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HomeMy Public PortalAboutResolution 2023-2 -Rules and ProceduresRESOLUTION 2023-2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CRESTVIEW RESCINDING AND REPLACING THE RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS RESOLUTION 13-12, AND ALL SUBSEQUENT AMENDING RESOLUTIONS; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY; GENERAL RULES; PROVIDING FOR SCRIVENERS ERRORS; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY; AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that it is in the best interest of the City to rescind and replace the City of Crestview City Council Rules and Procedures as approved in Resolution 13-12; amended by Resolution 13-17; amended by Resolution 16-03; amended by Resolution 16-12; amended by Resolution 16-18; amended by Resolution 19-21; and further amended by Resolution 20-05 and adopting Resolution 2023-2 Rules of Procedure; and WHEREAS, it is recognized that rules of procedure will establish consistent agendas and orderly meetings; and WHEREAS, recent general law amendments have affected municipal meeting procedures; and NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Crestview does hereby adopt the following Rules of Procedure for the City of Crestview City Council meetings: SECTION I. The City of Crestview, City Council Rules and Procedures shall be amended as per Section 11. 1. AUTHORITY: 1.1 Authority: The authority for this resolution is the City Charter Section 166.021 and Sec. 286.0114, Florida Statutes. SECTION II 2. RULES ESTABLISHED: 2.1 Rules Established: 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 by these rules. SECTION III 3. GENERAL RULES: 3.1 Meetings to be Public: All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, except for such meetings as are exempt by general law. 3.2 Quorum: A majority of the membership of the Council, free of voting conflict, shall constitute a quorum and be necessary for the transaction of business. If a quorum is not present, those in Page 1 of 8 attendance will be named and they shall adjourn to a later time. 3.3 Compelling Attendance: The Council may adjourn from time to time to compel the attendance of absent councilmembers. 3.4 Minutes of Proceedings: Minutes of the meetings of the Council shall be kept by the City Clerk, except for such meetings as are exempt by general law. 3.5 Right of Floor: Any Councilmember desiring to speak shall first be recognized by the Mayor and shall confine his or her remarks to the one subject under consideration or to be considered. 3.6 City Attorney: The City Attorney or his or her designee is expected to attend all meetings of the Council and provide guidance and opinions, on questions of law and shall act as the Council's parliamentarian by advising the Mayor regarding matters of procedure. 3.7 City Clerk: The City Clerk or his or her designee shall attend all meetings of the City Council and shall keep the official minutes of proceedings and perform such other duties as may be requested by the Mayor, City Manager or City Council. 3.8 Rules of Order: Roberts Rules of Order Revised shall serve as a guide to the proceedings of the Council to the extent they are not in conflict with these rules. 3.9 Motion to Reconsider: An action of the Council may be reconsidered only at the same meeting at which the action was taken or at the next regularly scheduled meeting. A motion to reconsider may be made only by a Councilmember who voted on the prevailing side of the question and must be concurred in by a majority of those present at the meeting. An adoption of a motion to reconsider shall rescind the action reconsidered. 3.10 Motion to Rescind: An action of the Council taken at a previous meeting (the "previous action") may be rescinded at a subsequent meeting. Motions to Rescind shall be governed by the following process: 1. A Councilmember seeking rescission of a previous action shall place a Motion to Consider Rescission on the agenda of a regular Council meeting. If a majority of the full membership of the Council approves the Motion to Consider Rescission, the Motion to Rescind shall be placed on the agenda of the next regular Council meeting. If less than a majority of the full membership vote in favor of the Motion to Consider Rescission, no Motion to Rescind the previous action shall be considered by the Council. 2. Approval of a Motion to Rescind requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the full membership of the Council. 3. If a Motion to Rescind is approved, the Council shall, at the same meeting, either consider the previous action or set a date certain for its consideration. 4. Notwithstanding anything stated above, a Motion to Rescind initiated by a Councilmember who voted on the losing side in connection with the previous action shall not be in order unless the Council determines: a. Subsequent information has become known that (i) would have been material to the Council's decision on the previous action and (ii) would have militated for a different result; or b. A rescission of the previous action is imperative to avoid a material cost, risk, harm, or other jeopardy to the City or its citizens, and the material cost, risk, harm, or other jeopardy could not have been known at the time of the Council's previous action. Page 2 of 8 5. For purposes of the Motion to Rescind, a Councilmember who was absent for a vote on the motion in connection with the previous action is deemed to have been on the prevailing side of the vote. 3.11 Tie Vote: In the event of a tie vote on any motion, the motion shall be considered lost. 3.12 Vote Change: Any Councilmember may change his or her vote, before the next item is called for consideration on or before a recess or adjournment is called, whichever occurs first, but not thereafter, without the unanimous consent of the Councilmembers present and eligible to vote. 3.13 Privilege of Closing Debate: Any Councilmember may move to close debate and call for the question on the motion being considered which shall be nondebatable. The Chair may then call for the question. 3.14 Action Savings: No action taken by the Council shall be deemed void or invalid because of the failure to adhere to Robert's Rules of Order or the provisions of these rules of order and procedure, except as may otherwise be provided by general law. 3.15 Ex Parte Communications: 1. The substance of any ex-parte communication with a local public official which relates to quasi-judicial action pending before the official is not presumed prejudicial to the action if the subject of the communication and the identity of the person, group, or entity with whom the communication took place is disclosed and made part of the record before final action on the matter. 2. A local public official may read a written communication from any person. However, a written communication that relates to quasi-judicial action pending before a local public official shall not be presumed prejudicial to the action, and such written communication shall be made a part of the record before final action on the matter. 3. Local public officials may conduct investigations and site visits and may receive expert opinions regarding quasi-judicial action pending before them. Such activities shall not be presumed prejudicial to the action if the existence of the investigation, site visit, or expert opinion is made a part of the record before fmal action on the matter. 4. Disclosure made pursuant to subparagraphs 1., 2., and 3 must be made before or during the public meeting at which a vote is taken on such matters, so that persons who have opinions contrary to those expressed in the ex parte communication are given a reasonable opportunity to refute or respond to the communication. This subsection does not subject local public officials to part III of chapter 1122 for not complying with this paragraph. SECTION IV 4. TYPES OF MEETINGS: 4.1 Regular Meeting: The City Council shall meet regularly at least once a month at such times and places as the City Council may prescribe. Generally, the City Council shall meet in the City Council Chambers with the Regular City Council Meetings to commence at 6:00 p.m., unless otherwise specified, on the second and fourth Monday of each month. 4.2 Special Meetings: The Mayor, three members of the Council, the City Manager, or City Clerk may call a Special Meeting of the Council whenever, in their opinion, the public business may require it. The request for such a special meeting shall be communicated to Page 3 of 8 the City Manager or, in his absence, to the City Clerk. Written notice of such special meeting shall thereafter be promptly served upon all members of the Council, either in person, at their place of residence, their business, or by electronic means. The City Clerk, or designated staff member, shall affix a notice of the Special Meeting upon the bulletin board, designated area for notices or other visible location of City Hall. Reasonable notice of such meeting will also be posted on the City website. The notice shall state the date, hour, place, and purpose of the meeting. Other business may not be transacted at a Special Meeting. 4.3 Adjourned Meetings: Any meeting of the Council may be adjourned to a later date and time. 4.4 Workshop Meetings: The Council may meet informally in workshop meetings, at the call of the Mayor or of any three (3) Councilmembers. No ordinances, resolutions or other actions may be adopted at such meeting provided that the Council may direct the City Manager, City Clerk, or staff to take actions that do not entail the expenditure of City funds. Final action on items may not be taken at Workshop meetings. 4.5 Emergency Meetings: Emergency meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor, Mayor Pro-Tem, or City Manager or any three (3) Councilmembers whenever there is a public emergency and whenever practicable, upon no less than one (1) hours' notice to each Councilmember and the local news media. SECTION V 5. PRESIDING OFFICER AND DUTIES: 5.1 Presiding Officer: The Mayor, if present, shall preside at all meetings of the Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and Pro Tem, the meeting shall be called to order by the City Clerk for the purpose of electing a temporary presiding officer. 5.2 Call to Order: The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the Presiding Officer. 5.3 Preservation of Order: The Presiding Officer shall preserve order and decorum; prevent attacks on personalities or the impugning of Councilmembers or motives, and confine Councilmembers in debate to the question under discussion. 5.4 Points of Order: The Presiding Officer shall determine all points of order, subject to the right of any Councilmember to appeal to the Council. If any appeal is taken, the question shall be, "Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustained?" A majority of the Council sitting and eligible to vote is required to reverse the ruling of the Presiding Officer. 5.5 Voting: Voting by registering votes on the electronic voting board meets the requirement for roll call vote. SECTION VI 6. ORDER OF BUSINESS: 6.1 Order of Business: The general rule as to the order of business in regular meetings shall Page 4 of 8 be as follows: Call to Order Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance Open Policy Making and Legislative Session Approval of Agenda Presentations and Reports Consent Agenda Resolutions Public Hearings/Ordinances on Second Reading Ordinances on First Reading Action Items City Clerk Report City Manager Report Comments from Mayor and Council Comments from the Audience Adjournment 6.2 Agenda: The order of business of each regular meeting shall be as contained in the Agenda. The Agenda shall be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by City Council. A request to be on the agenda shall be presented in the prescribed form to the City Clerk or the City Manager on the Wednesday before or at least two (2) weeks, prior to scheduled meeting. The City Manager will make the determination of what items will be placed on the agenda. Anyone wishing to challenge the decision to place an item on the agenda may petition the City Council at the next regular meeting. All action items from staff for Agenda items will be due by the Wednesday, ten (10) days prior to the meeting. Presentations from the Public are addressed in Section 8.2. 6.3 Presentation by Mayor, Councilmembers and City Attorney: The Agenda shall provide times for the Mayor, Councilmembers, City Manager, and City Clerk to bring before the Council any business that he or she feels should be deliberated upon by the Council. These matters need not be specifically listed on the agenda but may be acted upon by a majority vote of the council members present and eligible to vote on the matter. Except in instances where extraordinary conditions are necessitated, the Mayor, Councilmembers, City Manager and City Attorney shall notify the City Clerk of forthcoming agenda topics in keeping with the above deadlines and strive to supply backup materials for timely distribution with the agenda packets. 6.4 Consent Agenda: The Consent Agenda may be used to handle routine matters on the agenda expeditiously. There is no separate discussion of these items unless the Mayor, a Councilmember, or member of the public requests an item be removed for consideration in its normal sequence on the agenda. The approval of the Consent Agenda is usually handled in one motion from the Council table, "I move that the Consent Agenda, (item numbers may be included) be approved; or if items are to be removed, "for good cause" or "discussion", a typical motion might be, "I move that we approve the Consent Agenda items _ through with the exception of item ." The approval of minutes from previous meetings will be a part of the Consent Agenda. 6.5 Invocation Policy: It shall be the policy of the City Council that the procedures stated in this rule concerning opening invocation shall govern all official meetings of the City Council and that the members of the City Council and City staff shall adhere to these rules. These policies and procedures are not intended, shall not be implemented, and shall not be construed in any way to affiliate the City Council or the City with, nor express a preference for or against any faith, belief, opinion, religion, or denomination. Rather, these policies and procedures are intended to acknowledge and express the City Council respect for the diversity of religious denominations and faiths represented and practiced among Page 5 of 8 the citizens of the City. 6.5.1 The City Clerk may invite religious leaders, chaplains, ministers, rabbis or similar of congregations located within the jurisdictional limits of the City or within (5) five miles of the city limits to conduct the opening invocation, with the volunteer religious leaders selected from a wide pool of area clergy with reasonable effort to ensure a wide variety of religious leaders. Staff will develop a list of volunteers to select from. Notwithstanding the preceding, no invocation speaker shall be scheduled to offer an invocation at consecutive meetings of the City Council, or at more than three (3) City Council meetings in any calendar year. In being consistent with U.S. Supreme Court precedent, invocation speakers will reflect ideals relating to peace and security for the nation; safety of our armed forces, police, firefighters, and emergency service personnel; wisdom for the lawmakers; and justice for the people. No member of the City Council, City employee or staff, or any other person in attendance at the meeting shall be required to participate in any opening invocation that is offered. An opportunity to exit the City Council Chambers and return upon completion of the opening invocation is afforded to those who do not wish to participate or witness the opening invocation. 6.5.2 Persons in attendance at the City Council meeting are invited to stand during the opening invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. However, such invitation shall not be construed as a demand, order, or any other type of command. Such invitation constitutes a general invitation that a person in attendance may stand if he/she wishes to do so for such observances. 6.5.3 Agenda Disclaimer. The following statement shall be placed at the bottom of City Council meeting agendas: Any invocation that is offered before the official start of the City Council meeting shall be the voluntary offering of a private person, to and for the benefit of the City Council. The views or beliefs expressed by the invocation speaker have not been previously reviewed or approved by the City Council or the city staff and the City is not allowed by law to endorse the religious beliefs or views of this, or any other speaker. Persons in attendance at the City Council meeting are invited to stand during the opening invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. However, such invitation shall not be construed as a demand, order, or any other type of command. No person in attendance at the meeting shall be required to participate in any opening invocation that is offered. A person may exit the City Council Chambers and return upon completion of the opening invocation if a person does not wish to participate in or witness the opening invocation. SECTION VII 7. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, AND MOTIONS: 7.1 Requests for Ordinances, Resolutions or Opinions: Any Councilmember may request the City Attorney, City Manager, or City Clerk prepare a proposed ordinance or resolution. The City Attorney may assist the City Manager, City Clerk, or a Department Head in the preparation of a proposed ordinance or resolution. Any Councilmember, Mayor, City Manager, City Clerk or Department Head may request a legal opinion of the City Attorney. SECTION VIII 8. CITIZENS PRESENTATIONS: 8.1 Presentation by Public on Proposition before the Council: The agenda shall provide times when the public is given a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before the City Page 6 of 8 Council. The opportunity to be heard may not occur at the same meeting in which the Council takes official action on the proposition and public opportunity, hereunder, does not extend to: (a) An official act that must be taken to deal with an emergency situation affecting the public health, welfare, or safety, if compliance with the requirements would cause an unreasonable delay in the ability of the Council to act; (b) An official act involving no more than a ministerial act, including, but not limited to, approval of minutes and ceremonial proclamations; (c) A meeting that is exempt from Sec. 286.011 Florida Statutes; or (d) A meeting during which the Council is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity. This paragraph does not affect the right of a person to be heard as otherwise provided by law. 8.2 Addressing the Council -- Scheduled Presentations: Any person desiring to address the Council by oral communication on any subject not already on the Council meeting agenda shall first secure the permission of the Presiding Officer and will be recognized under "Scheduled Presentation from the Public." Only those persons who have completed a speaker's form and who have notified the City Clerk by 12:00 noon of the Wednesday immediately preceding the regular meeting will have their name placed on the Agenda and be recognized under the heading "Scheduled Presentations from the Public." 8.3 Addressing the Council -- Public Opportunity on Council Propositions: Any person desiring to address the Council by oral communication regarding agendaed Council propositions shall complete and deliver a Speaker Request Card to the City Manager or City Clerk then secure the permission of the Presiding Officer and will be recognized at the time the item appears on the Agenda. A speaker card is not required to speak on an item, but those providing the card will be given first opportunity. 8.4 Addressing the Council — Comments from Audience: Any person desiring to address the Council by oral communication shall complete and deliver a Speaker Request Card to the City Clerk then secure the permission of the Presiding officer and will be recognized under "Comments from the Audience" where that item occurs on the agenda. A Speaker Request Card is not required to speak, but those providing the card will be given the first opportunity. 8.5 Addressing the Council — Public Opportunity on Public Hearings: Any person desiring to address the Council regarding Agendaed Public Hearings by oral communication shall complete and delivery a Request to Speak Card to the City Clerk then secure the permission of the Presiding Officer and will be recognized under "Public Hearings" where that item occurs on the Agenda. A Speaker Request Card is not required to speak, but those providing the card will be given the first opportunity. 8.6 Manner of Addressing the Council -- Time Limit: Each person addressing the Council shall approach the microphone, shall give his or her name and address and the organization or group they represent if any, in an audible tone of voice for the record and, unless further time is granted by the Council, shall limit their address to three (3) minutes. All remarks shall pertain to City business and shall be addressed to the Council as a body, and not to any Councilmember thereof. No person, other than Councilmembers or the Mayor, and the persons having the floor, shall be permitted to enter any discussion, either directly or through the members of the Council. No questions shall be asked of the Councilmembers or staff, except through the Mayor. 8.7 Personal and Slanderous Remarks: Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks, or who shall become boisterous or use offensive language, while addressing the Council, may be requested to leave the meeting. No reference by name to any individual present or Page 7 of 8 absent, including Councilmembers and staff, shall be used in a negative manner by any person addressing the Council. All participants and speakers shall refrain from belittling or insulting remarks or making personal attacks. 8.8 Reading of Protests: Interested persons, or their authorized representatives, may address the Council for the reading of protests, petitions, or communications relating to any matter over which the Council has control when the item is under consideration by the Council. 8.9 Referral of Citizens' Complaints: While in session, the Mayor, or Councilmembers, individually, or the City Council collectively, through motion, may refer citizen's complaints to the City Manager. 8.10 Written Communications: Interested parties, or their authorized representatives, may address the Council by written communication on any matter of business. However, in order to preserve the public record as well as comply with Florida's Public Records Law, an exact copy of said written communication must be provided to the City Clerk. 8.11 Presentations by Representatives of Groups or Factions: At meetings, in which four (4) or more individuals of a group or faction wish to be heard, a representative of a group or faction may address the Council rather than all members of the group or faction and in such instances shall limit their address to twenty (20) minutes. SECTION IX 9. SUSPENSION AND AMENDMENT OF THESE RULES: 9.1 Suspension of Rules: Any provision of these rules not governed by the City Charter, State Statute or City Code may be temporarily suspended by a vote of a majority of all the Councilmembers. 9.2 Amendment of Rules: These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted, by a two- thirds vote of the full membership of the Council. SECTION X 10. EFFECTIVE DATE: This resolution shall be effective upon its adoption by the City Council. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA ON THE t`i DAY OF `M C' Owen .R. C , 2022. (SEAL) der, City Clerk Page 8 of 8