (a) Charter Amendment - Five Votes Ordinances submitting proposed Charter amendments must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Council (Article XI, Section 3, Texas Constitution and Article 1165, Revised Civil Statutes) For a seven member Council, this means five members must vote affirmatively (b) Levying Taxes - Five Votes_ Ordinances providing for the assessment and collection of taxes require the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Council (Article 1033, Revised Civil Statutes ) RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 13 (c) Changing Paving Assessment Plans - Five Votes Changes in plans for paving assessment require a two-thirds vote of the Council (Article 1105b, Section 10, Revised Civil Statutes ) (d) Changes in Zoning Ordinance or Zoning Classifications In cases of a written protest of a change in a zoning regulation or zoning classification by the owners of twenty (20%) percent or more either of the area of the lots included in such proposed change, or of the lots immediately adjoining the same and extending two hundred feet (2001) therefrom, such amendment shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of three -fourths (3/4) of all members of the City Council six (6) votes of the City Concil is required to override the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission that a zoning change be denied 10 RULES SUSPENSION OR AMENDMENT 10 1 Suspension of Rules Any provision of these rules not governed by the City Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended by a majority vote of the Council The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas and noes and entered upon the record 10 2 Amendment of Rules These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by the affirmative vote of four (4) members of the Council, provided that the proposed amendments or new rules shall have been introduced into the record at a prior Council meeting 11 SEVERABILITY CLAUSE That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in this ordinance, or application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, and RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 14 the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity PASSED AND APPROVED this the day of MA'e�__, 1981 T / ,XTBWART; MAYOR CIT OF DE ON, TEXAS ATTE LT, CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM C J TAYLOR, JR , CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS BY RULES $ REGULATIONS PAGE 15