Council Rules and Procedures, Recommendation from the Ad Hoc Subcommittee
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1 CITY COUNCIL RULES AND PROCEDURES SECTION I - RULES OF JOURNAL: The Council shall determine its own rules, order of business, conduct of public meetings and shall provide for keeping a journal of its proceedings. This journal shall be a public record. SECTION II - MEETINGS: The Council shall meet regularly twice each month at such times and places as the Council may prescribe by resolution. Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor or of four or more Council members. All meetings shall be public. Executive sessions may be held for the purposes allowed by law. Pre-sessions or briefing sessions are permissible to brief Council members on the items included on the agenda. Notices of meetings will include the time, place and agenda and will be posted in a public place at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, shared on the City website and sent to agenda email subscribers. In case of an emergency, notice will be as long as is reasonable under the circumstances. SECTION III - AGENDA: The City Manager will determine a process for staff to submit agenda items for consideration at study sessions and all Council meetings. The City Manager will advise the Mayor and Council members when the need arises for a special meeting to address emergent items. Any member or members of the Council may submit an item for the Council agenda(s) prior to 5 p.m. on the Wednesday of the week prior to the week of the Council meeting(s) at which the item will be considered. The item must be submitted in writing on the Council Member Agenda Item Submittal form provided by the City Clerk (see Exhibit A). The form must be fully completed for the item to be added to the Council agenda. Only items for briefing, discussion and/or possible Council direction may be submitted by the Council members. Upon receipt, the form will be provided by the City Clerk to the Mayor, all Council members, City Manager and City Attorney. The Council member(s) who submitted the agenda item will, to the best of their ability, communicate the reason for the agenda item to the Mayor, Council members, City Manager and City Attorney as soon as possible before the Monday study session. The requested item shall appear on the Monday study session agenda for discussion, followed by the Thursday regular meeting for further discussion or possible action, unless withdrawn by the submitter(s) as indicated in this section. An item requested on a regular meeting agenda for action may be referred to a work session, executive 2 session or subcommittee by City Council majority. If an ordinance or resolution is requested or required to enact the item, by City Council majority at the Thursday regular meeting on which the item is discussed, direction may be given to the City Attorney to draft such a document. The same Council member(s) who submitted the agenda item may withdraw that item up until 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the day prior to the Thursday regular meeting. The City Clerk shall list the matters according to the order of business and distribute and post the agenda(s) prior to the Council meeting(s), as early as possible. No item shall be submitted to the Council, except through the City Manager/designee or City Clerk, however, any member of the public may address item(s) not on the agenda under “Unscheduled Public Appearances.” To comply with Arizona Revised Statutes, Council shall not discuss items not on the agenda. SECTION IV - PRESIDING OFFICER - DUTIES: The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of the Council. The presiding officer shall preserve strict order and decorum at all regular and special meetings of the Council. He/she shall state every question coming before the Council, announce the decision of the Council on all subjects and decide all questions of order. Any decision or ruling of the Mayor may be appealed to the Council as a whole by a motion and second. The Mayor shall call for roll call to see if the chair shall be upheld; if the roll call loses, the Mayor is reversed. SECTION V - CALL TO ORDER - PRESIDING OFFICER: The Mayor, or in his absence, the Vice Mayor shall call the Council to order at the scheduled meeting time. In the absence of the Mayor or Vice Mayor, the City Clerk shall call the Council to order. A temporary chair then shall be elected by the members of the Council present. When the Mayor or Vice Mayor arrives, the temporary chair shall relinquish the chair when the business immediately before the Council is finished. SECTION VI - ROLL CALL: Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the City Clerk shall call the roll of the members, and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. Members of the Council will attend Council meetings in person. In the event of an illness, emergency or out of town travel, Council members may attend a Council meeting electronically. Members will provide the City Clerk with three hours’ notice of their intent to attend a meeting electronically. When a member of the Council attends a meeting electronically, the Mayor shall state for the record the member of the Council who is attending the meeting electronically, and the City Attorney, if requested to do so by any member of the Council, shall describe the procedures followed to provide the public access to all communications during the meeting. SECTION VII - QUORUM: A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of Council; however, no action of the Council shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of four or more 3 members of the Council. SECTION VIII - ORDER OF BUSINESS: a) The following items will generally appear on a regular meeting agenda: 1) Call to Order 2) Roll Call 3) Invocation 4) Pledge of Allegiance 5) Scheduled Public Appearances 6) Consent Agenda 7) Action Agenda 8) Public Hearings 9) Unscheduled Public Appearances 10) Current Events (a) Mayor's Announcements (b) Council Members' Announcements (c) City Manager's Announcements 11) Adjournment The Mayor, or the Council by majority vote, may consider items out of sequence from the printed agenda. A decision by the Mayor to consider items out of sequence may be appealed to the Council in accordance with Section IV of these Rules and Procedures. b) The consent agenda matters are routine and may be adopted by one motion. There will be no discussion of separate items, unless one or more members of the City Council requests that a specific item be discussed, in which case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and placed on the action agenda for individual consideration. c) Procedures for public hearings are discussed in Section XV. d) Procedures for submitting petitions are discussed in Section XVI. e) Scheduled public appearances by residents will only be placed on the agenda after the resident fully completes the Citizen Request for Scheduled Public Appearance form provided by the City Clerk (see Exhibit B). Residents must submit the form prior 4 to 12:00 p.m. on the Monday of the week prior to the week of the Council meeting at which the scheduled public appearance will be considered. Scheduled public appearances shall be placed as close to the beginning of a regular meeting or study session as possible. During weeks when Council meets in a condensed schedule with a regular meeting and study session on the same evening, scheduled and unscheduled public appearances will only be placed on one agenda for the week. Scheduled public appearances will be placed on the Monday regular meeting agenda as close to the beginning as possible. Unscheduled public appearances will be placed on the Thursday regular meeting agenda. f) If the City Council wishes to adjourn to a later time, the Council must pass a motion specifying the date and time to which the regular meeting is being adjourned. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order except during roll call. When a motion is made and seconded to adjourn, any member of the Council may state why it is improper for the Council to adjourn. That statement, however, shall be debatable. SECTION IX - PROCEDURES FOR DEBATE: On those issues requiring debate, the presiding officer shall state the issue before the Council and may call for a motion and second thereon. Unless Council by consensus determines no report is necessary, staff shall report on the issue and will respond to Council questions. Council members shall be allotted time to present their positions and concerns. Interested members of the community shall also have an opportunity to express their positions on any issue coming before the Council. Section XI covers the proper method of addressing the Council. Council may limit the amount of time allotted for discussion. A motion and second on the issue will be in order at any time during Council discussion. Discussion may continue after the motion is made for such period of time as is authorized elsewhere in these rules. SECTION X - RULES OF DEBATE: a) PRESIDING OFFICER MAY DEBATE AND VOTE: The Mayor or member of the Council that is presiding may move, second and debate from the Chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are imposed on all members. The presiding officer shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Council member. b) GETTING THE FLOOR - IMPROPER REFERENCE TO BE AVOIDED: Every member desiring to speak shall address the Chair, be recognized by the Chair and speak upon the question under debate, avoiding all attacks on personalities and indecorous language. c) INTERRUPTIONS: A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to call him/her to order. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he/she shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, he/she shall be permitted to proceed. d) PERSONAL PRIVILEGE: The right of a Council member to address the Council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which his/her integrity, 5 character or motives are questioned or where the welfare of the Council is concerned. A Council member may interrupt another speaker if the Mayor recognizes the "privilege". e) SECTION XI - ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL: Any person wishing to address the Council shall first secure permission of the presiding officer to do so. The Council may limit the length of time that a person is permitted to address the Council. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: Interested parties or their authorized representatives may address the Council by written communications in regard to matters under discussion. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: During the proper time on the agenda, taxpayers or residents of the City, or their authorized representatives, may address the Council on any matter concerning the City's business, or any matter over which the Council has control. Oral presentations shall not be repetitious and the Mayor may limit the length of presentations. AFTER MOTION MADE: No person shall address the Council after a motion is made without first securing the permission of the Council to do so. SECTION XII - DECORUM: a) BY COUNCIL MEMBERS: While the Council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum. A member shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council, nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the Council or its presiding officer, except as otherwise herein provided. b) BY PERSONS: Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the Council, or who interferes with the order of business before the Council, and who fails, upon request of the presiding officer to cease such activity, shall be barred from further audience before the Council, unless permission to continue is granted by a majority vote of the Council. SECTION XIII - ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM: The City Manager shall appoint a sergeant-at-arms at the Council meetings. He/She, or they, shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meeting. Upon instructions of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of the sergeant-at arms, to remove any person who violates the order and decorum of the meeting. SECTION XIV - VOTING: a) ROLL CALL: All votes shall be by roll call. (A device which displays the vote of each Councilmember is considered a roll call vote.) b) PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS: When a motion is before the Council, no motion shall be entertained except: (1) to adjourn, (2) to fix hour of adjournment, (3) to lay on the 6 table, (4) for the previous question, (5) to postpone to a certain day, (6) to refer, (7) to amend, (8) to postpone indefinitely or to (9) divide the question. These motions shall have precedence in the order indicated. c) AMENDMENTS: No more than one amendment to a main motion is permitted. When an amendment is before the Council, the Council shall vote first on the amendment. After the amendment has passed or failed, the Council shall vote on the main motion. d) MOTION TO TABLE: The purpose of this motion is to temporarily bypass the subject. A motion to lay on the table is nondebatable and shall preclude all amendments or debate of the subject under consideration. If the motion prevails, the matter may be "taken from the table" at any time prior to the end of the next regular meeting. e) MOTION FOR PREVIOUS QUESTION: The purpose of this motion is to close debate on the main motion. It is nondebatable, and no further discussion shall be permitted until the motion is acted upon. If the motion fails, debate is reopened; if the motion passes, then the Council shall vote on the main motion. The motion for previous question may be overruled by a majority vote of the Council. A motion to overrule a motion for previous question shall be voted upon before further discussion or action. f) DIVISION OF QUESTION: If the question contains two or more divisible propositions, the Mayor may, or upon successful motion of the Council, shall divide the same. g) WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION: When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be so stated by the Chair before debate commences. A motion may not be withdrawn by the mover without the consent of the member seconding it. h) CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Council members shall abide by the provisions of A.R.S. Chapter 38, Article 3. When a Council member determines he or she has a conflict of interest, he or she shall announce such conflict and refrain from discussing or voting upon the matter. i) COUNCIL MEMBER REQUIRED TO VOTE: Council members are required to vote on all issues placed before them. A failure to vote or a voluntary abstention shall be counted as an "aye" vote unless excused by State Conflict of Interest Laws. j) RECORDING VOTES; TIE VOTES: The Journal (minutes) of the proceedings of the Council shall record individual votes on all ordinances, resolutions and franchises. In the case of a tie in votes on any motion, the motion fails. k) MOTION TO RECONSIDER: A motion to reconsider a decision may be made at the same meeting the decision was made or at the next regular or special meeting, but not later than 30 days after the date the decision was made. If a motion to reconsider a decision is made at the next regular or special meeting and the motion passes, the ordinance shall then be placed for decision on the agenda of the next regular meeting not held in the same week. Notice of the meeting shall be posted and additional notice shall be posted on the affected property for zoning ordinances. An effort shall be made to notify the applicant and other persons who appeared in interest of the time and date of the meeting. A special meeting may be called for a motion of reconsideration in the event a meeting is not scheduled within 30 days 7 after the meeting the decision to be reconsidered was made. A motion to reconsider must be made by one on the prevailing side but may be seconded by any member. A question failing by virtue of a tie vote may be reconsidered by motion of any member of the Council. SECTION XV - PROCEDURE FOR DEBATE DURING PUBLIC HEARING: The following shall be the procedure during public hearings: 1) Staff report, if any, by the appropriate staff members and relevant questions by Council members. 2) Presentation by the proponent initiator explaining and advocating the item. 3) Testimony by members of the public who support or oppose the item will be limited to three minutes per citizen unless otherwise set by the Chair. 4) Written communications filed with the City Clerk. 5) Discussion by Council members. The order of recognition of Council members desiring to speak other than the Council member who authored the item shall be determined by the Chair. 6) The Mayor may ask for a rebuttal and/or brief closing statement by the proponent initiator. 7) Motion and Second. (A motion and second may be made at any time during the hearing.) 8) Motion to amend (if any). (A motion to amend may be made at any time after the original motion and second.) 9) Vote. SECTION XVI - PETITIONS: Any citizen of the City may appear before the Council at any regular meeting and present a written petition. Petitions, remonstrances, communications and comments or suggestions from citizens present shall be heard by the Council. All such remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole, and not to any member thereof. No person other than the individual speaking shall enter into the discussion without the permission of the presiding officer. No question shall be asked of a Council member except through the presiding officer. SECTION XVII - ORDINANCE - EMERGENCY CLAUSE: Ordinances shall be prepared as provided for in Sections 2.13 through 2.16 of the City of Chandler Charter. Emergency shall be further defined as not including any routine matter such as establishment of fines or penalties, the authorization for contracts, rezoning of property, creation of taxes, lease of City land, amendment of the City Code or the levy of assessments, unless harm to the public can be expected from a delay of action. 8 SECTION XVIII - SPECIAL COMMITTEES: When the Council determines that a board, commission or citizen committee is needed, the following procedure shall be used: a) The party proposing the creation of the board, commission or citizen committee will prepare a memorandum defining the purpose, duties and objectives of the committee and whether it is to be an ad hoc or continuing committee. b) That memorandum will be submitted to the City Manager for placement on an agenda for Council discussion. c) The City Manager shall request the City Attorney draft an ordinance or resolution, if necessary. d) The Council shall approve, modify or reject the proposal. e) Once a board, commission, or citizen committee is approved, the Mayor shall prepare nominations for members including their length of terms (not to exceed three years). f) The Mayor's nominations shall be submitted to the Council at least seven days prior to the meeting at which nominations will be confirmed. g) Council members may suggest alternate nominations during the meeting. Each member appointed shall be approved by a majority of the Council. h) If the party proposing an ad hoc committee is a Councilmember, he/she shall serve on the committee as an ex-officio member. SECTION XIX – COUNCIL DISCRETIONARY BUDGET AMENDMENTS: Council discretionary budget amendments provide the opportunity for Council members to allocate funding toward Council-prioritized events, initiatives, resources and programs. These funds have a wide range of potential uses to address community or departmental needs, support events and programs, purchase equipment or services and implement training. The funds provide another mechanism to implement Council policy goals and objectives. As part of the annual budget development process, the City Council will review, prioritize and approve the use of Council discretionary budget amendment funds through the following procedures: a) Council members will review a list of staff-suggested options based on unfunded departmental requests or needs in the community. 9 b) Council members also may suggest discretionary budget amendment options for consideration. c) Council discretionary budget amendment items require support from at least two Council members before appearing on a recommended list for consideration by the City Council. d) The City Council may vote on recommended Council discretionary budget amendments as a collective group of items or as individual items. e) A majority vote of the Council is required for a Council discretionary budget amendment item to be funded and implemented. f) The City Manager will assign Council-approved discretionary budget amendments to a department for implementation in the new fiscal year. SECTION XX – COUNCIL DISCRETIONARY SPENDING: The Mayor and Council members shall determine an annual allocation for discretionary spending through the budget adoption process each fiscal year. Discretionary spending is intended to cover expenses related to conference/event registration, travel, food, technology and training associated with City business. The use of these funds is governed by the same administrative policies that apply to City staff. SECTION XXI - USE OF STAFF: The City of Chandler is a member of several national, state and regional organizations where the Mayor or a Council member is the assigned delegate to represent and vote on behalf of the City. The members designated to represent the City Council on these national, state and regional committees are assigned by the Mayor. The City Manager shall provide the necessary staff resources for meeting preparation, attendance and travel to help the Mayor and Council members effectively fulfill City representation on these national, state and regional committee assignments assigned by the Mayor. Council requests for staff and resources build upon a series of procedures that are followed to provide policy direction for the City Manager to administer and implement with staff: a) City Council strategic planning retreats determine the vision, goals and policy objectives for the City and then Council votes to approve the action plan developed by the City Manager. b) Council subcommittees and work sessions are forums to discuss policy issues, obtain progress updates and convey direction to the City Manager. c) Council executive sessions are forums to obtain legal guidance and discuss 10 personnel matters. d) Council study sessions are forums to recognize, review and discuss agenda items brought to the City Council. e) Council regular and special meetings are forums for Council to discuss, review and approve agenda items brought to the City Council. f) The annual process of approving Council discretionary budget amendments and adopting the budget are the mechanisms to allocate funding towards established or new events, initiatives, programs and projects that Council deems to be priorities. g) Council members may request an agenda item as outlined in Section III - Agenda of these Rules and Procedures to discuss a request for the use of staff and resources outside of these established procedures. The City Manager directs staff and allocates resources to implement the Council’s policy direction as established through these procedures. These steps are the mechanism for the Mayor and Council members to request staff and resources for new events, initiatives, programs and projects over and above those that are already established in the City. Staff resources are provided in areas where the City has jurisdiction to offer support for an established City event, facility, program, project or service. The Mayor and Council members also have the option to participate in staff-requested communications, events and programs on behalf of the City Council. The City Manager or designee will establish a Council member rotation schedule to ensure equitable opportunities among the City Council and offer a menu of City-provided communication options for the City Council. Staff support can be provided to help the Mayor and Council members fulfill their collective responsibilities on the City Council with the following types of requests: correspondence, speechwriting, presentations, talking points, travel and meeting preparation, response to constituent and media inquiries, articles and columns, City email and City calendar management. No Council member shall request from the City Manager any staff support that entails more than a four hours of combined total staff time to implement the entirety of the request without first seeking approval of the full City Council. This four-hour limitation applies to requests that benefit an individual Council member(s) without discussion or direction by a Council majority. SECTION XXII – MEDIA PRIVILEGES DURING AN ELECTION YEAR: During a year in which a primary and general election(s) are held, beginning 30 days prior to the primary election date or on the first day of early voting in the primary election, whichever occurs first, and continuing through the general election date, the City shall suspend the posting of content on City communication platforms, distributing media articles 11 and sending of any general mailings, in any form, for incumbent Council members who are a candidate for re-election to the City Council or the office of Mayor. This does not apply after the primary election if an incumbent is re-elected at the primary election date. It also does not apply to a Council member’s normal correspondence to constituents when answering mail or e-mail as official business. SECTION XXIII – SENIORITY OF COUNCIL MEMBERS: For matters relating to Council office assignments and other issues where seniority is a factor, seniority of Council members will be determined by years of consecutive service. In the event of a tie related to years of consecutive service, seniority will be determined by the total number of votes received in the most recent primary election or general election. SECTION XXIV - ENFORCEMENT SUSPENSION, AND AMENDMENT OF RULES: Enforcement of these rules shall be incumbent upon the City Council of Chandler. These rules may be suspended or amended by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. SECTION XXV - RULES OF ORDER: The rules of parliamentary practice, comprised in Roberts Rules of Order, latest edition, shall govern the Council in all cases to which they are applicable, provided they are not in conflict with these Rules or with the Charter of the City of Chandler. SECTION XXVI - COUNCIL FORMS: a. Exhibit A – Councilmember Agenda Item Submittal form b. Exhibit B – Citizen Request for Scheduled Public Appearance form Adopted 9/29/2005 (Resolution No. 3884) Amended 3/23/2006 (Resolution No. 3955) Amended 3/25/2010 (Resolution No. 4392) Amended 2/XX/2023 (Resolution No. XXXX) Exhibit A Council Member Agenda Item Submittal Form When requesting an item be added to an upcoming City Council agenda, please submit this form to the City Clerk no later than: *5:00 pm Wednesday of the week prior to the upcoming Monday study session. Councilmember(s) making request: Date of Council Meeting: Describe the item you would like placed on the agenda, include any background information and what action you are asking the Council to take. Please select the type of agenda item. ______ Briefing Item ______ Discussion / Possible Action ______ Action Agenda Will this this agenda item eventually require an ordinance or resolution? ______ Ordinance Requested ______ Resolution Requested A Council member may seek City Council approval of one agenda item request at a time. Any requested agenda item will be placed on the Monday study session where Council will discuss the item. An item requested on a regular meeting agenda for action may be referred to a work session, executive session or subcommittee meeting by Council majority. *Any requests received after 5:00 pm Wednesday of the week prior to the Monday Study Session will not be placed on the upcoming meeting but will be automatically forwarded to the following meeting date. Exhibit B Citizen Request for Scheduled Public Appearance at a City Council meeting Please submit this form if you are requesting to be added to the Council Meeting agenda and address the City Council under Scheduled Public Appearances. A maximum of three minutes is allowed under Scheduled Public Appearances. Only one person at a time will be allowed to speak to the Council during the presentation. Name: Address: Phone: Email: Name of organization you are representing (if applicable): Describe the topic of the Scheduled Public Appearance and include any background information. Please indicate if you have a PowerPoint presentation or handouts. (Please email the presentation to the City Clerk’s Office no later than 12:00 p.m. on the date of the Council meeting.) NOTE: By submitting this form, you acknowledge that the information is a public record and is subject to all public records laws.