ARTICLE V

RULES OF CONDUCT

5.01.     ADDRESSING THE ASSEMBLY

A.  The "chair" is properly addressed as Mr. President or Mr. Chairman.

B.  Customs of Formality are followed by the presiding officer. Members of the assembly are addressed as Mr. or Madam Mayor, Law Director, Finance Director, etc. All present in attendance shall be addressed as Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss.

C.  No member of Council or member of the assembly may speak, unless they are first recognized by the chair.

D.  All members of the assembly, or any other individuals addressing the assembly, cannot address one another directly, but must address all remarks through the chair.

E.  Council members may direct discussion at other Council members with the approval of the Chair.

F.  Council Rules apply to the Council, as well as all other speakers addressing the Council. Violators of these rules will be warned one time by the Chair, that "these are the rules by which we function." Said violators will be requested to comply. No second warning will be made, only the request to surrender the floor (the privilege of speaking) at this time. Failure to comply during the rest of the meeting may lead to expulsion from the room, when determined appropriate by a majority of Council.

5.02.     DISCUSSION

A.  When a question is pending, a member of the assembly can condemn the nature or likely consequences of the proposed matter in strong terms, but must avoid personalities and under no circumstances attack the motives of another member.

1.  Inflammatory statements such as "it’s a lie," "He’s a liar," "It’s a fraud" will not be tolerated.

2.  Profane language is always prohibited.

B.   During the legislative portion of the meeting (during the structured dialog), each member has the right to speak TWICE on the same question on the same day, but cannot make a second speech on the same question so long as any other member who has not spoken desires the floor. A member who has spoken twice on the particular question on the same day, has exhausted his/her right to debate the question for the day.

C.     In structured dialog, a member’s remarks must be germaine to the question before the assembly - that is, his statements must have bearing on whether the pending question shall be adopted. The "Wandering" into other non-pending areas shall be considered "out-of-order" by the Chair.

D.      Polling - Although not a motion, if a question is asked of Council, then the Council shall be polled either by the President or the Clerk of Council. If a poll is not conducted, and no objections are voiced, then the recommendation from the vocal portion of the Council will be deemed as the wish of Council as a whole. Polling is done by a roll call only.

E.     "Point of Order" may be called for by any Council member, if the Chair has neglected a rule, or neglected to enforce a rule of the meeting. The Council member does not need to first be recognized in this instance.

F.     "Personal Privilege" may be requested by a Council member to speak on a particular matter of personal interest. The Council member must explain the nature of the request. The Personal Privilege must be approved by a majority of Council, and will be governed by the same rules as other non-member speakers. The Council member must step down from the dias to speak. Personal Privilege shall not be used for political purposes.

G.     The President of Council may request comments from Council Committee Chairman or representatives regarding each pertinent piece of legislation without a motion for discussion. (amended 2-25-2002).

5.03.     CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

In general, citizens will not be recognized by the Chair to enter the debate on pending legislative matters. There are exceptions, such as zoning issues, development issues, etc. The Chair will  determine when a citizen shall be recognized during the legislative process. The decision of the Chair may be overridden by the majority vote of Council.

A.    Citizens may comment on any legislative item on the Council agenda during "Citizens Comments - Legislation." (amended 1-5-2002, 3-13-2006)

B.     Citizens may comment on any issue, not limited to the Council agenda during "Citizens Comments - General" at the end of the meeting. (amended 1-5-2002, 3-13-2006)

C.     When the rules requiring an ordinance to      be read on three separate occasions have been suspended, and there has been a motion for adoption, then the President of Council shall recognize residents who wish to speak on the ordinance or resolution. (amended 2-23-2004)

D.     Citizen participation shall be directed to the Chair, and shall otherwise be done in conformance with all Rules of Conduct outlined in Article V of  this document.

E.     There is a five minute time limitation for citizens to speak during "Citizens Comments - Legislation". There is a two minute limitation for each other opportunity a citizen has to speak.    The citizen may speak once under each order of business where citizen comments are allowed. (amended 1-5-2002, 3-13-2006)

F.    Citizen comments are allowed at special meetings only regarding any legislation to be discussed, and prior to Council entering into the Legislative portion of the agenda. The time limitations shall be concurrent with the limitations established for regular meetings. (amended 2-25-2002)