1976-048 NOTE Repealed by Ordinance No 2001-193
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF
DENTON, TEXAS, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND DECLARING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the Constltutlon 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 meetzngs, order of business, decorum,
etc , whale acting as a legislative body representing said City,
and
WHEREAS, because of zts desire to effectively and efficiently
serve the public through the medium of public meetings at 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
Ail meetings of the City Council are open to the publzc, and
during any meeting a reasonable opportunity shall be gzven for cltz-
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 an the Councll Chamber lnoludlng the City Admmnlstratlve
Staff, news medza, and vzsitors
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 meetzngs The following set of rules shall be an
effect ~pon their adoption by the Councll and untzl such tame as
they are amended or new rules adopted an the manner provided for by
these rules
2 GENERAL RULES
2 1 Meetzn~s to be Public Ail offzclal meetings of the
Counczl except executive meetmngs or sessions permitted by the Texas
Open Meetzngs 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 06]
2 3 Compell~n~ Attendance No member shall be excused
from attendance at a Council meeting except for good and valid
reasons
2 4 Mlsconduct The Council may punish ~ts own members
for m~sconduct
2 5 Mlnutes of Meetings An account of all proceedings
of the Co~nc~l shall be kept by the City Secretary and shall be
entered an a book constituting the official record of the Council
2 6 Questions to Contain One Subject, All questions sub-
m~tted for a vote shall contain only one subject If two or more
points are ~nvolved, any member may require a d~v~s~on, if the
question reasonably admits of a d~v~s~on
2 7 Right of Floor Any member desiring to speak shall
be recognized by the Chairman, and shall confine h~s 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 C~ty Manager The Clty Manager, or Acting C~ty Man-
ager, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless exoused He
may make recommendatlons to the Council and shall have the r~ght to
take part ~n all d~scuss~ons of the Council, but shall have no vote
[Charter, Seotlon 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 exoused and shall, upon request, give an opinion,
either written or oral, on questions of law The City Attorney
shall act as the Council's parl~mentar~an
2 10 C~t~ Secretary The City Secretary, or Acting City
Secretary, shall attend all meetings of the Co~uncll unless excused,
and shall keep the off~clal m~nutes and perform such other duties
as may be requested of h~m by the Council
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2 11 Officers and Emplp~,ees Any officer or employee of
the City, when requested by the City Manager, shall attend any meet-
lng 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 Counoll in all cases, and where such rules are silent, Roberts
Rules of Order shall govern
2 13 Suspensaon 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 suspensaon 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 majority 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 Councal Members
(a) During Council meetings, Council Members shall
preserve order and decorum and shall neather by conversataon or
otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings nor refuse to obey the
orders of the Mayor (or Chairman) or the rules of the Councal
(b) A Councllperson, once recognized, shall not be
interrupted whale speaking unless called to order by the Mayor (or
chairman), unless a point of order is raised by another member or
the parliamentarian, or %u%less the speaker chooses to yaeld to ques-
tions from another member If a Councllperson is called to order
while he is speaking, he shall cease speaking lnuuedlately untal the
question of order is determined If ruled to be in order, he shall
be permatted to proceed If ruled to be not an order, he shall re-
main salent or shall alter has remarks so as to comply with rules
of the Council
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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 recognlzed by the Chair
(b) While the presldlng officer shall have the auth-
ority to preserve decoru/n in meetings as far as staff members and
C~ty employees are concerned, the C~ty Manager also shall be respon-
sible for the orderly conduct and decorum of all C~ty employees under
his direction and control
(c) The C~ty Manager shall take such disciplinary
action as may be necessary to insure that such decorum is preserved
at all times by City employees ~n Council meetings
(d) Ail 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 ~nto any dIscussion e~ther d~rectly or in-
directly w~thout permission of the presiding officer
3 3 C~tlzens
(a) Citizens are welcome and invited to attend all
meetings of the Council, and wlll be admitted to the Council Chamber
up to the f~re safety capacity of the room
(b) Ail c~tlzens will refrain from private conversations
· n the Chamber wh~le the Council ~s ~n session
(c) C~t~zens attending Council meetings also shall
observe the same rules of proprletry, decorum, and good conduct
applicable to the adm~nlstratlve staff Any person making personal,
impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous while
addressing the Council or wh~le attending the Council meeting shall
be removed from the room ~f the Sergeant-at-Arms is so d~rected by
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the presiding officer, and such person shall be barred from further
audience before the Council during that session of the Council
(d) I~authorlzed remarks from the audience, stamp-
· ng of feet, whistles, yells, and s~m~lar demonstrations shall not
be permltted by the presiding offlcer, who shall dlrect the Sergeant-
at-Arms to remove such offenders from the room Aggravated cases
shall be prosecuted on appropriate complaint s~gned by the presiding
offlcer In case the presiding officer shall fa~l 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 ma3or~ty of the Council shall
require the presiding officer to act
(e) No placards, banners or signs of any klnd wall
be permitted ~n the Co.nell Chamber except exhibits, displays and
visual a~ds used in connection w~th presentations to the Council pro-
vlded that such exhibits, d~splays and vlsual a~ds do not disrupt
the meeting
3 4 Enforcement
The C~ty Manager ~n 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
hereln established
3 5 Seating Arrangement
The C~ty Secretary, C~ty Manager and C~ty ~ttorney 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 thlrd Tuesday of each month or at any
other t~mes set by the Council, unless postponed for valid reasons
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All regular meetings of the Council will be held in the Municipal
Building at 215 East McKlnney
4 2 Special Meetings Special Meetangs may be called by
the Mayor, the City Manager, or by any three members of the Council
The call for a specaal meeting shall be filed with the Caty Secretary
in wratten form, and he shall post notice thereof as provided by law
4 3 Emergenc~ Meetings In case of emergency or urgent
publac necessity, which shall be expressed in the notace of the meet-
· ng, an emergency meetang may be called by the Mayor, the City Man-
ager or by three members of the Council, and it shall be sufficient
af the notice is posted two hours before the meeting is convened
4 4 Executive Meetings, The Council may meet in an execu-
tave meeting or sessaon 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 meetang
4 6 Notice of Meetings The agenda for all meetings shall
be posted by the C~ty Secretary on the Caty's offacaal bulletin board
and notice of all meetangs 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 Pre-
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, Sectaon 2 03]
5 2 Call to Order The meetings of the Council shall be
called to order by the Mayor, or an has 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
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5 3 Preservation of Order The Chairman shall preserve
order and decorum, and confine members ~n debate to the question
under d~scuss~on The Chairman shall call upon the Sergeant-at-Arms
as necessary to enforce compliance w~th the rules contained herean
5 4 Poants of Order The Chaarman shall determine all
points of order, subject to the r~ght of any member to appeal to the
Council If any appeal Ks taken, the questlon shall be, "Shall the
declsaon of the Chairman be susta~ned~" If a ma]oraty of the mem-
bers present vote "No", the rullng of the chair is overruled, other-
w~se, ~t ~s sustained
5 5 Questlons to be Stated The Chairman shall state all
questions submltted for a vote and announce the result A roll call
vote shall be taken upon the request of any member, and upon the pass-
aqe of all ordinances and resolutions
5 6 Substitution for Chairman The Chairman may call any
other member to take h~s place ~n the chair, such subst~tutlon not
to continue beyond adjournment
5 7 Call for Recess The Chalrman may call for a recess of
up to flfteen (15) mlnutes at regular antervals of approxlmately one
hour at appropraate poants ~n the meetlng agenda, or if requested by
any two members
6 ORDER OF BUSINESS
6 1 Agenda The order of bus~ness of each meeting shall be
as contained ~n the Agenda prepared by the C~ty Manager and reviewed
by two representatives of the Council (Agenda Committee) In the an-
terest of t~me and efficiency, the Agenda Committee may postpone ~tems
an an effort to hold an agenda to a reasonable lenqth, and the person
requesting the deleted agenda atem shall be notlfled No a~enda ~tem
may be postponed past the next regular Councal meet~nc unless such
further postponement ~s w~th the oonsent of the person requesting such
agenda ~tem The Agenda shall be a l~st~ng by topic of subjects to be
considered by the Council, and shall be delivered to members of the
Councal each Friday preceding the regular meetang to whlch at per-
talns Conduct of buslness at Special Meetlngs wlll lakew~se be
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governed by an agenda and rules of procedure contained herein
6 2 Presentations by Members of Council The Agenda shall
provide a t~me when the Mayor or any Councllperson may bring before
the Co~no~l any buslness that he feels should be dellberated upon
by the Council These matters need not be speclflcally l~sted on
the Agenda, but dlscuss~on and formal actlon on such matters shall
be deferred until a subsequent Council meeting
6 3 Agenda Deadline Any person desiring to present a sub-
~ect for the Council's consideration shall advise the C~ty Manager's
off~ce of that fact not later than 12 00 noon o'clock on Thursday
preceding the meeting at which he w~shes the subject to be considered
6 4 Presentation by Citizens Any person who w~shes to
address the Council shall advise the C~ty 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 meetlng at which
he w~shes the deslgnated subject to be considered Any person who
w~shes to address the Council w~thout having made th~s preparation
must have the unanimous consent of the Council and w~ll be scheduled
after all other regular bus~ness on the Agenda has been completed
Th~s rule does not apply to anyone appearing at a public hearing ~n
response to an official not~ce
6 5 T~me L~m~t Citizen speakers wlll limit remarks to
f~ve (5) minutes Upon written request to the Clty ~ecretary five
(5) days ~n advance of the Council meeting at which the speaker w~shes
to appear, the tame l~mit may be extended to f~fteen (15) m~nutes ~f
approved by the Chairman Longer extensions w~ll be granted only by
a majority vote of the Council
6 6 Communications to Mayor and Council The Clty Manager
shall provlde the Council w~th an analys~s of ma~or items to be acted
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upon by the Co~ncll at ~ts meetings These commun~catlons shall be
delivered to Co~unc~l members eaoh Friday preceding the Tuesday meet-
~ngs at whlch they w~ll be dlsoussed, unless an emergency condition
makes ~t necessary to deliver the communications on a subsequent day
6 7 Oral Presentations by C~ty Manager Matters requlr~ng
the Council's attention or action which may have detention or action
which may have developed s~nce the deadline for delivery of the
written comm%%n~at~on to the Council, may be presented orally by the
C~ty Manager If formal Council action on a subject ~s required,
such action may be taken provided the provisions of the Texas Open
Meetings Law have been sat~sfled
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 ~n printed or type-
wrltten form The Co~ac~l may, by proper motlon, amend any ordinance
or resolution presented to ~t
7 2 C~ty Attorney to Approve All ordinances, resolutions
and contracts and amendments thereto, shall be approved as to form
and legality by the Clty Attorney [Charter, Section 6 02]
7 3 D~strlbut~on of Ordinances and Resolutions The C~ty
Manager shall prepare cop~es of all proposed ordinances and resolu-
tions for d~str~but~on to all members of the Council at the meeting
at which the ordinance or resolution ~s ~ntroduced, or at such
earlier t~me as ~s expedient
7 4 Record~n~ 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 ~n the m~nutes [Charter, Section 2 06
(b) ]
7 5 Ma~or~t~ Vote Required An affirmative vote of three
(3) members ls necessary to repeal any ordinance or take any offl-
c~al action an the name of the C~ty except as otherwlse provided ~n
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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 llmlted to
cases in which his ~ntegrlty, character, or motives are assailed,
questioned, or impugned
7 8 Dissents and Protests Any member shall have the right
to express d~ssent from or protest against any ordinance or resolution
of the Council and have the reason therefor entered upon the m~nutes
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 Mo member shall be excused from vot-
ing except for lack of information and except on matters involving
the consideration of his own off~clal conduct, or where has personal
interests are involved, and an these anstances he shall abstaln Any
member prohibited from voting by personal interest shall announce at
the com~encement of consideration of the matter that he is abstaln~nq
from voting on the matter and shall not enter anto discussion or de-
bate on any such matter The member having braefly stated the rea-
son for his request, the excuse from votang shall be made wlthout
debate
7 10 Order of Precedence of Motions (a) The following
motaons shall have prloraty an the order andacated
1 Adjourn (when privileged)
2 Take a recess (when prav~leged)
3 Raise a questaon of pravllege
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4 Lay on the table
5 Previous question (2/3 vote required)
6 Llmat or extend limits of debate (2/3 vote requared)
7 Postpone to a certaan tame
8 Commzt or refer
9 Amend
l0 Postpone andef~nately
11 Ma~n motaon
(b) The first two motions are not always pravlleged To ad-
journ shall lose ars pravalege character and be a ma~n motion af an
any way qualified To take a recess shall be pr~valeged only when
other busaness ~s pending
(c) A motion to adjourn as not an order
1 When repeated wathout anterven~ng bus~ness or
discussaon
2 When made as an anterruptaon of a member whale
speaklng
3 Whale a vote is bezng taken
(d)Can be amended - others cannot be amended
(e) A motlon to amend shall be undebatable when the questaon
to be amended is undebatable
7 11 Reconsideration A motaon to reconsader any actaon
of the Council can be made not later than the next succeedang offa-
caal meeting of the Co~%nc~l. Such a motaon can only be made by a
member who voted wath the majoraty It can be seconded by any mem-
ber No questaon shall be twace reconsadered, except by unanamous
consent of the Council, except that action relatzng to any contract
may be reconsadered at any time before the fznal execution thereof
7 12 The Prevaous Questaon When the prevaous question
as moved and seconded, at shall be put as follows "Shall the main
questaon be now put9'' There shall then be no further amendment or
debate, but pendang amendments shall be put an thear order before the
maan question If the ~otaon for the prevaous questaon as lost, the
maan question remains before the Councal An affarmatave vote of
three-fifths of the Councal shall be required to move the prevaous
questlon To demand the prevlous questmon as equivalent an effect
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to moving "that debate now oease, and the Councal ammedaately proceed
to vote on the pendang motion" In practace, this is done wath the
phrase "Call for the Questaon", or samply sayang "Questaon"
7 13 W~thdrawal of Motlons A motaon may be wathdrawn, or
modafaed, by ats mover w~thout asking permlssaon untal the motion has
been stated by the Chaarman If the mover modafaes has motaon, the
seconder may wathdraw has second After the question has been stated,
the mover shall neither withdraw at nor modafy ~t wathout the consent
of the Councal
7 14 Amen~tments to Motaons No motaon or proposataon of a
subject ~lfferent from that ~nder ¢onsaderataon shall be admatted
under color of amendment A motaon to amend an amendment shall be in
order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be ~n
order
7 15 Appropraat~ons of Money Before formal approval by the
Counoal of motaons provad~ng for appropraatlon of money, anformataon
must be presented to the Coun~al showing the purpose of the approprla-
taon In addition, before flnally aotang on s~ch an appropr~ataon,
the Couno~l shall obtaln a report from the Caty Manager as to the ava~l-
abalaty of f~nds and has reoommendataons as to the des~rabal~ty of the
appropraat~on
7 16 Transfer of Appropr~ataons Upon the wratten recommen-
dataon of the Caty Manager, the Co~ncal may at any time transfer an
unencumbered balance of an appropraat~on made for the use of one depart-
ment, davas~on, or purpose, but no transfer shall be made of revenues
or earnangs of any nontax s~pported publac utal~ty to any other purpose
8 CREATION OF COM~ITTEES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
8 1 Council Committees The Councal may, as the need arises,
authoraze the appoantment of "ad hoc" Co~ncal commattees Any comm~t-
tee so oreated shall cease to exast upon the accomplashment of the
specaal purpose for wha~h at was created or when abolashed by a majority
vote of the Councal
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8 2 Cztazen B0ards~ Commlssaon~,, and Commattees The
Councal may create other Committees, Boards, and Commlssaons to
assast an the conduct of the operataon of the City government wath
such dutaes as the Council may specafy not anconslstent wath the
Caty Charter or Code Membershaps and selection of members shall
be as provaded by the Councal af not speclfaed by the City Charter
or Code Any Commattees, Boards, or Commassaons so created shall
cease to exist upon the acoomplashment of the specaal purpose for
whach at was created, or when abolashed by a majoraty vote of the
Council. No Commattee so appoanted shall have powers other than
advisory to the Councal or to the City Manager, except as other-
wise specafaed by the Charter or Code
9 VOTES REQUIRED
Questions on which the voting requarement Ks varied by
the Charter, State Statutes and these rules are lasted below
9 1 Charter and State Statutory Requir,emen~s
(a) Charter Amendment - Four Votes
Ordinances s ubmzttlng proposed Charter amend-
ments must be adopted by a two-thards vote of the Councal (Artacle
XI, Section 3, Texas Constatutaon and Article 1165, Revised Civil
Statutes] For a five member Council, thas means four members must
vote affirmatIvely, as three-fifths is less than two-thirds, hence
a four-fafths vote of all the members is required
(b) Lev~;an9 Taxes - Four Votes
Ordanances providing for the assessment and col-
lectaon of taxes requare the approval of two-thards of the members
of the Councal [Arta¢le 1033, Revased Cavil Statutes]
(c) Changing Pavang Assessment Plans - Four Votes
Changes in plans for pavang assessment require a
two-thirds vote of the Counczl [Artacle l105b, Section 10, Re~
vased Clval Statutes]
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(d) Changes ~n Zoning Ord~n~ce - Four Votes
Changes ~n Zoning Classifications, where a hear-
· ng ~s held by the Co~c~l and such change ~s protested by owners
of twenty (20%) percent or more of the area w~th~n 200 feet of the
affected property, must have the approval of four (4) me~ers of the
Co~c~l [Article 1011e, ~v~sed C~v~l Statutes and the Revised
Zoning Ordinance] A four-f~fths vote of the total me~ersh~p shall
be required to overr~de a decision of the Planning and Zoning Com-
~ss~on except as othe~lse provided ~n the Charter or by the general
laws of the State of ~xas [Charter, Sectlon 2 06(a)]
10 RULES SUSPENSION OR AMENDMENT
10 1 Suspension of Rules Any provlslon of these rules
not governed by the C~ty Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended
by a majority vote of the Co~cll The vote on any such suspension
shall be taken by yeas and noes and entered upon the record
10 2 A~en~ent of Rules These rules may be amended, or
new rules adopted by a majority vote of me~ers of the Co~c~l pre-
sent, provlded that the proposed amendments or new rules shall have
been ~ntroduced ~nto the record at a prior Co~c~l meeting
11 SEVE~BILITY CLAUSE
That ~f any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause,
phrase or word ~n th~s ordinance, or application thereof to any per-
son or c~rc~stances ~s held lnval~d by any court of competent juris-
diction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of th~s ordinance, and the C~ty Council o~ the C~ty o~ Denton,
Texas, hereby declares ~t would have enacted such remainIng portions
despite any such ~nval~d~ty
PASSED and APPRO~D th~s the 19th day of October, ~ D 1976
ELINOR HUGHES, ~YOR
~S TO LEGAL FO~
PAUL C ISH~, CITY ATTO~EY
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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 smd 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 COLTNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS
SP~CTTON 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 AIITHORITY
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 opportumty 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 adrmmstratlve staff, news media, and visitors
2 GlZ, NF, R Al, RI Jl,E,q
2 1 Me.e. tmgs ta he. Pnbhe 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 (Vernons Annotated Texas Civil
Statutes 1999 (Veruons), as amended, shall be open to the pubhc
PAGE 1
2 2 Qnnmm Four members of the Counml shall conshtute a quorum for the
transactmn ofbusmess (Charter, Section 2 06)
2 3 ~ No member shall be excused from attendance at a
Councd meettng except for good and vahd reasons
2 4 Mme.,ondu~ The Councd may pumsh its own members for m~sconduct
2 5 ~ An account of all proceechngs of the Council shall be kept
by the C~ty Secretary and shall be entered m a book constituting the officml record of the Council
A certified agenda shall be prepared for all closed meetings and shall be approved by the Mayor m
accordance w~th Chapter 552, TEX GOV'T CODE ANN (Vernons 1999), as mended
2 6 Qnea~ona to Contain One Sn~ect All questions submitted for a vote shall
contmn one subject, except the City Council may approve all ~tems wtuch are on the consent
agenda m one motion, regardless of how many subjects are contmned an the consent agenda, so
long as all ~tems have been properly posted ~n accordance w~th the Texas Open Meetings Act and
have not been removed from the consent agenda by a Councdmember If two or more pmnts are
~nvolved, any member may reqmre a &WSlOn, ~fthe question reasonably admits ora d~ws~on
2 7 R~ght nf Floor Any member desmng to speak shall be recograzed by the
Chatrperson, and shall confine lus 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 wmbang to speak shall have spoken
2 8 ~ The C~ty Manager, or Acting C~ty Manager, shall attend all
meetings of the Councd unless excused He or she may make recommendations to the Council and
shall have the right to take part in all dmcusmons of the Council, but shall have no vote (Charter,
Section 5 03 (d))
2 9 C,~w. Attorney The C~ty Attorney, or Acting C~ty Attorney, shall be avmlable
upon request for all meetings of the Council unless excused and shall, upon request, g~ve an
op~mon, e~ther written or oral, on questmns of law The C~ty Attorney shall act as the Council's
parhamentanan
2 10 ~ The C~ty Secretary, or Acting C~ty Secretary, shall attend all
meetmgs of the Council unless excused, and shall keep the official rmnutes and perform such other
duties as may be requested by the Council
2 11 C/ffieera and F.m?nyeea Any officer or employee of the C~ty, when requested by
the C~ty Manager, shall attend any meeting of the Councd If requested to do so by the C~ty
Manager, such employee may present mformanon relating to matters before the Council
PAGE 2
212 g,,lea of Order These rules govern the proceedangs 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
213 ~ Any prowslon of these rules not governed by the C~ty
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 mto the
minutes of the Council
214 Amendment c~fRulea These rules may be emended, or new rules adopted by the
affumative vote of four members of the Council, provided that the proposed emendments or new
rules shall have been mtroduced before the City Council at a prior Council meeting
3 COl~l?. O1~ CflNI~IICT
31 Cnnne.~lmernhera
a Dunng Council meetings, Counedmembers 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 Counmlmember, once recogmzed shall not be interrupted whale spealong unless
called to order by the Mayor or pres~chng officer, unless a point of order is raised by another
member or the parhamentanan, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to questions from another
member If a Councdmember is called to order whale he or she is speaking, he or she shall cease
spealong immediately until the question of order is determined If ruled to be in order, he or she
shall be perrmtted to proceed If ruled not to be in order he or she shall remain silent or shall alter
has or her remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council
32 Acha~aI~SJa~
a Members of the Admlmstratlve staff and employees of the C~ty shall observe the
same rules or procedure and decorum applicable to members of the Council, and shall have no
voice unless and until recogmzed by the Chair
b Whale the presiding officer shall have the authority to preserve decorum in
meetings as far as staff members and City employees are concerned, the City Manager also shall be
responsible for the orderly conduct and decorum of all City employees under has 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
PAGE 3
d All remarks and questions addressed to the Council shall be addressed to the
Council as a whole and not to any ~nd~wdual member thereof
e No staff member, other than a staff member having the floor, shall enter mto any
dmcuss~on e~ther d~rectly or indirectly wathout penmsslon of the presiding officer
~ltlzen~
C~t~zens and other wmtors are welcome to attend all public meetings of the City
Councd, and will be admitted to the City Counml Chamber or other room ~n
which the City Counml ~s meeting, up to the fire safety capacity of the room
All meeting attendees shall conduct themselves with propriety and decorum
Conversations between or among and~ence members should be conducted outside
the meeting room Attendees wall refrain from excessively loud private
convarsat~ons whale the Council ~s m semon
Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of the feet, applauding,
whistles, yells, and s~mllar demonstrations shall not be permitted
Placards, banners, or s~gns will not be permitted ~n the C~ty Councd Chamber or
~n any other room in which the C~ty Councd ~s meeting Exhibits, displays, and
wsual rods used in connection w~th presentations to the C~ty Councd, however,
are permitted
Au~hence members may not place their feet on any chmrs m the City Council
Chamber or other room m winch the City Councd ~s meeting
Only C~ty Council members and City staff may step on to the dins
All people wishing to address the C~ty Councd shall first be recogmzed by the
presiding officer and shall hmlt their remarks to the matter under thscuss~on
All remarks and questions addressed to the C~ty Councd shall be addressed to the
C~ty Councd as a whole and not to any ~nd~vldual members
Any person addressing the City Councd ~n the C~ty Council Chamber shall do so
from the lectern unless physically unable to do so People addressing the City
Councd shall not be permitted to approach the dins If they wish to hand out
papers or other materials to the C~ty Council, they should express that desire to
the presiding officer, and the C~ty Manager shall d~rect a staff member to hand out
PAGE 4
the materials
When the time has expired for a presentataon to the Caty Cotmcfl, the presiding
officer shall direct the person speaking to cease A second request from the
premthng officer to cease speaking shall be cause of the removal of the speaker if
that person continues to speak
k Eqmpment, apparatus, or paraphemaha such as camera tripods, easels, or
wheelchairs shall not obstruct, block, or otherwase be located ~n the doorway,
entranceway, or walkways of the C~ty Council Chambers or of any other room m
which the C~ty Council may choose to meet Representatives of the electromc
medm may set up cameras and other eqmpment only an the back of the room It as
permmsable for telewsmn camera operators to film for short periods of tame
(several m~nutes) from the entranceway to the Caty Councd Chambers usang hand-
held cameras only Any radao statmn, which broadcasts the regular Caty Council
meetmgs hve may hook their eqmpment up at the front of the room as long as it
remains out of saght and out of the way
There wall be a umformed C~ty of Denton pohce officer present at all regular
meetings of the C~ty Council Thas pohce officer shall act m the capacity of a
security officer/sergeant-at-arms, and shall enforce the meeting rules and act upon
the d~rectaon of the presiding officer
m Any person makang personal, ~mpertlnent, profane, or slanderous remarks, or who
becomes boisterous while addressing the Caty Councal or who otherwme wolates
any of the above-mentioned rules while attendmg a Caty Council meetmg shall be
removed from the room at the darect~on of the presiding officer, and the person
shall be barred from further audaence before thc C~ty CotmcH dunng that sesmon
of the C~ty Counml If the pres~dmg officer fads to act, any member of the City
Counc~l may move to reqmre the offending person's removal, and the affirmative
vote ora majority of the C~ty Cotmcfl shall reqmre the presiding officer to act
The sergeant-at-arms, ff so d~rected by the pres~dang officer or an affirmative vote
of the majority of the C~ty Councd, shall remove the offending person from the
meeting
3 4 El~fdreement The Clty Manager, tn the absence of a designated law enforcement
officer, shall act as Sergeant-at Arms for the Council, and shall fumash whatever assmtance is
needed to enforce the rules of decorum here~n estabhshed
3 5 Seating Arrangement The C~ty Secretary, City Manager and Caty Attorney shall
occupy the respechve seats an the Councal Chamber assagned to them by the Mayor, but any two or
more members of the Council may exchange seats
PAGE 5
4 1 Re.~m]lar ]Vl'ee, tm~ The Council shall meet at six o clock p m on the first and
tturd Tuesday of each month, with executive sessions (closed meetings) of the Council
commencing at five fifteen o'clock p m, or at any other tune set by the Council, unless the meeting
is postponed or cancelled for valid masons All mgnlar meetings of the Council will be held m the
Municipal Builchng at 215 East McI<hnney Street, or at such other location as the City Council may,
by motion, resolution or ordinance from time to ttme designate
4 2 Speeml_Meetmgs 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 an 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, (Vemons 1999, as emended) The
Mayor, City Manager, or three of the council members may designate a location for the special
meeting other than the Mumclpal Braiding as long as the location IS open to the pubhc
4 3 3Xo~ Workshop meetings or work sessions may be called usmg
the same procedure required for special meetings (See Sec 4 2) The purpose of the workshop
meeting is to ~hscuss or explore matters of interest to the City to meet with City Board,
Commlsslun, or Committee Members, City staff or officers of civic orgamzataons, govermng
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
adwsed of the nature of the work sessmn 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 tins procedure ~s to allow the citizens attending the regular meetmg the
opportumty of hearing the views of their fellow citizens in a more formal semng Any citizen may
supply the C~ty Council a wrinen statement or report regardmg the citizen's oplmon on a matter
being discussed m a work session If the Mayor mwtes citizens to participate in a work sessmn,
their pamclpat~on will cease at the point the Mayor closes the session to public input to allow the
Council to give City staff chrection as to needed information for the possible future meetmg w~thout
d~stractmg comment from the audience
4 4 Emergency lMeetmg~q In case of emergency or urgent public necessity, which
shall be expressed m 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 ~t shall be sufficient If the notice is
posted two hours before the meeting is convened
4 $ Cloned Meetm?q 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 (Vernons
1999), as amended
PAGE 6
4 6 ~ Any meeting of the Council may be recessed to a later tune,
promded that no recess shall be for a longer period than until the next regular meettng
4 7 ~ 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 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 1 pmmdmg Officer The Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro-
Tem, shall preside as chmrman, or presldang 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, Sectmn 2 03)
5 2 Call tn Order The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the Mayor,
or in las 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 presldmg
officer shall be elected as provided above
5 3 Prenervatmn nf Order The presldmg officer shall preserve order and decorum,
and confine members in debate to the question under discussion The preslchng officer shall call
upon the Sergeant-at-Arms as necessary to enforce compliance with the roles contmned herein
5 4 Pnmtg nf Order The presl&ng 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 sustmned?" If a majority of the members present
vote "No", the mhng of the chmr is overruled, otherwise, it is sustmned
5 5 ~ The presiding officer shall state all questions subrmtted
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 guhgtm~tmn for Preg~dmg Officer The presiding officer may call any other
member to take las or her place in the chart, such substitution not to continue beyond adjournment
5 7 Call far Re. cegg 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
PAGE 7
6 ORTII~,R t'~l~ RII~INF~R (Section 2-29 of the C~ty Code "City Councd Procedures,
Order of Business")
6 1 (2-29(a)) ~eaxla The order of busaness of each meetang shall be as contained m the
agenda prepared by the City Manager, winch shall be reviewed and approved by an Agenda
Conmuttee composed of the Mayor, one other member of the City Council selected by the Councd,
and the City Manager The agenda shall be a hstmg by topm 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 ~tems shall be taken up in the order of removal right after the
consent agenda Placement of items on the agenda shall be governed by tins 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 busaness at special meetings and Council
Committees and subcommittees will hkew~se be govemed by an agenda and these Rules of Pro
cedure
6 2 (2-29(b)) pledge of Allegmnee Each agenda shall provide an item for the recatal of the
"Pledge of Allegiance" at the regularly scheduled city council meetings Ttus item shall begin wath
the remtal of the pledge of allegmnce for the Umted States flag and shall follow w~th a recatal of the
pledge of allegaance for the Texas state flag in accordance with artacle 6139 (b) of Vemons
Annotated Texas Civil Statutes
6 3 (2-29(c)) pro. nentatmnn hy Member~ nfCnnnml The agenda shall provide a time when
the Mayor or any CouncHmember 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 listed on the
agenda, but dmcuss~on and formal aetton on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent
Council meeting Any member may suggest an item for thscusslon at a future work session The
Caty Manager or c~ty staff shall only respond prehmlnanly on tins item at the work session If the
City Council believes the item reqmres a more detmled review, the Council wall gave the City Man-
ager or City Staff &rect~on 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)) Pre~qentat~nn hy C~tl~en~
a (2-29(d)(0) C,t, zen R~ort.q Any person who wishes to place a subject on the Council
agenda at regular City Council meetings shall adwse the Caty Manager's office of that fact and the
specified subject matter winch he or she desires to place on the agenda no later than 5 00 p m
Wednesday prior to the Councd meeting at winch he or she wishes the designated subJeCt to be
considered A time for such cmzen reports shall be prowded on the agenda after the pledge of
allegmnce, approval of the minutes, and the presentation of proclamatmns Any speaker providing
a citizen report shall speak for no longer than five (5) minutes on all ttems 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 th-ne No citizen may fill out a request to speak' form or have an opportumty to
PAGE 8
speak or comment on another clhzen's report which m given at the same Courlcll meeting
b (2-29(d)00) ~qpeak'nE on Re~mflar and Con~ent Agenda Item~q Any person who wishes
to address the Council regarthng 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 regardmg the item and return it
to the City Secretary before the Council eonmders the item The Mayor wall call upon the cmzen 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 appearmg at a publac hearing in
response to an official agenda nottce or pubhcatlon The provmlons of ttus 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 tlus orthnance
c (2-29(d)0u)) Any person who wishes to address the Cotmcfl at a pubhc 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 mt~zen to speak for no longer than five (5) minutes
6 5 (2-29(e)) T,me I am~tq Speakers before the Cotmcfl shall limit their remarks to five (5)
minutes or less for pubhc heanng items and citizen reports Cltazens speakang to a non-pubhc
heanng agenda item shall limit their presentations to three (3) minutes or less
6 6 (2-29(0) Oral Pre~entatmnn hy C,~ Manager Matters reqmnng the Council's attentzon
or action wbach may have developed a~ter the deadlme for delivery of the written commumcatlon to
the Council may be presented orally by the City Manager If formal Council action on a subject is
required, such action may be taken only if the provlmons of the Texas Open Meetings Act have
been satasfied
6 7 (2-29(g)) Pre,~eratatmn af Proelamatmn~ The agenda may provide a time for the
presentatmn of proclamations The Mayor or presiding officer may deliver and present
proclamations upon the request of citazens 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 adverhslng purpose
7 f~C~N~II~ERATION OF OI~I~INANCE~: RE,gIOI ,IITION~: AND MOTIONS
7 1 Prm~ ar T.vpewrmen garm All ordinances and resolutmns shall be presented to
the Council In pnnted or typewritten form The Council may, by proper motion, amend any
ordmance or resolutmn presented to it and direct that the amended ordinance be placed on the next
Council Agenda for adoption
7 2 C~ty Attnmey m Apprnve 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 oplmon 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 fh'dmanee,q and Re~qnlntmn~q The City Manager shall prepare
copies of all proposed ordinances and resolutions for distribution to all members of the Council at
the meeting at wbach the ordinance or resolution is introduced, or at such earlier tame as is
expedient
7 4 Re~nrdmg of Vnte~ The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all
ordinances and resoluttons and the vote of each member shall be recorded in the minutes (Charter
Section 2 06 (b))
7 5 M~nr~ty Vote geqmred An affmnat~ve vote of four (4) members is necessary to
repeal any ordmance or take any official action an 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 Tie-Vote Matters voted on by the City Council wbach end in a he-vote shall
automatically be placed on each subsequent Council meeting agenda until a full Council is present
7 6 ~mamtZa~R~LC~ Upon demand of any member, the roll shall be called for
yeas and nays upon any question before the Council, with the exceptmn of tho~qe mrenmgtance~q
forth m ~qeetmn 7.12; The Prevmn~q Questmn It shall not be in order for members to explmn their
vote dunng the roll call
7 7 Pemonal Pnwlego The right of a member to address the Council on a question of
personal privilege shall be limited to cases in wbach bas or her integrity, character, or motives are
asstuled, questioned, or nnpugned
7 8 Dm~qent~ and Prnte~tg 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 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
obj coted to
7 9 Vntmg Reo2nrecl No member shall be excused from voting except for lack of
mformatlon and except on matters mvolwng the cons~deration of bas or her own officml conduct, or
where bas or her personal interests are involved in accordance with Chapter 171, TEX GOV'T
CODE ANN (Vemons 1999, as amended), and in these instances he or she shall abstain Any
member probabited from votang by personal interest shall announce tbas 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 bas or her request,
the excuse from voting shall be made without debate
PAGE 10
'7 10 Order nfPre~edene~e nfM'ntlnn~
a The following motions shall have priority m the order indicated
1 Adjourn (when unqualified) and is not debatable and may not be amended,
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 tame,
8 Commit or refer,
9 Amend,
10 Postpone mdefimtely,
11 Mare Motion
b The first two motions are not always privileged To adjourn shall lose its pnwlege
character and be a moan motion if m any way qualified To take a recess shall be privileged only
other business is penthng
c A motion to adjourn is not in order
1 When repeated without lntervemng business or discussion,
2 When made as an lntermptaon of a member while speaking,
3 Wlule a vote is being taken
d Only certain motaons may be amended as provided in the most current edition of
Robert's Rules of Order, rewsed A motion to amend shall be undebatable when the question to be
amended is undebatable
7 11 Remnsuteratmn A motion to reconsider any action of the Council can be made
PAGE 11
not later than the next succeechng official meeting of the Council Such a motion can only be made
by a member who voted with the prevaalmg side It can be seconded by any member In order to
comply w~th the Texas Open Meetings Act, any Councllmember who wishes to make such a
motion at a meeting succeeding the meeting where the action was taken shall not~fy the City
Manager to place the item for reconsideration on the Council agenda No questaon shall be twice
reconsidered, except by unammous consent of the Council, except that action related to any
contract may be reconsidered at any t~me before the final execution thereof A matter wluch was
not timely reconsidered in the manner provided by ttus section or was reconsidered but the action
ongmally taken was not changed by the Council cannot be reintroduced to the Council or placed on
a Cotmcfl meeting agenda for a period of six (6) months unless tlus rule is suspended as provided
for m these Rules of Procedure
7 12 The Prewnn~q Que.~t~nn When the previous question is moved and seconded, it
shall be put as follows "Shall the mom quemon be now put?" There shall then be no further
amendment or debate, except that nnth~n~ hemm .qhall allow the prewnn~ n21e~tmn tn he called pnnr
tn a lea~qt one nppnrtnmty Far each memher nf the Cnnncll to .?eak on the a?entmn hefare the
C~nuncll Any pending amendments shall be put in their order before the mmn question If the
motion for the previous question is lost, the mmn question remains before the Council An
affirmative vote of 2/3 of the Council shall be reqmred to move the previous question To demand
the previous question is equivalent in effect to mowng "That debate now cease, and the Coancll
shall lmmechately proceed to vote on the pending motion" In practice, tlus is done with the phrase
"Call for the question", or simply saying "Question"
7 13 W~thdrawal of Mntmn~q A motion may be withdrawn, or modafied, by its movant
without asking permms~on untal the motion has been stated by the Presiding Officer If the movant
modifies bas or her motion, the seconding counmlmember may withdraw Ins or her second Alter
the question has been stated, the movant shall neither withdraw it nor modify it without the consent
of the Council The subject dlfferant from that under consideration shall be admitted under color o f
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 p,p?nprmtmna nf Money Before formal approval by the Council of motions
providing for appropriation of money, reformation 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 avmlablhty of fimds and his or her
recommendations as to the desirability of the appropriation
7 15 Tran.qfer of Approprtatmn~ At the request of the City Manager, at any time
dunng 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 earmngs of any non-tax supported public utility to any other purpose
PAGE 12
8 CRF. ATIC)N OF Ct'~MMITTF.~,q: Rf~ARD~ AND COMMI~ION.q
8 1 ~ The Co~ml may, ~ the ne~ roses, au~onze the
appo~n~t of ~e "ad hoe" ComcH COOl,eCS ~y co~ee so created sh~l cease to ex~st
upon the ~mphs~ent of the ~ec~ p~ose for w~ch it w~ created or when abohshed by a
majon~ vote of~e Co.cfi
8 2 ~tl~en Rnardg: ~nmmlgglnng: and Cnmm~ee~ ~e Co~cll may create o~
Co~mees, Bo~ds ~d Co~ms~ons ~ ~mst ~n the conduct of ~e operation of the C~
govement ~ such duaes as ~e Co.cfi may sp~ not ~nconslstmt m~ ~e C~ Ch~ or
Code Memb~ps ~d selection ofmmb~ sh~l be ~ provided by ~e Co.cH ~fnot specified
by ~e Cl~ Cheer or Code ~y Co~Ree, Bo~, or Co~lsmon so creat~ sh~l cede to ex~st
upon ~e accomplisher of ~e spec~ p~ose for w~ch ~t w~ created, or when abolished by a
majon~ of ~e vote of the Co.cfi No Co~Ree so appointed shall have pow~ o~er
adv~sou to ~e Co.mi or to ~e C~ M~ager, exc~t ~ othe~se specified by ~e Ch~ or
Code
8 3 Appnln~entg
a ~d~mdu~ C1~ CouncHmmb~ m~lng nonnnatlons for members to mtlzen bo~ds ~d
co~sslons wall consider lnterest~ p~ons on a c~t~de b~ls
b ~e C~ Co.ell wall m~e ~ effo~ to be ~nclus~ve of all se~ents of the co~m~ ~n
· e bo~d ~d comms~on appointer process C~ Counc~embers will consider
gender, SOClO-economlc levels, ~d o~er factors to ensue a d~ve~e representation of D~ton
citizens
c ~e Cl~ Co~cd will t~e ~nto consideration ~ m&~dual's quahficm~ons, w~llln~ess
to se~e, ~d appheat~on ~nfo~at~on m selecting nominations for membe~hlp to each bo~d ~d
co~sslon
d h ~ effo~ to ensue m~mm cmzen p~c~pat~on, C~ Co~c~embe~ will
continue ~e g~ practme of no~na~g new c~t~zens to r~lace bo~d memb~ who have
se~ed ~ee consecutive, ~11 terns on ~e sine bo~d
e Each C~ Co~c~ember will be responsible for m~ng nom~nm~ons for bo~d ~d
com~smon places ~s~ed to ~m or h~, which may co~espond to the C~ Co~cl~ember's
place ~mdu~ Cl~ Co~c~mbers will m~e nomlnmmns to ~e hll CI~ Councd for ~e
govemng body's appmv~ or d~sapproval
8 4 Rule~ of ~oeedn~ Bo~d ~d Co~sslon members sh~l comply w~ ~e
prows~ons of ~cle IH of Chapter 2 of ~e Code of ~d~nmces Each Bo~d shall be prowded a
copy of ~ese roles of proc~e ~d each advlso~ bo~d shall adopt roles of procedure gov~ng
PAGE 13
the operation of~ts board, incorporating Sections 2, 3, 5, and 7 hereof msofar as is possible
9 VOTEg
Qunst~ons on wlmch the voting reqmrement ~s vaned by the Charter, State Statutes and these
rules are listed below
9 1 Charter and State Statutory Reqmrements
a 1'2hartex Amendment - F~ve Votes Ordrnances submitting proposed Charter
amendments must be adopted by a two-t~rds vote of the Council (Artmle XI, Section 3, Texas
Constitution and Chapter 9, Texas Local Government Code (Vemons 1999, as amended ) For a
seven member Council, ttus means five members must vote affirmatively
b l.~..v~, nE Taxes - F~ve Votes Ordinances promdlng for the assessment and collection of
certmn taxes require the approval of two-tlurds of the members of the Council (Section 302 101,
Texas Tax Code) (Vernons, 1999, as amended )
c Chan~mng Pamng A~ae~ment Plan~ - F~ve Vote,q Changes in plans for paving
assessment reqmre a two-tlurds vote of the Council (Section 313 053(e) Transportation Code,
Vemons 1999, as amended )
d Changes m Zoning Ordmanen or Zoning Claaa~fieatmna In cases of a written
protest of a change in a zomng regulation or zomng classfficat~on 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 adjoimng 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 ovemde the decision of the Planmng and Zoning
Commission that a zoning change be demed
e Amendment of Tax Abatement Pohey The guidelines and criteria 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 C~ty Council (Section 312 002(c)) Texas Tax Code
(Vernons 1999, as amended )
10 SF~VI~,R A llll JTV (~I.AIIgE
That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in this
ordinance, or appllcatlon thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any court of
competent junsdrcaon, such holding shall not affect the vahdlty of the remmmng portions of this
ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have
enacted such remmmng portions despite any such invalidity
PAGE 14
SEC_.TKlhL2. That Ordinances 74-48, 81 35, 90-026, 90-150, 92-115, and 93-073 are
hereby repealed
.qF.~TI('INI 3. That ttus Ordinance shall become effecttve ~mmed~ately upon ~ts passage and
approval
PASSED AND APPROVED ttus the/~--~ day of .~g~- ,2001
EUL1NE BROCK, MAYOR
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
PAGE 15