HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021-02 Amending Resolution 2016-27 adopting revised special rules of procedure for meetings of the Village CouncilRESOLUTION NO. 2O2I-02
A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COI.INCIL OF THE
VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDAO AMENDING
RESOLUTION 2016-27, AS AMENDED, By ADOPTING
REVISED SPECIAL RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR
MEETINGS OF THE VILLAGE COT]NCIL; PROVIDING
FOR CONFIRMATION AND RATIFICATION; AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, past Village Councils have adopted rules from time to time, to assist in the
orderly conduct of Village Council meetings; and
WHEREAS, this Village Council has determined to fuither modiff such rules of
procedures; and
WHEREAS, the Village Council finds that this Resolution is in the best interest and
welfare of the residents of the Village.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE
VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Village Council hereby ratifies and adopts the following rules of
procedure and order to govern the conduct of its meetings:
Brief comments and reports by Councilmembers, and special presentations, shall
be placed on the agenda for early in the meeting, prior to other business which
might be time-consuming.
The Village Manager's report shall be presented no later than 8:00 p.m.
Approval of minutes shall be dispensed by unanimous consent if there are no
corrections or additions. Councilmembers shall endeavor to address questions or
corrections in minutes in advance of Council meetings, thus enabling scrivener's
elrors or insubstantial corrections to be addressed and revised minutes to be timely
disseminated so as to facilitate approval of minutes by unanimous consent
whenever practicable.
4. A consent agenda shall be used in appropriate circumstances, containing
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resolutions, motions and other matters other than ordinances, which, in the opinion
of the Village Manager, are not controversial and may be acted upon without need
for discussion. All consent agenda items unanimously accepted as such by the
Council shall be approved and adopted by a single motion and affirmative roll-call
vote. Any Councilmember may require an item or items to be removed from the
consent agenda. Councilmembers shall however endeavor to resolve questions on
consent agenda items in advance of a meeting, so as to facilitate use of consent
agendas whenever practicable.
Brief comments offered by Councilmembers under the agenda item therefor
should be limited to informational reporting on a summary basis on topics of
current interest.
All reports, recommendations, discussion items, resolutions and ordinances shall
be identified on the agenda as to a sponsoring Councilmember or as to the
Manager, the Village Attorney, the Clerk or a requesting Village staff member.
All Village Council business shall be presented by motion. Motions formulated in
advance of agenda publications should be presented in writing (in full or in
summary) as a portion of the description of the agenda item.
A motion shall be presented in a clear and concise way and shall be limited to a
single subject or action. If necessary, the moving Councilmember, or the Clerk,
Village Attorney or Mayor, shall clarif, a motion to ensure that the Council and
the public are fully aware of the precise matter being considered.
9. A motion shall be seconded prior to any discussion.
After public comment, the Mayor should call on the maker of the motion, once
seconded, for discussion on the motion prior to calling on any other
Councilmember. In order to provide for the civil and efhcient operation of
Council Meetings: (1) each Councilmember shall have two, five-minute
opportunities (a total of 10 minutes) to debate an action item before a motion is
acted upon; and (2) each Councilmember shall have two, three-minute (a total of
six minutes) opportunities to debate a non-action item on the agenda. The Village
Council, after a majority vote, may increase the debate opportunities and/or
timeframes provided for in this subsection. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
timeframes identified above shall not be construed as a limitation on any
Councilmember's right to speak on any item before the Council.
11 Councilmembers seeking Council action on any item of business shall endeavor to
place the item on the agenda prior to the agenda being delivered to Council.
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Elaborating on Section 11 above, except in cases of articulated need to act on
time- sensitive or emergency matters, and upon a finding that such a need exists by
a majority roll-call vote of the Councilmembers, no action shall be taken by the
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Council on any item unless the item is listed as a motion, resolution or ordinance
on the agenda for the particular meeting in question. Items added to an agenda
may be discussed but shall not be the subject of dispositive Council action until
such items are identified on an agenda for a subsequent meeting, unless a majority
of Councilmembers determine by roll-call vote that a time-sensitive need or
emergency exists such as to require immediate action on a newly proposed item.
Other than brief comments by Councilmembers, items presented simply as a
report, recommendation or discussion item shall be specifically listed as such or
added as such on an agenda. Similar to Section L2 above, no dispositive action
shall be taken by the Council upon a report, recommendation or discussion item,
unless the majority of the Councilmembers present determine by roll-call vote that
a time-sensitive need or an emergency exists such as to require immediate action.
Accordingly, action on reports, recommendations or discussion items may be
taken only at a subsequent meeting where the item is listed on the agenda, if a
majority of the Councilmembers by roll-call vote do not find that such a time-
sensitive need or emergency exists such as to require immediate action.
Councilmembers should endeavor to limit extraneous or unnecessary discussion at
Council meetings by seeking to address questions and confirm information on
agenda items or pending matters in advance of meetings. The Village Manager
shall be reasonably available to Councilmembers outside of Council meetings to
disseminate background information and endeavor to address questions relative to
agenda items or pending matters.
Voice votes are to be used whenever possible unless a roll-call is requested by any
Councilmember or is required by law or these rules. A roll-call vote shall be used
for all ordinances.
Roll-call votes shall be taken on a rotational basis so that different
Councilmembers (including the Mayor) are called on to vote first, second and so
on.
When there are 3, but not 4, affirmative votes for an item of business (other than
an ordinance) under circumstances in which one or more Councilmembers are
absent, any absent Councilmember may subsequently move for reconsideration of
the item, at the next regular Council meeting.
When there are 3, but not 4, affirmative votes for an ordinance under
circumstances in which one or more Councilmembers are absent, the ordinance
shall automatically be continued to the next regular Council regular meeting for
action, and this shall be announced by the Village Clerk prior to adjoumment.
When Councilmembers are unable to attend meetings in person due to exigent
circumstances, they may participate telephonically or by other electronic means,
subject to approval by a majority of the Council on a seconded motion, following
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Council's determination that exigent circumstances in fact exist so as to justify
remote participation consistent with applicable state law pertaining to public
meetings; provided that the communication connection is reasonably clear,
without disruptive background noise or distortion. Councilmembers participating
in meetings remotely, as provided above, will not count towards a quorum but can
vote on items presented for a vote at such meeting if a quorum exists.
Councilmembers are expected to be physically present and on-time at Council
meetings, and Councilmembers shall use diligent efforts to manage their personal
schedules to ensure in-person participation whenever practicable. The Council
may adopt procedures from time to time to manage remote participation, when
such participation is necessary and otherwise approved as provided above.
The Village Council understands that civility in governmental process encourages
public participation and confidence in government, engendering positive
collaboration on matters of public interest; that public discourse in a judicious and
respectful manner is essential to a well-functioning government; and that good
manners and common courtesy are essential components of effective public
discourse.
Therefore, the Village Council as whole, and each Councilmember, will engage in,
foster and encourage open, honest and respectful communications between and
among Councilmembers, the Village Manager and Village personnel, vendors and
third-persons, and the public. Councilmembers will be considerate of and
respectful towards all persons present at Council meetings and all persons with
business or interests before the Council.
Council meetings will be conducted in a business-like, orderly yet open and
cordial manner, so as to engender constructive and efficient progress on Village
business without unnecessary formalities.
Presentations by members of the public will be limited to three minutes unless a
greater period of time is authorized by Council relative to particular topics. The
Mayor retains reasonable discretion to allow speakers to conclude their
presentations despite exceeding the allotted time.
Councilmembers will refrain from displays of anger, rudeness and immoderate
speech or disrespect, and endeavor to work through instances of impatience with
restraint, with a view toward fostering a productive discussion.
Councilmembers will endeavor to listen respectfully and attentively when others
are speaking. Councilmembers will respect the rights of each individual to express
his or her opinion in a civil manner consistent with these rules.
Councilmembers will limit strictly semi-private or "side-bar" conversations on the
dais, and will refrain altogether from such conversations on business items before
the Council.
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Discussion will cease immediately if the Mayor calls for it and gavels for silence.
Councilmembers will make a sincere effort to understand the issues being raised
by another Councilmember, members of the public or others with business or
interests before the Council, and seek to address issues in the best interest of the
Village.
29 Where material disagreements exist, Councilmembers will reasonably endeavor to
find consensus where practicable, seeking where practicable to reconcile
competing views and compromise, where doing so would be in the best interest of
the Village overall; recognizing in all events that Councilmembers are responsible
for exercising their best independent judgement and discretion on all matters
before Council.
Councilmembers will strive to be well-organized and reasonably concise in their
remarks, pertinent to the flow of discussion where practicable, so as to contribute
to the exchange of information and quality of debate.
31 In addition to Council meetings, Councilmembers are encouraged to regularly
attend and participate in workshops, planning sessions, town hall meetings and
other Village functions, so as to be well-informed and engaged with constituents.
If Councilmembers will be absent from a Council meeting or other scheduled
event at which they are expected, they should make every effort to notify the
Village Clerk in advance of the meeting.
Subject to Sunshine Law constraints, Councilmembers will endeavor to report to
their colleagues, actively and on a timely basis as events warrant, as to particular
initiatives undertaken by individual Councilmembers. Individual Councilmember
initiatives should be undertaken only with reasonable consensus of Council.
Councilmembers will bear in mind Village Charter Section 2.02,which states that
the Mayor shall be recognized as the head of the Village for, among other
pu{poses, all dealings with other governmental entities.
Section 2. References herein to Councilmembers shall refer to each member of the
Village Council and all of them, including the Mayor
Section 3.In addition to these rules, Robert's Rules of Order will apply to all Council
meetings
Section 4.Confirmation and Ratification. All other procedures provided in
Resolution 2016-27, as amended, not otherwise amended are hereby confirmed and ratified.
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Section 5. Elfective Date. This Resolution shall be effective immediately from and
after adoption hereof.
PASSED and ADOPTED this jjs-dar of January . 2021.
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MICHAEL W. DAVEY,
ATTEST:
VILLAGE CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGAL S
b"GJ^
WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE & BIERMAN, P.L.
VILLAGE ATTORNEY
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