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HomeMy WebLinkAboutG-1598 Ordinance No. G-1598 AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING RULES OF THE CITY COUNCIL. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS: Section 1. That Chapter 5 of the City Code of the City of Elgin, as amended, entitled "The Council" including Subsection 5-1 through 5-10 thereof be and are hereby repealed. Section 2. That the following be and is hereby added to the City Code of the City of Elgin, Illinois; CHAPTER 5 RULES OF THE CITY COUNCIL 5.1. Powers and Functions 5.5. Special Meetings 5.2. Minutes of Meeting 5.6. Open Meetings 5.3. Quorum 5.7. Agenda and Order of Business 5.4. Meetings 5.8. Rules of Procedure 5.1. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS: The powers of the City Council shall be purely legislative except as otherwise provided by statute or ordinance. The Council shall approve for payment all expenses and liabilities of the municipality. 5.2. MINUTES OF MEETING: A journal of the minutes of each meeting of the City Council shall be kept by the City Clerk and a Zopy of the minutes of the last meeting shall be delivered to each Councilman prior to the convening of the next regular meeting. 5.3. QUORUM: A majority of the corporate authorities shall constitute a quorum to do business. Except as required by the statutes of the State of Illinois enacted ordinances of the City of Elgin, or these rules, action may be taken by a majority vote of a quorum. 5.4. MEETINGS: Regular meetings of the City Council shall be held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at the hour of 7:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building unless a different date, time or place shall have been specified by Council action. The Council shall remain in session until adjournment by a majority vote of the members present. 5.5. SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special meetings may be held at any e time by call of the Mayor or by the call of three or more council- men; such call for such meetings shall be in writing, duly signed and presented to the City Clerk who shall proceed to prepare notice of said special meeting and shall cause said notice to be served personally or by mail on the Mayor and all members of the Council • • at least 24 hours before the meeting. Such notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the matters to be considered at the special meeting. Notice of a special meeting may be waived by attendance at such meeting or by written waiver of notice. No business other than that provided by the call shall be in order at any special meeting; no vote of the City Council shall be reconsidered or rescinded at a special meeting unless there are present at the special meeting as many councilmen as were present when the vote was taken. Special meetings may also be called by a motion, adopted at a regular meeting, specifying the matters to be considered. No notice shall be required for special meetings announced at a regular meeting except to members not present at the time such motion was adopted. 5.6. OPEN MEETINGS: All meetings of the City Council shall be open to the public and the news media with the exception of executive sessions relating to real property transactions, personnel matters, and litigation involving the City. 5.7. AGENDA AND ORDER OF BUSINESS: Any matter requiring considera- tion including requests from citizens for matters to be added to the agenda by the City Council shall be presented in written form to the City Manager not less than seven days prior to the date of the meeting. The City Manager shall inform the City Council of all requests by citizens to add matters to the agenda. The order of business to be observed at all meetings of the City Council shall be as follows unless a majority vote of all Councilmen present suspends the established order of business. A. Calling the meeting to order B. Invocation C. Pledge of Allegiance D. Roll Call of Members E. Approval of the minutes of a previous meeting F. Communications addressed to the Council G. Bids H. Other business • I. Miscellaneous business including announcements and appointments J. Recognition of persons present K. Adjournment 5.8 RULES OF PROCEDURE 5.8.1. The Mayor shall decide all questions of priority of busi- ness without debate and shall decide all other questions of order. 5.8.2. The Mayor shall preserve order and decorum. 5.8.3. Rulings of the Mayor shall be appealable to the City • Council and shall be decided by a majority vote without debate. . 5.8.4. No member shall leave the Council Chambers during the conduct of business without the consent of the Mayor. • 5.8.5. No member of the Council shall speak until recognized by the Mayor; members of the Council shall seek recognition by saying "Mr. Mayor". No person except a Councilman or officer of the City may address the Council unless by consent of the majority of the Council- men present.- The Mayor with the consent of a majority of Councilmen • • present may limit the length cf time that any person other than Councilmen and city officers may address the Council. 5.8.6. Councilmen shall address only the Mayor or address each other through the Mayor and shall confine their remarks to the merits of the pending question. 5.8.7. Members shall refrain from addressing the Mayor or other members through the Mayor personally and shall not engage in personal or degrading continents or attacking the motives of other members. 5.8.8. Only one subject shall be considered at a time and no new subject shall be considered until there is a decision on the pending matter. 5.8.9. No Councilman shall speak for longer than five minutes on the same subject nor more than twice on the same subject except by consent of a majority of the members present. However, no Council- man shall speak a second time on the same subject until all other members have spoken on the subject. 5.8.10. A roll call vote of yeas and nays shall be taken and recorded on the journal of proceedings, for all ordinances and resolutions that create any liability against or obligation on the part of the city, or for the expenditure or appropriation of its money or on the request of any Councilman. 5.8.11. Any matter before the Council may be made a special order of business for any future time by action of the Council. 5.8.12. A motion is not before the Council until it has been seconded and shall be reduced to writing upon request of any Councilman. 5.8.13. A motion may be withdrawn at any time before a vote is called. 5.8.14. No debate or discussion or comment shall be in order during the taking of the vote on any matter. 5.8.15. The Mayor shall announce the result of the Council's vote on any roll call. Prior to such announcement any Councilman may change his vote. 5.8.16. The Mayor or any Councilman who in good conscience believes he may have a conflict of interest in any matter before the Council shall disqualify himself from voting thereon. 5.8.17. Any Councilman who does not vote on any matter for which the roll is called shall be counted as having voted with the prevailing side. This rule shall not apply when a Councilman has disqualified himself as a result of a conflict of interest. 5.8.18. When a motion is made and seconded to "put the previous question" said motion shall be stated by the Mayor in this form: "Are you now ready for the question?" If this motion is carried, all • further motions and debate shall be excluded and the question shall be put. • s . 5.8.19. A motion to table any matter is not debatable and if adopted shall end all further debate on the subject. A motion to take matter from the table may be proposed at the same meeting or at any subsequent meeting. 5.8.20. A motion to amend shall always be in order. 5.8.21. An amendment to modify or change the intent of an original motion shall be in order but no amendment to a motion shall be made which relates to a different subject. 5.8.22. A substitute for any original motion or proposition may be entertained and if adopted by the Council shall entirely supersede the original proposition. The vote taken on any motion (other than a motion to reconsider an appointment by the Mayor to a commission, board or advisory body) proposition or ordinance may be reconsidered at any time of the same meeting or at the next regular meeting. A motion to reconsider shall not be in order unless made by a Councilman who voted on the prevailing side; however, when a motion, proposition or ordi- . nance is lost by reason of not having received an extraordinary majority vote, motion to reconsider may be made by any Councilman who was present at the previous consideration. Any motion to reconsider properly made may be seconded by any other Councilman. When a question is before the Council no motion shall be in order except the following: 1. To adjourn 2. To lay on the table 3. Previous question 4. To postpone to a certain time 5. To amend 6. To postpone indefinitely The foregoing motions are privileged and have precedence in the order in which they succeed each other in this rule. Motions to adjourn, lay bn the table and for the previous question shall be decided without debate. 5.8.23. A motion to adjourn the Council shall always be in order except when a member is in possession of the floor, when the yeas and nays are being called, when the members are voting, when adjournment was the last preceeding motion and when it has been decided that the previous question shall be taken. 5.8.24. Special committees of the Council may be appointed at any time by the Council or by the Mayor to consider any special problem and shall continue until discharged by the appointed authority. 5.8.25. All persons appearing before the Council shall make such appearance only in their own behalf or as a member of some civic, religious, business or neighborhood organization. All persons may also be represented before the Council by their attorneys. • 5.8.26. No ordinance shall be adopted by the Council at the same . meeting which it is introduced except after a suspension of the rules • by majority vote of the Council. .x. 5.8.27. Following introduction and consideration, any citizen may inspect any proposed ordinance at the office of the City Clerk. 5.8.28. Any rule other than the rule relating to the adoption of ordinances may be temporarily suspended at any time by a 2/3 vote of Councilmen present. 5.8.29. Any rule may be amended or repealed at any regular meeting of the City Council upon a prior submission thereof in writing by the Mayor or by three or more Councilmen distributed to the members of the City Council at least one week in advance of the vote thereon, if the proposed amendment or repeal is approved by 2/3 of the Council currently holding office. 5.8.30. The rules of parlimentary procedure contained in the current edition of Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised shall kovern the Council in all cases in which they are applicable and not in conflict with the written rules of the Council or any applicable ordinance or state statute. • Section 3. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed. Section 4. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval in the manner provided by law and shall be published in pamphlet form by authority of the City Council. r W. F. Rauschenberger, Mayor Presented: June 27, 1973 Passed: June 27, 1973 Vote:. Yeas 7 Nays 0 Recorded: June 27, 1973 Published: June 27, 1973 Attest: Margaret A. Glink, City Clerk