Chapter 2.04 COUNCIL RULES

Chapter 2.04
COUNCIL RULES

Sections:

2.04.010 Purpose — Scope.

2.04.030 Special meetings.

2.04.040 Meetings public — Executive sessions.

2.04.050 Quorum — Absent members.

2.04.060 Presiding officer — Mayor, Clerk pro tempore.

2.04.070 Agenda.

2.04.075 Public hearing notice and notice of preliminary Council agenda.

2.04.080 Attendance of officers.

2.04.090 Absent officials subject to fine.

2.04.100 Committee reports.

2.04.110 Journal — Ayes, nays.

2.04.120 Public discussion — Disorderly persons.

2.04.130 Presiding officer’s duties.

2.04.140 Debate limited.

2.04.150 Voting — Disqualification.

2.04.170 Motions, resolutions, ordinances in writing — When — Introduction.

2.04.200 Motion to lay on the table.

2.04.220 Tie votes.

2.04.230 Questions of order.

2.04.250 Robert’s Rules of Order.

2.04.255 Quasi-judicial matters.

2.04.260 Requests for additional public hearings.

2.04.270 Written materials submitted subsequent to public hearings.

2.04.280 Reconsideration of quasi-judicial actions.

2.04.290 Reconsideration of actions which are not quasi-judicial.

2.04.010 Purpose — Scope.

The order of procedure and business herein contained shall govern deliberations and meetings of the City Council except as the same may be in conflict with RCW Chapter 35A.12. (Ord. 598 § 1, 1972: Ord. 392 § 1, 1966).

2.04.030 Special meetings.

Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or by a majority of the council by written notice delivered personally or by mail to each Council member and the Mayor at least twenty-four hours prior to the time set for the meeting as specified in the notice. The requirements of the “open meeting law,” RCW Chapter 42.30 shall apply in all respects to special meetings of the Council. (Ord. 598 § 2, 1972: Ord. 392 § 3, 1966).

2.04.040 Meetings public — Executive sessions.

All regular and special meetings of the Council shall be open to the public. The Council may hold executive sessions from which the public may be excluded for those purposes set forth in RCW 42.30.110 (Open Meeting Law), may order the removal of individuals who are interrupting the meeting as provided in RCW 42.30.050, and may exclude witnesses during investigation of a matter by the Council as provided in RCW 42.30.110. (Ord. 598 § 3, 1972: Ord. 392 § 4, 1966).

2.04.050 Quorum — Absent members.

A majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the Council, but a less number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members by direction to the Chief of Police under penalty. Once a meeting has been constituted and called to order, no member present shall absent himself from the same without leave of the presiding officer or a majority of the Council.

The passage of any ordinance, grant or revocation of franchise or license, and any resolution for the payment of money shall require the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the whole membership of the Council. (Ord. 598 § 4, 1972: Ord. 392 § 5, 1966).

2.04.060 Presiding officer — Mayor, Clerk pro tempore.

All meetings of the Council shall be presided over by the Mayor, or, in his absence, by the Mayor pro tempore. If the Clerk is absent from a Council meeting, the Mayor or Mayor pro tempore shall appoint one of the members of the Council as Clerk pro tempore. The appointment of a councilman as Mayor pro tempore or as Clerk pro tempore shall not in any way abridge his right to vote upon all questions coming before the Council. (Ord. 392 § 6, 1966).

2.04.070 Agenda.

(a) Preparation of Agenda. An agenda of all regular meetings shall be prepared by the City Clerk and transmitted to the Mayor and Council members at least ninety-six hours prior to the time of the meeting. The agenda shall consist of the business to come before the City Council, but shall not preclude the Council from considering matters in addition to those set forth on said agenda. The heads of the various departments of the city should report agenda matters and deliver copies of supporting materials to the City Clerk in sufficient time for their inclusion on the agenda.

(b) Consent Agenda.

(1) Each agenda shall include a consent agenda in the order of business. Consent agenda items may include, but shall not be limited by this reference, approval of all Council minutes, acceptance of all advisory board and commission minutes, final approval of leases and contracts, final acceptance of grants, deeds or easements, setting dates for public hearings, approval of change orders, acknowledging receipt of claims for damages against the city, passage of resolutions and/or ordinances requiring no further public hearing and which the Council has given directions to prepare, and such other routine items as the Mayor and/or City Clerk may deem appropriate to be placed upon such a consent agenda.

(2) The reference material for all matters listed within the consent agenda shall be distributed to each member of the City Council for his/her review prior to the meeting. Matters on such consent agenda shall be considered to be routine and may be enacted by a single motion of the Council with no separate discussion unless removed from the consent agenda as hereafter provided.

(3) If separate discussion of any consent agenda item is desired, that item may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any individual Council member. At the conclusion of passage of the consent agenda, those items removed at the request of any individual Council member shall either be discussed and acted upon before proceeding to the next item of business on the agenda or shall be set to a later position on the agenda for that meeting.

(c) Audience Participation. Items from the audience, limited to a maximum of four minutes per speaker, will be received during the meeting at the appropriate place on the agenda to encourage citizen input and participation in Council meetings. Citizens may, at the end of the meeting, continue to address the Council.

(d) Order of Business. The order of business shall follow as nearly as possible the order of the agenda as follows:

(1) Items from audience (a maximum of four minutes per speaker);

(2) Consent agenda (including approval of minutes and voucher and warrant approval);

(3) Hearings and reports:

(A) Hearings:

(i) Hearing (a maximum of four minutes per speaker; provided, that the Council may, in its discretion, allow additional time where the complexity of issues involved requires more time in order to give the speaker a reasonable opportunity to be heard on the matter),

(ii) Passage of any applicable ordinance or resolution,

(B) Reports:

(i) Staff reports,

(ii) Ombudsman reports,

(iii) Committee Reports. When it is determined that the city council needs to vote on a committee report item other than to establish a meeting date or direct the committee to study any issue, the city council shall place the item needing a vote on the council agenda for a subsequent city council meeting under unfinished or new business;

(4) Unfinished business;

(5) New business;

(6) Ordinances and resolutions;

(7) Adjournment.

The order of business set forth in this section is a guideline and shall not be construed in any way as to limit the order in which the Council may elect to proceed with its business. (Ord. 2399 § 2, 2008; Ord. 1803 § 1, 1994; Ord. 1679 §§ 1 – 3, 1992; Ord. 1505 § 1, 1989; Ord. 1269 § 1, 1985; Ord. 919 § 1, 1980: Ord. 636 § 1, 1974: Ord. 392 § 7, 1966).

2.04.075 Public hearing notice and notice of preliminary Council agenda.

Unless specific means of notifying the public of a public hearing are otherwise provided for by law or ordinance, notice of upcoming public hearings before the City Council or the city’s boards and commissions shall be given by one publication of a notice containing the time, place, date, subject and body before whom the hearing is to be held, either in the city’s official newspaper at least five (5) days before the date set for the hearing, or by publishing in any local newspaper at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the hearing and posting at the designated posting areas throughout the city at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the hearing.

The public shall be notified of the preliminary agenda for the forthcoming City Council meetings by posting a copy of the agenda in the designated public posting areas for the city at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the meeting. (Ord. 1803 § 2, 1994).

2.04.080 Attendance of officers.

Department heads, or when unavailable their representatives, shall attend all regular meetings of the Council and shall remain in attendance through the “Hearings and Reports” portion of the agenda, and for any of their items remaining on the agenda. The City Attorney shall attend all regular Council meetings and such other Council meetings as may be specified by the Mayor. Any member of the Council may, at any time, during a regular or special meeting of the Council at which the City Attorney is present, call upon the City Attorney for an oral or written opinion to decide any questions of law and may call upon any other officer for a report or recommendation as to any matter before the Council. (Ord. 1263 § 1, 1985: Ord. 392 § 8, 1966).

2.04.090 Absent officials subject to fine.

Every officer, whose duty it is to report at the regular meetings of the Council shall, in default thereof, be fined at the discretion of the Council not to exceed one day’s base pay, unless previously excused from attendance. (Ord. 598 § 5, 1972: Ord. 392 § 9, 1966).

2.04.100 Committee reports.

The chairman of each respective committee, or the councilman acting for him in his place, shall submit or make all reports to the Council when so requested by the presiding officer or any member of the Council. (Ord. 392 § 10, 1966).

2.04.110 Journal — Ayes, nays.

The Clerk shall keep a correct journal of all proceedings and, at the desire of any member, the ayes and nays shall be taken on any question and entered in the journal. (Ord. 392 § 11, 1966).

2.04.120 Public discussion — Disorderly persons.

No person, not a member of the Council, shall be allowed to address the same while in session without the permission of the presiding officer, or specific request of any Council member. The presiding officer shall have the authority to limit the time allowed to address the Council. Disorderly persons, including those who do not abide by the rules established, may be removed from the meeting place at the direction of the presiding officer. (Ord. 392 § 12, 1966).

2.04.130 Presiding officer’s duties.

It shall be the duty of the presiding officer of the Council meeting to:

(1) Call the meeting to order;

(2) Keep the meeting to its order of business;

(3) State each motion and require a second to that motion before permitting discussion;

(4) Handle discussion in an orderly way:

(A) Give every councilman who wishes an opportunity to speak,

(B) Keep all speakers to the rules and to the questions,

(5) Put motions to a vote and announce the outcome;

(6) Suggest but not make motions for adjournment;

(7) Appoint committees when authorized by law or Council action. (Ord. 598 § 6, 1972: Ord. 392 § 13, 1966).

2.04.140 Debate limited.

No member shall speak more than twice on the same subject without permission of the presiding officer. (Ord. 392 § 14, 1966).

2.04.150 Voting — Disqualification.

Each member present must vote on all questions put to the Council, except as to matters with respect to which the councilman may have a conflict of interest, on the passage of every ordinance or resolution, on the appointment of any officer, and upon the award of any bid, the vote shall be taken by ayes and nays and entered in full upon the record. The vote shall be for or against the pending ordinance or resolution, and not on the report submitted thereon. (Ord. 392 § 15, 1966).

2.04.170 Motions, resolutions, ordinances in writing — When — Introduction.

The presiding officer and any member of the Council may require a motion to be reduced to writing prior to a vote upon the same. All resolutions and ordinances shall be in writing before being introduced at the meeting for adoption and shall be assigned a number by the City Clerk when introduced. It shall be sufficient for the Mayor or Mayor’s designee to orally read the title of the resolution or ordinance at the meeting to present the same to the Council for its consideration prior to its voting on the question of adoption of the ordinance or resolution; provided, that a majority of the Council may require the entire resolution or ordinance or any part thereof to be read aloud at the meeting prior to its consideration. (Ord. 957 § 1, 1980: Ord. 598 § 8, 1972: Ord. 392 § 17, 1966).

2.04.200 Motion to lay on the table.

Motions to lay any matter on the table shall be first in order. On all questions the last amendment, the most distant day, and the largest sum shall be put first. A motion to lay on the table shall preclude all amendments or debate of the subject under consideration. If the motion shall prevail, the consideration of the subject may be resumed only upon motion of a member voting with the majority and with the consent of two-thirds of the members present. (Ord. 392 § 20, 1966).

2.04.220 Tie votes.

In case of a tie vote on any question, the question shall be considered lost subject to the authority of the Mayor to cast a tie-breaking vote as provided in RCW 35A.12.100. Members abstaining because of a conflict of interest shall be recorded as not having voted. (Ord. 598 § 9, 1972: Ord. 392 § 22, 1966).

2.04.230 Questions of order.

All questions of order shall be decided by the presiding officer of the Council, with the right of appeal to the Council by any member. (Ord. 392 § 23, 1966).

2.04.250 Robert’s Rules of Order.

Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the deliberations of the Council, except when in conflict with any of the foregoing rules. (Ord. 392 § 25, 1966).

2.04.255 Quasi-judicial matters.

A. It is the policy of the City Council that its members should not attend meetings of other city boards and commissions concerning quasi-judicial matters which are then pending before the city and which will ultimately be decided by the Council.

B. Whenever a quasi-judicial matter pending before the City Council involves a specific site, each member of the Council may visit the site prior to the making of a final decision in order to better understand the evidence to be presented. At the public hearing, Council members should disclose what information was observed.

C. Whenever a quasi-judicial matter pending before the City Council has been the subject of a public hearing before the Hearing Examiner or Planning Commission, the Council shall allow only each side (proponents and opponents) to speak for a maximum of ten minutes each. No new evidence may be presented by either speaker, but testimony shall be limited to argument based upon the Hearing Examiner’s or Planning Commission’s record. All quasi-judicial items shall be noted on the agenda as being quasi-judicial and a statement shall appear on the agenda indicating that each side may speak for a maximum of ten minutes each.

D. Whenever the Council holds a public hearing on a quasi-judicial matter, whether an initial hearing or an additional hearing pursuant to Section 2.04.260, each speaker testifying before the Council shall be allowed to speak for a maximum of four minutes, provided, that the Council may, in its discretion, allow additional time where the complexity of issues involved requires more time in order to give the speaker a reasonable opportunity to be heard on the matter. (Ord. 1679 § 4, 1992; Ord. 1630 § 1, 1991).

2.04.260 Requests for additional public hearings.

Where the development guide requires the Hearing Examiner or Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing prior to making a recommendation to the City Council, the City Council may consider a request for an additional public hearing. The following rules of procedure shall be followed when determining if an additional public hearing will be held:

(1) A representative of proponents and a representative of opponents of a recommendation or decision of a hearing authority may speak at a regular meeting for no more than four minutes each, provided, that the Council may, in its discretion, allow additional time where the complexity of the issues involved requires more time in order to give the speaker a reasonable opportunity to be heard on the matter.

(2) The reasons for requesting an additional public hearing shall be clearly stated by the opponent or proponent. If possible, a written statement outlining the types of new evidence which merit additional public hearing shall be submitted.

(3) The Council shall review the arguments submitted to them concerning a request for an additional hearing either before the City Council or hearing authority on the basis of the following criteria:

(A) New evidence is available which was not considered by the hearing authority and may affect the hearing authority’s recommendation or decision;

(B) An error has been made by the hearing authority;

(4) If the Council determines that the basis for holding an additional hearing is to consider substantial new evidence, the action shall be remanded to the original hearing body for an additional hearing.

(5) When the basis for holding a public hearing is an error by the hearing authority, or the decision is of a broad general interest, a hearing may be held before the City Council.

(6) If additional time is needed to review arguments submitted concerning an additional public hearing, the decision on a hearing should be delayed to the next meeting.

(7) A document shall be prepared and made available to citizens which explains the process for obtaining an additional public hearing. The document shall be available at City Hall. (Ord. 1679 § 5, 1992; Ord. 1219 § 1, 1984).

2.04.270 Written materials submitted subsequent to public hearings.

Written communications may be submitted to the City Council following the close of a public hearing, subject to the following procedures:

(1) Written materials received by the City Council shall be disclosed at the next regular City Council meeting. At that time the City Council should determine if the information submitted will be considered as part of the public record on the action.

(2) If written materials will be considered as part of the public record, an exhibit number shall be assigned and notice given to all parties who testified at the public hearing or requested notice of further actions that materials are available for inspection at the City Hall. When this occurs, the final decision on the action should be delayed to a specific date to allow written responses from interested parties.

(3) If written materials contain a request for an additional public hearing, the request will be reviewed under the criteria adopted to determine if an additional hearing will be held. (Ord. 1219 § 2, 1984).

2.04.280 Reconsideration of quasi-judicial actions.

(1) Any request or motion for reconsideration of a quasi-judicial action of the City Council must be made in writing to the City Clerk or orally to the City Council in an open public meeting. A motion to reconsider such action shall be out of order and shall not be acted upon unless made prior to taking up the new business portion of the City Council agenda at the next regular City Council meeting following the meeting at which the action was taken. During the reconsideration period, no ex parte communication shall be made to any City Council member concerning the quasi-judicial action. “Action” shall mean the vote of the City Council expressing a decision even though followed at a later date by passage of an ordinance or resolution.

(2) In the event the City Council elects to reconsider a quasi-judicial action, no revision to the action shall be made prior to giving those parties directly affected by the proposed revision notice of the proposed revision and a reasonable opportunity to be heard concerning it.

(3) No quasi-judicial action of the City Council shall be final for any purpose until completion of the period for reconsideration established by subsection (1) of this section.

(4) As used in this section, “regular meeting” shall mean any regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council at which final action may be taken. Council study sessions and special meetings of the Council shall not be considered regular meetings of the City Council for purposes of this section.

(5) Procedural matters not governed by this section shall be governed by the current edition of Roberts Rules of Order. (Ord. 1357 §§ 1, 2, 1987; Ord. 1336 § 4, 1986).

2.04.290 Reconsideration of actions which are not quasi-judicial.

(1) Any person, including any member of the Council, may request that the Council reconsider a decision on a matter which is not quasi-judicial in nature. Any request or motion for reconsideration of a City Council action which is not quasi-judicial must be made in writing to the City Clerk or orally to the City Council in an open public meeting. The procedure for reconsideration shall be governed by the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order and shall require that a motion to reconsider be made by a Council member who voted in the majority on the original action for which reconsideration is sought. The motion may be seconded by any other Council member, whether or not that member voted in the majority. A motion to reconsider an action shall be out of order and shall not be acted upon unless made prior to taking up the new business portion of the City Council agenda at the next regular City Council meeting following the meeting at which the action for which reconsideration is sought was taken. “Action” shall mean the vote of the City Council expressing a decision even though followed at a later date by passage of an ordinance or resolution.

(2) In the event that the City Council votes to reconsider an action which is not quasi-judicial in nature, the effect of the vote is to place the matter back before the Council as if no action had been taken. When a motion to reconsider is passed at a meeting other than the meeting at which the original action was taken, the Council shall not take new action on the reconsidered matter at that meeting, but shall set the matter over to the next regular City Council meeting following the meeting at which reconsideration was voted upon. The agenda for the Council meeting at which any reconsidered action will be taken up for final action shall reflect that the matter has been brought before the Council upon reconsideration of an earlier action. Public notice provided concerning the agenda shall reflect the nature of the action. No public hearing shall be required on reconsideration of any non-quasi-judicial action, but the Council may allow public input on the reconsidered matter if it so desires. Any matter which the Council has voted to reconsider shall be placed under “unfinished business” on the agenda. Once the Council takes final action on the reconsidered matter, no further reconsideration may take place.

(3) The City Council may, by majority vote of the entire membership, suspend the requirement for deferring action on any reconsidered matter to the next regular meeting when the Council determines that sooner action is required to avoid undue hardship to the City or any interested person.

(5) Procedural matters not governed by this section shall be governed by the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. (Ord. 1879 § 1, 1996).