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1996-085 NOTE Amended by Ordinance No 98-246 E \WPDOCS\ORD\CITIZEN RUL NOTE Amended & consolidated by Ordinance No 2001-193 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183, AS AMENDED, AND SECTION 2-29 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS RELATING TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY PROVIDING CERTAIN RULES ESTABLISHING THE ORDER OF BUSINESS AND CLARIFYING TIME LIMITS ON PRESENTATIONS BY CITIZENS BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the Attorney General has ruled that the Texas Open Meetings Act does not entitle the public either to choose the items to be discussed before the Council or to speak about items on the agenda, and WHEREAS, the City Council deems it in the public interest to establish rules providing citizens the right to speak at Council meetings within certain time limits and under certain rules which will preserve the ability of the Council to effectively and efficiently conduct its public meetings, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS S CTI~ That Ordinance No 94-183 is hereby amended by amending Section 6 "Order of Business", sections 6 1 through 6 7, inclusive, and amending Section 2 29 "City Council Procedures Order of Business" of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, to read as follows 6 ORDER OF BUSINESS 6 1 AGenda [2-29(a)] 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 Placement of items on the agenda shall be governed by this Section and Section 6 3, provided that if a Councllmember has an "emergency" item that the Councllmember 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 the rules of procedure contained herein 6 2 Pledqe of Allegiance [2-29(b)] 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 Vernons Annotated Texas Civil Statutes 6 3 Presentations bv Members of the Council [2-29(c)] The agenda shall provide a time when the Mayor or any Councllmember may bring before the Council any bus~ness 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 d~scuss~on at a future work session The City Manager or City staff shall only respond prellm~narlly on thls item at the work session If the C~ty Council believes the item requires a more detailed review, the Council will give the C~ty Manager or City staff d~rectlon 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 Presentations by Cltlzens [2-29(d)] (a) ~ztlzen Reports Any person who w~shes to place a subject on the Council agenda at a regular City Counczl meeting shall advise the C~ty Manager's office of that fact and the speczfled subject matter which he or she desires to place on the agenda no later than 5 00 p m on Wednesday przor to the Counczl meeting at which he or she w~shes the designated subject to be considered A time for such cltzzen reports shall be provzded on the agenda after the pledge of allegiance, approval of the minutes, and the presentatlon of proclamatzons Any speaker providing a cltzzen report shall speak for no longer than five (5) mznutes on all items that he or she may bring before the Council at each meeting, unless the Mayor or the ma]orzty of the Council grants an extension of time No citizen may fzll out a "request to speak" form or have an opportunity to speak or comment on another c~tlzen's report which ~s g~ven at the same Council meeting (b) Speak~n~ on ReGular Aqenda Items Any person who wishes to address the Council regarding an item that is on the Council's non-consent agenda for a regular or special meeting, shall complete a "request to speak" form asking to speak regardzng the item and return zt to the City Secretary before the Council considers the item The Mayor will call upon the c~t~zen to speak for no longer than three (3) minutes as that particular agenda item is considered by the C~ty Council The provisions of this para- graph do not apply to persons appearing at a public hearing ~n response to an official agenda notice or publlcatzon, nor shall any person have a rzght to speak or provide ~nput on consent agenda items, unless such items are removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda by the City Council 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 llmlted and controlled by Section 4 3 "Workshop Meetings" of this ordinance (c) Speaklnq at Public Hearings Any person who wishes to address the Counczl at a public hearing shall complete a Page 2 "request to speak" form and return it to the City Secretary before the applicable hearlng The Mayor will call upon the citizen to speak for no longer than flve (5) m~nutes 6 5 Time Llmlts [2-29(e)] Speakers before the Council shall l~mlt their remarks to f~ve (5) m~nutes or less for public hearing ~tems and c~t~zen reports C~t~zens speaking to a non- public hearzng agenda ztem shall lzmlt their presentations to three (3) minutes or less 6 6 Oral Presentatlons by Czt¥ ManaGer [2-29(f)] Matters requzrzng the Counczl's attention or action whzch may have developed after the deadline for delivery of the written commun~catlon to the Counczl may be presented orally by the City Manager If formal Council action on a subject zs required, such actzon may be taken only if the provlszons of the Texas Open Meetings Law have been sat~sfzed 6 7 Presentation of Proclamations [2-29(g)] The agenda may provzde a t~me for the presentatzon of proclamations The Mayor or presldlng officer may dellver and present proclamatmons upon the request of c~tzzens Proclamations may encompass any actzvlty or theme except that proclamations with a theme rellgmous or partzsan zn nature shall not be presented Moreover, proclamatzons shall not be used for any commercial or advertzszng purpose SECTION II That save an except as amended hereby, all of the sectzons, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No 94-183, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect SECTION III That thzs ordznance shall become effectzve zmmedlately upon zts passage and approval PASSEDAND APPROVED th~s the~day of ~ , 1996 ATTEST ~y JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY Page 3 ORDINANCE NO qff ~ ,~ c/~::) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NOS 94-183 AND 96-085, AS AMENDED, AND SECTION 2-29(d) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO SPEAK BOTH ON REGULAR AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City Council deems it in the pubhc interest to amend its rules of order to provide for the opportunity for citizens to speak both on regular agenda and consent agenda items, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS SECTION I That Ordinance Nos 94-183 and 96-085 are hereby amended by amending Section 6 4(b) "Presentations by Citizens" and amending Section 2-29(d) "City Council Proce- dures Order of Business - Presentations by Citizens" of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas to read as follows Sec 6 4(b) Presentations by Citizens Sec 2-29(d) City Council Procedures Order of Business - Presentations by Citizens Sveakang on Rewalar A~,enda and Consent A~,enda Items Any person who wishes to ad- dress the Council regarding an item that is on the Council's agenda for a regular or spe- mai 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 this paragraph do not apply to persons appeanng at a public heanng in response to an official agenda notice or pubheatlon The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to workshop meetings, and a emzen's right to speak and provide input at those meetings shall be hm~ted and controlled by Section 4 3 "Workshop Meetings" of this ordinance SECTION II. That save and except as amended hereby, all of the sections, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance Nos 94-183 and 96-057 and Section 2-29 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton shall remain in full force and effect SECTION III. That this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval PASSED AND APPROVED th~s the /00~ day of~.~.._, 1998 JAC~'I~LER, MAYOR ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY AS TO LEGAL FORM HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY Page 2 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 AMEND1NG 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 C~ty Charter of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, authorize the C~ty Council of smd C~ty to promulgate and estabhsh roles of procedure to govern and conduct meetings, order ofbus~ness, and decorum, wNle acting as a legmlat~ve body representing smd C~ty, and WHEREAS, because of ~ts desire to more effectively and effimently serve the pubhc through the medium of pubhc meetings, ~t has become necessary to amend and consohdate all amendments of the C~ty Councd Rules of Procedure, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS SECTION 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 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 AI ITI-IORITV 1 1 C. harler. Pursuant to the prows~ons of Section 2 07 of the Charter of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, the C~ty Council hereby enacts these roles of procedure for all meetings of the C~ty Cotmcfl of the C~ty of Denton, Texas Dunng any meeting, a reasonable opportumty shall be g~ven for c~t~zens to be heard under these roles These Rules of Procedure are enacted as gmdehnes to be followed by all persons ~n the Counml Chamber ~ncludmg the c~ty adm~mstrat~ve staff, news med~a, and ws~tors 2 Gi~,NE.R AI, RI ll,i?,g 2 1 Meetmg.q tn he Pnbhe All offimal meetings of the Council and Cotmcfl committees and subcommittees, except closed meetings permmed by the provlmons of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons Annotated Texas C~wl Statutes 1999 (Vemons), as amended, shall be open to the pubhc PAGE 1 2 2 C~.]on]m Four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business (Charter, Section 2 06) 2 3 Compelhng Attendance No member shall be excused from attendance at a Council meeting except for good and valid reasons 2 4 Mmeondnet The Council may punish its own members for m~sconduct 2 5 Mlpnte~ of MeefmgR An account of all proceethngs 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 (Vemons 1999), as amended 2 6 Que,qtmn~ to Contain One ~qu~eet All quemons submitted for a vote shall contmn one subject, except the C~ty Council may approve all items w[nch are on the consent agenda ~n one motion, regardless of how many subjects are contmned in the consent agenda, so long as all ~tems have been properly posted m 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 reqmre a d~wmon, ~f the question reasonably admits of a thws~on 2 7 R~ght of Floor Any member desmng to speak shall be recogmzed by the Chanperson, and shall confine [ns 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 untd every member w~s[nng to speak shall have spoken 2 8 C~ 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 ~n all d~scuss~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 avmlable 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 Councffs parhamentanan 2 10 C~ty Secretary The City Secretary, or Acting City Secretary, shall attend all meetqngs of the Counml unless excused, and shill keep the offimal minutes and perform such other duties as may be requested by the Council 2 11 Offieera and F, mployee~ Any officer or employee of the C~ty, when requested by the C~ty Manager, shall attend any meeting of the Council If requested to do so by the C~ty Manager, such employee may present ~nformat~on relating to matters before the Councd PAGE 2 2 12 Rules.nf_C~ These roles govern the proceedings of the Council m all cases, except that where these rules are silent, the most recent Edition of Robert's Rules of Order rewsed shall govern 2 13 ~qn?en~mn r~f Rnle~ Any prows~on 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 ~nto the minutes of the Council 2 14 Amendment nflRule.q These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by the affmnat~ve vote of four members of the Council, prowded that the proposed amendments or new rules shall~have been introduced before the C~ty Council at a prior Cotmcfi meetang 3 CODE OF CONII1)'CT 3 1 Cnunedmemhem a Dunng Council meetings, Councllmembers shall preserve order and decorum and shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings nor refuse to observe the roles of the Council b A Councllmember, once recogmzed, shall not be ~ntermpted whale speaking unless called to order by the Mayor or preslchng officer, unless a point of order ~s rinsed by another member or the parhamentanan, or unless the speaker chooses to y~eld to questions from another member If a Councllmember m called to order whale he or she is speakang, he or she shall cease spealang immediately 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 remam silent or shall alter has or her remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council 3 2 Adrmnl~qtrat~ve ,qtaff a Members of the Adrmmstratlve staff and employees of the City shall observe the same rules or procedure and decorum applicable to members of the Councd, and shall have no voice unless and until recognized by the Chart b Wlule the presiding officer shall have the authority to preserve decorum in meetings as far as staffmembers and City employees are concemed, the City Manager also shall be responsible for the orderly conduct and decorum of all C~ty employees under his or her direction and control c The C~ty Manager shall take such dismphnary action as may be necessary to insure that such decorum is preserved at all t~mes by C~ty employees in Council meetings PAGE 3 d All remarks and questtons 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 e~ther d~rectly or lnd~rectly without permission of the presiding officer 3 3 I~.ltlzen~q a Citizens and other wsltors are welcome to attend all public meetings of the City Council, and will be admitted to the City Council Chamber or other room an which the City Council is meeting, tip 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 as in session c Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of the feet, applauding, whmtles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be permitted d Placards, banners, or signs will not be permitted ~n the City Council Chamber or ~n any other room in which the City Council is meeting Exhibits, d~splays, and v~sual aids used m connection with presentations to the City Council, however, are permitted e Audtence members may not place their feet on any chairs m the City Council Chamber or other room m which the City Council is meeting f Only C~ty Council members and C~ty staff may step on to the dins g All people wishing to address the City Council shall first be recognized by the presiding officer and shall hmit their remarks to the matter under discussion h All remarks and questions addressed to the City Council shall be addressed to the C~ty Council as a whole and not to any md~wdual members Any person addressing the C~ty Council an the C~ty Council Chamber shall do so from the lectern unless physically unable to do so People addressing the C~ty Council shall not be permitted to approach the dins If they w~sh to hand out papers or other matenals to the City Council, they should express that desire to the presiding officer, and the City Manager shall direct a staffmember to hand out PAGE 4 the materials When the t~me has expared for a presentation to the Clty Cotmml, the presiding officer shall d~rect the person speaking to cease A second request from the pres~dang officer to cease speaking shall be cause of the removal of the speaker ff that person continues to speak k Eqmpment, apparatus, or paraphemaha such as camera tripods, easels, or wheelchmrs shall not obstruct, block, or otherwise be located an the doorway, entranceway, or walkways of the Caty Council Chambers or of any other room ~n whmh the C~ty CotmcH may choose to meet Representataves of the electromc medm may set up cameras and other equipment only ~n the back of the room It is permasmble for televmaon camera operators to film for short periods of t~me (several minutes) from the entranceway to the C~ty Council Chambers using hand- held cameras only Any radio station, whmh broadcasts the regular Caty Council meetings live may hook thear eqmpment up at the front of the room as long as it remmns out of s~ght and out of the way There will be a umformed Caty of Denton pohce officer present at all regular meetangs of the C~ty Cotmcfl Thru pohce officer shall act m the capacity of a security officer/sergeant-at-arms, and shall enforce the meeting rules and act upon the direction of the premdlng officer m Any person making personal, ~mpert~nent, profane, or slanderous remarks, or who becomes bmsterous while addressing the Caty Cotmcd or who otherwise wolates any of the above-mentaoned rules while attending a City Council meeting shall be removed from the room at the d~rect~on of the presiding officer, and the person shall be barred from further audience before the City Council dunng that session of the Caty Council If the presiding officer fads to act, any member of the Caty Council may move to require the offending person's removal, and the affirmatave vote ora majority of the C~ty Council shall require the presadlng officer to act The sergeant-at-arms, ff so darected by the presiding officer or an affirmatave vote of the majority of the City Council, shall remove the offendang person from the meeting 3 4 F. nfnrceme, nt The City Manager, ~n the absence of a designated law enfomement officer, shall act as Sergeant-at-Arms for the Council, and shall furnish whatever assistance is needed to enforce the roles of decorum herean estabhshed 3 5 .qeatmg Arrangement The City Secretary, C~ty Manager and City Attorney shall occupy the respectave seats an the Council Chamber assigned to them by the Mayor, but any two or more members of the Council may exchange seats PAGE 5 4 TYPES 017 MEETINTC. S 4 ] Re~m~lar Meetlng,q The Cotmcfl shall meet at SlX o'clock p m on the first and third Tuesday of each month, with executive sessmns (closed meetings) of the Council commencing at five fifteen o'clock p m, or at any other me set by the Councd, unless the meeting is postponed or cancelled for vahd reasons All regular meetings of the Councd will be held m the Mumclpal Budding at 215 East McK~nney Street, or at such other location as the City Counml may, by motion, resolutton or ordinance from tune to ume designate 4 2 ~qpeclal Meetmg,q Special meetings may be called by the Mayor, the C~ty Manager, or by any three members of the Councd The call for a special meeting shall be filed with the City Secretary ~n written form, and he or she shall post notice thereof as provided by the Texas Open Meot~ngs 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 Mumcipal Building as long as the location Is open to the public 4 3 2/3~,ah~,o~l~ Workshop meetings or work sessions may be called using the same procedure required for specml meetings (See Sec 4 2) ,The purpose of the workshop meeting is to discuss or explore matters of interest to the City, to meet w~th City Board, Comm~ssion, or Commmee Members, City staff or officers of civic orgamzatlons, govermng bodies or ~ndiwduals specifically invited to the session by the Mayor, Cotmcll or C~ty Manager These meetings are xnformatlonal and normally, no final action shall be taken unless the posted agenda indicates otherwise C~tlzens or other xnterested persons attending the work session will not be allowed to participate in the session unless Invited to do so by the Mayor C~tlzens should be adwsed of the nature of the work session and that their input may be received and considered at a regularly scheduled councd meetxng where the agenda provides for final action to be taken on the matter The purpose of this procedure is to allow the citizens attending the regular meeting the opportumty of heanng the wews of their fellow mt~zens in a more formal setting Any c~t~zen may supply the City Councd a written statement or report regarding the c~t~zen's op~mon on a matter bemg discussed m a work session If the Mayor mwtes cxtlzens to partm~pate m a work session, their parhcxpat~on wall cease at the pmnt the Mayor closes the session to pubhc input to allow the Council to g~ve City staff direction as to needed xnformatlon for the possible future meeting without d~stract~ng comment from the audience 4 4 Emergency Memmgs In case of emergency or urgent pubhc necessity, whmh shall be expressed m the not~ce of the meeting, an emergency meeting may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager or by three members of the Council, and ~t shall be suffiment if the notice ~s posted two hours before the meeting is convened 4 5 U, ln,qed Meetmg,q The Council may meet in 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 l?amej~sed~ellaga Any meeting of the Council may be recessed to a later time, promded that no recess shall be for a longer period than untd the next regular meeting 4 7 NloBee of Meetmg~q The agenda for all meetings, ~ncludlng Council Committee or Subcomnuttee meetings, shall be posted by the City Secretary on the C~ty's official bulletin board and notice of all meetings shall be g~ven by the City Secretary pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons 1999, as mended ) 5 pl~lI'llN~ Oi~I¢ICF. R Al'qI~ I}IITIE~q 5 1 Premdmg Officer The Mayor, or ~n the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pm- Tem, shall preside as chmrman, or pres~thng officer at all meetings of the Councd In the absence of both the Mayor and Mayor Pm-Tern, the Council shall elect a temporary presiding officer (Charter, Section 2 03) 5 2 Call tn Order The meetmgs of the Cotmcd shall be called to order by the Mayor, or m bas or her 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 C~ty Secretary, and a temporary premdlng officer shall be elected as prowded above 5 3 Pre~qervalmn of Order The premd~ng officer shall preserve order and decorum, and confine members m debate to the question under d~scusslon The presiding officer shall call upon the Sergeant-at-Arms as necessary to enforce comphance w~th the rules contamed here~n 5 4 Poml~ nf Order The presiding officer shall determine all pmnts of order, subject to the right of any member to appeal to the Council If any appeal ~s taken, the question shall be, "Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustmned?" If a majority of the members present vote "No", the mhng of the chmr ~s overruled, otherwise, ~t ~s sustmned 5 5 Qne~tmn.~ to he .qta/ed The premd~ng 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 5 6 guh.qt~tutmn for Pre.q~dmg Officer The presiding officer may call any other member to take bas or her place ~n the chmr, such substitution not to continue beyond adjournment 5 7 Call for Recess The presiding officer may call for a recess of up to fifteen (15) m~nutes at regular ~ntervals of approximately one hour at appropriate points ~n the meetxng agenda, or ~f requested by any two members PAGE 7 6 ORDER OF RI;~qlNESS (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 contmned 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 Cotmcfl, and the City Manager The agenda shall be a hstmg by top~c of subjects to be considered by the Cotmcfl When items are removed fi.om the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda by members of the Council, the removed ttems shall be taken up m the order of removal right after the consent agenda Placement of ~tems on the agenda shall be governed by this Section and Sectlon 6 3, provided that ff a Councflmember has an "emergency" item that the Councllmember beheves should be placed on the next regular or specml meeting agenda, the placement must be approved by two members of the Agenda Committee Conduct of bus~ness at special meetings and Council Commmees and subcommmees will hkewlse be governed by an agenda and these Rules of Pro- cedure 6 2 (2-29(b)) ~ Each agenda shall prowde an item for the recital of the "Pledge of Allegiance" at the regularly scheduled city council meetings This item shall begin with the recttal 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 m accordance with article 6139 (b) of Vemons Annotated Texas Civil Statutes 6 3 (2-29(e)) Pre,~entat~on~ hy Meraber~ nfCm~nefl The agenda shall provide a time when the Mayor or any Councflmember may bnng before the Council any business that he or she feels should be~dehberated upon by the Council These matters need not be specifically hsted on the agenda, but d~scusslon and formal action on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent Council meeting Any member may suggest an item for d~scusslon at a future work session The City Manager or c~ty staff shall only respond prehmlnanly on this item at the work session If the City Council believes the ~tem requires a more detailed review, the Council will g~ve 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)) Presentat~nn hy C~t~zens a (2-29(d)(0) Cmzen Rep. arts Any person who wishes to place a subject on the Cotmcfl agenda at regular C~ty Council meetings shall adwse the C~ty 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 m Wednesday prior to the Councd meetmg at which he or she wishes the designated subject to be considered A time for such cmzen reports shall be provided on the agenda after the pledge of allegiance, approval of the unnutes, and the presentaUon 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 bnng before the Council at each meeting, unless the Mayor or the majority of the Council grants an extension of t~me No cmzen may fill out a "request to speak" form or have an opportumty to PAGE 8 speak or comment on another mt~zen's report winch is given at the same Council meeting b (2-29(d)(n)) ~qpeakmg nn Re~flar and (2nn~ent Agenda Ilem~ Any person who washes 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 Counml 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 proxaslons of tins paragraph do not apply to persons appeanng at a public heanng in response to an official agenda notice or publication The provisions of tins paragraph also do not apply to workshop meetings, and a citizen's right to speak and provide input at those meetings shall be hnuted and controlled by Section 4 3 "Workshop Meetings" ofttus ordinance c (2-29(d)0n)) Any person who wishes to address the Council at a public heanng shall complete a "request to speak" form and return it to the City Secretary before the applicable heanng The Mayor will call upon the citizen to speak for no longer than five (5) minutes 6 5 (2-29(e)) T~me l,~m~t,q Speakers before the Council shall limit their remarks to five (5) minutes or less for public heanng items and citizen reports Citizens speaking to a non-pubhc heanng agenda item shall limit their presentations to three (3) minutes or less 6 6 (2-29(0) Oral Pre~entahon~ hy C~ty Manager Matters requmng the Councd's attention or action winch may have developed after the deadhne for dehvery of the written commumcatlon to the Council may be presented orally by the City Manager If formal Council action on a subject is reqmred, such action may be taken only if the promslons of the Texas Open Meetings Act have been satisfied 6 7 (2-29(g)) Pre~qentatmn of Proclamatmn,~ The agenda may provide a time for the presentation of proclamations The Mayor or presiding officer may dehver 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 CON~II)F, RATION OF ORI~INANCE~.. RF,~f)LIITIONS.. AND M()TION~ 7 1 Pnnted nr Typewritten Fnrm All ordinances and resolutions shall be presented to the Council m printed or typewritten form The Council may, by proper motion, amend any orrhnance or resolution presented to it and direct that the amended ordinance be placed on the next Council Agenda for adoption 7 2 C~ty Attorney tn Approve 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 opimon on the legality of such ordinance, resolution or contract prior to submission to the Council (Charter, Section 6 02) PAGE 9 7 3 Dmtnhntmn nf Ordmance.~ and Re~nlatmn.~ The City Manager shall prepare copies of all proposed ordinances and resolutions for dlstnbuhon to all members of the Council at the meeting at wluch the ordinance or resolution is introduced, or at such earlier time as is expedaent 7 4 Recnrthn~ nf Vntes The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all ortflnances and resolutions and the vote of each member shall be recorded in the minutes (Charter, Sectaon 2 06 Co)) 7 5 M~nr~t?'. Vote Reqmred An affirmative vote of four (4) members as necessary to repeal any ordinance or take any official action an the name of the Caty except as otherwise prowded in the Charter or by the laws of the State of Texas (Charter, Section 2 06) 7 5 1 Tm-Vote Matters voted on by the City Council w}uch end an a tee-vote shall automatically be placed on each subsequent Council meeting agenda until a full Cotmcfl m present 7 6 Demand for Rall Call Upon demand of any member, the roll shall be called for yeas and nays upon any question before the Council, w~th the exaeptmn of thane n~raum~qtanee~ ~et fnrth m geetmn 7 12: The Prewoua Qne~qtmn It shall not be an order for members to explmn thear vote during the roll call 7 7 Pemnnal Pr~wle~e The right of a member to address the Council on a questaon of personal privilege shall be limited to cases an w}uch }us or her integrity, character, or motives are assmled, questioned, or ampugned 7 8 Dmnent~q and Pmte,~ta Any member shall have the right to express dassent fi:om or protest against any ordanance or resolution of the Council and have the reason therefore entered upon the minutes Such dmsent or protest may be filed m wntang, 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 3LalxngJteqat~ No member shall be excused from voting except for lack of anformation and except on matters anvolvmg the consaderataon of has or her own officaal conduct, or where }us or her personal ~nterests are ~nvolved ~n accordance wath Chapter 171, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vemons 1999, as amended), and m these ~nstances he or she shall abstmn Any member prolu}uted fi:om votang by personal anterest shall announce this at the commencement of consideration of the matter and shall not enter anto dascuss~on or debate on any such matter and shall leave the meeting room The member havang briefly stated the reason for }us or her request, the excuse fi.om voting shall be made w~thout debate PAGE 10 7 10 Order of Precedence nfMn/mnn a The following motions shall have priority in the order ~nd~cated 1 Adjourn (when tmquahfied) 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 Prewous question (2/3 vote reqmred), 6 Llmat or extend limits of debate (2/3 vote mqmred), 7 Postpone to a certam t~me, 8 Comnut or refer, 9 Amend, 10 Postpone ~ndefimtely, 11 Main Motion b The first two motions are not always pnwleged To adjourn shall lose ~ts pnwlege character and be a main motion ~f ~n any way qualified To take a recess shall be pnwleged only other business is pending c A moUon to adjourn is not in order 1 When repeated w~thout ~ntervemng business or d~scussmn, 2 When made as an ~ntermpt~on of a member while speakdng, 3 Wlule a vote as being taken d Only certmn motions may be amended as prowded m the most current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, revised A motion to amend shall be undebatable when the question to be amended ~s undebatable 7 11 Reeon~cleratmn A motion to reconsider any action of the Council can be made PAGE 11 not later than the next succeeding offimal meeting of the Cotmcll Such a motion can only be made by a member who voted w~th the prevailing side It can be seconded by any member In order to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act, any Councdmember 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 unammous consent of the Council, except that action related to any contract may be reconsidered at any time before the final execution thereof A matter wbach was not timely reconsidered in the manner provided by tbas section or was reconsidered but the action onglnally taken was not changed by the Council cannot be reintroduced to the Council or placed on a Council meeting agenda for a period of slx (6) months unless tlus role is suspended as provided for in these Rules of Procedure 7 12 The Prewnn,q Qlm~tmn When the previous question is moved and seconded, it shall be put as follows "Shall the main question be now put9'' There shall then be no further amendment or debate, except that nnthm~ h~,rem ~hall allow the prewnu~ ojm~tmn to he eallecl poor to a lea~t one nppnrtumly for each member nf the Cnnnc,~l tn ?eak on the ajm,qtlnn 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 m effect to moving "That debate now cease, and the Council shall Immediately proceed to vote on the pending motion" In practace, tbas is done with the phrase "Call for the question", or simply saying "Question" 7 13 W~thclrawal nfMnhnn~ 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 bas or her motion, the seconding counmlmember may withdraw his 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 aduntted 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 14 Apprn.nrlai'mns nf Money Before formal approval by the Council of motions providing for appropriation of money, information must be presented to the Council showing purpose of the appropnatmn In addition, before finally acting on such an appropriation, the Council shall obtmn a report from the City Manager as to the avmlabthty of funds and bas or her recommendations as to the desirability of the appropriation 7 15 Transfer nf Apprnpnannn,q At the request of the City Manager, at any time dunng the fiscal year, the Council may by resolutmn transfer an unencumbered balance of an appropnataon made for the use of one department, division, or purpose, but no transfer shall be made of revenues or earmngs of any non-tax supported public utility to any other purpose PAGE 12 8 CREATION {'}iq' COMMITTEE~q.. BOARDS AND COMMI~q~qlON~q 8 I t2n, me, 1 C. omrmtteeg ~e Co~cd may, ~ ~e ne~ roses, authorize ~e appmn~t of ~e "ad hoc" Co.cfi comttees ~y CO~lRee so created shall cease to ex~st upon ~e accomphs~ent of the sp~ p~ose for w~ch ~t w~ created or when abohshed by a majon~ vote of~e Co~cfl 8 2 ~lt~en Rnard~: Cnmmmmnn% and Cnmm~eeg ~e Co~cll may create other Com~ees, Bo~ds md Co~smons to ~s~st m ~e conduct of ~e operation of ~e Cl~ gove~t w~ such duties ~ ~e Co~ml may spec~ not ~ncons~stent w~ ~e Cl~ ChUg or Code Memb~s~ps md selection of members shall be ~ prowded by ~e Co.cfi ~f not ~eelfied by ~e Cl~ Ch~ or Code ~y Co~lRee, Bogd, or Co~sslon so cmat~ sh~l cease to ex~st upon the accomphs~ent of ~e specml pu~ose for whch ~t w~ create, or wh~ abohsh~ by a majon~ of ~e vote of ~e Council No Co~ee so appointed shall have powem o~er th~ adwsou to ~e Co~cd or m the Cl~ M~ager, exc~t ~ o~e~se sp~ffied by ~e Cheer or Code 8 3 Appo~n~ent~ a ~d~wdual C~ Co~cl~embe~ m~ng nommatmns for membe~ to cmzen bo~ds ~d co~ms~ons will consider mt~ested p~ons on a m~de b~s b ~e C~ Co.cd will m~e ~ effo~ to be ~nclus~ve of all se~ents of the co~ m · e bo~d ~d co--ms,on appmn~ent process C~ Co~c~embers will conmder e~c~, gender, socm-economlc levels, ~d o~er factors to ensue a d~verse r~resentaaon of Denton CltlZens c The C~ Co~cd w~ll t~e ~nto cons~deratmn ~ ~nd~wduaPs quahficatmns, wflhn~ess to se~e, ~d apphcat~on ~nfo~at~on ~n selecting nominations for membership to each bo~d ~d comsslon d ~ ~ effo~ to ensure m~m~ c~t~zen p~c~pat~on, C~ Co~c~embers will continue the gener~ practice of nommaang new citizens to r~lace bo~d members who have se~ed ~ee consecutive, ~11 te~s on ~e sine bo~d e Each C~ Councflmember will be responsible for m~ng nomlnaaons for bo~d ~d co~ss~on places ~s~ to h~m or her, Much may co~espoM to the C~ Counm~ember's pl~e ~d~wdual C~ Co~cllmembers wall m~e nom~natmns to ~e ~11 C1~ Council for ~e gov~ng body's approval or d~sapprov~ 8 4 Rule~ of Pmnedure Bo~d ~d Co~ss~on members shall comply w~ ~e prowsmns of ~cle m of Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinates Each Bo~d shall be prowd~ a copy of these roles of proced~e ~d each adwso~ bo~d sh~l Mopt roles of proc~e govemng PAGE 13 the operation of its board, incorporating Sections 2, 3, 5, and 7 hereof ~nsofar as ~s possible 9 VC~Tlikq R li~.Ql IIRI~J} Questions on winch the voting requirement Is vaned by the Charter, State Statutes and these mles are listed below 9 1 Charier and .qtate ~qtah~tnry R en2nrement.q a Charter Amendment - Five Vnte~ Ordinances subm~tung proposed Charter amendments must be adopted by a two-flurds vote of the Council (Artmle XI, Section 3, Texas Conmtut~on and Chapter 9, Texas Local Government Code (Vemons 1999, as amended ) For a seven member Council, tins means five members must vote affirmatively b l.ev?ng Taxe~ - Five Vote~q Ordinances providing for the assessment and collection of certatn taxes require the approval of two-flurds of the members of the Council (Section 302 101, Texas Tax Code) (Vernons, 1999, as amended ) c Changing Paving A.q~qe.q~qment Plan.q - Five Vnte~q Changes in plans for paving assessment require a two-thirds vote of the Council (Section 313 053(e) Transportation Code, Vemons 1999, as amended ) d Change~ m Zomng Ordinance or Zoning Cla~lficatmn.~ In cases of a written protest of a change in a zomng regulation or zoning classffication by the owners of twenty (20%) percent or more e~ther of the area of the lots included in such proposed change, or of the lots immediately adjounng 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 C~ty Council, six (6) votes of the City Council is required to ovemde the decision of the Planmng and Zomg Commission that a zomng change be demed e Amendment of Tax ABatement Policy The gmdelmes and criteria adopted as the City's Tax Abatement Policy may be amended or repealed by a vote &three-fourths (3/4) of all members of the City Council (Section 312 002(c)) Texas Tax Code (Vemons 1999, as amended ) 10 gEVERAlilI.TTY CI.AI l~i~. That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in flus ordmance, or appllcatlon thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any court of competent junsdlction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remmmng portions of flus ordinance, and the C~ty Councd of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, hereby declares ~t would have enacted such rammmng pomons despite any such ~nvahdlty PAGE 14 ~ That Ordinances 74-48, 81-35, 90-026, 90-150, 92-115, and 93-073 are hereby repealed .q~.C~TION 3. That tlus Ordmance shall become effective ~mmedmtely upon ~ts passage and approval PASSED AND APPROVED ttns the /~---~Z-day of ~'J~ ,2001 EULINE BROCK, MAYOR ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY PAGE 15