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OR 2001-964 Conducting City Council meetingsAN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS ORDINANCE NO. 2001-964 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS, REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 87377 AND AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY AMENDING ARTICLE 1-10, "RULES, TIMES AND PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS"; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council has adopted Ordinance No. 87377, passed on February 10, 1987, which provides guidelines for the conducting of City Council meetings; and, WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend, in part, said guidelines relating to all City Council meetings; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS; SECTION 1. That Ordinance No. 87377 adopted by the City Council on February 10, 1987 be, and the same is, hereby repealed in its entirety. SECTION 2. That the City of Coppell Code of Ordinances, Article 1-10 "Rules, Times and Procedures for Conducting City Council Meetings", be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: "ARTICLE 1.10. RULES, TIMES AND CONDUCTING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS PROCEDURES FOR Sec. 1-10-1. Creation WHEREAS, Section 3.12 of the City Charter of the City of Coppell states that the city council shall, by ordinance, determine its own rules and order of business; and WHEREAS, Section 3.09 of the City Charter of the City of Coppell states that the city council shall hold at least one regular meeting each month and as many additional meetings as it deems necessary to transact the business of the city. The city council shall fix, by ordinance, the date and time of the regular meetings; and WHEREAS, the city council of the City of Coppell recognizes that in order to enhance the concept of effective and democratic government, it is essential that the city council establish rules for the conduct of council meetings, both formal and informal, and to establish rules of courtesy for those attending meetings of the council, so that the true deliberative process will not be disturbed. Sec. 1-10-2. Authority Article 3, Section 3.12 of the City of Coppell Home Rule Charter provides that the council shall, by ordinance, determine its own rules and order of business. 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. Sec. 1-10-3. General rules 1-10-3.1. Meetings to bepub/ic. All official meetings of the council shall be open to the public, except those authorized by the laws of the State of Texas to be otherwise. 1-10-3.2. Quorum. Five members of the council shall constitute a quorum (Charter Article 3, Section 3.10). 1-10-3.3. Minutes of meetings. The council shall provide written minutes to be taken of all council meetings, except executive sessions authorized bylaw, and such minutes shall be a public record and shall be maintained by the city secretary. These minutes shall be open to inspection by the general public (Charter Article 3, Section 3.12). In addition to the official minutes of each council meeting, except executive sessions authorized by law, the city secretary shall make an audio recording of the proceedings. These audio recordings shall be kept as long as administratively valuable, but not less than a period of 36 months from the date of the meeting. 1-10-3.4. Questions subject to division. If two or more subjects or points are involved, in any vote of the council, any member of the council may require a division, if the question reasonably allows a division. 1-10-3.5. Right offloor. Any member of the council desiring to speak shall be recognized by the chairman, and shall confine his or her remarks to the subject or question under consideration or to be considered. 1-10-3.6. Attendance of city manager. The city manager, or acting city manager, shall attend all meetings of the council unless excused by a majority vote of the council members present. Such excuse may be granted after the absence where time will not permit notification before date of absence. He shall 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 4, Section 4.01 D 4). 1-10-3. 7. City attorney. The city attorney, or acting city attorney, shall attend all regular meetings of the council and shall give an opinion, either written or oral, on questions of law as requested by the mayor or a member of the council such as requests by the mayor or city council. The city attorney shall attend such other meetings or workshops as directed by the city manager or city council. The city attorney shall act as the council's final authority concerning procedural and parliamentary questions. 1-10-3.8. City secretary. The city secretary, or acting city secretary, shall attend all regular meetings of the city council unless excused by a majority of the council and shall keep the official minutes and perform such other duties as may be requested of him or her by the Charter or the city manager. The city secretary shall attend such other meetings or workshops as directed by the city manager or city council. Such excuse may be granted after the absence where time will not permit notification before date of absence (Charter Article 4, Section 4.05). 1-10-3.9. Department heads or employees. Any department head or employee of the city, when requested by the city manager, shall attend any meeting of the council. 1-10-3.10. Rules of order. That certain edition of Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, should govern the proceedings of the council in all cases, unless they are in conflict with these rules or the City Charter. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, no action of the council shall be held invalid by reason of any failure to comply with the provisions of the adopted Roberts Rules of Order, Revised. 1-10-3.11. Suspension of rules. Any provision of these rules not covered by the City Charter or laws of the State of Texas may be temporarily suspended by a two-thirds vote of all members of the council present. The vote on any such suspension shall be by roll call called by the city secretary or the person serving as city secretary and shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. 1-10-3.12. Amendment to rules. These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted, by a two-thirds vote of all members of the council, provided that the proposed amendments or new rules have been introduced into the record at the last regular council meeting. Sec. 1-10-4. Types of meetings 1-10-4.1. Regular meetings. The council shall meet in the council chamber at the City Hall on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. for open session unless otherwise officially changed by the city council (Charter Article 3, Section 3.09). The starting times for executive sessions and work sessions shall remain flexible. 1-10-4.2. Special meetings. Special meetings of the city council shall beheld on the call of the mayor or a majority of the city council members (Charter Article 3, Section 3.09). Notice shall be given to each member of the council. The call for a special meeting shall be filed with the city secretary in written form, who shall then notify each council member personally or by leaving a copy of such written notice at their usual place of abode, except that announcement of a special meeting, during any regular meeting at which a quorum of the members are present, shall be sufficient notice to council members present of such special meeting. The call for a special meeting shall specify the date and hour of the special meeting, and shall list the subject or subjects to be considered. No special meeting shall be held unless notice and the agenda have been posted in accordance with the open meetings act of the State of Texas. Only such business may be transacted at a special meeting as may be listed in the call of said meeting or as indicated thereto. 1-10-4. 3. Work sessions. The council may meet informally in work sessions at the call of the mayor, or upon the call of a majority of the members of the council, to interchange information, provided that all discussions and conclusions shall be informal. A work session may include the informal meeting more commonly referred to as a pre-agenda meeting. Notice of any work sessions shall be given in accordance with the open meetings act of the State of Texas and no action shall be taken at a work session unless authorized by a specific agenda item. 1-10-4.4. Recessed meetings. Any meeting of the council may be recessed to a later time, provided that any recess shall be to a certain date and time. If the meeting which is recessed required published notice in the newspaper and the recessed date and time is announced at the initial meeting, no additional newspaper publication shall be necessary. Sec. 1-10-5. Chairman and duties 1-10-5.1. Chairman. The mayor, if present, shall preside as chairman at all meetings of the council. In the absence of the mayor, the mayor pro tem shall preside (Charter Article 3, Section 3.05). In the absence of both the mayor and the mayor pro tem, the council shall elect a chairman. 1-10-5.2. Call to order. The meetings of the council shall be called to order by the mayor, or in his or her 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 manager or city secretary. 1-10-5.3 Preservation of order. The chairman shall preserve order and decorum, prevent personal references to council members or the impugning of members' motives, and confine members in debate to the question under discussion 1-10-5.4. Points of order. The chairman 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 chairman be sustained?" 1-10-5.5. Questions to be stated. The chairman shall state all questions submitted for a vote and the city secretary or the person acting as the city secretary will announce the results of the roll call vote in the following form: "Being Yes votes for the question and No votes against the question, the question is passed or defeated." Provided, however, that the announcement of passed or defeated shall not affect the validity of the vote if such announcement is not correct. Sec. 1-10-6. Order of business 1-10-6.1 Agenda. The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the agenda prepared by the city manager (Charter Article 4, Section 4.01 D 5). The agenda for any regular or special meeting shall be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the council. The agenda for regular city council meetings shall be delivered to members of the council no later than each Friday preceding the Tuesday meeting to which it pertains. The city manager will exercise his best judgment in determining the most important items received for placement on the agenda and shall add other items of business in his discretion to come before the council. 1-10-6.1.1. Council members' submission of agenda items. All council members may submit agenda items. All items to be placed on the agenda must be submitted in writing to the city manager by 10:00 a.m. on the second Monday preceding the meeting at which he or she wishes the subject to be considered. Upon a majority vote of the council members the city manager shall be required to place an item on the agenda of a regular meeting. 1-10-6.1.2. Citizens' submission of agenda items. Any resident of the City of Coppell shall have the right and opportunity to submit an item to be placed on the agenda of a regular council meeting. An item requested by a citizen to be placed on the agenda must be submitted in writing to the office of the city manager no later than 10:00 a.m. on the second Monday preceding the regular meeting at which the citizen is requesting the subject to be considered. The request must clearly state the nature and subject of the item to be considered. If in the opinion of the city manager the agenda of the requested meeting is lengthy, he or she may defer the item to the next regular meeting of the council. In the case of a delay, the city manager will notify the citizen of the delay no later than the Friday preceding the regular meeting requested by the citizen. In no case may a citizen's request be delayed for more than one regular meeting (Charter Article 3, Section 3.12). 1-10-6.1.3. City staff submission of agenda items. Any department head wishing to have an item placed on the agenda of a meeting of the council, shall submit a written request to the city manager of that fact no later than 10:00 a.m. on the second Monday preceding the meeting at which he or she wishes the subject to be considered. 1-10-6.1.4. City manager's discretion. Notwithstanding the submission deadlines in subparts 6.1.1, 6.1.2, and 6.1.3 above, the city manager in his discretion may permit additional agenda items and any documents for distribution to the council to be submitted later than the deadlines specified. 1-10-6.1.5. Emergency agenda items. An item not appearing on the regular agenda shall not be taken up for discussion as a matter of council business during a regular or special meeting unless it is of an emergency nature and comes to the city manager's attention too late to appear on the agenda, and only then after being posted in accordance with the current or future laws of the State of Texas. Prior to consideration, any emergency item may be removed from the agenda by majority vote of the council members at the meeting. 1-10-6. 2. Presentations by citizens 1-10-6. 2.1. Citizen appearance Persons wishing to speak on any matter other than an item scheduled for a public hearing on the agenda, must sign a register and list their residence address, provided by the city secretary on a table outside the council chambers, and such persons may be heard only at the "citizens appearance" portion of a regular meeting or special meeting. Each speaker must state his or her name and address of residence. Presentations by individuals during the "citizens appearance" shall be limited to two minutes each. An individual speaker's time may be extended for an additional two minutes with the approval of a majority of the council members present. There shall be a cumulative limit of 20 minutes allotted of any regular or special council meeting. Those persons who signed up to speak at the "citizens appearance" shall be called upon in the order that they have signed the provided register. No personal attacks by any speaker shall be made against any member of the council, mayor, individual, group or corporation (Charter Article 3, Section 3.12). 1-10-6.2.2. Pubfic hearings. Any person wishing to appear at a public hearing held by the council pursuant to any official notice thereof shall sign a register and list his or her address, provided by the city secretary, outside the council chamber indicating the item on the agenda the person wishes to address. Each speaker will be limited to five minutes, and there shall be a cumulative limit of 60 minutes for all those speaking for an item on the agenda, and a like limit for all those speaking against an item on the agenda. No group or organization shall be allowed more than three speakers on any agenda item. These limitations may be extended at the discretion of a majority vote of the council members present. Sec. 1-10-7. Consideration of ordinances, resolutions and motions 1-10-7.1. Form for introduction. Each proposed ordinance shall be introduced in written or printed form required for adoption (Charter Article 3, Section 3.13 A). 1-10-7.2. Procedure for introduction. Any member of the council may offer any ordinance in writing that has been placed on the agenda at a regular council meeting. Copies of proposed ordinances, in the form required for adoption, shall be furnished to members of the council. No action can be taken on any ordinance which has not been made available to the council and to the public at the office of the city secretary, at least 48 hours prior to the meeting at which it is to be considered. This rule, as applied to any specific ordinance, may be suspended in case of necessity by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of all voting members of the council. (Charter Article 3, Section 3.13 B). 1-10-7.3. Effective date. Every ordinance shall become effective upon adoption, or at any later time specified in the ordinance, except that every ordinance imposing any penalty, fine or forfeiture shall become effective after publication of its caption once in the official newspaper of the city. (Charter Article 3, Section 3.13 C). 1-10-7.4. Reading of ordinance. The reading aloud of a title and caption of the ordinance shall suffice as a reading. If two council members request that the ordinance be read in its entirety, it must be so read. (Charter Article 3, Section 3.13 D). 1-10-7.5. Recording of votes. Voting, except on procedural motions, shall be by roll call called by the city secretary or the person acting as or for the city secretary and shall be recorded in the minutes. (Charter Article 3,Section 3.12). 1-10-7.6. Amending or repealing an ordinance. An ordinance shall not be amended or repealed except by the adoption of another ordinance. (Charter Article 3, Section 3.13 A). 1-10-7. 7. Fores required to pass. Approval of every ordinance, resolution or motion, except as specifically provided in Section 3.06 of the City of Coppell Home Rule Charter, shall require the affirmative vote of four or more members of the city council unless otherwise provided by law. (Charter Article 3, Section 3.~0). 1-10-7.8. Abstention. Should any member of the council choose to abstain from voting on any ordinance, resolution or motion before the city council, where no declared conflict of interest exists, his or her vote shall be declared as an affirmative vote in the official minutes of the City of Coppell. (Charter Article 3, Section 3.11 B). 1-10-7.9. Reconsideration. A motion to reconsider any action of the Council can be made only upon the affirmative vote of four or more members of the city council. 1-10-7.10. Withdrawal of motions. A motion may be withdrawn or modified by the mover at any time prior to passage without asking permission. If them over modified his or her motion, the seconder may withdraw his or her second. Sec. 1-10-8. Budget amendments after adoption 1-10-8.1. Supplemental appropriations. Upon the certification of the city manager that there are funds available for appropriations in excess of those estimated in the budget, the council may make such supplemental appropriations as desired. The council shall pass an ordinance authorizing the supplemental appropriations. (Charter Article 7, Sections 7.04 A and 7.03C3). 1-10-8.2. Emergency appropriations. At any time in a fiscal year the council may make emergency appropriations to meet a pressing need for public expenditures, for other than regular or recurring requirements, affecting life, health, property or the public peace (Charter Article 7, Section 7.04B). 1-10-8.3. Transfer of appropriations. At any time during the fiscal year, the city manager may transfer part or all of any unencumbered appropriation balance of an approved budget among departments, offices and agencies within a fund. The City Manager shall notify the council on a periodic basis of such transfer. (Charter Article 7, Section 7.04 D). Sec. 1-10-9. Creation of committees, boards and commissions 1-10-9.1. Council committees. The council may, as the need arises, authorize the appointment of "ad hoc" council committees. The mayor shall appoint the members of the council committees, subject to the approval 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. 1-10-9.2. 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. The council shall, by ordinance, prescribe the purpose, composition, functions, duties, accountability and tenure of each such board, commission and committee. Any board, commission or 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. No board, commission or committee so appointed shall have powers other than advisory to the council or city manager, except as provided by the laws of the State of Texas Sec. 1-10-10. Enforcement of decorum 1-10-10.1. Warning. All persons (other than members of the council) shall, at the request of the chairman, be silent. If after receiving a warning from the chairman, a person or group of persons, persists in disturbing the meeting, the chairman or the person acting as chairman may order that person or group of persons to remove himself or themselves from the meeting. If they do not remove himself or themselves from the meeting, the chairman or the person acting as chairman may order the sergeant at arms to remove him or them. 1-10-10.2. Removal from a meeting. The chief of police, or such member or members of the police department as the chairman or the person acting as or for the chairman may designate, shall be sergeant at arms of the council meetings. He or they shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the chairman for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the meetings of the council. Upon instruction of the chairman, it shall be the duty of the sergeant at arms to remove from the meeting any person or persons who intentionally disturb or disturbs the proceedings of the council. 1-10-10.3. Resisting removal from a meeting. Any person or persons who resist removal by the sergeant at arms shall be charged with violating Section 42.05 of Vernon's Annotated Penal Code. Sec. 1-10-11. Cameras and recording devices 1-10-11.1. Supplemental lighting. Supplemental lighting for television and motion picture cameras shall be used only with the exercise of extreme discretion with regard to the intensity and duration of such lighting and with a view to creating the least amount of interference with or disturbance of the proceedings of the council and the least amount of discomfort to the members of the public in attendance. 1-10-11.2. Disruptive lighting. The chairman or the person acting as chairman shall have the authority to determine whether the intensity and/or duration of supplemental lighting is such that it disturbs the proceedings of the council and upon making such a determination require that the use of such lighting be discontinued. Sec. 1-10-12. Enforcement 1-10-12.1. Motion to enforce. Any member of the council may move to require the chairman to enforce these rules and the affirmative vote of four members of the council shall require him to do so." SECTION 3. That all provisions of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Coppell, Texas, in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same are hereby, repealed, and all other provisions not in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 4. That this ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage as the law and charter in such cases provide. DULY PASSED by the City Council of the City of Coppell, Texas, this the 25th day of September, 2001. APPROVED: CANDY SHEEHAN, MAYOR ATTEST: LIBBY BALL, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO FORM: ROBERT E. HAGER, CITY ATTORNEY 1 o 42997