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CC RES 1975-031 RESOLUTION NO. 75-31 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ESTAB- LISHING CITY COUNCIL OPERATING RULES AND PROCEDURES WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes has determined a requirement for establishing definite rules and procedures under which the Council shall operate; and WHEREAS, _ the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes has determined that said rules and procedures can best be estab- lished by setting them forth in a duly adopted City Resolution; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES HEREBY RESOLVE TO OPERATE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Selection of the Mayor. At the second meeting in March of each year, except as otherwise provided by law, the Council shall organize and select a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore. Section 2. Presenting Matters to Council. Every Council member, Department Head, Official, Board, Commission, or committee, or any member thereof, and every citizen, individual, corporation, commit- tee or civic group having reports , communications , resolutions , or any other matter of business to be presented at a council meeting, shall notify the City Manager of the fact on the ;Wednesday next preceding the day of such meeting. The City Manager shall prepare an agenda including all such matters according to the order of business and mail to members of Council a complete copy of such agenda not later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the meeting, or as soon as possible there- after. A copy of the agenda shall be made available to the public in the City Offices upon its completion. No matters, other than those on the written agenda, shall be finally acted upon by the Council; provided, however, that matters presented by any Council member, the City Manager, the City Attorney, or any individual citizen with an explanation of the nature of the matter stated in open meeting, may be considered and acted upon following a 4/5 vote of the Council to place said matter on the agenda for action by the City Council. Such matters shall be stated and such approval given under "Approval of Agenda" in the order of business set forth in Section 3-7 . Section 3 . Order of Business . All meetings of the Council shall be opened to the public except as otherwise provided by law. Promptly at the hour set on the day of each regular or special meet- ing, the members of the Council, and unless excused by the City Council, the City Manager, the City Clerk, and City Attorney shall take their assigned stations in the Council Chambers , and the busi- ness of the Council shall be taken up for consideration and dispo- sition in the following order, except as otherwise ordered by the Council in the Approval of Agenda as provided in Section 3-7 . 1. Call to Order 11. Ordinances for Introduction 2. Flag Salute 12 . Resolutions 3. Roll Call 13 . Continued Business 4 . Ceremonial Matters 14 . New Business 5. Approval of Minutes 15 . Written Communication 6 . Audience Questions 16. Demands 7 . Approval of Agenda 17 . Further Audience Questions 8. Special Presentations 18 . Council Committee Reports 9. Public Hearings 19 . City Manager Reports 10 . Ordinances for Adoption 20 . Adjournment At a special meeting, no ordinances (other than urgency ordi- nances) may be adopted, nor may resolutions or orders for payment of money be made. Section 4. Proclamations. Proclamations to recognize events or activities of community-wide interest shall be issued at the dis- cretion of the Mayor. Section 5A. Presiding Officer. The Mayor, or in the Mayor' s absence, the Mayor Pro Tempore, shall take the Chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting, and shall immediately call the Council to order. In the absence of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tempore, the City Clerk or Deputy City Clerk shall call the Council to order, whereupon a temporary chairperson shall be selected by the members of the Council present. Upon the arrival of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore, the temporary chairperson shall immediately relin- quish the Chair upon the conclusion of the business immediately before the Council. Section 5B. Duties of Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer shall open all regular and special meetings of the Council by taking the Chair and calling the members to order. The Presiding Officer shall state each question before the Council in the order in which it is to be acted upon, recognize members entitled to the floor, state and put to vote all questions which are regularly moved or which arise in the course of the proceedings and announce the decision of the Council on all subjects. The Presiding Officer shall decide all questions of order; subject, however, to an appeal to the Council, in which event a majority vote of the Council shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. The Presiding Officer shall authenticate, by signature, when necessary, all the acts, orders, and proceedings of the Council. Section 6. Quorum. A majority of all the members elected to the Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council. When there is no quorum, the Mayor Pro Tempore or any member of the Council shall adjourn such meeting, or if no member of the Council is present, the City Clerk shall adjourn the meeting to a stated time and place. Personal or mailed written 24-hour notice is also required as to meetings adjourned by the City Clerk, and for all special meetings. Section 7. Rules of Debate and Procedure. (a) The Presiding Officer or such other member of the Council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the Chair sub- ject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and priviliges of a member of Council by reason of acting as the Presiding Officer. (b) Recognition. Every member desiring to speak shall address the Chair, and, upon recognition by the Presiding Officer, shall con- fine remarks to the question under debate. (c) Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking, unless it be to call that member to order, or as herein otherwise provided. If a member be called to order while speaking, that member shall cease speaking until the question of order be determined, and, if in order, shall be permitted to proceed. (d) Closing Debate. Debate shall be closed by a motion calling for the "previous question" . When seconded, such motion is undebatable and, if carried by 4/5 vote, the pending question shall be immediately put to a vote. If the motion fails , debate may be reopened. (e) Motion. A motion shall have a second before it is properly before the City Council for debate. . -2- Resolution No. 75-31 (f) Motion to Reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be made on the day the action to be recon- sidered was taken or at any succeeding meeting. Such motion may be made and seconded by any member; it may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions; it shall be debatable. After a motion for a reconsideration has once been acted on, no other motion for a reconsideration thereof shall be made without unanimous consent of the Council. (g) Motions to be Stated by Presiding Officer. When a motion is made, it shall be stated by the Presiding Officer before debate. Any member may request that it be put in writing. (h) Withdrawal of Motion. A motion may be withdrawn by the mover with the consent of the second. (i) Amendments. It shall be in order to amend a motion at any time that it is properly before the Council but not after the previous question has been moved. There shall be only one amend- ment to a main motion pending at any time. This first degree amendment may have one amendment pending at one time. As each is voted, other amendments may be offered in succession. (j) Motion to Lay on Table. A motion to lay on the table shall preclude all amendments or debate of the subject under con- sideration. If the motion shall prevail, the consideration of the subject may be resumed only upon a motion of a member voting with the majority and with the consent of two-thirds of the members present. (k) Motion to Postpone. A motion to postpone indefinitely is fully debatable. A motion to postpone to a definite time is amendable and debatable as to propriety and time set. (1) Motion to Refer. A motion to "refer" is not debatable except as to time or place of the referral. (m) Motion to Rescind. A motion to rescind an action if permissible pursuant to law may be made at any time, is debatable, and may be amended. (n) Motion to Adjourn. A motion to adjourn is not debatable and is in order at any time. (o) Remarks of Council Members. Unless otherwise directed by the Presiding Officer, remarks and/or debate shall not be entered into the minutes. Council members may request the privilege of having an abstract of their statements on any subject under con- sideration by the Council entered into the minutes. If the Council consents thereto by a majority vote, such abstract shall be entered into the minutes, if presented in writing. Unless granted further time by Council, remarks shall be limited to five minutes. (p) Council Action on Certain Routine, Procedural and Unanimous Consent Matters. When a motion has been duly made and seconded on a matter which is routine or procedural, the Council unanimously concurs therein and a roll call vote is not required by law or this Code nor requested by any member of the Council, the Presiding Officer may state in substance: "There being no objection, it is so ordered. " No objection being stated, the action shall be deemed to have been taken by unanimous voice vote of the Council and the City Clerk shall record such action in the minutes of the meeting. Section 8A. Addressing the Council. (a) Public Hearings and Protests. Interested persons or their authorized representatives may address the Council extempo- raneously, or by reading protests, petitions, or communications relating to zoning, sewer and street proceedings, hearings on protests, appeals and petitions, or similar matters, in regard to matters then under consideration, subject at all times to maintenance of order by the Presiding Officer. -3- Resolution No. 75-31 (b) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the City Council by majority vote may decline to hear oral communications if the pressure of urgent City business does not permit or may terminate or continue such communications if the lateness of the hour requires it, or if necessary to maintain order. Section 8B. Addressing Council after Motion is Made. When a motion is pending before the Council, no person other than a Council member shall address the Council without first securing the permission of the Presiding Officer to do so. Section 8C. Manner of Addressing Council. (a) Protocol. Each person addressing the Council shall first fill out a request form to be furnished by the City Clerk. The person shall then step up to the audience microphone, state name and address in an audible tone of voice for the record, and, unless further time is granted by the Council, shall limit any address to five minutes. All remarks shall be directed to the Council as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than the Council and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Council, without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No question shall be asked a Council member or staff member except through the Presiding Officer. (b) Speaker for Group of Persons. Whenever any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the Presiding Officer to request that a specific person be chosen by the group to address the Council, and in case additional data or argument is to be presented at the time by any other member of said group, to limit the number of persons so as to avoid unnecessary repetition. Section 9. Voting Required: Disqualification. Any dis- qualified member shall openly state or have the Presiding Officer announce the face and nature of such disqualification in open meeting, and shall not be subject to further inquiry. A member who is disqualified by conflict of interest in any matter shall not be counted as part of a quorum and shall be considered absent for the purpose of determining the outcome of any vote on such matter. Any member having a "remote interest" in any matter as provided in the Government Code shall divulge the same before voting. Section 10. Roll Call Vote. A roll call vote shall be taken upon the adoption of all ordinances and be entered upon the minutes of the proceedings of the Council. Upon request of any member, a roll call vote shall be taken and recorded on any vote. Whenever a recorded or roll call vote of the Council is in order, the City Clerk shall call the names of the members in alphabetical order, with the Mayor voting last in every case. Section 11. Council Members to Avoid Improper Consideration of Pending or Contemplated Matters. (a) Fair Hearings. Members of the Council shall exercise care to avoid discussion or listening to a discussion of the facts of any matter which, by law, requires evidence to be taken at a public hearing and findings of fact to be made by the City Council while such matter is pending before the City Council, except in a public hearing before the Council. The Council shall exercise like care as to any such matter which is pending before an agency of the City and which is expected to be the subject of public hearing by the City Council. (b) Open Mind. No member of the Council shall pledge or promise to vote in a certain way on any such matter. -4- Resolution No. 75-31 Section 12. Robert' s Rules of Order. In all matters and things not otherwise provided for herein, the proceedings of the Council shall be governed by "Robert' s Rules of Order, " newly re- vised edition. However, no ordinance, resolution, proceedings or other action of the City Council shall be invalidated, or the legality thereof affected, by the failure or omission to observe or follow said Rules. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 1st day of April ,1975 . • r ATTEST: Zen.g.,4 // A 4-1 ' CIT CL RK I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of a resolution passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes at a regular meeting thereof held on the 1st day of April , 1975 . C I' Y C LE RK - 5 - Resolution No. 75-31