POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR
March 3,
2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2. Order of Business -
Regular Meetings:
16. Appointments by
Council or Mayor:
17. Preparation and
Introduction:
LIST OF COUNCIL MEETINGS:
ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF POLICY AND PROCEDURE
The
Council shall meet in the regular session on the first and third Mondays of
each month, excepting the month of November, at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall
Council Chambers, or at any other place as the Council may designate at its
preceding meeting. In the month of
November the Council shall meet on the Monday immediately following Election
Day and the third Monday of the month.
When Monday is a holiday, the regular meeting shall be held on the
following day at the same hour unless otherwise provided for by motion. The day, time, and place of the meeting may
be changed by a majority vote.
The
business of all regular meetings of the Council shall be transacted in the
following order, unless the Council, by majority vote, (Town Charter, Chapter
III, Section 4, Page 4) shall suspend the rules and change the order. Executive Session shall be scheduled or added
to the agenda as needed.
1. Prayer*
2. Pledge
of Allegiance
3. Roll
Call*
4. Fire
Evacuation Announcement
5. Minutes
of Preceding Meetings
6. Special
Guests
7. Public
Communications & Petitions
8. Councilmen
Communications & Petitions
9. Town
Manager Report & Communications
10. Town Attorney Report & Communications
11. Report
of Special Committees of the Council
12. Old Business
13. New Business
13a. Consent Agenda – Action (See Section 3. Agenda, Paragraph
2)
14. Items for Discussion
14a. Consent Agenda – Review (See Section 3. Agenda, Paragraph
2)
15. Miscellaneous
16. Public Communications**
17. Councilmen Communications
18. Adjournment
*(a) The
Order of Roll Call, and voting on all voice votes, for all Regular Meetings
shall begin with a different Council member at every meeting. The order shall be alphabetical, and if a
Council member is absent, the order for that meeting will begin with the next
person in alphabetical order. The
Council member whose name begins the roll call for a Regular Meeting will also
be the Council member who says the prayer, and voting order shall not apply to
special Meetings of the Town Council.
**(b) Applies only if prior to 11:00 p.m.
All
reports, communications, ordinances, or other matters to be submitted to the
Council shall, at least six days prior to each Council meeting, be delivered to
the Town Manager, whereupon the Town Manager shall arrange a list of such
matters according to the order of business, and furnish each member of the
Council with a copy of the same at least three days prior to the Council
Meeting. Simultaneously, a copy of the
agenda will be posted on the first floor bulletin board of the Town Hall.
A
Consent Agenda will be added to all Regular Meetings, which will be a separate
listing of items for passage that are routine in nature and have already been
discussed by the council majority and minority leaders and require no further
discussion or debate. These items will
be on a separate list at Items for Discussion, Item 13a. – Consent
Agenda – Review. The Consent Agenda at Items
for Discussion will move to New Business, Item 12a. Consent Agenda –
Action at the next Regular Meeting for adoption. Any member of the Town Council may cause any
item listed under the Consent Agenda at either the Items for Discussion
or New Business sections to be removed and considered as other new
business by request.
Council
will permit town staff, with the consent of the Town Manager, to deliver
reports and provide information regarding items on the meeting agenda during
the Town Manager Report and Communications section of the agenda.
Special
Meetings may be called by the Mayor, the Town Manager, or requested by any two
(2) members of the Council if, in the opinion of those members of the Council,
the subject matter demands immediate attention and cannot be deferred to the
next regular meeting. The notice shall
be served personally upon each member of the Council, Town Clerk, and Town
Attorney, or left at their respective places of residence at least twenty-four
hours before a Special Meeting. At a
Special Meeting, only matters included in the notice may be voted upon and
enacted by the Council. The business of
all Special Meetings shall be transacted in the following order unless the
Council, by a majority vote (Town Charter, Chapter III, Section 4, Page 4)
shall suspend the rules and change the order:
1. Roll Call
2. Agenda Items
3. Executive
Session
4. Adjournment
The Town Council will hold
quarterly public informational meetings, with the location alternating between the
four Council Districts each quarter.
An
Executive Session is a meeting of the Council at which the public is excluded
for one or more of the following purposes: (1) discussion concerning the
appointment, employment, performance, evaluation, health or dismissal of a town
officer or employee, provided that such individual may require that discussion
be held at an open meeting; (2) strategy and negotiations with respect to
pending claims and litigation; (3) matters concerning security, strategy or the
deployment of security personnel, or devices effecting public security; (4)
discussion of the selection of a site or the lease, sale, or purchase of real
estate by the Town Council when publicity regarding such matters would cause a
likelihood of increased price until such time as all the property has been
acquired and all proceedings or transactions concerning same have been
terminated or abandoned; and (5) discussion of any matter which would result in
the disclosure of public records or the information contained therein described
in sub-section (e) of Section 1-18a of the Connecticut General Statutes.
The
Council may hold an Executive Session upon the following schedule:
|
PRESENT |
VOTES REQUIRED |
|
11 |
8 |
|
10 |
7 |
|
9 |
6 |
|
8 |
6 |
|
7 |
6 |
|
6 |
6 |
At
an Executive Session, attendance shall be limited to members of the Council and
persons invited by the Council to present testimony or opinion limited to the
period for which their presence is necessary to present such testimony or
opinion and, provided further, that the minutes of such Executive Session shall
disclose all persons who are in attendance and the matters considered.
COUNCIL PROCEDURE
(a) Except
when a member of the Council has or desires the floor, the Town Manager shall
have the privilege of the floor for the purpose of giving information to the
Council on business and affairs of the Town (Town Charter, Chapter IV, Section
3, Page 8) and the Town Attorney shall likewise have the privilege of the floor
on the introduction or interpretation of any existing or proposed ordinance or
resolution or on any questions of legal procedure.
(b) Except
at a Public Hearing, or as otherwise provided in these rules, no person other
than a member of the Council shall address the Council except by the majority
vote of the Council.
(c) Public
Communications and Petitions shall be limited to one (1) hour unless extended
by a majority vote of the Council.
(a) When
a motion is under debate, no further motion shall be received except (1) to
adjourn; (2) to recess; (3) to table; (4) for the previous question; (5) to
limit or extend debate; (6) to postpone to time certain; (7) to refer to
committee; (8) to amend; (9) to postpone indefinitely; which motions shall have
precedence in the order indicated.
(b) A
two-thirds vote shall mean two-thirds of the total membership of the Council.
(c) The
Chairman shall have the right to make a motion, may declare any motion duly
seconded, except motions made by the chair, and may speak from the chair upon
any debatable pending question.
Robert's
Rules of Order shall be the authority in all matters of parliamentary procedure
not otherwise specified in these rules.
(a) Standing
Committee: The only Standing Committee of the Council shall be the Committee of
the Whole. The Mayor shall be the Presiding Officer of the Committee of the
Whole, and the rules of proceedings in the Council shall be observed in the
Committee of the Whole as far as the same may be applicable.
(b) Committee
of the Whole Meetings: When the Council shall meet as the Committee of the
Whole, it shall not be required to meet immediately during the session of the
Council, but may defer its meeting and fix such time and place as the Committee
may determine, and may adjourn its meeting from time to time, and may make its
report at any subsequent session of the Council.
(c) Special
Committees for a particular purpose may be appointed by the Presiding Officer
subject to confirmation of the Council.
OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
(a) The
Chairman shall be designated as Mayor and shall represent the Town as titular
head of the government at meetings of such officials representing other
municipalities, ceremonies, public gatherings, and upon such occasions as
his/her presence in such capacity may be required. (Town Charter, Chapter III,
Section 2, Page 4) The Mayor or the Deputy Mayor shall take the chair at the
hour appointed for the Council to meet, and the roll shall then be called by
the Mayor or Deputy Mayor or Clerk, who shall enter in the minutes of the
meeting the names of the members present.
(b) Deputy
Mayor: The Council shall choose one of its members as Deputy Mayor, who shall
serve as Mayor during the absence or disability of the Mayor and in case of
vacancy in the office of the Mayor, pending the selection of a successor.
(c) Acting
Chairman: In case of the absence of the Mayor or Deputy Mayor, the Clerk shall
call the Council to order and call the roll of the members. The Council shall
then proceed to elect, by a majority vote of the Council, a Chairman of the
meeting to act until the Mayor or Deputy Mayor appears.
The
presiding officer may move, second, and debate from the chair, subject 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 privileges of a Councilman by
reason of his/her acting as the presiding officer. (Town Charter, Chapter III,
Section 2, Page 4)
The
presiding officer shall preserve decorum and decide all questions of order,
subject to appeal to Council.
(a) During
Council meetings, Council members shall preserve order and decorum and shall
neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings nor
refuse to obey the orders of the Presiding Officer or the rules of the Council.
Every Councilman desiring to speak shall address the Chair and, upon
recognition by the Presiding Officer, shall be confined to the question under
debate and shall avoid all personalities and improper language. Every
Councilman desiring to question the administrative staff shall address the
question to the Manager, through the Chair, who shall be entitled either to
answer the inquiries himself/herself or to designate some member of the staff
for that purpose. A Councilman once recognized, shall not be interrupted while
speaking unless called to order by the Presiding Officer, unless a point of
order is raised by another member or unless the speaker yields to questions
from another member.
(b) All
members of the Council shall accord the utmost courtesy to each member, to the
Town employees, and to the public members appearing before the Council, and
shall refrain at all times from rude and derogatory remarks, reflections as to
integrity, abusive comments, and statements as to motives and
personalities. Dress attire for Council
members shall be “business casual”. The
definition of “business casual” is that the member should be neatly dressed and
professional in appearance. Examples of
non-conformance are casual wear such as jeans, tee shirts and shorts.
(c) Members
of the administrative staff and employees of the Town shall observe the same
rules of procedure and decorum applicable to members of the Town Council. While
the Presiding Officer shall have the authority to preserve decorum in meetings,
as far as staff members and Town employees are concerned, the Town Manager also
shall be responsible for the orderly conduct and decorum of all Town Employees
under his/her direction and control.
(d) Public
members attending Council meetings also shall observe the same rules of
propriety, decorum, and good conduct applicable to members of the Council. Any
public member desiring to address the Council shall be recognized by the Chair,
shall state his/her name and address in audible tone for the record, and shall
limit his/her remarks to five (5) minutes. After each person, who desires, has had one
chance to speak, those desiring to speak a second time will be permitted to do
so, and shall limit his/her remarks to three (3) minutes. A one (1) hour limit for Public
Communications shall be adhered to, but may be extended at the discretion of
the Chair. This limit applies to both
Public Communications sessions of the agenda.
All remarks and questions shall be addressed to the Council as a whole
and not to any individual member thereof. All remarks and questions addressed
to the administration of the Town shall be addressed to the Town Manager and
not to any individual Town employees. No person other than members of the Council
and the person having the floor shall enter into any discussion either directly
or through a member of the Council without permission of the Presiding Officer.
The
Town Manager shall attend all meetings of the Council, unless excused by the
Council. The Town Manager shall perform his/her duties in accordance with the
Charter (Town Charter, Chapter IV, Section 3, Page 8). The Town Manager may
present recommendations to the Council and may take part in discussions on all
matters concerning the welfare of the Town. The Town Manager shall have a seat,
but no vote, in the meetings of the governing body.
The
Town Attorney or his designee shall attend all meetings of the Council,
including all executive sessions, unless excused by the Council and/or
Mayor. The Town Attorney may make
recommendations to the Council and shall take part in discussions on all
matters concerning their legality. (Town Charter, Chapter V, Section 1, Page 8).
The
Town Clerk shall be clerk of the council and shall keep minutes of the
meetings, and perform such other and further duties in the meetings as may be
ordered by the Mayor, Council, or Town Manager.
Not
later than three (3) days prior to the next regular meeting, the Clerk shall
furnish each Councilman, the Town Manager and Town Attorney, with a copy of the
minutes of the preceding meeting. (Town Charter, Chapter III, Section 3, Page
4, and Town Charter, Chapter V, Section 6, Page 11.)
All appointments made by the Council shall be by the affirmative vote of
not less than six (6) members of the Council, as specified in the Town Charter.
Whenever the Mayor or any member of the Council shall, at any meeting, submit
an appointment exclusive of appointments provided for in the Charter, to be
made with the advice and consent of the Council, consideration of such
appointment shall be deferred until the next meeting.
ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
The
Town Attorney shall, on request of the Town Manager, Council or any member
thereof, prepare any ordinance or resolution. All ordinances and resolutions
shall be introduced to the Council in printed or written form.
In
the absence of the consent of any member of the Council to introduce an
ordinance or resolution upon the request of the Town Manager, the Town Clerk
shall cause the ordinance to be introduced with the designation "By
Request." Any member of the Council may instruct the Town Clerk to endorse
said designation "By Request" on any ordinance or resolution which is
being introduced to the Council in his name.
(a) Before
any ordinance shall be acted upon, it shall be reviewed by and such corrections
as may be necessary made therein by the Town Attorney to insure accuracy,
clearness, conciseness, and consistency of text and phraseology, as well as its
constitutionality and consistency with existing ordinances or statutes, and the
copy of the ordinance upon which final action is based shall bear the Town Attorney's
endorsement that such review has been made. (Town Charter, Chapter V, Section
1, Page 9.)
(b) Any
ordinance, except those containing an emergency clause, relating to the duties,
powers and functions of any administrative department or office, or effecting,
in any substantial manner, the administration of the Town Government shall, on
first reading, be referred by the Presiding Officer to the Town Manager, for
his/her report and recommendations, unless such ordinance shall have been
previously approved by the Town Manager. Further action of such ordinance shall
be deferred until the next meeting of the Council. (Town Charter, Chapter III,
Section 6, Page 5.)
(c) A
mandatory review period of ten (10) calendar days exists for all labor
contracts presented to the Town Council for ratification. The review period begins once the proposed
labor contract has been filed with the Town Clerk. At the recommendation of the Town Manager and
an affirmative vote of not less than eight (8) members, the Town Council may
waive the requirement of a mandatory review period.
All
ordinances and resolutions except those relating to appointment or designation
of officers of the Council or its internal procedure shall be introduced in
written form.
No
ordinances, other than an emergency ordinance, requiring action by the Council
shall be considered unless such has been filed with the Town Manager on or
before 5:00 p.m. of the seventh day before the meeting at which the matter is
to be introduced; provided, however, that this rule shall not prevent any
member of the Council from introducing at any meeting a matter of new business
which does not call for action by the Council at that meeting.
It
shall be the duty of the Town Manager, immediately upon the introduction of any
ordinance, to prepare copies of such proposed ordinance, one copy of which
shall be retained in the Office of the Town Clerk for public inspection, and
one copy posted on the Town Bulletin Board. The Town Manager shall also
promptly furnish each member of the Council, the Town Clerk and the Town
Attorney with a copy of such ordinances.
The
copy of the proposed ordinance retained in the Town Clerk's office shall have
endorsed thereon the name or names of the member or committee introducing such
document, or have attached thereto the elector's petition as required under the
Town Charter, Chapter II, Section 7, Page 6, and at the end thereof, under the
caption "Statement of Purpose," shall contain a brief statement of
its purpose, which statement shall not be a part of the ordinance. Where such
document is introduced by electors' petition, such copy shall be further
endorsed by the Town Clerk certifying that the requirements of the Town
Charter, Chapter III, Section 7, Page 6, have been satisfied. The Statement of
Purpose and such endorsements shall be included on all copies of the document
to be prepared by the Town Manager prior to the final action taken on such
document. (Town Charter, Chapter III, Sections 6 and 7, Page 5 and Page 6.)
At
least one (1) public hearing, prior notice of which shall be given, not more
than fifteen (15) days nor less than five (5) days, by publication, in a
newspaper having a circulation in said town, and by posting a notice and the
full text of the ordinance in public places, including, but not limited to,
Town Hall and the Central Library, shall be held by the Council before any
ordinance shall be passed. (Town Charter, Chapter III, Section 6, Page 5.)
(a) Any
ordinance which shall have had its public hearing shall be taken up by the
Council at its next session, shall be read, and thereupon, shall be open for
debate and amendment. On the close of debate, the Presiding Officer shall
entertain a motion to place such ordinance on final passage. Any member, at any
time when there is no motion before the Council, may move to put the proposed
ordinance on final passage. The motion for final passage shall not be debatable
and shall take precedence over all other motions except one for adjournment.
Upon being seconded, the Presiding Officer shall immediately put the motion to
the Council. If such motion is adopted, no further debate or amendment shall be
allowed, and the Mayor shall immediately call the roll for its final passage.
If such motion is not adopted, the ordinance shall still be open for debate and
amendment until such time as a motion for final passage is adopted.
(b) Every
ordinance, after passage, shall be given a serial number and be recorded by the
Town Clerk in a book to be kept for that purpose which shall be properly
indexed. Within ten (10) days after final passage, all ordinances shall be
published once in their entirety in a newspaper having circulation within the
Town. Every ordinance, unless it shall specify a later date, shall become
effective on the fifteenth (15) day following its final passage. (Town Charter,
Chapter III, Section 6, Page 5.)
(c) Any
resolution may be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced.
An
emergency ordinance shall be only for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health and safety, shall contain an explicit statement of the nature of
the emergency, and shall be adopted by not less than six (6) affirmative votes
in the Council. An ordinance stated to be a public emergency measure and
stating the facts constituting such public emergency shall become effective
immediately after such publication and no public hearing or notice of public
hearing shall be required for any public emergency measure. (Town Charter,
Chapter III, Section 6, Page 5.)
Any
amendment to these rules shall be submitted in writing at any meeting of the
Town Council and may be adopted by the affirmative vote of not less than six
(6) members at a subsequent meeting of the Council. No amendment may be made to
these rules which will conflict with the provisions of the Town Charter.
|
Date of Meeting |
Adopted/Amended |
Motion(s)/Resolution |
|
September 27, 1965 |
Adopted |
Motion N |
|
October 9, 1967 |
Amended |
Motion 216 |
|
March 10, 1969 |
Amended |
Motions 571 & 572 |
|
January 12, 1970 |
Amended |
Motions 763, 764, 765 &
766 |
|
January 12, 1970 |
Adopted |
Motion 768 |
|
December 13, 1971 |
Adopted |
Motion 1355 |
|
December 10, 1973 |
Adopted |
Motion 1899 |
|
December 8, 1975 |
Adopted |
Motion 2575 |
|
May 17, 1976 |
Amended |
Motion 2745 |
|
November 14, 1977 |
Adopted |
Resolution 3175 |