1998-325 NOTE Amended & consolidated by Ordinance No 2001-193
O ANCENO
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183, AS AMENDED, THE RULES
AND PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY
ESTABLISHING THE TIME FOR REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the City Council deems it an the public interest to establish rules to change
the txmes of regular City Council meeUngs, NOW, THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAiNS
SECTION I. That Ordinance No 94-183, as amended, is hereby amended by amending
Section 4 1 "Regular Meetings" to read as follows
4-1t~ Regular Meetings The Council shall meet at six o'clock p m on the first and third
Tuesday of each month, with executive sessions (closed meetings) of the Council
commencing at five fifteen o'clock p m, or at any other time set by the Council, unless
the meeting is postponed or cancelled for vahd reasons All regular meetings of the
Council will be held m the Mummpal Building at 215 East McKmney Street, or at such
other location as the C~ty Council may, by motion, resolution or ordinance from time to
nme demgnate
~ That save and except as amended hereby, all of the sections, subsections,
sentences, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No 94-183, as amended, shall remain in full force
and effect
SECTION III That this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage
and approval
PASSED O, PROVEDth,sthe 6¢ dayof ) ,1998
JA~I~LLER, MAYOR
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
PAGE 2
ORO ANCENO
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 Const,tut~on and Laws of the State of Texas, and Section 2 07 of the Clty
Charter of the City of Denton, Texas, anthonze the C,ty Council of smd C,ty to promulgate and
estabhsh rules of procedure to govern and conduct meetings, order ofbus~ness, and decorum, wtule
act,ng as a legislative body representing sa,d C,ty, and
WHEREAS, because of ,ts demre to more effectwely and effic,ently serve the pubhe
through the mechum of pubhc meetings, ~t has become necessary to amend and consohdate all
amendments of the C~ty Council Rules of Procedure, NOW, THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS
~qF. CTION 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 SecUon 2-29 of the C~ty Code (Rules 6-2-6-7)are
hereby amended and consohdated ,nto one Ordinance known as the Denton C,ty Council Rules of
Procedure to read as follows
1 AIITI-IORITY
1 1 Char~er. Pursuant to the prowslons of Section 2 07 of the Charter of the C,ty of
Denton, Texas, the C~ty Council hereby enacts these rules of procedure for all meetings of the C~ty
Council of the C~ty of Denton, Texas
During any meeting, a reasonable opportumty shall be g, ven for C,tlzens to be heard under
these rules These Rules of Procedure are enacted as gu~dehnes to be followed by all persons ~n the
Council Chamber including the c,ty adrmmstratlve staff, news reed,a, and v,s,tors
2 GI~.NI~.R Al J RIII,E~
2 1 ~ All official meet,ngs of the Council and Council
committees and subcommittees, except closed meet,ngs perm,tted by the prows~ons of the Texas
Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons Annotated Texas Cwfl
Statutes 1999 (Vemons), as amended, shall be open to the pubhc
PAGE 1
2 2 ~mmm Four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business (Charter, Section 2 06)
2 3 ~ No member shall be excused from attendance at a
Council meeting except for good and valid reasons
2 4 Mmenndue* The Council may pumsh its own members for misconduct
2 5 Mllal~ta~ nf Meetmg~ All 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 certffied 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 (Vemons 1999), as mended
2 6 Q.e~tmn~ to Contain f~ne .qu~eet All questaons submitted for a vote shall
contmn one subject, except the City Council may approve all items wluch are on the consent
agenda m one motion, regardless of how many subjects are contmned 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 Councllmember If two or more points are
involved, any member may require a division, ~f the questmn reasonably admits of a d~vls~on
2 7 Right of Floor Any member desmng to speak shall be recogmzed by the
Chairperson, and shall confine bas or her remarks to the subject under consideration or to be
consldcred No member shall be allowed to speak more than once on any one subject untd every
member wlsbang to speak shall have spoken
2 8 C_aty_.Mana~ The City Manager, or Acting City Manager, shall attend all
meettngs of the Council unless excused He or she may make recommendations to the Council and
shall have the right to take part in all discuss~ons of the Council, but shall have no vote (Charter,
Section 5 03 (d))
2 9 C~ Attorney The City Attorney, or Acting C~ty Attorney, shall be available
upon request for all meetings of the Council unless excused and shall, upon request, give an
oplmon, either written or oral, on questions of law The C~ty Attomey shall act as the Council's
parhamentanan
2 10 ~ The City Secretary, or Acting C~ty 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
2 11 Of 6eerg and F, mployeeg Any officer or employee of the C~ty, 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 ~nfonnat~on relating to matters before the Council
PAGE 2
2 12 Rnles_af_ordar These roles govern the proceedings of the Council m all cases,
except that where these roles are silent, the most recent Edition of Robert's Rules of Order revised
shall govern
2 1,3 ~q,,~enn, nn nf l~lllesl 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 or nays and entered rote the
minutes of the Council
2 1.4 Amendment nfRnle~ 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 mectmg
3 I~OI}i~, oi~ CONI~IICT
3 1 (2nlmeflrnernhmr~q
a Dunng Council meetings, Councflmembers 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 Councflmember, once recognized, shall not be interrupted while speaking unless
called to order by the Mayor or presldang officer, unless a point of order is raised by another
member or the parhamentanan, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to questaons fi.om another
member If a Counellmember is called to order wtnle he or she is speakdng, he or she shall cease
speaking lmmedmtely until the question of order is determined If ruled to be in order, he or she
shall be permitted to proceed If ruled not to be in order he or she shall remmn silent or shall alter
has or her remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council
3 2 Admmmtrat~ve gtaff
a Members of the Admamstratlve 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 ,n
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 has or her direction
and conlrol
c The City Manager shall take such disciplinary action as may be necessary to insure
that such decorum is preserved at all t~mes by City employees in Council meetings
PAGE 3
d All remarks and queshons addressed to the Council shall be addressed to the
Council as a whole and not to any lnd~wdual member thereof
e No staff member, other than a staff member having the floor, shall enter into any
discussion either d~rectly or indirectly wtthout perrmsslon of the presiding officer
~ltl~an.q
C~t~zens and other visitors are welcome to attend all public meetings of the City
Council, and will be admitted to the C~ty Council Chamber or other room ~n
whmh the C~ty Councd ~s meeting, up to the fire safety capamty of the room
All meeting attendees shall conduct themselves with propriety and decorum
Conversations between or among andmnce members should be conducted outside
the meeting room Attendees will refrain from excessively loud private
conversations while the Council is m session
Unanthonzed remarks from the audience, stamping of the feet, applauding,
whistles, yells, and mmilar demonstrations shall not be permitted
Placards, banners, or s~gns wilt not be permitted ~n the City Council Chamber or
in any other room in which the City Council ~s meeting Exhibits, displays, and
wsual rods used m connection with presentations to the City Council, however,
are permitted
Audmnce members may not place their feet on any chmrs m the City Council
Chamber or other room in wtuch the City Council is meeting
Only City Council members and C~ty staffmay step on to the dins
All people w~shing to address the City Council shall first be recognized by the
presiding officer and shall hm~t their remarks to the matter under discussion
.All remarks and questions addressed to the C~ty Council shall be addressed to the
Ctty Council as a whole and not to any lnd~vidual members
Any person addressing the C~ty Councd in the City Council Chamber shall do so
from the lectern unless physmally unable to do so People addressing the City
Council shall not be permttted to approach the dins If they wish to hand out
papers or other matermls to the C:ty Council, they should express that desire to
the presiding officer, and the City Manager shall direct a staff member to hand out
PAGE 4
the materials
j When the t~me has expired for a presentation to the C~ty Cotmcfi, the presiding
officer shall d~rect the person speaking to cease A second request from the
presiding officer to cease speaking shall be cause of the removal of the speaker ff
that person continues to speak
k Eqmpment, apparatus, or paraphernaha such as camera tripods, easels, or
wheelchmrs shall not obstruct, block, or otherwise be located ~n the doorway,
entranceway, or walkways of the C~ty Coancfl Chambers or of any other room ~n
which the C~ty CotmcH may choose to meet Representatives of the electromc
medm may set up cameras and other eqmpment only ~n the back of the room It ~s
permmsthle for telews~on camera operators to film for short periods oft~me
(several minutes) from the entranceway to the C~ty Council Chambers using hand-
held cameras only Any radio station, which broadcasts the regular C~ty Council
meetings hve may hook their eqmpment up at the front of the room as long as ~t
remmns out of s~ght and out of the way
There will be a uniformed C~ty of Denton pohce officer present at all regular
meetings of the C~ty Council Th~s pohce officer shall act ~n the capacity of a
security officer/sergeant-at-arms, and shall enforce the meeting rules and act upon
the d~rect~on of the presiding officer
m Any person making personal, ~mpertment, profane, or slanderous remarks, or who
becomes bmsterous while addressing the C~ty Council or who otherwise wolates
any of the above-mentioned rules while attenthng a C~ty Cotmcd meeting shall be
removed fi'om the room at the d~rect~on of the pms~thng officer, and the person
shall be barred from further audience before the C~ty Council dtmng that sesmon
ofthe C~ty Council If the pres~thng officer fads to act, any member ofthe C~ty
Council may move to reqmre the offending person's removal, and the affirmative
vote of a majority of the C~ty Cotmcd shall reqmre the presiding officer to act
The sergeant-at-arms, ~f so thrected by the presiding officer or an affirmative vote
of the majority of the City Council, shall remove the offending person from the
meeting
3 4 F. nforeement The C~ty Manager, ~n the absence of a designated law enforcement
officer, shall act as Sergeant-at-Arms for the Council, and shall furmsh whatever assistance ~s
needed to enforce the rules of decorum here~n estabhshed
3 5 ,qeatmg Arrangement The City Secretary, C~ty Manager and C~ty Attomey shall
occupy the respective seats ~n the Councd Chamber assigned to them by the Mayor, but any two or
more members of the Councd may exchange seats
PAGE 5
TY~I~,~ 01~
4 1 Regular._Me, eanga The Cotmcll shall meet at SlX o'clock p m on the first and
tbard Tuesday of each month, with execnt~ve sessions (closed meetings) of the Council
commencing at five fil~een o'clock p m, or at any other time set by the Council, unless the meeting
postponed or cancelled for vahd reasons All regular meetings of the Cotmcll will be held In the
Mumcipal Bmkhng at 215 East Megauney Street, or at such other location as the City Cotmcll may,
by motion, resolution or ordinance from tune to time designate
4 2 ,qpee, al Mee. tmgn Special meetings may be called by the Mayor, the City
Manager, or by any three members of the Council The call for a special meetang shall be filed w~th
the City Seeretao' in written form, and he or she shall post notme thereof as prowded by the Texas
Open Meetings Act, [Chapter 55] TEX GOV'T CODE ANN, (Vemons 1999, as amended) The
Mayor, City Manager, or three of the cotmcd members may designate a location for the specml
meeting other than the Murat]pal Bmldmg as long as the location is open to the pubhc
4 3 Workaho? Meetmga Workshop meetings or work sessions may be called using
the same procedure reqmred for spemal meetings (See Sec 4 2) The purpose of the workshop
meeting m to discuss or explore matters of interest to the C~ty, to meet with C~ty Board,
Commission, or Committee Members, City staff or officers of civic orgamzat~ons, governing
bodies or individuals specffically invited to the sessmn by the Mayor, Council or City Manager
These meetings are informational and normally, no final action shall be taken unless the posted
agenda ~mhcates otheranse C~tlzens or other interested persons attending the work sesmon will not
be allowed to partanpate in the session unless ~nv~ted to do so by the Mayor C~t~zens should be
adwsed 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 act]on to be taken on the
matter The purpose of fins procedure m to allow the citizens attending the regular meeting the
opportumty of hearing the views of their fellow citizens m a more formal setting Any citizen may
supply the City Council a written statement or report regarding the citizen's op]mon on a matter
being discussed m a work session If the Mayor invites c~t]zens to participate in a work session,
their participation will cease at the point the Mayor closes the session to pubhc input to allow the
Council to gnve City staffd]rect]on as to needed information for the possible future meeting w~thout
distracting comment from the audience
4 4 ~ In case of emergency or urgent pubhc necessity, which
shall be expressed in the notme of the meeting, an emergency meeting may be called by the Mayor,
the City Manager or by three members of the Cotmcll, and it shall be sufficient ~f the not]ce is
posted two hours before the meeting is convened
4 5 Clo,qed Meetmg,q The Councd may meet ~n a closed meeting pursuant to the
reqmrements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons
1999), as amended
PAGE 6
4 6 ~ Any meeting of the Council may be recessed to a later t~me,
promded that no recess shall be for a longer period than until the next regular meeting
4 7 Not, ce of Meetmg~ The agenda for all meetings, ~nclud~ng Cotmcd Commattee or
Subcommittee meetings, shall be posted by the C~ty Secretary on the City's officml bulletin board
and notace of all meetings shall be g~ven by the City Secretary pursuant to the reqmrements of the
Texas Open Meetmgs Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons 1999, as amended )
5 PI~i~'.811~ING OI~I¢IC~ER ANI~ I}IITIE,q
5 1 Pre~dmg Officer The Mayor, or ~n the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pm-
Tm, shall preside as chaman, or premhng officer at all meetings of the Cotmcfl In the absence
of both the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tm, the Council shall elect a temporary pres~dmg officer
(Charter, Section 2 03)
5 2 Call tn Order The meehngs of the Courted shall be called to order by the Mayor,
or ~n h~s or her absence, by the Mayor Pro-Tem In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor
Pro-Tem, the meetmg shall be called to order by the C~ty Secretary, and a temporary pres~dmg
officer shall be elected as pmwded above
5 3 pre~e.r~atmn of Ordm' The pres~dlng officer shall preserve order and decorum,
and confine members m debate to the question under thscuss~on The pres~thng officer shall call
upon the Sergeant-at-Arms as necessary to enforce comphance w~th the rules contained hereto
5 4 Pmnt.q of Order The presiding officer shall determine all points of order, subject
to the right of any member to appeal to the Cotmcfl If any appeal is taken, the question shall be,
"Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustmned?" If a majority of the members present
vote "No", the ruhng of the chmr ~s overruled, otherwise, ~t ~s sustmned
5 5 l~u~Imna~l~SlaI~ The presiding officer shall state all questions submmed
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 Suh~t~Intmn for Pre~q~d~ng Officer The presiding officer may call any other
member to take tus or her place ~n the chmr, such substitution not to continue beyond adjournment
5 7 Call fnr Reee~a The presiding officer may call for a recess of up to fifteen (15)
mmutes at regular ~ntervals of approximately one hour at appropriate points ~n the meetmg agenda,
or ~f requested by any two members
PAGE 7
6 OI~I)FJ~ OF RILqlNES~ (Section 2-29 of the City Code "C~ty Councd Procedures,
Order of Business")
6 1 (2-29(a)) Agenda The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained ~n the
agenda prepared by the City Manager, Much shall be reviewed and approved by an Agenda
Committee composed of the Mayor, one other member of the C~ty Councd selected by the Cotmcfl,
and the C~ty Manager The agenda shall be a hstmg by topic of subjects to be considered by the
Council When ~tems are removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda by
members of the Council, the removed ~tems shall be taken up ~n the order of removal right after the
consent agenda Placement of items on the agenda shall be governed by tins Sectton and Sectton
6 3, promded that if a Councllmember has an "emergency" item that the Counmlmember beheves
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 meettngs and Counml
Comnuttecs and subcommittees will hkew~se be governed by an agenda and these Rules of Pro-
cedure
6 2 (2-29(b)) Pledge nf ^lleg, anee Each agenda shall provide an item for the recltal of the
"Pledge of Allegiance" at the regularly scheduled city cotmcfl meetings Tlus ~tem shall beg~n with
the recital of the pledge of allegiance for the Umted States flag and shall follow with a recital of the
pledge of allegiance for the Texas state flag in accordance with arhcle 6139 (b) of Vernons
Annotated Texas C~vll Statutes
6 3 (2-29(c)) Pre~entalmn~ by Memhera nfCnnnml The agenda shall provide a t~me when
the Mayor or any Counellmember may bnng before the Council any buslness that he or she feels
should be dehberated upon by the Couned These matters need not be specffically hsted on the
agenda, but d~scusslon and formal action on such matters shall be deferred untd a subsequent
Courted meeting Any member may suggest an item for discussion at a future work session The
City Manager or mty staff shall only respond prehmlnanly on ttus item at the work session If the
C~ty Couned beheves the item reqmres a more detaded remew, the Council will give the C~ty Man-
ager or C~ty Staff dlrectmn to place the item on a future regular meeting agenda and adwse staff as
to the background materials to be demred at such meeting
6 4 (2-29(d)) Pre~entatmn hy Cmzena
a (2-29(d)0)) Craven Rep. nrta Any person who wishes to place a subject on the Councd
agenda at regular C~ty Council meetings shall advme the City Manager's office of that fact and the
specffied subJeCt matter whmh he or she desires to place on the agenda no later than 5 00 p m
Wednesday prior to the Council meeting at wluch he or she wmhes the designated subject to be
considered A t~me for such cmzen reports shall be promded on the agenda after the pledge of
allegiance, approval of the minutes, and the presentation of proclamations Any speaker prowdmg
a cmzen report shall speak for no longer than five (5) m~nutes on all items that he or she may bnng
before the Courted at each meeting, unless the Mayor or the majority of the Council grants an
extension of tame No citizen may fill out a "request to speak" form or have an opportumty to
PAGE 8
speak or comment on another catizen's report wtuch as given at the same Council meeting
b (2-29(d)(11)) ~qpeak,ng on Re_radar and C~nn~ent Agenda Items Any person who washes
to address, the Council regarding an item that is on the Council's agenda for a regular or special
meetmg, shall complete a "request to speak" form askang to speak regardmg the item and retum it
to the City Secretary before the Council considers the item The Mayor wall call upon the cmzen to
speak for no longer than three (3) minutes as that parttcular agenda ~tem rs considered by the C~ty
Councd The provisions oftlus paragraph do not apply to persons appeanng at a public heanng m
response to an offimal agenda notice or pubhcat~on The promsaons of ttus paragraph also do not
apply to workshop meetings, and a mt~zen's right to speak and provade input at those meetings shall
be llmated and controlled by Section 4 3 "Workshop Meetings" of this ordinance
c (2-29(d)0n)) Any person who washes to address the Council at a pubhc heanng shall
complete a "request to speak" form and return ~t to the C~ty Secretary before the apphcable heanng
The Mayor wall call upon the citizen to speak for no longer than five (5) minutes
6 5 (2-29(e)) T~me 1 Jm~tq Speakers before the Council shall limit their remarks to five (5)
minutes or less for pubhc heanng atems and citizen reports Catizens speahng to a non-pubhc
heanng agenda ~tem shall hmlt their presentataons to three (3) m~nutes or less
6 6 (2-29(0) Ch-al Pre.qentatmn~q hy C~ty Manager Matters requmng the Council's attention
or action wtuch may have developed after the deadline for delivery of the written commmcatlon to
the Council may be presented orally by the City Manager If formal Council action on a subject as
required, such action may be taken only if the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act have
been satisfied
6 7 (2-29(g)) Pre~entatmn of Proelammon~ 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 Proclamataons may encompass any activity or theme
except that proclamations wath a theme religious or part,san ~n nature shall not be presented
Moreover; proclamations shall not be used for any commercml or advertising purpose
7 CON,¢IIDI~,RATION O]~ ORDINANCES.. RE~qOI JITION~: AND MOTION~
7 1 Pnnte~ or Typewritten form All ordinances and resolutions shall be presented to
the Council m pnnted or typewritten form The Council may, by proper motion, amend any
ordinance ,or resolution presented to at and direct that the amended ordinance be placed on the next
Councd Agenda for adoptton
7 2 C~ty Attorney tn Approve All ordanances, resolutaons, and contracts and
amendments thereto, shall be approved as to form and legality by the City Attomey, or he or she
shall file a written oplmon on the legality of such ordanance, resolution or contract poor to
submission to the Council (Charter, Section 6 02)
PAGE 9
7 3 Dmtrlbnt~nn nf Orfl~nnncen and Re~nlnhnna The City Manager shall prepare
copies of all proposed ordinances and resolutions for dlstnbution to all members of the Councd at
the meeting at wbach the ordinance or resolution is introduced, or at such earlier time as is
expedient
7 4 Reeorchng at' Vnte.n The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all
ordinances and resoluttuns and the vote of each member shall be recorded m the minutes (Charter,
Section 2 06 Co))
7 5 ~ An affinnatlve vote of four (4) members m necessary to
repeal any ordinance or take any official action in the name of the City except as otherwise
provided m the Charter or by the laws of the State of Texas (Charter, Section 2 06)
7 5 1 T~e.-Vnte 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 ~s present
7 6 D~man~t t'or Roll Call Upon demand of any member, the roll shall be called for
yeas and nays upon any question before the Council, w~th the. exception nftho~e oreura.~tance.q .qet
forlh in ,qeet~nn 7 12: The Prewn~m Qlm~qtlnn It shall not be in order for members to explmn their
vote dunng the roll call
77 P_eramlal_P_nmlega The right of a member to address the Council on a question of
personal pnwlege shall be limited to eases in wtueh tus or her integrity, character, or motives are
assmled, questioned, or impugned
7 8 D~nae.nt.q and Prnte.qt~q 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 mmutes Such dassent 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 J~5:)Ilng3t.eqmmd 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 tus or her personal interests are involved m accordance with Chapter 171, TEX GOV'T
CODE ANN (Vemons 1999, as amended), and in these instances he or she shall abstain Any
member prolublted from voting by personal interest shall announce this at the commencement of
consldarat~on 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 w~thout debate
PAGE 10
7 10 Order nfPree, edence nfMntmn~
a The following motions shall have priority m the order lnchcated
1 Adjoum (when unqualified) and is not debatable and may not be mended,
2 Take a recess (when privileged),
3 Rinse 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 Mare Motaon
b The first two motions are not always privileged To adjourn shall lose its privilege
character and be a main motion ~f in any way qualffied To take a recess shall be pnvdeged only
other business is penchng
c A motion to adJoUrn is not in order
1 When repeated without lntervemng business or discussion,
2 When made as an interruption of a member while speaking,
3 While a vote is being taken
d Only certmn motions may be amended as prowded 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
7 11 Re. eon~deratmrl A motion to reconsider any action of the Council Can be made
PAGE 11
not later than the next succeedmg officml meeting of the Council Such a motion can only be made
by a member who voted w~th the prevmlmg sade It can be seconded by any member In order to
comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act, any Councflmember who w~shes to make such a
motion at a meeting succeedmg the meeting where the action was taken shall notafy the Caty
Manager to place the ttem for reconsideration on the Council agenda No question shall be twice
reconsidered, except by unammous consent of the Council, except that action related to any
contract may be reconsidered at any tnne before the final execution thereof A matter winch was
not t~mely, reconsidered m the manner prowded by tins section or was reconsidered but the actxon
originally taken was not changed by the Council cannot be reantroduced to the Councd or placed on
a Counctl meetang agenda for a period of s~x (6) months unless tins role ~s suspended as prowded
for in these Rules of Procedure
7 12 The Prewmm 1'~. ~eatmn When the previous question is moved and seconded, ~t
shall be put as follows "Shall the main questxon be now put')'' There shall then be no further
amendment or debate, e.~eep, t that nnthmg hereto ~hall allow the prewnli~ o?e~tmn tn he called p-anr
tn a lea,qt one oppnrhm~ty for each member nf the Council tn .?eak on the c?e~tmn before the
C. aunml Any pen~ng amendments shall be put ~n thetr order before the mmn questmn If the
motion for the prewous question ~s lost, the mare question remams before the Council An
affirmative vote of 2/3 of the Council shall be reqmred to move the premous question To demand
the prewous question ~s eqmvalent m effect to mowng "That debate now cease, and the Councal
shall ~mmechately proceed to vote on the pending motton" In practice, tins ~s done w~th the phrase
"Call for the question", or samply saying "Question"
7 13 W~thdrawal of Motmn~ A motmn may be w~thdrawn, or modffied, by its movant
w~thout aslnng permission untal the motaon has been stated by the Pres~dang Officer If the movant
modffies ins or her motion, the seconding councflmember may w~thdraw ins or her second After
the question has been stated, the movant shall neither w~thdraw ~t nor modify ~t w~thout the consent
of the Counml The subject d~fferent from that trader consideration shall be adnutted under color of
amendment A motaon to amend an amendment shall be ~n order, but one to amend an amendment
to an amendment shall not be an order
7 14 A.nproprmtmn,q of Money Before formal approval by the Council of motzons
promd~ng for appropriation of money, ~nformat~on must be presented to the Council showing
purpose of the appropriation In addmon, before finally actang on such an appropriation, the
Councd shall obtmn a report fxom the Caty Manager as to the avmlainhty of funds and ins or her
recommendations as to the des~rainhty of the appropnataon
7 15 Tran.qfer of Appm?atmna At the request of the C~ty Manager, at any t~me
dunng the fiscal year, the CotmcH may by resolution transfer an unencumbered balance of an
appropriation made for the use of one department, d~ws~on, or purpose, but no transfer shall be
made of revenues or earmngs of any non-tax supported public unl~ty to any other purpose
PAGE 12
8 1 ~ ~e Co~ml may, ~ ~e ne~ ~ses, au~onze ~e
appom~t of ~e "ad hoe" Council eo~ees ~y co~ee so created sh~l cede to exist
upon ~e ~mphs~t of ~e spem~ p~ose for w~ch ~t w~ created or wh~ abollsh~ by a
majon~ vote of~e Co~efl
8 2 ~m~en Bnnrd% ~nmm~mn% and Cnmm~ee~ ~e Council may create o~
Cool,cos, Bo~ds ~d Co~msiom to ~slst m ~e conduct of ~e operation of ~e Cl~
gove~t wl~ such duties ~ ~e Co.cfi may ~ecl~ not lnconsmtent wl~ ~e Cl~ Cheer or
Code M~bemhps ~d selection ofmemb~s shall be ~ prowded by ~e Co.cfi if not spemfi~
by the Cl~ Cheer or Code ~y Cool.ce, Bo~d, or Co~lsslon so created sh~l cede to exist
upon ~e accomphs~mt of ~e specml p~ose for w~ch it w~ cremed, or when abohsh~ by a
majon~ of ~e vote of the Co~cfl No Co~ee so appmnt~ shall have powers o~er ~
adwso~ to ~e Council or to ~e C~ M~ager, exert ~ o~e~lse specified by the Ch~ or
Code
8 3 Appnm~t~
a hdlmdud C~ Councl~emb~s m~ng nominmlons for members to citizen bo~ds ~d
co~ms~ons will cons~dm ~ntemsted p~ons on a c~de b~s
b The Cl~ Council will m~e ~ effo~ to be reclusive of all se~ents of the com~ m
· e bo~d ~d comisslon appoin~t process Cl~ Co~c~embers will consider e~cl~,
gender, soclo-economlc levels, ~d other factom to ensue a diverse representation of Denton
citizens
c ~e Cl~ Co.cfi will t~e rote consid~atlon ~ lndlmdu~'s qu~lficatlons, wfllm~ess
to s~e, ~d apphcatlon mfomatlon in selecting nominations for members~p to each bo~d ~d
CO~lSSlon
d ~ ~ effo~ to ensure m:imm c~t~zen p~lcipatlon, Cl~ Co~c~embers will
continue ~e general pr~tlce of no~na~ng new c~tlzens to r~lace bo~d m~bers who have
se~ed ~ee cons~utlve, ~11 terns on ~e s~e bo~d
e Each Cl~ Co~cl~ember will be responsible for m~ng nominations for bo~d ~d
co~lssl~ places assl~ed to ~m or her, whmh may co~espond to ~e Cl~ Coati.ember's
place ~diwdual Cl~ Councflmembers will m~e nominations to the ~11 C~ Council for ~e
govemng body's approv~ or disapproval
8 4 Rnle~ nf Prncednre Bo~d ~d Commission members shall comply with ~e
prowslons of ~cle III of Chapter 2 of the Code of ~dm~ces Each Bo~d shall be prowd~ a
copy of ~ese roles of proc~e ~d each adwso~ bo~d shall adopt roles of proc~ure gov~ng
PAGE 13
the operation of it8 board, mcorporatmg Sections 2, 3, 5, and 7 hereof insofar as ~s possible
9 V(ITER RI~.QI IIR~I)
Questions on wluch the voting reqmrement is vaned by the Charter, State Statutes and these
roles are listed below
9 1 Charter and State Stah~tnry Rea. mrementa
a Charter Amendment - 'fi'we Votea Ordinances submitting proposed Charter
amendments must be adopted by a two-tturds vote of the Cotmcfl (Artmle XI, Section 3, Texas
Constitution and Chapter 9, Texas Local Government Code (Vemons 1999, as amended ) For a
seven member Council, th~s means five members must vote affirmatively
b l.evy~, ng Taxen - Fwe Vnten Ordinances providing for the assessment and collection of
certmn taxes require the approval of two-th~rds of the members of the Counml (Section 302 101,
Texas Tax Code) (Vemons, 1999, as amended )
c Charismg Pawng A~.~e~q~qrnent Plan~ - F~ve Vote~q Changes in plans for paving
assessment require a two-tlurds vote of the Counml (Section 313 053(0 Transportation Code,
Vemons 1999, as amended )
d (2hangea m Zoning Ordinance or 7.ohms Cla.qmficaBona In cases of a written
protest of a change in a zomng regulation or zoning classfficat~on by the owners of
twenty (20%) pement or more either of the area of the lots ~ncluded ~n such proposed
change, or of the lots immediately adjmmng the same and extending two httndred
feet (200') therefrom, such amendment shall not become effective except by the
favorable vote of three-fotttths (3/4) of all members of the C~ty Councd, slx (6) votes
of the City Council is required to ovemde the decision of the Planmng and Zomng
Commission that a zomng change be demed
e Amendment of Tax Abatement Palmy The gmdehnes and criteria adopted as the
C~ty's Tax Abatement Policy may be amended or repealed by a vote of three-fourths
(3/4) of all members of the C~ty Council (Section 312 002(c)) Texas Tax Code
(Vernons 1999, as amended )
That ff any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word ~n ttus
ordinance, or apphcatlon thereof to any person or c~mumstances ~s held invalid by any court of
competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of tins
ordinance, and the C~ty Council of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have
enacted such remmmng portions despite any such mvahd~ty
PAGE 14
SF_IITIIDhI_~ That Ordmanees 74-48, 81-35, 90-026, 90-150, 92-115, and 93-073 are
hereby repealed
~qlqCTIC)NI 3. That this Ordinance shall become effective unmed~ately upon ~ts passage and
approval
EULINE BROCK, MAYOR
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
PAGE 15