HomeMy WebLinkAboutresolution.council.051-05RESOLUTION #51
(Series of 2005)
A RESOLUTION OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING RULES AND
REGULATIONS
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Aspen is empowered to establish the
Rules of Procedure governing meetings of the City Council of the City of Aspen; and
WHEREAS, the City Council deems it advisable to amend the Rules and
Regulations adopted by Resolution #25, Series of 1985, and to adopt the attached Rules
and Regulations dated June 2005,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO:
Section 1
That the City Council hereby adopts the attached City Council Rules and Rules
establishing procedures for the conduct of its meetings. Said Rules and Regulations shall
replace and supersede the rules governing the procedure of City Council meetings
adopted by Resolution #25, Series of 1985.
Section 2
That the City Council may, from time to time establish additional procedures as
they deem necessary.
I, Kathryn S. Koch, duly appointed and acting City Clerk do certify that the foregoing is a
true and accurate copy of that resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of
Aspen, Colorado, at a meeting held July 25, 2005.
K,~h~y~lS. Koch, ~lty Clerk' -' ' '
CITY COUNCIL RULES AND REGULATIONS
CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO
June 2005
SECTION I - JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS .................................................... 3
SECTION II - MEETINGS ........................................................................................ 3
SECTION III - AGENDA ........................................................................................... 3
SECTION IV - PRESIDING OFFICER - DUTIES: ........................................... 4
SECTION V - CALL TO ORDER - PRESIDING OFFICER: ........................ 4
SECTION VI - ROLL CALL: ................................................................................... 4
SECTION VII - QUORUM: ...................................................................................... 4
SECTION VIII - ORDER OF BUSINESS ............................................................. 5
SECTION IX. - PROCEDURES FOR DEBATE ................................................. 6
SECTION X - RULES OF DEBATE ...................................................................... 6
SECTION XI - ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL ................................................ 7
SECTION XII - DECORUM ..................................................................................... 7
SECTION XIII - ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM ......................................... 7
SECTION XIV - VOTING ......................................................................................... 8
SECTION XV - PETITIONS: ................................................................................... 9
SECTION XVI - SPECIAL COMMITTEES ........................................................ 9
SECTION XVII - USES OF STAFF ..................................................................... 10
SECTION XVIII - ENFORCEMENT, SUSPENSION AND
AMENDMENT OF RULES ..................................................................................... 10
SECTION XIX - RULES OF ORDER .................................................................. 10
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SECTION I - JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS
The Council shall determine its own rules, order of business, conduct of public meetings
and shall provide for keeping the official record, which shall be a public record according
to C. R. S. 24-6-402 Open Meetings
SECTION II - MEETINGS
The Council shall meet regularly at least twice each month. Regular meetings will
normally convene on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 5:00 p.m. in the
Council Chambers or other properly noticed location and shall adjourn promptly by or
before 9:00 p.m. unless a motion is made and carried to suspend the rules and extend the
meeting to a time certain. All actions taken by City Council that are otherwise proper
shall not be void if taken beyond the normal time for adjournment.
Council will schedule work sessions as needed with at least 24 hours advance public
notice. No formal action shall be taken during a work session.
Special meetings may be called during a regularly convened Council meeting or upon
written request of the Mayor or of any two or more members of the Council on at least 24
hours written notice to each member of Council served personally or left at the Council
member's usual place of residence. A special meeting, however, may be held on shorter
notice if all members of Council are present or have waived notice in writing.
Simultaneous notice to the media shall be required for all special meetings.
Executive sessions may be held for the purposes allowed by the Aspen Open Meeting
Law, Municipal Code Section 2.04.030 Open meetings; executive sessions; notice;
minutes and C.R.S. 24-6-402 et. seq. No formal action shall be taken during an executive
session.
Work sessions may be scheduled by Council. No formal action shall be taken during a
work session. Public comment shall be permitted by the Mayor subject to Section IV\.
Notices of meetings will include the time, place and agenda and will be sent to the media
and posted in a public place at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. In case of an
emergency, notice will be as long as is reasonable under the circumstances.
All meetings shall be public, except executive sessions.
SECTION III - AGENDA
The City Manager shall confer with the Mayor each Tuesday preceding a regularly
scheduled meeting to determine items to be included in the published agenda. All
reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents and other matters
to be submitted to the Council shall be delivered to the City Clerk prior to noon on the
Tuesday prior to the Council meeting at which they are to be submitted. The City
Manager shall list the matters according to the order of business and furnish each member
of the Council and appropriate department heads with a copy of the agenda prior to the
Council meeting. No item shall be submitted to the Council except through the City
Manager; however, any member of the public, member of Council, or the City Manager
may submit items to the Council during the Council meeting at the time provided in the
order of business. Excepting emergency action necessary in furtherance of the public
health, safety, or general welfare, no Council action shall be taken on any item not
included on the published agenda.
SECTION IV- PRESIDING OFFICER- DUTIES:
The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of the Council. The presiding officer shall
preserve strict order and decorum at all regular and special meetings of the Council. The
Mayor shall state every question coming before the Council, announce the decision of the
Council on all subjects and decide all questions of order. Any decision or ruling of the
Mayor may be appealed to the Council as a whole by request of any member. The Mayor
shall call for roll call to see if the chair shall be upheld; if the roll call loses, the Mayor is
reversed.
SECTION V - CALL TO ORDER - PRESIDING OFFICER:
The Mayor, or in the Mayor's absence, the Mayor Pro tem shall call the Council to order
at the scheduled meeting time. In the absence of the Mayor or Mayor Protem, the City
Clerk shall call the Council to order. A temporary presiding officer then shall be elected
by the members of the Council present. When the Mayor or Mayor Protem arrives, the
temporary presiding officer shall relinquish the chair when the business immediately
before the Council is finished.
SECTION VI - ROLL CALL:
Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the City Clerk shall call the roll of
the members, and the names of those present shall be entered into the minutes.
SECTION VII - QUORUM:
A quorum shall consist ora majority of the members of Council; however, no action of
the Council shall be valid or binding unless adopted by ordinance, resolution or motion.
Resolution and motions shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the members
present. Ordinances shall require no less than three (3) affirmative votes for passage
unless it is an emergency ordinance in which case it shall require four (4) affirmative
votes.
SECTION VIII - ORDER OF BUSINESS
I. Call to Order
II. Roll Call
Ill. Scheduled Public Appearances
IV. Citizens Comments & Petitions (Time for any citizen to address Council
on issues NOT on the agenda. Please limit your comments to 3 minutes)
Special Orders of the Day
a) Mayor's Comments
b) Councilmembers' Comments
c) City Manager's Comments
d) Board Reports
VI. Consent Calendar (These matters may be adopted together by a single
motion)
VII. First Reading of Ordinances
VIII. Public Hearings
IX. Action Items
X. Information Items
Xl. Executive Session
XII. Adjournment
The Council may, by majority vote, consider items out of sequence from the printed
agenda.
a) The consent calendar matters are routine and may be adopted by one motion.
Them will be no discussion of separate items, unless members of the City Council, staff,
or the public requests that a specific item be discussed or removed from the consent
calendar for individual consideration.
b) Procedures for public heatings are outlined in Ordinance #87, Series of 1975.
c) Procedures for submitting petitions are discussed in section XV.
d) If the City Council wishes to adjourn to a later time, Council must pass a motion
specifying the date and time to which the regular meetings is being adjourned.
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order except during roll call. When a motion is
made and seconded to adjourn, any member of the Council may state why it is improper
for Council to adjourn. That statement, however, shall not be debatable and shall not take
more than two minutes.
SECTION IX. - PROCEDURES FOR DEBATE
On those issues requiring debate, the presiding officer shall state the issue before
Council. Unless Council by consensus determines no report is necessary, staff shall have
an opportunity to report on the issue and will respond to Council questions. Council
members shall be allotted time to present their positions and concerns.
A motion and a second on the issue will be allowed after all interested parties have had
an initial opportunity to express their views. Discussion can continue after the motion is
made; however, after a motion is on the floor, except for questions from Council,
discussion shall be restricted to Council members.
SECTION X - RULES OF DEBATE
a) Presiding Officer ma,/debate and vote, etc. While the primary role of the
presiding officer is to facilitate deliberations, the Mayor or member of Council who is
presiding may move, second and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of
debate as are imposed on all members. The presiding officer shall not be deprived of any
of the rights and privileges ofa Councilmember.
b) Getting the floor - improper references to be avoided Every member desiring to
speak shall address the chair and upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine
him or herself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous
languages.
c) Interruptions A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking
unless it is to call the member to order. Ifa member, while speaking is called to order,
the member shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in
order, shall be permitted to proceed.
d) Personal Privilege The right of a Councilmember to address the Council on a
question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which the member's integrity,
character, or motives are questioned, or where the welfare of the Council is concerned. A
Councilmember may interrupt another speaker if the Mayor recognizes the "privilege".
e) Privilege of closing debate The Councilmember moving the adoption of an
ordinance or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate.
SECTION XI - ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL
Any person wishing to address the Council shall first secure permission of the presiding
officer to do so. The Council may limit the length of time that a person is permitted to
address the Council.
Written communications Interested parties or their authorized representatives may
address the Council by written communications in regard to matters under discussion.
Oral communications During the proper time on the agenda, citizens attending a regular
meeting may address the Council on any matter concerning the City's business, or any
matter over which the Council has control. Oral presentations shall not be repetitious and
shall be confined to five minutes maximum duration.
After motion made - No person shall address the Council after a motion is made without
first securing the permission of Council to do so.
SECTION XII - DECORUM
a) By Councilmembers While the Council is in session, the members must preserve
order and decorum. A member shall neither by conversation or otherwise, delay or
interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb any member while
speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the Council or its presiding officer, except as
otherwise herein provided.
b) By Persons Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks, or
who becomes boisterous while addressing the Council, or who interferes with the order of
business before the Council, and who fails upon request of the presiding officer to cease
such activity, shall be barred from further audience before the Council, unless permission
to continue is granted by a majority vote of the Council.
SECTION XIII - ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM
The City Manager shall appoint a sergeant-at-arms at the Council meetings. The City
Manager of the City Manager's designee(s) shall carry out all orders and instructions
given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the
Council meeting. Upon instructions of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of the
sergeant-at-arms to remove any person who violates the order and decorum of the
meeting.
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SECTION XIV - VOTING
a) Roll Call - All votes on ordinances shall be by roll call; all other votes shall be
voice votes unless requested by a Councilmember.
b) Precedence of Motions When a motion is before the Council, no motion shall be
entertained except; (a) to limit comment, (2) to adjourn; (3) to fix the hour of
adjournment, (4) to lay on the table, (5) for the previous question, (6) to continue to a
certain day (7) to refer, (8) to amend, (9) to postpone indefinitely or to (10) divide the
question. These motions shall have precedence in the order indicated.
c) Amendments. No more than one amendment to an amendment is permitted.
When an amendment is before the Council, the Council shall vote first on the
amendment. After the amendment has passed or failed, the Council shall vote on the
main motion.
d) Motion to Table - The purpose of this motion is to temporarily bypass the subject.
A motion to lay on the table is undebatable and shall preclude all amendments or debate
of the subject under consideration. If the motion prevails, the matter may be "taken from
the table" at any time prior to the end of the next regular meeting.
e) Motion to Continue - The purpose of this motion is to delay consideration of a
subject until a future time. A motion to continue shall include the specific date when the
subject shall again be considered.
f) Motion for Previous Question - The purpose of this motion is to close debate on
the main motion. It is undebatable, and no further discussion shall be permitted until the
motion is acted upon. If the motion fails, debate is reopened; if motion passes, then the
Council shall vote on the main motion.
g) Division of Question - If the question contains two or more division able
propositions, the Mayor may, or upon successful motion of the Council shall divide the
same.
h) Withdrawal of Motion - When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be so
stated by the Chair before debate commences.
i) Conflict of Interest - Councilmembers shall abide by the provisions of Section 4.7
of the Aspen City Charter and by Ordinance #19, Series of 2003. When a
Councilmember determines he or she has a conflict of interest, the member shall
announce such conflict and refrain from discussing or voting upon the matter.
j) Ex Parte Contacts - Councilmembers shall abide by the provisions of Ordinance
#87, Series of 1975, regarding pre-heating or ex parte contacts.
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k) Councilmember Required to Vote - Councilmembers are required to vote on all
issues placed before them unless excused under the provisions of(i) above. (Refer to the
City Charter Section 4.7 "Voting".)
1) Recording Vote; Tie Votes - The minutes of the Council shall record each
individual Councilmember's vote on all ordinances, resolutions and franchises. In the
case ora tie vote on any motion, the motion shall be considered lost.
m) Motion to reconsider - A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council
may be made only on the day the action was taken or at the next regularly scheduled
meeting following the day when the action was taken. It may be made during the same
session or at an adjourned session. A motion to reconsider must be made by one of the
-prevailing side but may be seconded by any member. A question failing by virtue of a tie
vote may be reconsidered by motion of any member of the Council. The motion may be
made at any time. It shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any
member of the Council from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a
subsequent meeting of the Council, except that no action shall be taken on any subject not
included in the published agenda.
SECTION XV - PETITIONS:
Any citizen of the city may appear before the Council at any regular meeting and present
a written petition. The petition shall be acted upon by the Council, in the regular course
of business. Petitions, remonstrances, communications and comments or suggestions
from citizens present, shall be heard by the Council. All remarks shall be addressed to
the Council as a whole, and not to any member thereof. No person other than the
individual speaking shall enter into the discussion without the permission of the presiding
officer. No question shall be asked of a Councilmember except through the presiding
officer.
SECTION XVI - SPECIAL COMMITTEES
When the Council determines that a board, commission, task force, or citizen's
committee is needed, the following procedure shall be used:
a) The party proposing the creation of the board, commission, task force, or citizen's
committee will prepare the appropriate Council action (either an ordinance or a
resolution) defining the purpose, duties and objectives of the committee and whether it is
to be an ad hoc or continuing committee. If proposed as an ad hoc committee, the
Council action shall specify when the committee's work is to begin and to conclude.
Section 8.4 Municipal Charter
b) That ordinance or resolution will be submitted to the City Manager for placement
on an agenda for Council discussion.
c) Council shall approve, modify or reject the ordinance or resolution.
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d) Once a board, commission, task force, or citizen's committee is approved, the
City Clerk shall public notice soliciting interested and qualified volunteers to file
applications for appointment.
e) City Council shall interview all application and announce its selections and
appointments at a regular meeting.
f) Terms of appointment to any board, commission, task force, or citizen's
committee shall not exceed four years and there shall be no limitation on the number of
terms a member may service. City Charter requires that all permanent boards and
commissions including advisory and appeal boards shall be created by ordinance which
shall set forth the policies and duties delegated to such boards and commissions.
Temporary, ad hoc committees may be created by resolution.
SECTION XVII - USES OF STAFF
No Councilmember shall request from the City Manager any staff project that entails
over two hours of staffwork without seeking approve of the full City Council. This rule
pertains only to an individual research request by an individual Councilmember.
SECTION XVIII - ENFORCEMENT, SUSPENSION AND
AMENDMENT OF RULES
Enforcement of these rules shall be incumbent upon the City Council. These rules may
be suspended or amended by majority vote of the Councilmembers present.
SECTION XIX - RULES OF ORDER
The rules of parliamentary practice, comprised in Roberts Rules of Order, latest edition,
shall govern the Council in all cases to which they are applicable, provided they are not
in conflict with these Rules or with the Charter of the City of Aspen.
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