ATTACHMENT 2
RESOLUTION NO. 23-14
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CITY COUNCIL POLICY AND PROCEDURE 1201-11 (COUNCIL MEETING AND OPERATING PROCEDURES) TO INCLUDE POLICIES
FOR DECORUM AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
WHEREAS, City Council Policy and Procedure 1201-11 (the “Policy”) contains the policies and procedures for City Council Meetings and Council Operating Procedures; and
WHEREAS, Section 4.1.1 of the Policy provides that Rosenberg’s Rules of Order shall guide Council proceedings; and
WHEREAS, Rosenberg’s Rules contain no specific procedures applicable to the nomination and election of Council officers or Council appointments to City Commissions or Committees; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to adopt clear, concise, and simple rules of procedure for these elections and appointments.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does hereby resolve as follows:
Section 1. Section 4., Subsection 4.4.12 and 4.4.14 of City Council Policy 1201-11 is hereby added to read as shown in Exhibit “A” hereto.
Section 3. The City Clerk Shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
ATTACHMENT 2
PASSED AND ADOPTED this _____ day of ____________________, _______.
ATTEST:
___________________________ __________________________
City Clerk of the City of Mayor of the City of San
San Clemente, California Clemente, California
ATTACHMENT 2
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) §
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. _________ was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on the _______ day of _______________________, _________, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of _________________, ________. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
Approved as to form:
_________________________
City Attorney
ATTACHMENT 2
Attachment A
(Amendments to Policy 1201-11)
4.4 City Council Meetings
4.4.1 The date, time and location of Regular Meetings of the City Council shall be established by resolution. At 11:00 p.m. at each meeting, the City Council, by majority vote, will determine whether to continue the meeting or adjourn.
4.4.2 At all meetings of the City Council, a majority of the Council members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. In the event less than a quorum of the City Council is present, the City Clerk shall adjourn the meeting (which may include adjourning to an Adjourned Regular Meeting), post a Notice of Adjournment, and prepare minutes that reflect that the meeting was adjourned due to lack of a quorum.
4.4.3 The City Clerk, or Mayor, shall announce an agenda item before discussion on that item commences.
4.4.4 Each person desiring to address the Council is requested to submit to the City Clerk a speaker form. After being called upon by the Mayor, the speaker may proceed to the podium. The speaker may state for the record his/her name and city of residence, but shall not be required to do so.
Members of the public may speak for three (3) minutes and project applicants and appellants (including members of an applicant's or appellant's project presentation team, when applicable) may speak for a combined total of ten (10) minutes on agenda items. At Council’s request where Council is acting in a fact-finding or hearing capacity, the Mayor may grant additional time (unless overruled by a majority of Councilmembers present) to speakers on agenda items.
Speakers will be called to the podium once Staff concludes its presentation of an item and before Council begins its deliberations.
Speaker cards will not be accepted once deliberations have commenced.
Speakers on non-agenda items may speak for three (3) minutes during the oral communications - public forum portion of the meeting.
The time that a speaker devotes to responding to Council inquiries shall not be deducted from their allotted speaker time.
ATTACHMENT 2
4.4.5 Members of the public may not assign their speaker time to another person.
4.4.6 The purpose of addressing the City Council is to communicate formally with the City Council regarding matters that relate to City Council business or citizen concerns within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. Persons addressing the City Council on an agenda item shall confine their remarks to the matter under consideration by the City Council. Speakers may be asked to clarify how their comments relate to the matter at hand. Speakers may address the entire Council or individual Councilmembers, and, if allowed by the Mayor or chair, City staff.
4.4.7 Once recognized, members of the public shall not be interrupted when speaking unless to be called to order by the Mayor to: (i) curtail extraordinary repetition, (ii) curtail speech that is irrelevant to the City Council’s subject matter jurisdiction, (iii) explain how his or her speech relates to the City’s subject matter jurisdiction, or (iv) address some other point of order. If a speaker is interrupted to be called to order, the speaker shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and if in order, he or she shall be permitted to proceed, with additional time allotted for the time taken to determine the question of order.
4.4.8 In order to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address the Council with the same message, it shall be proper for the Mayor to request that a spokesperson be chosen by the group to represent the group's position. Speakers shall not, however, be required to abide by such a request.
4.4.9 To expedite Council meetings, Councilmembers are encouraged to contact Staff prior to Council meetings to obtain answers to questions and to obtain clarifications as needed.
4.4.10 Staff shall compose Administrative Reports in a clear and concise manner. Staff shall strive to write reports in a manner that can be easily understood by persons that do not have training in the report's subject matter.
4.4.11 Staff presentations at Council meetings are to be condensed to the briefest extent possible, while still providing a basic overview of the issue under consideration. Staff is encouraged to refrain from reiterating issues previously addressed in the Administrative Report.
However, Staff engaged in such communications shall not use these opportunities to communicate with the members of the City Council ATTACHMENT 2
the comments or position of any other member of the City Council on City Council business.
4.4.12 It is the intention of the City Council to allow all members of the public, applicants, staff and each member of the City Council to engage in organized and effective dialog during public meetings.
Every person in attendance should have an equal opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas without interruption. It is anticipated that on occasion, attendees may express their support or disagreement with what is being said in traditional methods such as clapping. The Presiding Officer, with the support of the full membership of the City Council, will maintain order during the meetings of the City Council. The Presiding Officer may ask the audience to reduce background noise if it interferes with the ability of the City Council to hear the communications. If the background noise continues, the Presiding Officer may call for a temporary recess.
4.4.13 Members of the public shall not engage in conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the City Council meeting. Any person who so disrupts the meeting is subject to removal from the meeting.
Prior to removing anyone from a City meeting, the Mayor (or other designated chair) shall: (i) notify the person that he/she is in violation of this Section 4.4.12, (ii) specify the specific behavior giving rise to that conclusion; (iii) explain all grounds for the belief that the person’s conduct is in violation of law/policy and why such conduct subjects the person to expulsion; and (iv) notify the person that if the conduct continues he/she will be removed. The person receiving such notification shall be asked if he/she understands the conclusion but shall not be required to accept it.
Members of the public receiving notice of disruption pursuant to this section shall have the right, prior to being removed from the meeting, to ask the Mayor to consult with the City Attorney on the grounds for expulsion, and to submit a point of order on the grounds for expulsion. The City Council may override this decision pursuant to Section 4.1.2. The City Attorney shall have a duty to inform the Mayor (or other designated chair) and the public if the City Attorney believes that the Mayor’s action is in violation of applicable law.
4.4.14 The Ralph M. Brown Act limits the ability of Councilmembers to discuss items that have not been properly placed on an agenda. This can be challenging when attendees at a City Council meeting are seeking immediate answers. The delicate balance of adhering to the Brown Act and ATTACHMENT 2
being responsive to the public is an important issue for elected officials.
During the “Open Communications” item on the agenda, Councilmembers will refrain from conversing with speakers. At the end of the “Open Communications” portion of the agenda, the Presiding Officer will ask if any member of the City Council would like to briefly clarify any issues raised during that portion of the agenda. Councilmembers may ask staff to briefly address any of the concerns raised if (a) a short, concise answer can be provided and (b) the item is not an issue that will require any current or future action by the City Council, or ask staff to follow-up with a speaker outside of the meeting. If the clarification requires more detailed analysis or more than a short answer provided by staff, the Councilmember can ask that item be placed on a future agenda for consideration by the City Council during the “Items for Future Agendas” portion of the meeting.
4.4.15 Motions must be seconded in order to proceed to a vote.