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Home My WebLink About8.5 CC MtgRulesProhibitPoliticalAct c~rY CLERK FIle # D~[1][Q]..~~ AGENDA STATEME~lr CITY COU~CIL MIEETI~G DATIE December 4,2007 SUBJECT ConslderatlOn of an Amendment to the Rules for the Conduct of CouncIl Meetmgs to ProhIbIt PolItIcal ActIvItIes at CIty Council Mcetmgs Report Prepared by John Bakker, Assistant City Attorney A rf ACHMENTS ResolutlOn 156-01 (Rules for Conduct of Mcetmgs of the CIty Council) RECOMMENDAI10N ~~. ~ L\___ ConsIder VIce Mayor Hlldenbrand's request to amend the Rules for v R~ the Conduct of Mcetmgs of the CIty CouncIl to prohIbIt pohtIcal actIvItIes by councIl members dunng CIty Councll meetmgs FINANCIAL STATEMENT The preparatlon of a modlfic.atlOn of thc CIty CouncIl's rules would not exceed 5 hours of legal servIces dependcnt upon the dlrectlOn of the Council DESCRIPTION At the November 20,2007 Crty CouncIl meetmg, VIce Mayor HIldenbrand requested that an Item be placed on the agenda for the CIty Couned to consIder whether to dIrect staffto prepare an amendment to the Rules for the Conduct of Meetmgs of the CIty Council to prohIbit pohtIcal actIvItIes by councIl members durmg CIty Council meetmgs State law speCIfically authonzes the CIty to adopt rules and regulatIons that o ProhIbIt or restrIct officers and employees from engagmg 10 polItIcal activItIes dur10g workmg hours o ProhIbIt or restnct polItIcal actIvItIes on the premIses of the CIty (Gov Code, S 3207 ) Accordmgly, as the members of the CIty Council are CIty officers, and councIl meetmgs are presumably conSIdered "workmg hours" and In any event take place on CIty premIses, state law speCIfically authonzes the Council to amend the Rules for the Conduct of Meetmgs to adopt such a prOhIbItIOn RECOMMENDATION ConSIder VIce Mayor HIldenbrand's request to amend the Rules for the ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COpy TO Page 1 of2 lITEM NO g.5 tJ Conduct of Meetmgs of the CIty Council to prohIbit pobtlcal actlvltlCS by councIl members dunng CIty Councll meetmgs and provide staff wIth appropnate dlrectron d<~:L I~~ IRESOLUTION NO 156 - 01 A RlESOLlUl'ION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE ellT\' OF DUBLiN ********* EST ABLliSJHIING RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF MEETINGS OF THE ern' COlUNCliL (1RlEJPl.ACJrNG RlESOLlUl'liON NO. 93-96) WHEREAS, the Councd's Rules of Conduct, as adopted by ResolutIOn No 93-96, are hereby replaced to change the tnne for holdmg Closed SesslOns, begmnmg WIth the first meetIng ill September, 2001 NOW, TIIEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that all other preVIous rules related to the conduct of meetIngs of the CIty COlUlcIl are restated, as follows ], REGULAR MEETINGS a Tnme Regular meetmgs of the City CouncIl shall be held on the first and thrrd Tuesday of each month at the hour of 7 00 pm, except that Closed SessiOn Items shall be held at 6 30 P m Whenever the day fixed for any regular meetIng of the CouncIl falls upon a day deSIgnated as a hohday, such meetmg WIll be held at the same hour on the next succeedmg day not a hohday b P[a~e All regular meetmgs of the CouncIl shall be held at the CIVIC Center) as deSIgnated by Ordmance C .IPunbnn~ All meetIngs of the Councll shall be open to the pubhc, proVided, however, the CIty CounCil may hold closed seSSIOns as prOVIded by the laws of the State of Cahforma 2 SI?EC][AL MElETINGS A specIal meetIng may be ordered at any tIme by the Mayor whenever ill luslher oplIlJon the pubhc busmess may reqwre It or upon the wntten request of any three members of the CouncIl Whenever a special meetmg shall be called, wntten notice of such meetIng shall be delIvered personally or by any other means by the CIty Clerk to each member of the Council and to each local newspaper of general clIculatlOn and rarno/teleVIslOn statIon requestIng notIce ill WIltIng Such notIce must be delIvered at least twenty-four (24) hours before the ttme of such meetIng as specIfied m the notIce The notIce shall specIfy the tune and place of the specIal meetIng and the busmess to be transacted or dIscussed No other busmess shall be considered at such meetIngs by the CouncIl -:1fV'Y1~ e 5 i2-ILlI07~ &. TITI &. <rTIIINllIERT1J' )~0 The agenda for specml meetmgs shall contam the mformatlOn set forth ill SectIon 3 a - d below At least twenty-four (24) hours before each specIal meetmg, the CIty Clerk shall post a copy of the agenda, mcludmg the call and notIce of the specIal meetmg at the same locatIOn IdentIfied ill SectIon 3 below 3 AGENDA In order to faCIlItate the orderly conduct of the busmess of the CouncIl, the CIty Clerk shall be notIfied no later than 11 00 am, on the Tuesday mnnemately precedmg a regular Cmmed meetmg of all reports, eommumcahons, ordmances, resolutIOns, contract documents or other matters to be subnntted to the CouncIl at such meetmg ImmedIately thereafter, the City Clerk shall arrange an agenda of such matters accordmg to the order of busmess and funnsh each member of the COunCll, the CIty Manager, City Attorney, CIty Department Heads and Staff WIth a copy of the agenda packet pnor to the Council meetIng and as far m advance of the meetIng as tIme for preparatIon will permlt The agenda prepared by the City Clerk shall, at a nummum, mclude a The dme of the meetIng b The tIme of the meetIng c The locatIOn of the meetIng d A bnef general descnptIon of each Item of busmess to be transacted or chscussed at the meetIng e SpecIfied penod of tIme for members of the publIc to address the COlIDcIl on Items of mterest to the pubhc that are Wlthm the JunsdIctron of the CouncIl, mcludmg a prOVISIOn that no person may speak longer than five (5) mmutes, and mcludmg language that the COUDcll can only bnefly respond Wlth quesbons, refer to Staff, or place on a future agenda f A specIfied sectlon under wlnch Counctlmembers and Staff may present ullormallonal only reports At least seventy-two (72) hours before each regular meellng, the CIty Clerk shall post a copy of the agenda ill the K10sk m front of the CIVIC Center located at 100 CIVIC Plaza, Dublm, Calrforma The CIty Clerk shall execute a declarallon ofpostmg whtch shall be filed m the Office of the City Clerk The City Clerk shall so mark or denote "Consent Calendar" Items on the agenda to IdentIfy those Items on the agenda winch can reasonably be expected to generate no dISCUSSion by members of the City Councd, City Staff or mterested persons m the audtence The CouncIl shall conSIder all of the Items on the Consent Calendar porbon of "I 3~~ the agenda at one tIme by a vote after a monon has been duly made and seconded If any member of the CIty CounCIl, CIty Staff or mtercsted person m the audIence requests that a consent item be removed from the Itst, such item shall be taken up for consIderabon and dIspOSItIOn m the order lIsted on the agenda oS lPRES][DING OFFICER The Mayor shall presIde at all CIty Counell meetmgs and perfonn such other duties consIstent WIth hIslher office as may be rmposed by the CouncIl The Mayor shall be enntled to vote, but shall possess no veto power The Mayor shall be recogmzed as the offiCial head of the CIty for all ceremomal purposes, by the courts for the purpose of servmg CIvll process and by the Governor for lDlhtary purposes In the tune of publIc danger or emergency, the Mayor, WIth the consent of the Council, shall cause order to be mamtamed and enforce laws The Mayor shall preserve strIct order and decorum at all regular and special meetmgs of the CouncIl The Mayor shall state every questIOn commg before the CouncIl, call for the vote, announce the deCISIOn of the Councll on all subjects and deCIde all questIons of order, subject however, to an appeal of the CouncIl, ill wInch event a maJonty vote of the CouncIl shall govern and conclUSIvely detennme such quesTIon of order The Mayor shall Sign all Ordmances adopted by the COlUlcll dunng lns/her presence In the event of the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall SIgn Ordmances as then adopted 5 CALL '][0 ORDER The Mayor, or ill lnslher absence, the Mayor Pro Tempore, shall take the charr precIsely at the hour appomted for the meetIng, and shallunmedJately call the Councll to order In the absence of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore, the CIty Clerk shall call the Councll to order, whereupon a temporary charr shall be elected by the members of the COlUlcll present Upon the amval of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore, the temporary charr shall illlDledIately relmqUlsh the charr upon the conclUSion of the busmess lIDllledIately before the COlll1cll 6. AT1LENDANCE Before proceedIng WIth the busmess of the COlUlcIl, the CIty Clerk shall enter mto the nnnutes, the names of the members present or absent No formal roll call need be taken 'l 41 <;f 7 QUORUM A maJonty of the members of the CouncIl shall constItute a quonnn for the transactIOn ofbusmess~ but a lesser number than a quorum may adjourn from tune to tune The CouncIl may adjourn any regular, adjourned regular, specIal or adjourned specIal meebng to a bIDe and place specIfied m the order of adjournment If all members are absent from any regular or adjourned regular meebng, the CIty Clerk may declare the meetmg adjourned to a stated bIDe and place Ifhe/she does, he/she shall cause wntten notIce of the adJomnment to be given ill the same manner as prOVided for speCIal meetIngs A copy of the order or notIce of adjournment shall be posted m the CIVIC Center KIOsk and other places deSIgnated by the CouncIl Wlthm twenty-four (24) hours after the tnne of adjournment Whenever a regular or adjourned regular meetmg IS adjourned as proVIded In thIs sectIon, the resultmg adjourned regular meetIng IS a regular meetmg for all purposes When an order of adjournment of any meetIng falls to state the hour at whtch the adjournment meetmg shall be held, It shall be held at the hour speCIfied for regular meetIngs 8 OllIDlElR OF lElIJSlINESS Promptly at the hour set on the day of each regular meetIng, the members of the COunCll, CIty Clerk (or DesIgnee) and CIty Manager (or DesIgnee) shall take thelf regular statIons ill the CouncIl Chambers and the busmess of the Counctl shall be taken up for consIderatIon and dIspOSItIon m the followmg order except that Wlth the unammous consent of the CouncIl, matters may be taken up out of order o Call to Order (Closed SeSSIOn) o Call to Order & Pledge of AllegIance to the Flag o Report on Closed SeSSIOn ActIon o Oral Commumcahons o Consent Calendar o Wntten CommumcatIons o PublIc Heanngs o Unfimshed Busmess o New Busmess o Other Busmess (CouncIl/Staff Informational Only Reports/Matters Too Late for the Agenda) o Adjournment <<) MA 'f'[ElRS 1'00 lLA 1rJE FOR '[HE AGENDA a No action or WscussIOn shall take place on any Item not appeanng on the agenda for a regular meetIng as posted~ unless (1) The CIty Council detenmnes by maJonty vote that an emergency SItuatlOn eXlsts~ as defined m Government Code SectIOn 54956 5~ /I 6i ~ (2) The CIty Councll determmes by vote of four (4) out of five (5) members (or by a unammous vote of the members of the CaUDell If only 4 or only 3 members are present) that there IS a need to take unmedmte aehon and that the need for actIon came to the COUDell's attentlOll after the agenda was posted, (3) The Item was mcIuded m a posted agenda for a pnor meetmg held not more than five (5) calendar days pnor to the meetmg at wlnch the Item IS acted upon b When an Item not on an agenda IS rmsed by a member of the pubhc, the CIty CouncIl may bnefly respond, may ask questIons for clanficatIon, proVide a reference to Staff or other resources, or request Staff to report back at a subsequent meetmg Ftuthennore, a member of the CIty Counctl may take achon to place a matter of busmess on a future agenda 10 READHNG OF MJINU1I'lES Unless the readmg of the mmutes of a CouncIl meetIng IS requested by a member of the CouncIl, such mmutes may be approved WIthOut readIng If the CIty Clerk has preViously furnIshed each member With a copy thereof . ]1.]1 ]RUlLES O]F IDlElBA TlE a PresIdmg Officer may debate The Mayor or such other member of the COlUlcd as may be presIdmg may move, second and debate from the charr, subject only to such lnmtatIons of debate as are by these rules unposed upon all members He/she shall not be depnved of any of the nghts and pnVIleges ofa COWlcllmember by reason ofhts/her actIng as the Presldmg Officer b GettIng the floor Every member desmng to speak shall address the Mayor, and upon recogrntIon by the Mayor, shall confine hnnse1f7herself to the queshon under debate c InterruptIons A member once recogmzed, shall not be mterrupted when speakIng unless It be to call htmIher to order, or as herem otheIWlse proVIded If a member, wlule speakmg, be called to order, he/she shall cease speakmg unhl the question of order be determmed, and If m order, he/she shall be pemntted to proceed d Pnvllege of closmg debate The Counctlmember movrng the adopbon of an Ordmance or ResolutIon shall have the pnvIlege of closmg the debate e Mohon to reconsIder A monon to reconsIder any acbon taken by the Councd may be made at any tIme Such a motIon must be made by one of the prevalhng SIde, but may be seconded by any member, and may be <:: 0~ C6' made at any tnne and have precedence over all other motIOns or wlnle a member has the floor, It shall be debatable N othmg herem shall be construed to prevent any member of the Councd from makmg or remakmg the same or other motIon at a subsequent meetIng of the CouncIl f Remarks of CouncIlmember A CouncLlmember may request through the Mayor, the pnVIlege of havmg an abstract of ms/her statement on any subject under consIderatiOn by the CouncIl entered ill the mmutes If the CouncIl consents thereto, such statement shall be entered m the nnnutes g SYllOPSIS of Debate The CIty Clerk may be drrected by the Mayor WIth the consent of the CouncIl, to enter m the nnnutes a SynOpSIS of the diSCUSSIon of any questIon connng regularly before the CouncIl h Rules of Order Except as othefWlse proVIded ill tIns ResoluTIon, the current edItIon of "Roberts Rules of Order" shall govern the conduct of the meetmgs of the CIty CouncIl 12 ADDRESS][NG THE COlUNCXlL Any person desmng to address the CouncIl at a meetIng shall first secure the perrmssIOn of the Mayor to do so, proVIded, however, that under the followmg headmgs of busmess, any qualIfied and mterested person shall have the nght to address the CouncIl upon obtalIllllg recogmtIon by the Mayor a Wntten CommumcatlOns Interested persons or therr authonzed representatlVe may address the CouncIl by wntten commumcatIon on any matters concernmg the CIty'S busmess. or any matters over wmch the CouncIl has control Such wntten commumcatIon shall be dehvered to the CIty Clerk no later than 11 00 a ill , of the Tuesday nnmechately precedmg the regular Counctl meetIng for wmch such wntten corrnnumcaUOTIIS mtended b Oral CommumcatIons Interested persons ill the auchence or therr authonzed representaTIves may address the CouncIl by oral commumcattons on any matters over whIch the CouncIl has control, proVIded, however, that preference shall be gIven to those persons who have nonfied the CIty Clerk m advance of therr deSIre to speak III order that the same may appear on the agenda of the COlUlCtl 13 ADDJR]ESSlING l1H[]E COUNClllL AFTER M01l'llON llS MADE After a motIOn IS made by the Councll, no person shall address the CouncIl WIthout first secunng the peIlIllsslOn of the Mayor to do so JC, 1~ '6' :[4. MANNlER OF ADDRESSllNG COlUNCXL Each person addressillg the Council shall stand at the pochum, and give lu.s/her name and address ill an auchble tone of VOIce for the record A Speaker SlIp shall be completed ill order to facIlItate preparation of the mmutes All remarks shall be addressed to the Councd as a body and not to any member thereof No person, other than the CouncIl and the person havmg the floor shall be perrmtted to enter mto any chSCUSSIOn, eIther drrectly or through a member of the Council, WIthout the penmSSIOll of the Mayor No questIOn shall be asked a Councumember except through the Mayor 15 VOTING a Members of the Counell shall vote by a "vOIce vote" on all Ordmances, Resolunons and other matters, unless a roll call vote IS reqmred by law or IS requested by a CouncIlmember Silence shall be recorded as an affirmatIve vote The Mayor shall announce the result of the vote The CIty Clerk shall show on OrdInances and ResolutIons, the names of Councdmembers votmg "Aye" and "Noll b The vote on any matter bemg considered by the Council may be delayed by the Mayor unbl all members of the Council present for a meetmg, and not excused as herem proVIded, are present at the Cauncll dats c A member of the Councll who has a conflIct of mterest regard.mg any matter bemg considered by the Council shall declare the conflict and excuse lnmself/herself from parbcIpatmg III the Council's dehberabons and decIsIOns regardmg that matter 16 ORDER ANID> DECORUM a Bv Counctlmembers WInle the Council IS 1D seSSIOn, the members must preserve order and decoI1Ull, and a member shall neither by conversation or otherwIse, delay or mterrupt the proceedmgs or the peace of the COilllell nor dIsturb any member wlnle speakmg or refuse to obey the orders of the Councd or Mayor, except as othelWlse herem proVIded b Bv Persons Any person makmg personal, unpert1nent, or slanderous remarks or who shall become botsterous whtle addressmg the Council or who shall by conversabon or othelWlse, delay or mterrupt the proceedIngs or the peace of the CaUDell or dIsturb any member willIe speakIng or refuse to obey the orders of the Couned or the Mayor shall be forthWIth, by the Mayor, barred from further audtence before the cOilllcll, unless permISSIOn to conbnue IS granted by a maJonty vote of the COWlCtl c Enforcement of Order and Decorum A law enforcement officer shall be deSIgnated as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Council meetmgs when requested '1 9~& by the Mayor He/she shall carry out all orders and mstructlOns gIVen at the CouncIl meetmg Upon mstruchon of the Mayor, It shall be the duty of the Sergeant-at-Anns, as to any person who VIolates the order and deconun of the mee1:Ing to remove and bar such person from the CouncIl meetmg V 1Olatlons of the order and decorum of a Council meetmg IS a mIsdemeanor d Smoking Smokmg IS prolnbIted at all tnnes m all CIty-owned facllttles 1 i SJPEC][AL COMMlITJEESnrASK FORCES All specIal comrrntteesltask forces shall be appomted by the Mayor, subject to approval of the City Counctl .11.8 COlTNClILMlEMJBER V ACANClIES When a vacancy occurs on the CIty Counctl, m the office of Counctlmember or Mayor, and the Council determmes to consIder :fillmg the vacancy by appomtment, the Counctl WIll make such appomtment only at a meetmg at wluch all remammg Counctlmembers (mdudmg the Mayor) are present ThIs rule shall not preclude the CouncIl from calltng a specIal electIon to :fill the vacancy or from adoptmg an ordmance to fill the vacancy pursuant to Government Code Seebon 36512 at a meetmg at whrch one of the remammg CouncIlmembers (mcludmg the Mayor) IS absent 19 lPROTlESTS Any Counedmember shall have the nght to have the reasons for hrslher dIssent from or protest agamst, any action of the council entered m the mmutes 20 ADJOURNMENT A motion to adjourn shall always be ill order and deClded Without debate .2ll R.lVLES A V ARLAlBlLE ]FOR JPlffiL][C REVlIlEW A copy of tlus ResolutIon shall be aVailable at all meetmgs of the Counctl for reVIew by the pubhc PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED thIs 21"' day of August, 2001, by the followmg vote AYES NOES ABSENT COlllllD.CDBmembers lLoclkJoart, McCorllllllck, Oravetz, ZIka amn Mayor HoustollD. None None ABSTAIN None ~j~ ATWST ~lrK ~ cz K2/G/8-2I-O I1reso-ccrules doc (Item 4 19) Q