1972-024 Note Amended by Ordince 72-49
AN ORDINANCE DECI~RING THE NECESSITY FOR AND ESTABLISHING RULES OF
PROCEDUR~ FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF DENTON, TFXAS, AND DEFINING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas, and
the Clty Charter of the City of Denton, Texas, authorize the City
Councll of sa~d City to promulgate and establish rules of procedure
to govern and conduct meetings, order of business, decorum, etc ,
whlle acting as a legislatzve body representmng said Czty, and
WHEREAS, because of mrs desire to effectively and effl¢lently
serve the publlc through the medium of public meetings it has be-
come necessary to establish guzdelznes relating to proper conduct
of all part~es present for such meetzngs, now therefore
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS
All meetmng of the Czty Council are open to the public, and
during any meeting a reasonable opportunzty shall be given for citi-
zens to be heard under the rules set forth below The Rules of Pro-
cedure hereby enacted establish guidelines to be followed by all per-
sons in the Council Chamber znclud~ng the City Admznlstratmve Staff,
news medla, and visitors
A Meetings
1 Regular Meetings
The City Council will meet at seven o'clock p m on the sec-
ond and fourth Tuesday of each month, or at any other times
set by the City Council, unless postponed for valid reasons
All regular meetings of the City Councml will be held in the
Municipal Buzldlng (C~ty Hall) at 215 East McKznney
2 Special Meetings
The Cmty Secretary shall call special meetmngs upon the re-
quest of the Mayor, the Czty Manager or three (3) members of
the Councll, and post advance notice thereof as provided be-
low
3 Publmc Notice
The agenda for all regular meetzngs and the notice stating
the purpose of all special meetmngs shall be posted by the
City Secretary on the City's official bulletzn board at least
three days preceding the said meetmngs (Art 6252-17 Sec
3A (f), Revmsed Civil Statutes)
4 Quorum
Three (3) members shall constmtute a quorum except when the
number of Councilmen, due to vacancies, is reduced to less
than three (3), in whmch event a quorum shall consist of all
of the remamnlng Councmlmen
5 The City Manager, or Acting City Manager, shall attend
all meetings of the Council unless excused He may make
recommendations to the Council and shall have the right to
take part in all dIscussions of the Council, but shall have
no vote (Charter, Section 5 03 (d))
6 The City Attorney, or Asslstant City Attorney, shall be
avaIlable upon request for all meetings of the Council un-
less excused and shall, upon request, give an opinion, either
written or oral, on questlons of law The City Attorney shall
act as the Council's parlIamentarian
7 Conference Sessions
(a) The Council may meet in conference session prior to any
meeting of the Council
(b) The Mayor or City Manager may call the Council toqether
for a conference session at any time
(c) The conference session shall be devoted exclusIvely to
any matter regardlng which the lnterchanqe of ~nformat~on
preliminary to public discussion is deemed to be essen-
tial, and no action shall be taken by the Council except
as provided below
(d) The Mayor, City Manager or C~ty Attorney may request that
the dlscusslon be regarded as confidential ~n an execu-
tive session under the following c~rcumstances
(1) Appointment, employment or dIsmissal of a public
officer or employee or to hear charges or com-
plalnts brought agalnst an officer or employee,
(2) Dellberat~ons affecting securlty,
(3) Dellberatlons pertaining to the acquIsition of
real estate,
(4) Privileged communications between the City Council
and City Attorney (Art 6252-17, Sec 2, Revised
C~v~l Statutes)
Page Two
(e) No formal vote shall be taken on any matter under dis-
cussion nor shall any Council Member enter into a com-
mitment with another respecting a vote to be taken sub-
sequently in a public meeting of the Council except un-
der the limiting clrcumstances stated ~n above para-
graph (d)
B CODE OF CONDUCT
1 Council Members
(a) Durlng Councll meetings, Councll Members shall preserve
order and decorum and shall neither by conversation or
otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings nor refuse
to obey the orders of the Mayor (or Chairman) or the
rules of the Council
(b) A Councllman, once recognized, shall not be lnterrupted
while speaking unless called to order by the Mayor (or
Chairman), unless a point of order is raised by another
member or the parliamentarian, or unless the speaker
chooses to y~eld to questions from another member If
a Councilman ~s called to order while he ~s speaking,
he shall cease speaklng immediately until the question
of order is determined If ruled to be in order, he
shall be permitted to proceed If ruled to be not in
order, he shall remain silent or shall alter h~s remarks
so as to comply wlth rules of the Council
2 Admlnlstratlve Staff
(a) Members of the administrative staff and employees of
the City shall observe the same rules of Drocedure and
decorum applicable to members of the Council, and shall
have no voice unless and until recognized by the Chair
Page Three
(b) Whale the presidang officer shall have the authorat¥
to preserve decorum in meetings as far as staff members
and Caty employees are concerned, the Caty Manager also
shall be responsable for the orderly conduct and decorum
of all Caty employees under has darectlon and control
(c) The City Manager shall take such dasclplanary actaon as
may be necessary to ansure that such decorum as preserv-
ed at all tames by C~ty employees an Council meetings
(d) Ail remarks and questaons addressed to the Council shall
be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any
~lndlvldual member thereof
(e) No staff member, other than a staff member having the
floor, shall enter into any dascusslon either darectly
or indarectly without permission of the presadang officer
3 Catizens
Qfflclal
(a) Citizens are welcome and anvlted to attend all/meetings
of the Caty Council, and will be admitted to the Council
Chamber up to the fire safety capacaty of the room
(b) All male persons wall remove hats and all citizens will
refrain from private conversataons in the Chamber while
the Caty Coun¢ll is an session
(c)Citizens attending Councal Meetings also shall observe
~he same rules of proprletry, decorum, and good conduct
applicable to the administrative staff Any person mak-
ing personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who
becomes boasterous while addressing the Council or while
attendang the Councal meeting shall be removed from the
room if the Sergeant-at-Arms is so directed by the pre-
sadlng officer, and such person shall be barred from
further audaence before the Council during that session
of the Caty Council
Page Four
(d) Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of feet,
whistles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be
permitted by the presiding officer, who shall d~rect the
Sergeant-at-Arms to remove such offenders from the room
Aggravated cases shall be prosecuted on appropriate com-
plaint signed by the presiding officer In case the pre-
sldlng officer shall fall to act, any member of the Council
may move to require hlm to act to enforce the rules, and
the affirmative vote of the majority of the Council shall
require the presiding officer to act
(e) No placards, banners or signs of any kind w~ll be permitted
in the Council Chamber except exhibIts, d~splays and v~sual
aids used in connection with presentations to the City
Counclt provided that such exhibits, displays and v~sual
aids do not disrupt the meeting
(f) There shall be no food or drlnk allowed ~n the Council Cham-
ber by cltlzens attending the public meetlngs
4 Enforcement
The City Manager in the absence of a deslgnated Law Enforce-
ment Officer, shall act as Sergeant-at-Arms for the City
Council, and shall furnish whatever assistance ~s needed to
enforce the rules of decorum here~n established
C DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS
1 Seat~n~ Arrangement
The Clty Secretary, Clty Manager and City Attorney shall
occupy the respective seats ~n the Council Chamber assigned
to them by the Mayor, but any two or more members of the
Council may exchange seats
Page Flve
2 Right of Floor
When recognized by the chair, a member shall confine him-
self to the question under debate No member shall address
the chair or demand the floor while any vote is being taken
3 Personal Interest
No member stopped from voting by personal interest shall
remain in the Council Chamber during the debate and vote on
any such matter
4 Right of Appeal
Any member may appeal to the Council from a ruling of the
presiding officer If the appeal is seconded, the member
making the appeal may briefly state his reason for the same,
and the presiding officer may briefly explain his ruling,
but there shall be no debate on the appeal, and no other
member shall participate in the discussion The presiding
officer shall then put the question, "Shall the decision of
the chair be sustained?" If a majority of the members pre-
sent vote "No", the ruling of the chair is overruled, other-
wlse, it is sustained
5 Votin.~.
(a) Every member present when a question is Dut shall vote
e~ther "Aye" or "No" except on matters involving the con-
slderatlon of his own official conduct, or where his finan-
cial interests are involved, and in these instances he shall
not vote Excuse from voting must be made before the votes
are called for The member having briefly stated the rea-
son for his request, the excuse from voting shall be made
without debate
(b) An affirmative vote of three (3) members is necessary to
repeal any ordinance or take any official action in the name
of the City except as o%herwlse provided in the Charter or
Page Slx
by the general laws of the State of Texas (Charter, Section
2 06)
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 ~n order for members to explain
their vote during the roll call
7 Personal Privilege
The right of a member to address the Council on a question
of personal privilege shall be l~m~ted to cases ~n which his
integrity, character, or motives are assailed, questioned,
or impugned
8 Dissents and Protests
Any member shall have the right to express dissent from or
protest against any ordinance or resolution of the Council
and have the reason therefor entered upon the m~nutes Such
dissent or protest may be f~led in wrztlng, and presented to
the Council not later than the next regular meeting follow-
lng the date of passage of the ordinance or resolution ob-
3ected to
9 Excusal from Attendance
No member shall be excused from attendance at a Council
meeting, except for good and valid reasons
10 Excusal During Meeting
No member may leave the Counczl Chamber wh~le in regular
session without acknowledgment by the presldlng officer
D CHAIRMAN AND DUTIES
1 Chairman
The Mayor, if present, shall preszde as Chazrman at all
meetings of the Council In the absence of the Mayor, the
Page Seven
Mayor Pro-Tem shall preside In the absence of both
the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem, the remaining members shall
select a temporary chairman who shall preside
2 Call to Order
The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the
Mayor, or in hls absence, by the Mayor Pro-Tem In the ab-
sence of the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem, the meeting shall be
called to order by the Clty Secretary, and a temporary Chair-
man shall be elected as provided above
3 Preservation of Order
The Chairman shall preserve order and decorum, call upon the
Sergeant-at-Arms as necessary to enforce compliance w~th the
rules contained here~n and confine all speakers to the ques-
tion under discussion
4 Questions to be Stated
The Chairman shall state all questions submitted for a vote
and announce the result A roll call vote shall be taken
upon the request ~f any member, and uDon the passage of all
ordinances and resolutions
5 Substztutlon for Chairman
The Chairman may call any other member to take his place in
the chair, such substitution not to continue beyond adjourn-
ment
5 6 Call for Recess
The Chairman may call for a recess of up to fifteen (15)
mznutes at regular ~ntervals of approximately one hour at
appropriate polnts in the meeting agenda, or ~f requested by
any two members
Page Eight
E ORDER OF BUSINESS
1 Agenda
The order of busaness of each meeting shall be as contaaned
in the Agenda prepared by the Caty Manager The Agenda shall
be a lasting by topic of subjects to be considered by the
Councal, and shall be delivered to members of the Council
each Fraday preceding the regular meeting to which it pertains
Conduct of business at Special Meetings will likewise be
governed by an agenda and rules of procedure contained here-
in
2 Presentations by Members of Council
The Agenda shall provide a tame when the Mayor or any Councal-
man may bring before the Council any business that he feels
should be deliberated upon by the Councal These matters
need not be specifically lasted on the Agenda, but formal
action on such matters shall be deferred untal a subsequent
Council meeting, except that ammedaate action may be taken
upon a vote of three (3) members of the Council if an emer-
gency exists, or if the matter as routine
3 C~tlzen ~peakers
Any person desiring to present a subject for the Council's
consaderatlon shall advise the City Secretary's Office of
that fact no later than 12 00 noon Thursday praor to the
Council meeting at which he washes the subject to be consa-
dered Any person who wishes to address the Caty Councal
wlthout having made thas preparataon will be scheduled after
all other regular bus~ness on the Agenda has been completed
4 Time Limit
Citizen speakers will limit remarks to five (5) m~nutes
Upon written request to the City Secretary five (5) days an
Page Nine
advance of the Council meeting at which the speaker w~shes
to appear, the tame llmat may be extended to fifteen (15)
minutes if approved by the Chairman Longer extensions wall
be granted only by a majority vote of the Councal
5 Communications to Mayor and Council
The City Manager shall provide the Councal with an analysas
of ma]or items to be acted upon by the Council at its meet-
lngs The communications shall be delivered to Council mem-
bers preceding the meetings at which they will be dascussed
6 0ral Presentations
Matters requrlng the Council's attention or action may be
presented orally by the City Manager If matters have deve-
loped since the deadline for delivery of the Agenda, the City
Manager, or any Council member, may make an oral report to
the City Council, but formal action, af required, shall be de-
layed until the next succeedang meeting, except that ammeda-
ate action may be taken if approved by three (3) members of
the Council present and voting if the action as routine, or
an emergency exists
F CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
1 ~rln~e~Typewrltten Form
All ordinances and resolutions shall be presented to the
Council only an printed or typewritten form The Council may,
by proper motion, amend any ordinance or resolution presented
to at, provided such amendment as made in writing prior to
passage
2 City Attorney to Approve
Ail ordinances, resolutions and contracts and amendments
thereto shall be approved by the City Attorney before beang
acted upon by the Council (Charter, Section 6 02)
Page Ten
3 Distribution of Ordinances and Resolutions
The City Manager shall prepare copies of all proposed ordIn-
ances and resolutions for d~strlbutlon to all members of the
Council at the meeting at which the ordinance is introduced,
or at such earlier time as is expedient
G RULES OF ORDER
Roberts Rules of Order Revised shall govern the proceedings
of the Council in all cases, unless they are in conflict
with these rules
1 Order of Precedence of Motions
(a) The following motions shall have priority in the
order indicated
1 Adjourn (when privileged)
2 Take a recess (when privileged)
3 Raise a question of privilege
4 Lay on the table
5 Previous question (2/3 vote required)
6 Limit or extend limits of debate
(2/3 vote required)
7 Postpone to a certain time
8 Commit or refer
9 Amend
10 Postpone IndefinItely
11 Main motion
(b) The first two motions are not always privileged
To adjourn shall lose its privilege character and
be a main motion if in any way qualified To take
a recess shall be privileged only when other bus~-
ness is pending
(c) A motion to adjourn is not in order
1 When repeated without intervening business
or discussion
2 When made as an interruption of a member while
speaking
3 While a vote is being taken
Page Eleven
(d) Can be amended - others cannot be amended
(e) A motaon to amend shall be undebatable when
the question to be amended is undebatable
2 Reconslderatlon
A motaon to reconsader any actaon of the Council
can be made not later than the next succeedIng offac~al
meetang of the Council Such a motion can only be made
by a member who voted wath the majoratv It can be
seconded by any member No question shall be twace re-
considered, except by unanimous consent of the Councal,
except that actaon relatang to any contract may be re-
consadered at any t~me before the f~nal executaon thereof
3 The Prevaous Question
When the prevaous questaon as moved and seconded, it
shall be put as follows "Shall the maan questaon be
now put?" There shall then be no further amendment or
debate, but pendang amendments shall be put an their
order before the main question If the motion for the
prevlous questaon as lost, the main question remaans
before the Council An affirmative vote of three-f~fths
of the Councal shall be required to move the previous
question To demand the previous questaon as e~u~valent
in effect to movang "that debate now cease, and the
Councll ~mmedlately proceed to vote on the pendang motaon"
In practlce, th~s as done with the phase "Call for the
Questaon", or slmply saying, "Questaon"
4 Withdrawal of Motaons
A motion may be wathdrawn, or modlfaed, by ~ts mover w~th-
out asklng permission untal the motion has been stated by
the Chalrman If the mover mod~faes h~s motion, the sec-
onder may wathdraw his second After the question has
been stated, the mover shall neither w~thdraw it nor mof-
~fy ~t w~thout the consent of the Council
Page Twelve
5 Amendments to Motions
No motaon or proposition of a subject different from
that under consideration shall be admitted under color
of amendment A motlon to amend an amendment shall be
an order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment
shall not be an order
6 Appropriations of Money
Before formal approval by the Councal of motions provid-
ing for approprlatlon of money, Information must be pre-
sented to the Councal showing the purpose of the appro-
prlataon In addltaon, before f~nally acting on such an
appropriation, the Council shall obtain a report from
the City Manager as to the avaIlability of funds and his
recommendations as to the desirability of the approprlataon
7 Transfer of Appropriations
Upon the wratten recommendation of the C~ty Manaqer, the
Council may at any tame transfer an unencumbered balance
of an appropraatlon made for the use of one department
division, or purpose, but no transfer shall be made of
revenues or earnings of any non-tax supported public
utlllty to any other purpose
H VOTES REQUIRED
Questaons on which the voting requirement ~s varied by the
Charter, State Statutes and these rules are lasted below
1 Charter and State Statutory Requirements
(a) Charter Amendment - Four Votes
Ordinances submitting proposed Charter Amendments must
be adopted by a two-th~rds vote of the Council (Art
XI, Sec 3, Texas Constitution and Art 1165, Revised
Page Thzrteen
Clval Statutes) For a five member Councal, thas
means four members must vote affirmatively, as three-
fafths as less than two-thirds, hence a four-fafths
vote of all the members is required
(b) Levyang Taxes - Four Votes
Ordananees providing for the assessment and collectaon
of taxes require the approval of two-thards of the mem-
bers of the Councal (Art 1033, Revised C~vll Statutes)
(c) Changang Pavin~ Assessment Plans - Four Votes
Changes in plans for pavlng assessment require a two-
thards vote of the Council (Art 1105 b , Sec 10,
Revised C~vil Statutes)
(d) Chan~es ~n Zon~n90rdanance - Four Votes
Changes an Zonang Classlflcatlons, ~f den~ed by the
Planning and Zonzng Commission, o__r where a hearing is
held by the Council and such change ls protested by
owners of twenty (20%) percent or more of the area with-
an 200 feet of the affected property, must have the
approval of four (4) members of the Council (Art
1011 e , Revzsed Clvll Statutes and the Revised Zoning
Ordananoe)
2 Council Rules Requirements
(a) Matters Not on the Agenda - Three Votes
Matters presented by Counczl members that are not speci-
fically lasted on the Agenda may be flnalty acted upon
at the meetang in whlch they are ~ntroduced ~f approved
by three (3) members of the Council (Counczl Rules,
E (2)
(b) The Prevaous Question - Three Votes
An affarmative vote of three (3) members of the Council
ls requared to move the previous Guestaon (Counczl
Rules, G (3)
Page Fourteen
I RULES SUSPENSION OR AMENDMENT
1 Suspension of Rules
Any provision of these rules not governed by the City
Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended by a majority
vote of the Council The vote on any such suspension shall
be taken by yeas and noes and entered upon the record
2 Amendment of Rules
These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by a ma]-
orlty vote of members of the Council present, provided that
the proposed amendments or new rules shall have been ~ntro-
duced into the record at a prior Council meeting
APPROVED by the Council this the 13th day of June, A D 1972
BIlL NEU, MAYOR
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
ATTEST~
~KS HOLT, C~TY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
APPROVE~ TO LEGAL FORM
W RALPH~ANN, CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
Page Flfteen