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HomeMy WebLinkAbout230515 -- Council Meeting Procedures 2023 COUNCIL MEETING PROCEDURES Upon adoption of this policy by the City Council, the following rules and order of business will be adhered to. Such action is in accordance with Section 33 of the Charter of the City of College Station, which states that the Council shall determine its own rules and order of business. MEETINGS Regular scheduled meetings will be held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Such meeting will be held at City Hall in the Council Chambers commencing no earlier than 6:00 p.m. unless there is a Public Hearing which must start no earlier than 6:00 pm. This time is subject to change at the discretion of the City Council. Special meetings shall be called upon request of the Mayor or a majority of the members of the City Council as prescribed by the City Charter Section 31. Periodic retreat sessions will also be scheduled to provide City Council time to discuss short term and long-term goals. The general public may address the City Council regarding any items on the agenda other than those items posted for Executive Session. Should the City Manager identify a need for a special meeting, they shall consult with the Mayor to schedule said meeting. All meetings shall be subject to the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Government Code, Ch. 551, Open Meetings, as amended. Most meetings of the City Council are held in person with teleconference participation. Executive sessions are an exception to the general rule that all meetings are open to the public. The Council may meet in Executive session at any regular or special meeting. Special executive sessions may also be called by the Mayor and the City Manager. The Open Meetings Act allows closed meetings in a few specific instances where privacy serves the public interest - i.e. to discuss real estate, economic development, competitive, and personnel matters. The Council must keep a record of the meeting and it shall be certified by the Mayor to assure that all matters discussed in executive session were properly recorded under certified agendas. The executive session should recess or conclude at a time convenient for the council to prepare for regular meeting. Council Meeting Procedures Page 2 These procedures shall apply to all meetings of the City Council. The Mayor shall be the presiding officer at all meetings of the City Council and have a voice in all of its proceedings. Council members shall speak only upon being recognized by the presiding officer whose recognition shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the event of the absence of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, the Mayor shall designate the presiding officer. In the event the Mayor has failed to designate the presiding officer, the Council member with the most seniority shall serve as presiding officer. In the event of equal seniority, the Council member with the lowest numbered place shall preside. Councilmembers may videoconference into a meeting but there is a policy that “no more than three members of the City Council may participate in this meeting from a remote location via videoconference call as allowed by Section 551.127, Texas Government Code.” A quorum of the City Council will be present during this meeting in the Council Chambers of the City of College Station, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, where citizens may attend the open session of this meeting as outlined in order to view the member(s) participating by videoconference call, as well as on the city’s video stream (www.cstx.gov) and/or broadcast over Channel 19. AGENDA Agendas are prepared and posted for every meeting of the governmental body. The agenda provides for Council members to submit future agenda items. Notice on the agenda shall read as follows: A Councilmember may inquire about a subject for which notice has not been given. A statement of specific factual information or the recitation of existing policy may be given. Any deliberation shall be limited to a proposal to place the subject on an agenda for a subsequent meeting. Any Council member may request the presiding official to place an item on a future agenda for discussion, with the consensus of the council. The City Manager will assign the item to a future agenda. An agenda planning calendar with all requested items shall be provided to the Council by the City Manager’s office. The Mayor, working in conjunction with the City Manager, will exercise the best judgment in determining what other items of business should come before the Council. Any member of the city staff wishing to have an item placed on the agenda shall submit that item to the City Manager’s office for approval. The City Secretary’s office will email the agenda packet for all Council Meetings on the Friday preceding the week of regularly scheduled meetings. This should afford time for all Council members to inquire into the nature of Council Meeting Procedures Page 3 each matter to be discussed or to personally investigate the matter to be better informed before a Council meeting. The City Manager’s office emails the Council the Monday before the meeting requesting Council to send any questions on items from that week’s meeting agenda, directly from the email sent with this information or to agendaquestions@cstx.gov by 2 p.m. Tuesday before the meeting. The City Manager’s office refers council’s questions to the appropriate department and respond with a full Q&A to Council on the day before the meeting, as well as making the Q&A available on the city’s website. The Public Communications Department assumes the responsibility for providing access on the city’s website of the agendas for the local media. The City Secretary’s office assumes the responsibility for compliance with the Open Meetings Act with regards to the posting and availability of agendas. These procedures shall apply to all meetings of the City Council. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE In all Council meetings, Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised 12th Edition (2020) will be followed. The following are commonly used procedures: 1. MAIN MOTION: A formal proposal that certain action be taken. Step 1. Addressing the Chair. (Begin the discussion by having a member make the motion. Motion should be made and seconded. After this, debate can be conducted. (Ex: "Mayor, I move the following…"). SECOND REQUIRED Yes DEBATABLE Yes AMENDABLE Yes VOTE REQUIRED Majority Step 2. Assigning the floor (Mayor recognizes the member) Step 3. Making the motion. Step 4. Seconding the motion. Step 5. Stating the motion. (Mayor states the motion) Step 6. Debating the question. (Mayor allows debate, with maker of motion speaking first in debate). Step 7. Putting the question. (Mayor takes the vote after debate is complete) Step 8. Announcing the result of vote. (Mayor announces the vote, members for and against). Council Meeting Procedures Page 4 2. TO TAKE FROM THE TABLE. To enable an assembly to take up and consider a motion that was postponed temporarily during the same meeting. Maybe used at a future meeting if the item that was tabled was posted. SECOND REQUIRED Yes DEBATABLE No AMENDABLE No VOTE REQUIRED Majority 3. AMENDING A MOTION. Any motion may be amended as follows: "Mayor, I move that we amend the motion by (adding, striking out, etc. the words…)." The amendment must be seconded and then it can be discussed. When discussion ends, the amendment is voted on first. If the amendment passes, the original motion is then put to a vote as amended. If the amendment fails, the original motion is put to a vote. SECOND REQUIRED Yes DEBATABLE Yes AMENDABLE Yes VOTE REQUIRED Majority 4. TO OFFER A SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT. Another way to change an original motion is by use of the Substitute Motion. A substitute motion is just an amendment that changes an entire sentence or paragraph. It must be seconded and then discussed. It may be amended and differs only from an amendment in that if the substitute motion passes it does away with the original motion. SECOND REQUIRED Yes DEBATABLE Yes AMENDABLE Yes VOTE REQUIRED Majority 5. LAY A MOTION ON THE TABLE. Sometimes a board or committee may wish to defer action on a motion. One way to accomplish this is to lay a motion on the table. It is in order to move that a main motion be laid on the table when discussion on the main motion has or is about to end. A tabled motion can be brought from the table during the same meeting but is usually done so at a later meeting when unfinished business is being considered. SECOND REQUIRED Yes DEBATABLE No AMENDABLE No VOTE REQUIRED Majority Council Meeting Procedures Page 5 6. MOTION TO CLOSE DEBATE (call for question). To prevent or stop discussion on the pending question, and to bring the pending question or questions to an immediate vote. SECOND REQUIRED Yes DEBATABLE No AMENDABLE No VOTE REQUIRED 2/3 (5 of 7 members present) 7. POINT OF ORDER. Anytime a member feels an incorrect procedure is being used, he can interrupt with a point of order request that requires the mayor to decide what the correct procedure is. Can have no motion applied to it except the motion to withdraw. SECOND REQUIRED No DEBATABLE No AMENDABLE No VOTE REQUIRED Mayor must concede or deny. RIGHTS IN DEBATE Robert's Rules of Order says that debate is the discussion regarding a motion that occurs after the presiding officer has restated the motion and before putting it to a vote. When a pending question is presented for consideration to the Council, the presiding officer shall recognize the member who made the motion to speak first and the member who seconded the motion to speak second. When two or more members wish to speak, the presiding officer shall name the member who is to speak first. No member of the Council shall interrupt another while speaking except to make a point of order or to make a point of personal privilege. No member shall speak more than five minutes on any amendment to the question except as further provided in this rule. No member shall speak more than the time limit provided herein on any subject or amendment, and such member may use his or her time in any combination, in separate speech or comments totaling the number of minutes permitted. The Mayor shall not be obligated to recognize any Council member for a second comment on the subject or amendment until every Council member wishing to speak has been allowed a first comment. Council members shall also have the right to yield a portion of time to another member. Any member deciding to speak more than five minutes on any question or more than five minutes on any amendment to the question shall be accorded Council Meeting Procedures Page 6 the privilege without objection upon motion supported by two-thirds of the Council. No Council member shall be permitted to indulge in personalities, use language personally offensive, arraign motives of members, charge deliberate misrepresentation, or use language tending to hold a member of the City Council up to contempt. If a member is speaking or otherwise transgressing the rules of the council, the presiding officer shall or any Council member may call him or her to order in which case he or she shall immediately be quiet unless permitted to explain. The Council shall, if appealed to, decide the case without debate. If the decision is in favor of the member call to order, he or she shall be at liberty to proceed, but not otherwise. CONFLICT OF INTEREST Each Council member should be aware of the conflict-of-interest regulations, including Charter provisions and state statutes. When a Council member has a conflict of interest with an agenda item, he or she should submit the required affidavit prior to the beginning of the meeting at which the agenda item is scheduled. Upon introduction of the agenda item, the Council member with the conflict of interest should announce that he or she has a conflict of interest and will not participate in discussion or consideration of the agenda item. It is not necessary that the council member leave the meeting room. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION A quorum of the meeting body will be present in the physical location stated above where citizens may also attend in order to view a member(s) participating by videoconference call as allowed by 551.127, Texas Government Code. The City uses a third-party vendor to host the virtual portion of the meeting; if virtual access is unavailable, meeting access and participation will be in-person only. Each agenda provides a virtual link for citizens to attend that may not attend in person. The City Council welcomes written and oral comments from the public at city Council meetings. If an individual who wishes to address the City Council regarding any item on the agenda other than those items posted for Executive Session must register with the City Secretary two (2) hours prior to the meeting being called to order. Individuals shall register to speak or provide written comments at https://forms.cstx.gov/Forms/CSCouncil or provide a name and phone number by calling the City Secretary’s office. Upon being called to speak an individual must state their name and city of Council Meeting Procedures Page 7 residence, including the state of residence if the city is located out of state. Speakers are encouraged to identify their College Station neighborhood or geographic location. Please do not carry purses, briefcases, backpacks, liquids, food, or any other object other than papers or electronic devices to the lectern, nor advance past the lectern unless you are invited to do so. The public attending any called meeting in-person or online that did not sign up to speak by the deadline, may speak at the discretion of the Mayor and will be invited to sign a guest register. The City Secretary as a matter of record will add their names to the minutes of said meeting. Speaking for up to Three Minutes. Each speaker’s remarks are limited to three (3) minutes. Any speaker addressing the Council through the use of a translator may speak for six (6) minutes. An individual speaking for up to three (3) minutes may attend the meeting virtually or in person. At the three (3) minute mark the City Secretary will announce that the speaker must conclude their remarks. Speaking for up to Ten Minutes. An individual may speak in person at the meeting for ten (10) minutes on behalf of a group of five (5) or more. The five (5) or more individuals must sign the registration form with the City Secretary before the meeting, must be present in person at the meeting when the speaker is introduced and speaking, and may not speak individually. Only two persons from the group may live in the same household. The person speaking on behalf of a group and the group cannot attend the meeting virtually for purposes of speaking or having a person speak on their behalf. At the ten (10) minute mark the City Secretary will announce that the speaker must conclude their remarks. A speaker who wishes to include computer-based information while addressing the Council must provide the electronic file to the City Secretary by noon on the day of the Council meeting. If an individual does not wish to address the City Council, but still wishes to be recorded in the official minutes as being in support or opposition to an agenda item, the individual may complete the registration form provided online at https://forms.cstx.gov/Forms/CSCouncil. These comments will be referred to the City Council and City Manager. When a large number of participants have indicated an interest in addressing the Council on a zoning case or another regular agenda item, the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem may set a maximum time limit for the proponents and opponents and a time limit for rebuttal, if necessary. Council Meeting Procedures Page 8 The following rules will be enforced by the Mayor during any called meeting of the City Council. HEAR VISITORS During Hear Visitors an individual may address the City Council on any item which does not appear on the posted agenda. The City Council will listen and receive the information presented by the speaker, ask staff to look into the matter, or place the issue on a future agenda. Topics of operational concern shall be directed to the City Manager. WORKSHOP AGENDA ITEMS Generally, workshop meetings are held for the Council to discuss strategic policies. Citizens may have public input if a citizens comments form is submitted or at the discretion of the Mayor. APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 7/25/66 REVISED BY THE CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE, 4/3/80 REVISED BY CITY COUNCIL 6/11/81 REVISED BY THE CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE, 2/86 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 11/10/88 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 2/7/90 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 5/23/96 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 8/13/98 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 6/24/99 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 7/12/01 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 6/13/02 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 4/8/04 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 7/28/2005 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, 12/13/2008 REVISED BY THE CITY SECRETARY AND LEGAL PER CITY COUNCIL, 6/9/2022 REVISED BY THE CITY COUNCIL 5/15/2023 _________________________________ Mayor __________________________________ City Attorney __________________________________ City Secretary