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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-048NOTE Repealed by Ordinance No 2001-193 NO 1 b- 0 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF DENTON, TEXAS, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND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 proce- dure 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 be- come 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 All meetings of the City Council are open to the public, and during any meeting a reasonable opportunity shall be given for citi- zens to be heard under the rules set forth below The Rules of Pro- cedure hereby enacted establish guidelines to be followed by all persons in the Council Chamber including the City Administrative Staff, news media, and visitors 1 AUTHORITY 1 1 Charter Section 2 07 of the Charter of the City of Denton provides that the Council shall determine its own rules of procedure for meetings The following set of rules shall be in effect upon their adoption by the Council and until such time as they are amended or new rules adopted in the manner provided for by these rules 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 public [Charter, Section 2 05(d)) 2 2 Quorum Three members of the Council shall consti- tute a quorum [Charter, Section 2 061 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 sub - matted 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 Man- ager, shall attend all meetings 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 parlimentarian 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- 2 11 Officers and Employees Any officer or employee of the City, when requested by the City Manager, shall attend any meet- ing of the Council If requested to do so by the City Manager, they may present information relating to matters before the City Council 2 12 Rules of Order. These rules govern the proceedings of the Council in all cases, and where such rules are silent, Roberts Rules of Order 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 a four -fifths vote of all members of the Council The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas and noes and entered upon the record 2 14 Amendment of Rules These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by a ma3ority vote of all members of the Council, provided that the proposed amendments or new rules shall have been introduced into the record at a prior Council meeting 3 CODE OF CONDUCT 3 1 Council Members (a) During Council meetings, Council Members 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 (or Chairman), unless a point of order is raised by another member or the parliamentarian, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to ques- tions 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 re- main silent or shall alter his remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council -3- 3 2 Administrative Staff (a) Members of the administrative staff and employees of the City shall observe the same rules of 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 auth- ority to preserve decorum in meetings as far as staff members and City employees are concerned, the City Manager also shall be respon- sible 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 indivi- dual member thereof (e) No staff member, other than a staff member having the floor, shall enter into any discussion either directly or in- directly 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 (b) All citizens will refrain from private conversations in the Chamber while the Council is in session (c) Citizens attending Council meetings also 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 -4- 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, stamp- ing of feet, whistles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be permitted by the presiding officer, who shall direct the Sergeant - at -Arms to remove such offenders from the room Aqgravated cases shall be prosecuted on appropriate complaint signed by the presiding officer In case the presiding officer shall fail to act, any mem- ber of the Council may move to require him to act to enforce the rules, and the affirmative vote of the ma3ority 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 pro- vided 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 enforce- ment 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 them by the Mayor, but any two or more members of the Council may ex- change 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 for valid reasons -5- All regular meetings of the Council will be held in the Municipal Building at 215 East McKinney 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 meet- ing, an emergency meeting may be called by the Mayor, the City Man- ager 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 execu- tive 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 pur- suant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Law [Article 6252-17, V T C S ] 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 the Mayor Pro-Tem, the Council shall elect a temporary Chairman [Charter, Section 2 031 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 tem- porary 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 mem- bers present vote "No", the ruling of the chair is overruled, other- wise, 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 pass- age 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 approximately one hour at appropriate points in the meeting agenda, or if requested by any two members 6 ORDER OF BUSINESS 6 1 Amanda The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the Agenda prepared by the City Manager and reviewed by two representatives of the Council (Agenda Committee) In the in- terest of time and efficiency, the Agenda Committee may postpone items in an effort to hold an agenda to a reasonable length, and the person requesting the deleted agenda item shall be notified No agenda item may be postponed past the next regular Council meetincr unless such further postponement is with the consent of the person requesting such agenda item The Agenda shall be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Council, and shall be delivered to members of the Council each Friday preceding the regular meeting to which it per- tains Conduct of business at Special Meetings will likewise be -7- 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 Agenda Deadline Any person desiring to present a sub- ject for the Council's consideration shall advise the City Manager's office of that fact not later than 12 00 noon o'clock on Thursday preceding the meeting at which he wishes the subject to be considered 6 4 Presentation by Citizens Any person who wishes to address the Council shall advise the City Secretary's office of that fact and the specific subject matter to which he desires to speak no later than 12 00 noon Thursday 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 notice 6 5 Time Limit Citizen speakers will limit remarks to five (5) minutes Upon written request to the City Secretary five (5) days in advance of the Council meeting at which the speaker wishes to appear, the time limit may be extended to fifteen (15) minutes if approved by the Chairman Longer extensions will be granted only by a majority vote of the Council 6 6 Communications to Mayor and Council The City Manager shall provide the Council with an analysis of major items to be acted go upon by the Council at its meetings These communications shall be delivered to Council members each Friday preceding the Tuesday meet- ings at which they will be discussed, unless an emergency condition makes it necessary to deliver the communications on a subsequent day 6 7 Oral Presentations by City Manager Matters requiring the Council's attention or action which may have detention or action which may have developed since the deadline for delivery of the written communication to the Council, may be presented orally by the City Manager If formal Council action on a sub3ect 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 reso- lutions shall be presented to the Council only in printed or type- written form The Council may, by proper motion, amend any ordinance or resolution presented to it 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 [Charter, Section 6 021 7 3 Distribution of Ordinances and Resolutions The City Manager shall prepare copies of all proposed ordinances and resolu- tions 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 three (3) members is necessary to repeal any ordinance or take any offi- cial action in the name of the City except as otherwise provided in the Charter or by the laws of the State of Texas (Charter, Section 2 06(a)] 7 6 Demand for Roll Call Upon demand of any member, made before the negative has been put (calling for the negative vote on the question), the roll shall be called for yeas and nays upon any question before 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 vot- ing 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 that he is abstaining from voting on the matter and shall not enter into discussion or de- bate on any such matter The member having briefly stated the rea- son for his request, the excuse from voting shall be made without debate 7 10 Order of Precedence of Motions (a) The following motions shall have priority in the order indicated 1 Adjourn (when privileged) 2 Take a recess (when privileged) 3 Raise a question of privilege -10- 4 Lay on the table 5 Previous question (2/3 vote required) 6 Limit or extend limits of debate (2/3 vote required) 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 ad- journ 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 offi- cial 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 mem- ber No question shall be twice reconsidered, except by unanimous consent of the Council, except that action relating to any contract may be reconsidered 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 shall be required to move the previous question To demand the previous question is equivalent in effect -11- 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 a 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 appropria- tion In addition, before finally acting on such an appropriation, the Council shall obtain a report from the City Manager as to the avail- ability of funds and his recommendations as to the desirability of the appropriation 7 16 Transfer of Appropriations Upon the written recommen- dation of the City Manager, the Council may at any time transfer an unencumbered balance of an appropriation made for the use of one depart- ment, division, or purpose, but no transfer shall be made of revenues or earnings of any nontax supported public utility to any other purpose S 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 commit- tee 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 -12- 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 vote of the Council. No Committee so appointed shall have powers other than advisory to the Council or to the City Manager, except as other- wise 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 - Four Votes Ordinances submitting proposed Charter amend- ments must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Council (Article XI, Section 3, Texas Constitution and Article 11650 Revised Civil Statutes] For a five member Council, this means four members must vote affirmatively, as three -fifths is less than two-thirds, hence a four -fifths vote of all the members is required (b) Levying Taxes - Four Votes Ordinances providing for the assessment and col- lection of taxes require the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Council [Article 1033, Revised Civil Statutes] (c) Changing Paving Assessment Plans - Four Votes Changes in plans for paving assessment require a two-thirds vote of the Council wised Civil Statutes] [Article 1105b, Section 10, Re - -13- (d) Changes in Zoning Ordinance - Four Votes Changes in Zoning Classifications, where a hear- ing is held by the Council and such change is protested by owners of twenty (20%) percent or more of the area within 200 feet of the affected property, must have the approval of four (4) members of the Council [Article 101le, Revised Civil Statutes and the Revised Zoning Ordinance] A four -fifths vote of the total membership shall be required to override a decision of the Planning and Zoning Com- mission except as otherwise provided in the Charter or by the general laws of the State of Texas [Charter, Section 2 06(a)] 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 a majority vote of members of the Council pre- sent, 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 per- son or circumstances is held invalid by any court of competent juris- diction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, and 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 19th day of October, A D 1976 ATTEST jF�OOKS OfTi LT—, C Y SECRETARY VE�AS T� GAL FORM PAUL C ISHAM, CITY AT ORNEY ELINOR HUGHES, YAYOR -14- ORDINANCE NO 409 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183 AND SECTION 2-29 OF THE CITY CODE RELATING TO RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AND ALL AMENDING ORDINANCES AND REPEALING AND CONSOLIDATING ORDINANCES 76-48, 81-35, 90-026, 90-150, 90-150, 92 115, 93-073, 94- 183, 96-045, 96-057, 96-085, 96-257, 98-246, 98-325, 98-415, 99-028 AND 2000-420, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas, and Section 2 07 of 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 and decorum while acting as a legislative body representing said City, and WHEREAS, because of its desire to more effectively and efficiently serve the public through the medium of public meetings, it has become necessary to amend and consolidate all amendments of the City Council Rules of Procedure, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS SF(MON 1. That Ordinance Numbers 94-183, 96-045, 96-057, 96-085, 96-257, 98-246, 98-325, 98-415, 99-028, and 2000-420 and Section 2 29 of the City Code (Rules 6-2-6-7)are hereby amended and consolidated into one Ordinance known as the Denton City Council Rules of Procedure to read as follows 1 1 Charter. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 2 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 21 Meetings to he Public All official meetings of the Council and Council committees and subcommittees, except closed meetings permitted by the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons Annotated Texas Civil Statutes 1999 (Vemons), as amended, shall be open to the public s \W W m ce\o ai(b c \m\C UUSOS m a PAGE 1 22 Quomm Four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business (Charter, Section 2 06) 23 Compelling Attendance No member shall be excused from attendance at a Council meeting except for good and valid reasons 24 Misconduct The Council may punish its own members for misconduct 25 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 A certified agenda shall be prepared for all closed meetings and shall be approved by the Mayor in accordance with Chapter 552, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vernon 1999), as amended 26 Questions to Contain One. Subject All questions submitted for a vote shall contain one subject, except the City Council may approve all items which are on the consent agenda in one motion, regardless of how many subjects are contained in the consent agenda, so long as all items have been properly posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and have not been removed from the consent agenda by a Councihnember If two or more points are involved, any member may require a division, if the question reasonably admits of a division 27 Right of Floor Any member desiring to speak shall be recognized by the Chairperson, 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 28 City Manager The City Manager, or Acting City Manager, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused He or she 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)) 29 City A_ ttom T 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 210 City Seeretary 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 by the Council 211 Ofticerc 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, such employee may present information relating to matters before the Council s \w Doom \o di \oi\ttnm,e RDOI a PAGE 2 212 Rulec 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 Robert's Rules of Order revised shall govern 213 4uSp nc,nne_ of Rules Any provision of these rules not governed by the City Charter or Code may be temporanly suspended by the affirmative vote of four members of the Council The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas or nays and entered into the minutes of the Council 214 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 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 observe the rules of the Council b A Councihnember, once recognized shall not be interrupted while speaking unless called to order by the Mayor or presiding officer, 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 Councilmember is called to order while he or she is speaking, he or she shall cease speaking immediately until the question of order is determined If ruled to be in order, he or she shall be pemutted to proceed If ruled not to be in order he or she shall remain silent or shall alter ins or her remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council a Members of the Admuustrative 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 authonty 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 lus or her 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 s \W M � tl\o di \ui\ecnm.se "Ot a PAGE 3 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 pernussion of the presiding officer 33 Citizens a Citizens and other visitors are welcome to attend all public meetings of the City Council, and will be admitted to the City Council Chamber or other room in which the City Council is meeting, up to the fire safety capacity of the room b All meeting attendees shall conduct themselves with propriety and decorum Conversations between or among audience members should be conducted outside the meeting room Attendees will refrain from excessively loud private conversations while the Council is in session c Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of the feet, applauding, whistles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be permitted d Placards, banners, or signs will not be permitted in the City Council Chamber or in any other room in which the City Council is meeting Exhibits, displays, and visual aids used in connection with presentations to the City Council, however, are permitted e Audience members may not place their feet on any chairs in the City Council Chamber or other room in which the City Council is meeting f Only City Council members and City staff may step on to the dais g All people wishing to address the City Council shall first be recognized by the presiding officer and shall limit their remarks to the matter under discussion h All remarks and questions addressed to the City Council shall be addressed to the City Council as a whole and not to any individual members i Any person addressing the City Council in the City Council Chamber shall do so from the lectern unless physically unable to do so People addressing the City Council shall not be permitted to approach the dais If they wish to hand out papers or other materials to the City Council, they should express that desire to the presiding officer, and the City Manager shall direct a staff member to hand out s \w oo� ce\Drain ,Old.ESMD01 a i .,TIH the materials When the time has expired for a presentation to the City Council, the presiding officer shall direct the person speaking to cease A second request from the presiding officer to cease speaking shall be cause of the removal of the speaker if that person continues to speak k Equipment, apparatus, or paraphernalia such as camera tripods, easels, or wheelchairs shall not obstruct, block, or otherwise be located in the doorway, entranceway, or walkways of the City Council Chambers or of any other room in which the City Council may choose to meet Representatives of the electronic media may setup cameras and other equipment only in the back of the room It is permissible for television camera operators to film for short periods of time (several minutes) from the entranceway to the City Council Chambers using hand- held cameras only Any radio station, which broadcasts the regular City Council meetings live may hook their equipment up at the front of the room as long as it remains out of sight and out of the way There will be a uniformed City of Denton police officer present at all regular meetings of the City Council This police officer shall act in the capacity of a security officer/sergeant-at-arms, and shall enforce the meeting rules and act upon the direction of the presiding officer in Any person making personal, impertinent, profane, or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the City Council or who otherwise violates any of the above -mentioned rules while attending a City Council meeting shall be removed from the room at the direction of the presiding officer, and the person shall be barred from further audience before the City Council during that session of the City Council If the presiding officer fails to act, any member of the City Council may move to require the offending person's removal, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the City Council shall require the presiding officer to act The sergeant -at -anus, if so directed by the presiding officer or an affirmative vote of the majority of the City Council, shall remove the offending person from the meeting 34 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 35 SeAting Arrangement The City Secretary, City Manager and City Attorney shall occupy the respective seats in the Council Chamber assigned to them by the Mayor, but any two or more members of the Council may exchange seats s \w .o me \o av \oi\ccRMUORDOJ a PAGE 5 41 Rzgu r Meetings The Council shall meet at six o clock p in on the first and third Tuesday of each month, with executive sessions (closed meetings) of the Council commencing at five fifteen o'clock p in , or at any other time set by the Council, unless the meeting is postponed or cancelled for valid reasons All regular meetings of the Council will be held in the Municipal Building at 215 East McKinney Street, or at such other location as the City Council may, by motion, resolution or ordinance from time to time designate 42 Sn ..,Pr l Meeting 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 or she shall post notice thereof as provided by the Texas Open Meetings Act, [Chapter 55] TEX GOV'T CODE ANN , (Vernon 1999, as amended) The Mayor, City Manager, or three of the council members may designate a location for the special meeting other than the Municipal Building as long as the location is open to the public 43 Workshop Meetings Workshop meetings or work sessions may be called using the same procedure required for special meetings (See Sec 4 2) The purpose of the workshop meeting is to discuss or explore matters of interest to the City to meet with City Board, Commission, or Committee Members, City staff or officers of civic organizations, governing bodies or individuals specifically invited to the session by the Mayor, Council or City Manager These meetings are informational and normally, no final action shall be taken unless the posted agenda indicates otherwise Citizens or other interested persons attending the work session will not be allowed to participate in the session unless invited to do so by the Mayor Citizens should be advised of the nature of the work session and that their input may be received and considered at a regularly scheduled council meeting where the agenda provides for final action to be taken on the matter The purpose of tlus procedure is to allow the citizens attending the regular meeting the opportunity of hearing the views of their fellow citizens in a more formal setting Any citizen may supply the City Council a written statement or report regarding the citizen's opinion on a matter being discussed in a work session If the Mayor invites citizens to participate in a work session, their participation will cease at the point the Mayor closes the session to public input to allow the Council to give City staff direction as to needed information for the possible future meeting without distracting comment from the audience 44 Fmsr_gency 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 45 Closed Meetings The Council may meet in a closed meeting pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons 1999), as amended s \Ou Co rten 1\0 alv \O3\ttRULB80PO0] a PAGE 6 46 R r ss d Meetingc 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 47 Notice of Meetings The agenda for all meetings, including Council Committee or Subcommittee 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 Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vernon 1999, as amended) 5 1 Presiding Officer The Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro - Tern, shall preside as chairman, or presiding officer at all meetings of the Council In the absence of both the Mayor and Mayor Pro -Tern, the Council shall elect a temporary presiding officer (Charter, Section 2 03) 52 Call to Order The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the Mayor, or in his or her absence, by the Mayor Pro-Tem In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern, the meeting shall be called to order by the City Secretary, and a temporary presiding officer shall be elected as provided above 53 Preservation of Order The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, and confine members in debate to the question under discussion The presiding officer shall call upon the Sergeant -at -Arms as necessary to enforce compliance with the rules contained herein 54 Points of Order The presiding officer 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 presiding officer be sustained?" If a majority of the members present vote "No", the ruling of the chair is overruled, otherwise, it is sustained 55 Questions to he Stated The presiding officer 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 56 gnhstinition for Presiding Officer The presiding officer may call any other member to take his or her place in the chair, such substitution not to continue beyond adjournment 57 Call for Recess The presiding officer may call for a recess of up to fifteen (15) minutes at regular intervals of approximately one hour at appropriate points in the meeting agenda or if requested by any two members s \M rov tl\o di 01\=UL RD01 a PAGE 7 nRnF.R OF BUSINESS (Section 2-29 of the City Code "City Council Procedures, Order of Business") 6 1 (2-29(a)) Agenda The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the agenda prepared by the City Manager, which shall be reviewed and approved by an Agenda Committee composed of the Mayor, one other member of the City Council selected by the Council, and the City Manager The agenda shall be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Council When items are removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda by members of the Council, the removed items shall be taken up in the order of removal right after the consent agenda Placement of items on the agenda shall be governed by this Section and Section 6 3, provided that if a Councilmember has an "emergency" item that the Councilmember believes should be placed on the next regular or special meeting agenda, the placement must be approved by two members of the Agenda Committee Conduct of business at special meetings and Council Committees and subcommittees will likewise be governed by an agenda and these Rules of Pro cedure 6 2 (2-29(b)) Pledge of Allegiance Each agenda shall provide an item for the recital of the "Pledge of Allegiance" at the regularly scheduled city council meetings This item shall begin with the recital of the pledge of allegiance for the United States flag and shall follow with a recital of the pledge of allegiance for the Texas state flag in accordance with article 6139 (b) of Vemons Annotated Texas Civil Statutes 6 3 (2-29(c)) Presentations by Members of Council The agenda shall provide a time when the Mayor or any Councilmember may bring before the Council any business that he or she 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 Any member may suggest an item for discussion at a future work session The City Manager or city staff shall only respond preliminarily on this item at the work session If the City Council believes the item requires a more detailed review, the Council will give the City Man- ager or City Staff direction to place the item on a future regular meeting agenda and advise staff as to the background materials to be desired at such meeting 6 4 (2-29(d)) Presentation by Citizens a (2-29(d)(i)) Citizen Reports Any person who wishes to place a subject on the Council agenda at regular City Council meetings shall advise the City Manager's office of that fact and the specified subject matter which he or she desires to place on the agenda no later than 5 00 p in Wednesday prior to the Council meeting at which he or she wishes the designated subject to be considered A time for such citizen reports shall be provided on the agenda after the pledge of allegiance, approval of the minutes, and the presentation of proclamations Any speaker providing a citizen report shall speak for no longer than five (5) minutes on all items that he or she may bring before the Council at each meeting, unless the Mayor or the majority of the Council grants an extension of time No citizen may fill out a request to speak' form or have an opportunity to s \w w mce\0mi \.I\=MESMDoi a PAGE 8 speak or comment on another citizen's report which is given at the same Council meeting b (2-29(d)(u)) Sneaking on Regular and Consent Agenda Items Any person who wishes to address the Council regarding an item that is on the Council's agenda for a regular or special meeting, shall complete a "request to speak" form asking to speak regarding the item and return it to the City Secretary before the Council considers the item The Mayor will call upon the citizen to speak for no longer than three (3) minutes as that particular agenda item is considered by the City Council The provisions of tlus paragraph do not apply to persons appearing at a public hearing in response to an official agenda notice or publication The provisions of this paragraph also do not apply to workshop meetings, and a citizen's right to speak and provide input at those meetings shall be limited and controlled by Section 4 3 "Workshop Meetings" of this ordinance c (2-29(d)(in)) Any person who wishes to address the Council at a public hearing shall complete a "request to speak" form and return it to the City Secretary before the applicable hearing The Mayor will call upon the citizen to speak for no longer than five (5) minutes 6 5 (2-29(e)) Time I amits Speakers before the Council shall limit their remarks to five (5) minutes or less for public hearing items and citizen reports Citizens speaking to a non-public hearing agenda item shall limit their presentations to three (3) minutes or less 6 6 (2-29(f)) Oral Presentations by City Ma_ na�ger Matters requiring the Council's attention or action which may have developed after the deadline for delivery of the written communication to the Council maybe presented orally by the City Manager If formal Council action on a subject is required, such action may be taken only if the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act have been satisfied 6 7 (2-29(g)) Presentation of Proclamations The agenda may provide a time for the presentation of proclamations The Mayor or presiding officer may deliver and present proclamations upon the request of citizens Proclamations may encompass any activity or theme except that proclamations with a theme religious or partisan in nature shall not be presented Moreover, proclamations shall not be used for any commercial or advertising purpose 7 COWDFRATION OF ORDiNANC'FS, RFgQJ iiT1ONS, AND MOTIONS 71 printed or T; h .wntt� en 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 72 City Attorney to p rn rive All ordinances, resolutions, and contracts and amendments thereto, shall be approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney, or he or she shall file a written opinion on the legality of such ordinance, resolution or contract prior to submission to the Council (Charter, Section 6 02) s \W W m u\o 01. \01\CMME50RD01 a PAGE 9 73 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 74 Recording of Votes The yeas and nays 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)) 75 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 (Charter, Section 2 06) 75 1 Tie -Vote Matters voted on by the City Council wluch end in a tie -vote shall automatically be placed on each subsequent Council meeting agenda until a full Council is present 76 Demand for Roll Call Upon demand of any member, the roll shall be called for yeas and nays upon any question before the Council, with the excenhon of those circumstances set forth in Section 7.12, The Previous Question It shall not be in order for members to explain their vote during the roll call 77 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 or her integrity, character, or motives are assailed, questioned, or impugned 78 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 therefore entered upon the minutes Such dissent or protest maybe 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 79 Voting Required No member shall be excused from voting except for lack of information and except on matters involving the consideration of his or her own official conduct, or where his or her personal interests are involved in accordance with Chapter 171, TEX GOWT CODE ANN (Vernon 1999, as amended), and in these instances he or she shall abstain Any member prohibited from voting by personal interest shall announce this at the commencement of consideration of the matter and shall not enter into discussion or debate on any such matter and shall leave the meeting room The member having briefly stated the reason for his or her request, the excuse from voting shall be made without debate s No m .1 \o l \oi\ccauwes .. a PAGE 10 FA rel 0 0 • . . -IR ME . a u. ., 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), 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 Only certain motions may be amended as provided in the most current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, revised A motion to amend shall be undebatable when the question to be amended is undebatable 711 Rinnongideration A motion to reconsider any action of the Council can be made s \w oo nit \0roiv \oi\ccrsm,es 01 a PAGE 11 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 prevailing side It can be seconded by any member In order to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act, any Councilmember who wishes to make such a motion at a meeting succeeding the meeting where the action was taken shall notify the City Manager to place the item for reconsideration on the Council agenda No question shall be twice reconsidered, except by unanimous consent of the Council, except that action related to any contract may be reconsidered at any time before the final execution thereof A matter which was not timely reconsidered in the manner provided by this section or was reconsidered but the action originally taken was not changed by the Council cannot be reintroduced to the Council or placed on a Council meeting agenda for a period of six (6) months unless this rule is suspended as provided for in these Rules of Procedure 712 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 fti ther amendment or debate, except that nothing herein shall allow the previous question to he called nnnr to a least one nWorttinity for each member of the Consul to Speak on the question before the Council Any 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 2/3 of the Council 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 shall immediately proceed to vote on the pending motion" In practice, this is done with the phrase "Call for the question", or simply saying "Question" 713 Withdrawal of Motions A motion may be withdrawn, or modified, by its movant without asking permission until the motion has been stated by the Presiding Officer If the movant modifies his or her motion, the seconding councilmember may withdraw lus or her second After the question has been stated, the movant shall neither withdraw it nor modify it without the consent of the Council 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 714 Annronnat,ons of Mon ev Before formal approval by the Council of motions providing for appropriation of money, information must be presented to the Council showing 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 or her recommendations as to the desirability of the appropriation 7 15 Transfer of Appron� ns At the request of the City Manager, at any time during the fiscal 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 or earnings of any non -tax supported public utility to any other purpose s \w o anon, \0 of \01\=MES0RD01 a PAGE 12 1► 1 I11111 IN W N WKW.707MI11MIZI 179113ui� 1► 81 Council Committees The Council may, as the need arises, authorize the appointment of the "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 82 Citizen Rnard& 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 Committee, Board, or Commission 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 a Individual City Councilmembers making nominations for members to citizen boards and commissions will consider interested persons on a citywide basis b The City Council will make an effort to be inclusive of all segments of the community in the board and commission appointment process City Councilmembers will consider ethnicity, gender, socio-economic levels, and other factors to ensure a diverse representation of Denton citizens c The City Council will take into consideration an individual's qualifications, willingness to serve, and application information in selecting nominations for membership to each board and commission d In an effort to ensure maximum citizen participation, City Councilmembers will continue the general practice of nominating new citizens to replace board members who have served three consecutive, full terms on the same board e Each City Councilmember will be responsible for making nominations for board and commission places assigned to him or her, which may correspond to the City Councihnember's place Individual City Councilmembers will make nominations to the full City Council for the governing body's approval or disapproval 84 Rules of procedure Board and Commission members shall comply with the provisions of Article III of Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances Each Board shall be provided a copy of these rules of procedure and each advisory board shall adopt rules of procedure governing s \w oo t \0 a \G1NCMMES0RDD1 a PAGE 13 the operation of its board, incorporating Sections 2, 3, 5, and 7 hereof insofar as is possible Questions on which the voting requirement is vaned by the Charter, State Statutes and these rules are listed below 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 Chapter 9, Texas Local Government Code (Vemons 1999, as amended) For a seven member Council, this means five members must vote affirmatively b Ting Taxes -Five Votes Ordinances providing for the assessment and collection of certain taxes require the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Council (Section 302 101, Texas Tax Code) (Vemons, 1999, as amended) c Changing Paying ACCe.Rsment Plans - Five Votes Changes in plans for pavmg assessment require a two-thirds vote of the Council (Section 313 053(e) Transportation Code, Vemons 1999, as amended ) d Changes in Zoning Ordinance or Zoning Classifications In cases of a written protest of a change in a zomng 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 (200') 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 Council is required to override the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission that a zoning change be denied e Amendment of Tax Abatement Policy The guidelines and entena adopted as the City's Tax Abatement Policy may be amended or repealed by a vote of three -fourths (3/4) of all members of the City Council (Section 312 002(c)) Texas Tax Code (Vemons 1999, as amended) 1 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 the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity s \w Mc c \o air \01\CMMEWRD01 a SECTION 2. That Ordinances 74-48, 8135, 90-026, 90-150, 92-115, and 93-073 are hereby repealed SECTION 3. That tlus Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval PASSED AND APPROVED tlus the / — day of 2001 ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY s �a .—ten..%Omi \w\ccaMESMDOI a EULINE BROCK, MAYOR PAGE 15