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Res 105-2013 10/1/2013 1 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A City Council Bill # 166 RESOLUTION NO. ____105-2013___ Resolution Adopting Amended Rules Of Procedure For The City Council, Modified To Specify Limits On Public Hearing Speaker Times And Ensure All Sides Are Heard WHEREAS, the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas, and the City Charter of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, authorize the Ci ty Council of said City to promulgate and establish rules of procedure to govern and conduct meetings, order of business, decorum, etc., while acting as a legislative body representing the City; and WHEREAS, citizens are limited to 5 minutes of presentat ion during citizens communication, but public hearings have been without time limit; and WHEREAS, limitless public hearings have the potential to deny the public the opportunity to fully participate and view Council items; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to maximize the opportunity for full public input regarding public hearings by providing content-neutral time, place, and manner regulations governing citizen presentations during public hearings. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, THAT: All meetings of the City Council are open to the public, and during any meeting a reasonable opportunity shall be given for citizens to be heard under the rules set forth below. The Rules of Procedure hereby enacted establish guidelines to be followed by all persons in the Council Chamber including City administrative staff, news media, and visitors. 1. AUTHORITY 1.1 Charter: Section 34 of the Charter of the City of Wichita Falls provides that the Council shall determine its own rules of procedure for meetings. The following set of rules shall be in effect upon their adoption by the Council and until such time as they are amended or new rules adopted in the manner provided for by these rules. 2. GENERAL RULES 2.1 Quorum: Four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. [Charter, Section 34] Council Members shall provide adequate advance notice to the Mayor or City Manager of possible absence from a meeting. 2 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 2.2 Misconduct: The Council may punish its own members for disorderly behavior, and with the consent of four-fifths of all its members, may expel a member. [Charter, Section 34] 2.3 Minutes of Meetings: An account of all proceedings of the Council shall be kept by the City Clerk and shall be properl y indexed for ready reference. [Code, Section 2-40] 2.4 Questions to Contain One Subject: All questions submitted for a vote shall contain only one subject. If two or more points are involved, any member may require a division, if the question reasonably admits of a division. 2.5 Right of Floor: Any member desiring to speak shall contain his or her remarks to the subject under consideration or to be considered. No member shall be allowed to speak more than once on any one subject until every member wishin g to speak shall have spoken. 2.6 City Manager: The City Manager, or designated Assistant, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused, or when his or her removal is being considered, and 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 59] 2.7 City Attorney: The City Attorney, or designated Assistant, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused and shall, upon request, give an opinion, either written or oral, on questions of law. [Charter, Section 64] The City Attorney shall act as the Council’s parliamentarian. 2.8 City Clerk: The City Clerk, or designated Assistant, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused, and shall keep the official minutes and perform such other duties as may be requested by the Council. 2.9 Officers and Employees: Any officer or employee of the City, when requested by the City Manager, shall attend any meetings of the Council. If reques ted to do so by the City Manager, they may present information relating to matters before the City Council. 2.10 Rules of Order: These rules govern the proceedings of the Council in all cases, and where such rules are silent, Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall govern. 2.11 Suspension of Rules: Any provision of these rules not governed by Statute, City Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended by a majority vote of all members of the Council. The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas and noes and entered upon the record. 2.12 Amendment of Rules: These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by a majority vote of all members of the Council. 3 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 3. CODE OF CONDUCT 3.1 Council Members: [a] During Council meetings, Council members shall preserve order and decorum and shall neither by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings nor refuse to comply with the requests of the Chair or the rules of the Council. [b] A Council member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted while speaking unless called to order by the Chair, unless a point of order is raised by another member or the parliamentarian, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to questions from another member. If a Council member is called to order while speaking, he or she shall cease speaking immediately until the question of order is determined. If ruled to be in order, he or she shall be permitted to proceed. If ruled not to be in order, he or she shall remain silent or shall alter his or her remarks so as to comp ly with rules of the Council. 3.2 Administrative Staff: [a] Members of the administrative staff and employees of the City shall observe the same rules of procedure and decorum applicable to members of the Council, and shall have no voice unless and until recognized by the Chair. [b] While the Chair 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 emp loyees under his 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. [d] All remarks and questions addressed to the Council shall be addressed to the Council as a whole through the Chair and not to any individual member thereof. [e] No staff member, other than a staff member having the floor, shall enter into any discussion either directly or indirectly without permission of the Chair. 3.3 Citizens: [a] Citizens are welcome and invited to attend all meetings of the Council, and will be admitted to the Council Chamber up to the fire safety capacity of the room. 4 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A [b] All citizens will refrain from private conversations in the Chamber while the Council is in session. [c] Citizens attending Council meetings also shall observe the same rules of propriety, decorum, and good conduct applicable to the administrative staff. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous while addressing the Council or while attending the Council meeting shall leave the room if so directed by the Chair, and such person shall be barred from further audience before the Council during that session of the Council. [d] Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of feet, whistles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be permitted by the Chair, who may direct such offenders to leave the room. Aggravated cases shall be prosecuted on appropriate complaint signed by the Chair. In case the Chair shall fail to act, any member of the Council may move to require him/her to act to enforce the rules and the affirmative vote of the majority of the Council shall require the Chair to act. [e] All remarks and questions shall be addressed to the Council as a whole through the Chair and not to individual members. 3.4 Enforcement: The City Manager shall furnish whatever assistance is needed to enforce the rules of decorum herein established. 3.5 Seating Arrangement: The City Council, City Clerk, City Manager, and City Attorney shall occupy the respective seats in the Council Chamber assigned to them by the Chair, but any two or more members of the Council may exchange seats by mutual agreement. 4. TYPES OF MEETINGS 4.1 Regular Meetings: The Council shall meet at such time and place as prescribed by ordinance, but no less frequently than once each month. [Charter, Section 34] Meetings may be postponed for valid reasons. All regular meetings of the Council will be held in the Council Chamber in the Memorial Auditorium. [Code, Section 2 -1] 4.2 Special Meetings: Special Meetings may be called at any time by the Mayor, or by the City Clerk upon written request of any three members of the Council or the City Manager. [Code, Section 2-2i, Charter, Section 24] The City Clerk shall post notice thereof as provided by law. [Charter, Section 34] Special meetings may be held at a place other than Memorial Auditorium so long as such meetings are open to the public and notice is properly posted pursuant to law. 4.3 Emergency Meetings: In case of emergency or urgent public necessity, which shall be expressed in the notice of the meeting, an emergency meeting 5 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager or by three memb ers of the Council, and it shall be sufficient if the notice is posted two hours before the meeting is convened. 4.4 Executive Meetings: The Council may meet in an executive meeting or session pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Law a nd the City Charter. 4.5 Recessed Meetings: Any meeting of the Council may be recessed to a later time, provided that no recess shall be for a longer period than until the next regular meeting. 4.6 Notice of Meetings: The agenda for all meetings shall b e posted by the City Clerk on the City’s official bulletin board and notice of all meetings shall be given by the City Clerk pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Law. 5. CHAIR AND DUTIES 5.1 Chair: The Mayor shall preside as Chair at meetings of the Council. During the absence or disability of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem, the Council shall elect a temporary Chair who shall preside. [Charter, Section 35] 5.2 Call to Order: The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the Chair. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem, the meeting shall be called to order by the City Clerk, and a temporary Presiding Chair shall be elected as provided above. 5.3 Preservation of Order: The Chair shall preserve order and decorum, and confine members in debate to the question under discussion. The Chair may call upon law enforcement officials as necessary to enforce compliance with the rules contained herein. 5.4 Points of Order: The Chair 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 Chair be Sustained?”. If a majority of the members present vote “No,” the ruling of the Chair is overruled; otherwise, it is sustained. 5.5 Questions to be Stated: The Chair shall state all questions submitted for a vote and announce the result. 5.6 Call for Recess: The Chair may call for a recess at regular intervals at appropriate points in the meeting agenda, and shall call for a recess if requested by any two members. 6. ORDER OF BUSINESS 6 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 6.1 Setting of Agenda: The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the Agenda prepared by the Ci ty Manager. Items on the Agenda may be taken up out of order by the Chair or by majority vote of the Council. In the interest of time and efficiency, the City Manager may postpone items in an effort to hold an agenda to a reasonable length, and the person requesting the deleted agenda item shall be notified. No agenda item may be postponed longer than two regular Council meetings unless such further postponement is with the consent of the person requesting such agenda item. The Agenda shall be a listing by topic and item number of subjects to be considered by the Council, and shall be delivered to members of the Council no later than each Friday preceding the regular meeting to which it pertains. Conduct of business at Special and Emergency Meetings will likewise be governed by an agenda and rules of procedure contained herein. 6.2 Division into Regular and Consent Agendas: The City Manager shall divide the order of business into a Regular Agenda and a Consent Agenda. The consent agenda shall contain routine, non-controversial items that require Council action but need little or no Council deliberation. 6.3 Numbering and Indexing of Agenda Items : All items of any nature shall be numbered consecutively for the purpose of consideration on the agenda. The first item considered annually shall be designated Item Number One. Upon passage, the City Clerk shall separately index all ordinances and resolutions according to the calendar year and the order of passage within the year in which it was passed. 6.4 Other Business: 6.4.1 Presentation by Citizens: [a] Agenda Items: Any person who seeks action from the Council and wishes to address the Council on items on the Regular Agenda shall do so at the time the Agenda item is brought up for action. All persons shall sta te their name and address before addressing the Council. No one shall be allowed to speak more than once on any one subject until every person wishing to speak has spoken. [b] Non-Agenda Items: Any person who wishes to address the Council without having made this preparation may appear under the “Comments from the Public” part of the agenda. This rule does not apply to anyone appearing at a public hearing in response to an official notice or to persons who wish to address the Council on a matter which appears on the Regular Agenda. All persons shall state their name and address before addressing the Council. No one shall be allowed to speak more than once on any one subject until every person wishing to speak has spoken. [c] The Mayor, or any combination of three Council members, may place an item on the agenda for action by notifying the City Manager in a timely fashion. 7 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 6.4.2 Presentations by Members of Council: The Agenda shall provide a time when the Mayor or any Council member may bring before the Cou ncil any business that he/she feels should be heard by the Council and public or deliberated upon by the Council. These matters need not be specifically listed on the Agenda, but lengthy discussion and formal action on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent Council meeting. 6.4.3 Presentations by Staff : Staff will present information on areas of concern. 6.5 Time Limit: Citizen speakers will limit presentations to 5 minutes. Extensions will be granted only by the Chair or by a majority vote of the Council. 6.6 Public Hearings: For officially called Public Hearings, each speaker shall be limited to 5 minutes (unless otherwise set by the Chair). Proponents shall speak first followed by opponents. At the end of the hearing, the proponents shall be given an additional 5 minutes for rebuttal. 7. CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS ON CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 Motion to Approve Consent Agenda : A motion to approve the consent agenda shall not be debated. 7.2 Adoption of Consent Agenda : The consent agenda shall only be adopted by a unanimous vote of those Council members present at the meeting. 7.3 Movement of Item from Consent Agenda to Regular Agenda : At the request of any Council member an item shall be removed from the consent agenda and placed upon the regular agenda for debate. 8. CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS ON REGULAR AGENDA 8.1 Printed or Typewritten Form: All ordinances and resolutions shall be presented to the Council only in printed form. 8.2 City Attorney to Approve: All ordinances, resolutions and contracts and amendments thereto, on which legal certification is required, shall be approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney. 8.3 Recording of Votes: The ayes and noes shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions and the vote of each member shall be recorded in the minutes. [Charter, Section 37] 8 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 8.4 Majority Vote Required: An affirmative vote of 4 members is necessary to adopt or repeal any ordinance or resolution or take any official action in the name of the City, except as otherwise provided in the Charter or by the laws of the State of Texas. [Charter, Section 37] 8.5 Personal Privilege: The right of a member to address the Council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which his or her integrity, character, or motives are assailed, questioned, or impugned. 8.6 Dissents and Protests: Any member shall have the right to express dissent from or protest against any ordinance or resolution of the Council and have the reason therefore entered upon the minutes. Such dissent or protest must be filed in writing, and presented to the Council not later than the next regular meeting following the date of passage of such ordinance or resolution. 8.7 Voting Required: No member, including the Chair, shall be excused from voting except on matters involving the consideration of his own official conduct, or where his financial interests are involved, and in these instances he shall abstain. Any member prohibited from voting by financial interest shall announce at the commencement of consideration of the matter that he is abstaining from voting on the matter and shall not enter into discussion or debate on any such matter. The member having briefly stated the reason for his request, the excuse from voting shall be made without debate. [Charter, Section 37] If any member shall refuse to vote, except for reasons stated above, such refusal shall be noted in the minutes of the meeting. 8.8 Order of Precedence of Motions: The following motions shall have priority in the order indicated: 1. Adjourn (when privileged) 1/ and 2/ 2. Take a recess (when privileged) 1/ and 3/ 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) 3/ 7. Postpone to a certain time 3/ 8. Commit or refer 3/ 9. Amend 3/ and 4/ 10. Postpone indefinitely 11. Main motion 3/ 1 / The first two motions are not always privileged. To adjourn shall lose its privileged character and be a main motion if in any way qualified. To take a recess shall be privileged only when other business is pending. 9 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 2/ 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 3/ Can be amended – others cannot be amended 4/ A motion to amend shall be undebatable when the question to be amended is undebatable 8.9 Renewal: When the Council has adopted or rejected an ordinance, resolution or other original main motion, such original main motion cannot be again brought up or renewed at the same Council meeting. It may be reintroduced, or brought up for repeal or amendment, at any future meeting at which it is on the agend a. 8.10 Reconsideration: A motion to reconsider any action of the Council can be made at the same meeting at which the action was taken. Such a motion can be made only by a member who voted with the majority, but it can be seconded by any member. It can be acted on only at the same meeting or the next regular meeting; if not acted on, it is dead. 8.11 Lay on the Table: When a motion to Lay on the Table is adopted, a motion to Take from the Table may be made and acted on only at the same meeting or at the next regular meeting. If not taken from the table at one of these two meetings, the main motion under consideration has been neither adopted nor rejected, and it may be reintroduced at any subsequent meeting at which it is on the agenda. 8.12 The Previous Question: When the previous question is moved and seconded, it shall be stated as follows: “Shall the main question be now put?” There shall then be no further amendment or debate; but pending amendments shall be put in their order before the main question. If the motion for the previous question is lost, the main question remains before the Council. An affirmative vote of two -thirds of the Council shall be required to move the previous question. To demand the previous question is equivalent in effect to moving “that debate now cease, and the Council immediately proceed to vote on the pending motion.” In practice, this is done with the phrase “Call for the Question”, or simply saying “Question.” 8.13 Withdrawal of Motions: A motion may be withdrawn, or modified, by its mover without asking permission until the motion has been stated by the Chairman. If the mover modifies his motion, the seconder may withdraw his second. After the question has been stated, the mover shall neither withdraw it nor modify it wi thout the consent of the Council. 8.14 Amendments to Motions: No motion or proposition of a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment. A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order, but one to amend an a mendment to an amendment shall not be in order. 10 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 9. CREATION OF TASK FORCES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 9.1 Task Forces: The Mayor may, as the need arises, authorize the appointment of “ad hoc” Task Forces. Any committee so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created or when abolished by the Mayor. 9.2 Citizen Boards, Commissions, and Committees: The Mayor or Council may create other Boards, Commissions and Committees to assist in the conduct of the operation of the City government with such duties as the Mayor or Council may specify not inconsistent with the City Charter or Code. Memberships and selection of members shall be as provided by the Mayor or majority vote of the Council if not specified by th e City Charter or Code. Any Boards, Commissions, or Committees so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created, or when abolished by the Mayor or a majority vote of the Council. No Committee so appoin ted shall have powers other than advisory to the Council or to the City Manager, except as otherwise specified by the Charter, Code, or Statute. 9.3 Council Members as Liaison to Boards and Commissions : The Mayor shall assign a Council member to serve as Liaison to Boards, Commissions, and other entities. 9.4 Vote to Modify Action: The Council by majority vote of all members may modify any action taken by the Mayor under Sections 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3. 9.5 Attendance at Public Functions: If the Mayor is unable to attend a public function, the Mayor Pro Tem shall attend. If both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem are unable to attend, the Mayor Pro Tem shall request another member of the Council to attend. 10. VOTES REQUIRED: Unless otherwise provided by the Charter, State Statutes, or these rules, the number of the Council members present at a meeting of the Council shall be used to determine the appropriate number of votes required on any issue. Some questions on which the voting requirement is varied by the Charter, State Statutes and these rules are listed below: 10.1 Charter and State Statutory Requirements - Charter Amendment -- Five Votes: Ordinances submitting proposed Charter Amendments must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Council. [Article XI, Section 3, Texas Constitution & Texas Local Government Code § 9.004]. For a seven member Council, this means five members must vote affirmatively, as f our-sevenths is less than two-thirds, hence a five-sevenths vote of all the members is required. 11. RULES SUSPENSION OR AMENDMENT 11 OF 11 PAGES AGENDA ITEM NO.9A 11.1. 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 records. 11.2 Amendment of Rules: These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted, by a majority vote of all members of the Council. 12. SEVERABILITY If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in this resolution or application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity. PASSED AND APPROVED this the 1st day of October, 2013. ______________________________ M A Y O R ATTEST: ____________________ City Clerk