Loading...
Res 121-2001 10/2/2001r � RESOLUTION NO. 121 -2001 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 80 -2000, GOVERNING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW. WHEREAS, the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas, and the City Charter of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, authorize the City 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, Resolution No. 19 -87 and Resolution No. 151 -96 were passed by the City Council adopting Rules of Procedure for the City Council of Wichita Falls, Texas; and, WHEREAS, because of its desire to effectively and efficiently serve the public through the medium of public meetings, it has become necessary to amend the guidelines relating to proper conduct of all parties present for such meetings. 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. I % 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 City Manager of possible absence from a meeting. 2.2 Misconduct: The Council may punish its own members for disorderly behavior, and with the consent of four -fifths [4/5] 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 properly 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 wishing 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 requested 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. 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, r he or she shall remain silent or shall alter his or her remarks so as to comply 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 employees 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. [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 Council, 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 2-11 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. [Section 551, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE] 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 may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager or by three members of the Council, and it shall be sufficient if the notice is posted two hours before the meeting is convened. [Section 551, TEXAs GOVERNMENT CODE] 4.4 Executive Meetings: The Council may meet in an executive meeting or session pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Law and the City Charter. [Section 551, TExAs GOVERNMENT CODE; Charter Section 34] 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 be 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. [Section 551, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE] 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 Tern 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 Tern, 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 6.1 Setting of Agenda: The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the Agenda prepared by the City Manager. Items on the Agenda may be taken up out of order by majority vote of the Council. In the interest of time and r 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 last two digits of the calendar year and the subsequent of passage within the year in which it was passed. 6.4 Other Business: 6.4.1 Presentation by Citizens: i r [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 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. [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. The "Comments from the Public" part of the agenda shall not be included in the City's broadcast of the meeting. 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. 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 Council 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 i r lengthy discussion and formal action on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent Council meeting. concern. 6.4.3 Presentations by Staff: Staff will present information on areas of 6.5 Time Limit: Citizen speakers will limit presentations to five [5] minutes. Extensions will be granted only by a majority vote of the Council. 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] 8.4 Majority Vote Required: An affirmative vote of four [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 Votinq 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 or her financial interest 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/ C" 3. Raise a question of privilege m 4. Lay on the table 5. Previous question (2/3 vote required) 6. Limit or extend limits of debate (2/3 vote required) 3/ d 7. Postpone to a certain time 3/ 8. Commit or refer 3/ 9. Amend 3/ and 4/ 10. Postpone indefinitely 11. Main motion 3/ C m w 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. 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 31 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 agenda. 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 [2/3] 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 without 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 amendment to an amendment shall not be in order. 9. CREATION OF TASK FORCES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 9.1 Task Forces: The Council may, as the need arises, authorize the appointment of "ad hoc" Task Forces by a majority vote of the Council. Any committee so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created or when abolished by a majority vote of the Council. 9.2 Citizen Boards, Commissions, and Committees: The 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 Council may specify not inconsistent with the City Charter or Code. Memberships and selection of members shall be as provided by majority vote of the Council if not specified by the 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 a majority vote of the Council. No Committee so appointed 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 Council by majority vote shall assign a Council member to serve as Liaison to Boards, Commissions, and other entities selected by the Council. 9.4 Attendance at Public Functions: If the Mayor is unable to attend a public function, the Mayor Pro Tern shall attend. If both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern are unable to attend, the Mayor Pro Tern shall request another member of the Council to attend. 9.5 Sunset Provisions: The City Manager shall present to the City Council in December of each calendar year a list of task forces, Boards, and Commissions whose duration is not governed by Charter or Statute. The City Council shall review the list and shall determine if any task force, board or commission shall be abolished, after consultation therewith. 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 [1] Charter Amendment -- Five Votes: Ordinances submitting proposed Charter Amendments must be adopted by a two- thirds [2/3] vote of the Council. [Article XI, Section 3, Texas Constitution and Section 9.004 of the TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE]. For a seven member Council, this means five members must vote affirmatively, as four - sevenths [4/7] is less than two- thirds, hence a five- sevenths [5/7] vote of all the members is required. 11. RULES SUSPENSION OR AMENDMENT 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 That 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. SECTION 2. It is hereby officially found and determined that the meeting at which this resolution was passed was open to the public as required by law. i PASSED AND APPROVED this the 2nd day of October, 2001. ATTEST: ity Clerk MAYOR