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HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrd. 1480 ' t ORDINANCE NO. 1480 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD AMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE AS IT RELATES TO DECORUM AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lynwood finds that during certain City Council meetings there has been a lack of decorum that has disrupted such meetings and hampered the City Council's ability to engage in meaningful discussion of issues before it. WHEREAS, in enacting this Ordinance No. 1480, the City Council of the City of Lynwood does not intend to stifle speech or engage in censorship that violates in any way the Council or the public's right to debate and discuss issues important to the community. WHEREAS, the legislative intent behind this Ordinance No. 1480 is to ensure that City Council meetings run smoothly and efficiently be enacting rules of decorum that will guide Council Members in deciding whether certain speech during these Meetings hinders discussion and action on agenda items NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 2-1 of Chapter 2 of the Lynwood Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding thereto a new subsection 2-1.4, which subsection shall read as follows: "2-1.4 Rules of Decorum for City Council Meetings a. Decorum. Meetings of the City Council shall be conducted in an orderly manner to ensure that the public has full opportunity to be heard and that the deliberative process of the City Council is retained at all times. In discussion of any issue before the City Council, members of the public and of the Council must confine themselves to the question before the Council. The presiding officer of the City Council shall be responsible for maintaining order and decorum at Council meetings. Any Councilmember may make a motion for a vote to censure or for a vote for removal or ejection as set forth herein. b. Rules of Decorum. While any meeting of the City Council is in session, the following rules of order and decorum shall be observed: 1. Councilmembers. The members of the City Council shall preserve order and decorum and shall strictly abide by these rules of decorum. A member shall not be conversation, by the utterance of loud, threatening, profane or abusive language, or by engaging in any other disorderly conduct at any City Council meeting delay or interrupt the City Council proceedings. Dilatory conduct, which includes, but is not limited to, a Councilmember's persistence in discussing an agenda item or any other matter before the Council after the matter has been called to a vote, shall constitute a violation of this Section. A violation of these rules of decorum by a Councilmember shall be subject to the following enforcement provisions: A. Vote of Censure. Any Councilmember who reasonably believes that another Councilmember is violating these rules of decorum shall be allowed to make a motion calling for a vote of censure by identifying the Councilmember, and that Councilmember's speech, actions or behavior, that he/she believes constitutes such violation. Upon such motion, all Councilmembers present shall immediately vote on the motion and state whether they agree that the identified speech, actions or behavior actually constitutes a violation and justifies a vote of censure. If a majority of the • • • ■ Councilmembers present vote for censure, then that vote shall be duly noted by the City Clerk and the subject of that vote shall have two (2) minutes to make a rebuttal stating why the vote should be overturned. After such rebuttal any Councilmember shall be entitled to make a motion to overturn the vote to censure. If such motion is approved by a majority vote of those Councilmembers present, then the City Clerk shall remove such censure from the record. Motions to overturn a vote of censure may only be made at the meeting at which the vote of censure was made. This Section contemplates no other administrative remedy to a vote of censure other that the two (2) minute rebuttal. B. Fines for Censure. Any Councilmember who receives a vote of censure shall be subject to a ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR($100) fine per censure. Such fine(s) shall be paid to the City Clerk within thirty (30) days of the date imposed. Failure to pay such fine(s) within (60) d ays shall give rise to a civil action by the City of Lynwood for collection, or shall be deducted or offset from the Councilmember's compensation or per diem entitlements. C. Removal. Any Councilmember who receives three (3) votes of censure during a City Council meeting, in addition to the attendant fines, shall also be subject to a vote, upon motion by any member, by a majority of the City Council present, to remove such offender from the City Council meeting. If a majority of the City Council votes for removal, then the subject of that vote shall have two (2) minutes to make a rebuttal stating why the vote should be overturned. After such rebuttal any Councilmember shall be entitled to make a motion to overturn the vote to remove. If such motion is approved by a majority vote of those Councilmembers present, then the City Clerk shall remove such vote from the record. If the vote to remove is not overturned, then such vote shall remain part of the administrative record. Motions to overturn a vote of removal may only be made at the meeting at which the vote of removal was made. If the offending Councilmember, or member of the public does not leave voluntarily, the presiding officer may order any law enforcement officer who is on duty at the City Council meeting as sergeant-at-arms to remove the offender from the City Council chambers. It shall be the duty of any law enforcement officer who is serving as sergeant-at-arms at the City Council meeting tc carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum, including the removal of disruptive Councilmembers and/or members of the public. D. Resisting Removal; Penalty. Any Councilmember or member of the public who resists removal by the sergeant-at-arms shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. E. Motion to Enforce. If the presiding officer of the City Council fails to enforce the rules set forth above, any member of the City Council may move to require the presiding officer to do so, and an affirmative vote of a majority of the City Council shall mandate such action. If the presiding officer fails to carry out the will of a majority of the City Council the majority may designate another member of the City Council to act as the presiding officer for the limited purpose of enforcing any provision of this subsection which it desire to enforce. 2. City Staff Members. Employees of the City shall observe the same rules of order and decorum as those applicable to the members of the City Council. 3. Persons Addressing the City Council. The primary purpose of oral communications is to afford citizens the opportunity to communicate formally with the City Council, as a body, on Agenda items or on matters of local concern. Each person who addresses the City Council shall do so in an orderly manner and shall not make impertinent or profane remarks to any member of the City Council, City staff or the general public. Any person who makes such remarks, or who utters loud, threatening or abusive language, or who engages in any other disorderly conduct at any City Council meeting shall be subject to removal or ejection from the City Council meeting. • 4. Members of the Audience. No person in the audience at a City Council meeting shall engage in disorderly or boisterous conduct, including the utterance of loud, threatening or abusive language, whistling, stamping of feet or other acts which disturb, disrupt or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of any City Council meeting. Any person who conducts himself/herself in such manner shall be subject to removal or ejection from the City Council meeting. c. Addressing the City Council. A person wishing to address the City Council regarding an item which is on the City Council meeting agenda shall submit a request on the form provided, or such person may seek recognition from the presiding officer prior to or during discussion of any such item. Persons wishing to discuss a non- agenda item may seek recognition from the presiding officer during the second "Public Oral Communications" portion of the me :wing. No person shall address the City Council without first being recognized by the presiding officer. Persons addressing the City Council shall observe the following procedures: 1. Each person shall step to the podium provided for the use of the public and shall state his or her name and address; the organization, if any, which is represented; and if during the first "Public Oral Communications" portion of the meeting, the agenda item desired to be discussed. 2. During the first "Public Oral Communications" portion of the meeting, any subject discussed which the City Council determines is not relevant to an agenda item shall be concluded. 3. Each person addressing a specific City Council agenda item shall confine his or her remarks to such agenda item. 4. The remarks of each person addressing non-agenda items shall be limited to three (3) minutes, unless additional time is granted by the presiding officer. 5. All remarks shall be addressed to the City Council as a whole acid not to any single member thereof, unless in response to a question from such member. 6. No question may be asked of a member of the City Council or of the City staff without permission from the presiding officer. d. Robert's Rules of Order. City Council proceedings shall be governed by "Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised", Ninth Edition except for those matters and issues specifically governed by this Municipal Code. If there is a conflict between "Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised", Ninth Edition and this Municipal Code regarding any issue relating to City Council meeting procedures, the the Municipal Code provisions shall prevail and control. No ordinance, resolution, proceeding or other action of the City Council shall be invalidated, or the legality thereof otherwise affected, by the failure to observe or follow said rules. e. Enforcement of Audience Decorum. The rules of decorum set forth above as they pertain to members of the audience, including persons addressing the City Council, shall be enforced in the following manner: 1. Warning. The presiding officer shall request that a person who is violating the rules of decorum conduct himself or herself in a respectful and orderly manner. If, after receiving a warning from the presiding officer, a person persists in disturbing the meeting, the presiding officer shall order such person to leave the City Council meeting. If such person does not leave voluntarily, the presiding officer may order any law enforcement officer who is on duty at the City Council meeting as sergeant-at-arms to remove that person from the City Council chambers. 2. Removal. Any law enforcement officer who is serving as sergeant-at- arms at the City Council meeting shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum. Upon instruction of the presiding officer shall be the duty of the sergeant-at-arms to remove from the City Council meeting any person who is disturbing the proceedings of the City Council. 3. Resisting Removal; Penalty. Any person who resists removal by the sergeant-at-arms shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 4. Motion to Enforce. If the presiding officer of the City Council fails to enforce the rules set forth above, any member of the City Council may move to require the providing officer to do so, and an affirmative vote of a majority of the City Council shall require such action. If the presiding officer fails to carry out the will of a majority of the City Council, majority may designate another member of the City Council to act as presiding officer for the limited purpose of enforcing any provision of this subsection which it desires to enforce. 5. Adjournment. If a meeting of the City Council is disturbed or disrupted in such a manner as to make infeasible or improbable the restoration of order, the meeting may be adjourned or continued by the presiding officer or a majority of the City Council, and any remaining City Council business may be considered at the adjourned or continued meeting. In the alternative, a majority of the City Council may clear the meeting room and continue in session pursuant to Government Code section 54957.9. SECTION 2: If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause of phrase of this ordinance is held invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase be declared invalid. SECTION 3: This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its final passage and within fifteen (15) days after its passage, the City Clerk shall cause it to be published in a local newspaper of general circulation in the City of Lynwood and hereby designated for that purpose. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Lynwood at a regular meeting held on the 17th day of March, 1998. i 2 6,.._, . ARMANDO REA, MAYOR ATTEST: ate4e4.- di, aez-filit CITY CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORM: e_,,ed e-vi- • 0Z-a _' • NCISCO LEAL, CITY ATTORNEY • STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) ) SS. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) I, the undersigned, City Clerk of the Lynwood City Council do hereby certify that the attached and foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 1480 on file in my office and that said ordinance was first read at a regular meeting the 3rd day of March , 19 98 , and adopted on the 17th day of March , 19 98 , by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBER BYRD, REYES, SANCHEZ, REA NOES: COUNCILMEMBER RICHARDS ABSENT: NONE atilatec_, City Clerk, City of Lynwooc