City of Southgate


COUNCIL RULES AND PROCEDURES
  1. Meetings shall open with Pledge of Allegiance.
  2. The order of roll call shall be rotated.
  3. Matters referred to an ad hoc (impromptu or informal) committee shall appear on the next meeting’s agenda unless otherwise specified.
  4. Officials shall be referred to by their respective titles.
  5. Only persons recognized by the Chair shall be noted in the minutes.
  6. Individuals and organizations acknowledged by the Chair under Persons In The Audience – Scheduled and Unscheduled, may address the City Council one time only at the same meeting and will be afforded a two (2) minute time limit.  The time limit may be extended at the discretion of the Chair.
  7. Persons addressing the Council will maintain a proper decorum in the Council Chambers.  The use of vulgar, obscene, threatening or otherwise inappropriate language or gestures shall result in a verbal warning and/or ejection from the Council Chambers at the discretion of the Chair.
  8. The deadline for matters (including communications) to appear on the agenda shall be Thursday at  4:00 P.M. prior to the Council meeting.  This shall also apply to Council members.  Those people desiring to be placed on the agenda shall state in writing their reasons and the subject matter to be presented.
  9. All communications requiring Council action shall be listed and read under “Communications A”;  all others shall be listed under “Communications B” and read only if required.
  10. All Council members shall receive copies of all communications with the tentative agenda.  The agenda shall be available to the members on the Friday prior to the regular meeting.
  11. Meetings are to be conducted according to rules of Parliamentary Procedure, as outlined in “Parliamentary Procedure at a Glance” by O. Garfield Jones.
  12. All Council members are to be notified of any commission/committee meetings.
  13. The City Attorney shall act as Parliamentarian and Sergeant-At-Arms to the Council.
  14. To reconsider a motion, the following procedure applies:
    1. Only a Council member who voted with the prevailing side may bring a motion to reconsider, but the motion to reconsider may be seconded by any Council member. 
    2. A motion to reconsider must either be made at the same meeting as the motion sought to be reconsidered, or, if the City Clerk is notified within seventy-two (72) hours after said meeting, the motion to reconsider shall be placed on the agenda for the next scheduled Council meeting.
    3. If a majority of the Council votes in favor of the motion to reconsider, the motion sought to be reconsidered shall then be independently voted upon by the Council.
    4. Motions shall not be reconsidered twice.
  15. Changing a vote:
    1. Any individual Council member may change his or her vote up to the time the vote is announced.  After that he or she can make the change only with the permission of the Council.  If  no Council member objects, the change may be made.  If an objection is raised, a motion may be made to allow the change, which motion is undebatable.  A majority vote is necessary to adopt the motion and allow the change.
    2. A motion to allow a Council member to change his or her vote must be made either at the same meeting as the vote sought to be changed, or, if the City Clerk is notified within seventy- two (72) hours of said meeting.  The motion to allow a vote to be changed shall be placed on  the agenda of the next scheduled Council meeting.
  16. Emergency Expenditures:
    1. Whenever an emergency expenditure is required, the matter shall first be referred to the Finance Director for pertinent information and written recommendation as to where the money
    2. When other matters requiring emergency polling of the Council result, an attempt will be made to contact all members within a six-hour time frame.  After the six-hour time frame, the results will be finalized.  The results will be provided to Council members as soon as possible afterwards.
  17. Ordinances:
    1. All ordinances which amend classifications of land (rezoning) and are recommended for approval by the Plan Commission after a public hearing, shall be forwarded to the next appropriate regular meeting of the Council for the first reading.  A workshop session will be scheduled prior to the regular meeting in order to address specific Council questions.
    2. All other proposed ordinances, including zoning ordinance amendments, shall be placed on a workshop agenda for consideration by Council, prior to the first reading at a regular Council meeting.
    3. In the event the City Administrator deems a proposed ordinance requires immediate attention, the proposed ordinance may be placed on the next Council agenda for consideration by the Council.
    4. Ordinances shall be introduced at one meeting and adopted at the following meeting.  In the event the Council deems it necessary to immediately adopt an ordinance, the ordinance may be introduced and adopted at the same meeting. 
    5. If practical, ordinances shall be read once in their entirety.  Otherwise, ordinances may be read by title only.
  18. At any time during the effective period of these “Rules of Procedure”, the Council may amend such rules and regulations by a majority vote.
Revised:  December 3, 2003