SR-100-000-02
. "
a J
>
;
. ,
e e
CA:RMM:bl
City Councll Meeting 9-13-83 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 674~(CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ESTABLISHI~G
RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE FOR THE
CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES RESOLVE
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
The rules for the conduct of City Council
meetings shall read as follows:
RULES FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
RULE 1. TIME AND PLACE FOR HOLDING REGULAR MEETINGS.
Pursuant to the provisJ.ons of Section 611 of the Santa
Monica C~ty Charter, the City Council does establish as the days
and cime for the holdJ.ng of regular meetings the second and
fourth Tuesday or each month at 7:30 p.m.
However, if any such
Tuesday falls on any day designated by law or by the City Coun-
CJ.l as a day for public feast, thanksgi Vl ng or holiday, such
regular meeting shall be held on the date of the regular meeting
next following said Tuesday at the hour heretofore fixed. The
CJ. ty Counc1.1 Chamber in CJ. ty Hall 1.S established as the place
for holdlng its regular meetlngs.
. r
e
e
.
'"
RULE 2.
QUORUM.
In accordance with Section 614 of the Santa Monica Ci ty
Charter, four Councilmembers shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of busl.ness, but a smaller number may adjourn from
time to time until a quorum is present and those present may
obta~n the attendance of the absentees.
Except as otherwise
provided in the Charter, or by law , act~on taken by the Cl. ty
Council shall be taken by a majority vote of the entire member-
sh~p of the City Council.
Whenever any Councilmember raises the question as to the
presence of a quorum, the Pres~ding Officer shall forthwith
dl. rect the Ci ty Clerk to call the roll and shall announce the
result, and such proceedings shall be without debate; but no
Councilmember, while speaking, shall be ~nterrupted by rais~ng
the question of the presence of a quorum.
-
Every Counci Imember
present must make res?onse when his or her name is called.
The Ci ty Counc~l shall judge the qualifications of its
members as set forth by the City Charter.
RULE 3.
MEETINGS TO BE PUBLIC--EXCEPTION FOR CLOSED
SESSIONS.
(a) All regular, adJourned regular and special meetings
of the City Council shall be publici provided, however, that the
City Council may hold Closed SeSSl.ons during a regular or spec-
ial meetl.ng, from which the public may be excluded, for the pur-
pose of considering the matters referred to in Government Code
Section 54957 or Government Code SectIon 54957.6 relating to
-2-
r
,
e
e
Closed SeSSlons of the legislative body, or pursuant to other
provlsions of law.
(b) The above subdivision is speciflcally limited by the
followlng:
(1) Restrlctions regardlng Closed Sessions do not
apply to meetings of commlttees of the Clty Council consisting
of less than a quorum of its members.
(2) Closed Sessions may not be held to consider the
broad category of "personnel" matters.
(3) Closed Sessions relating to personnel are
limi ted to those relating to the appointment, employment or
dismlssal of a public officer or employee or to hear complaints
or charges brought against such officer or employee.
(c) The general categorles perm! tt-ing Closed Sessions
shall include, but not be llmited to:
(I) To consl.der the employment or d! smissal of a
public officer or employee, or to hear charges brought against
such person unless the officer or employee in question requests
a public hearlng, in which event a public hearing shall be per-
mitted.
(2) To discuss with the Clty Attorney litigatlon
pendlng, proposed or antlclpated where a publlc discussion would
benefit the City's adversary and be detrimental to the publlC.
(3) To meet wlth the Attorney General, District
Attorney, Sheriff or Chlef of Pollee (or their deputies) on mat-
ters posing a threat to the securlty of publlc bUlldings or a
threat to the public I s rlght of access to public services or
-3-
.
,
e
e
public facilit1es.
(4) To instruct City representatives concernlng
salaries, salary schedules or compensat1on paid 1n the form of
fringe benefits prlor to or during negotiat1ons with employee
organizations.
(5) To negotiate and discuss with employee organ1-
.
zation representatives following the intervention of a state
labor conciliator in a labor dispute.
(6) To cons1der matters affecting the national sec-
urity in the case of a body operated by a private corporation on
wh1ch City off1cers serve in their offic1al capacity and which
is supported partially or totally by City funds.
(7) To consider ttLose matters which by law are
;
properly the subJect of a Closed Session.
(d) No CounC1lmember, employee of the City, or any other
person present during an Closed Session of the City Council
shall disclose to any person the content or substance of any
d~scussion which took place during said Closed Session unless
the C1ty Council shall authorize the disclosure of such infor-
mation by majority vote, or unless such d1sclosure is requ1red,
and only to the extent so required, by the provisions of Govern-
ment Code Sect10n 54957.1.
RULE 4. AGENDA.
(a) The City Clerk shall prepare the Agenda under the
directlon of the City Manager.
The Agenda with all supporting
matters shall be de11vered to Councilmembers on the Thursday
-4-
.
.
e
e
preceding the Tuesday City Counc11 Meeting to which it perta1ns
and shall be made ava11able to the publ1c no later than 3:00
p.m. on the Fr1day preceding the scheduled C1ty Council Meeting:
providing, however, that at any time prior to the hour set for
the City Council Meeting, any Councilmember, the C1ty Manager or
the C1ty Attorney, may direct any matter he or she deems urgent
to be placed upon the Agenda: provided further, that any item of
public interest or concern added to the Agenda after its publi-
cation to the general public shall not be considered unless it
is accompanied by a full explanat10n by the advocate of such
item and until after a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Council-
members present have voted to do so.
Matters directed to be
placed on the Agenda by Counciln,embers shall be listed thereon
::
in the order of receipt of such direction.
(b) Dates for public hearings required by law or on rnat-
ters of special public interest shall be set by the City Coun-
cil, the C1ty Clerk, or the City Manager. Those matters set for
pub11c hearing by the City Council may be so set in the follow-
1ng manner: The City Manager shall place on an Agenda the item,
"Motion to flX time and date of hearing
"
The City
Counc11 shall only hear comments regarding the time and date,
and not the substantive matter under th1S heading.
(c) The time and date fixed for public hearings shall be
such that large numbers of citizens can be accommodated in the
C1ty Council Chambers and also can be heard early in the evening
and such notices as requi red by law or requested by the Ci ty
Counc11 of the same shall be sent out not less than 15 days
-5-
\
e
It
prlor to the hearlng, unless another time 15 otherwise spec1fied
by law.
(d) Where a matter requires a formal public hearing prior
to final actlon by the City Council, no person shall be heard
thereon except at the time of the public hearing.
(e) No public dlScuss~on shall be permitted on second
reading of ord1nances, reports of commiss1ons, written communi-
catl.ons other than reports of off l.cers and comlnlssions, or on
Councilmember discussion items, unless consent is given by two-
thirds (2/3) vote of the Cauncllmembers present.
RULE 5. CITY COUNCIL CORRESPONDENCE.
(a) Non-Council Items. W~itten communications addressed
to the City Council, the subject matter of wh ich comes W1 thin
the Jurisdiction of any Board, COmIDlssion, or Department of the
Ci ty, may be referred to such body or department, or both, by
the C1 ty Manager, and such communications shall not be placed
upon the City Council Agenda.
All communications directly relating to the work or Juris-
d1ction of a Board, Commisslon, or Department of the City shall
be referred thereto, notw1thstanding the fact that direct
C1ty Council action may be sought in such communicationsj such
communications shall not be placed upon the Ci ty Council Agen-
da.
Any person submitting a written cornmunlcation to the City
Council which 15 subsequently referred to a Board, Commission,
or Department of the City shall be notified of such referral by
-6-
,
~
e
e
the C1ty Manager. If dissatisf~ed with e~ther the act10n of the
City Manager or the action of the Board, Commission, or Depart-
ment to which the communication was referred, such person may
appeal to the City Council.
(b)
Author1ty of the City Manager.
The City Manager is
authorized to open all mail or other written communicat~ons col-
lectively addressed to the City Council and to give it lmmediate
attention to the end that all administrative bus1ness referred
to in sald communications which do not necessar~ly require City
Council act~on may be acted upon between City Councll meetings.
(e) Council Items. Correspondence co~lectively addressed
to the Ci ty Counci 1 shall be received and opened by the Ci ty
Councills Secretary, transmitted
off1cer hav1ng jur1sdiction over,
to the appropriate public
~
and placed on the Agenda if
City Counc~l action lS deemed appropriate by the Mayor, C1ty
Manager or City Clerk, except that no communication shall be
placed on that agenda that contains material which:
(1) Is profane.
(2) Is in the nature of a crlm~nal or civll
slander, or is potentially slanderous or libelous.
(3) Advocates or opposes the candidacy of any
person or party for any elective office.
(4} Is pr1marily 1n advertisement or promotion or
has as a substant~al purpose the advancement of any cause the
maJor benef~t of WhlCh is private and not publlC.
(5) Does not necessitate City Council action.
-7-
e
e
(d) Availab~l~ty to the public. Correspondence addressed
to indl vidual Councilmembers shall not be opened by the City
Council Secretary unless authorlzed to do so by indlvidual Coun-
cilmembers. Such communications shall not become public records
until received and fl.Ied by the City Council at a regular,
speclal or adjourned meeting of the Clty Council, or retained or
used as provided in Government Code Section 6250 et seq.
Correspondence received in the City Clerkrs Offlce or other C1ty
Offices after 12: 00 Noon boD Mondays prior to the Clty council
Meeting shall not be placed on the Agenda unless lt concerns a
matter to be considered by the City Councll at the next regular
meetlng or is determlned by the City Manager to be an urgent
matter which should be brought to the lmmed~ate attention of the
Clty Council. Correspondence shall not be read aloud at a Clty
Council Meeting unless requested by a majority vote of the
Council. No item which is exempted by disclosure by Government
Code Sectlon 6254 shall be disclosed or treated as a public
record.
RULE 6. ORDER OF BUSINESS.
The business of the Ci ty Council shall be taken on for
conslderation and disposition in the following order:
(a) Call to Order.
(1) Salute to the Flag.
(2) Invocation.
(b) Roll Call.
(c) Approval of Mlnutes of Previous Meetlng.
-8-
e
-
(d) Spec~al Agenda Items. {Such as commendatlons, award
of serVlce pins, introduction of special guests.}
(e) Continued Items. Agendized items of a previous City
CaunCll Meetlng not cons~dered at such meeting.
(f) Consent Calendar. The consent calendar shall consist
of those items determined at the pre-Council agenda meeting to
be of a non-controversial nature and which under the City Coun-
cil Rules do not generally requlre a public hearing. Unless a
Councilmember or a member of the general public wishes to be
heard on these i terns, they may be considered as a group by a
single motion to approve the consent calendar, and the title to
the individual consent items need not be read unless a request
to do so is made by any Councilmember. (Public discussion per-
mitted only if the item allows discussion and a specific request
to be heard 1S made.)
(g) Public Hearinqs. Publ~c hearings the time for which
has been set previously or set by law. (PubllC discuss10n per-
mitted. )
<h) Ordinances.
(1) Introduction and First Read~ng. (Public
d~scussion permitted.)
(2) Second Read~ng and Adoption. (No public
discussion perm~tted.)
<i) Resolutions. (Public discuss~on permitted.)
(j) Reports of Boards and Comm1SS1ons. (No public dis-
cussion permitted unless consent is given by a two-thirds (2/3)
vote of the Councilmembers present.)
-9-
e
e
(k) Staff Administrative Items.
(Publ~c discussion per-
mitted only if a specific request to be heard is made. )
(1) Administrative Proceed~ngs.
Adm~n~strative proceed-
lngs in which the c~ ty Councl1 ~s required to make a decision
concern~ng an indiv~dual applicat~on or appeal.
(Public discus-
s ion permitted.)
em) Wrltten Communications Other Than Reports of commis-
sions and Officers. The City Clerk shall list written communi-
cations in order of receipt.
(Public discuss~on permitted only
by person presenting the communication unless consent is given
by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Councilmembers present.)
(n) Councilmember Discussion Items. The City Clerk shall
list Councilmember discussion items in order of receipt. (No
~
publl.c discussion permitted unless consent is given by two-
thirds (2/3) vote of the Counc~lmembers present.)
The order of business shall not be changed except by maj-
ority vote of the City Council.
RULE 7. PREPARATION OF MINUTES.
The City Clerk shall have exclusive responsibility for
preparation of the Minutes, and any di rections for changes in
the Minutes shall be made only by ma Jori ty vote of the City
Council.
RULE 8. READING OF MINUTES.
Unless the reading of the Minutes of a City Council Meet-
ing is ordered by a majority vote of the C~ty Counc11, such
-10-
e
e
M~nutes may be approved W~ thout readlng if the C~ ty Clerk has
prev~ously furnlshed each Counc~lmember with a copy.
RULE 9. PRESIDING OFFICER.
The Mayor shall be the Presiding Officer at all meet~ngs
of the City Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro
Tempore shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and
Mayor Pro Tempore, the City Clerk shall call the C~ty Council to
order whereupon a temporary presiding Officer shall be elected
by the Councilmembers present to serve until the arrival of the
Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore or until adJournment.
RULE 10. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER.
(a) Participation. The Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore or
such other member presiding may move, second and debate from the
chair, subject only to such l~mitations of debate as are imposed
upon Councilmembers by these rules and shall not be deprived of
any of the rights or privileges of a Counc~lmember by reason of
his or her acting as the Presid~ng Officer.
(b) Duties. The Presiding Officer shall preserve order
at all meetings of the C~ty Council. Such Officer shall state
each question coming before the City Council, announce the deci-
sions of the City Council on all subJects, and decide all ques-
tions of order; subject, however, to an appeal by the City Coun-
cil, and a majority vote of the C~ty Council on any question of
order shall govern and determ~ne conclusively such quest~on of
order.
-11-
e
e
(c ) S~9n1ng of Documents. The Presiding Of f ~cer shall
sign all ordinances, resolutions, and other documents necessita-
ting signature which were adopted in his or her presence, unless
he or she ...5 unavailable, in which case the signature of an
alternate presiding Officer may be used. The City Manager shall
execute all contracts on behalf of the C1 ty unless otherw~se
ordered by the City Council. No contract shall be of any force
or effect unless authorized by the City Council and approved
prior thereto by the City Attorney as to form and legality.
ROLE 11. SWORN TESTIMONY.
The Presl.ding Off lcer may require any person addressing
the City Council to be sworn as a witness and to test1fy under
oath, and the Pres1ding Off1cer shall so require if directed to
do so by a maJor1ty vote of the City Council. Any Counc11member
may request that anyone appearlng before the City Council on any
matter shall be sworn. On recelpt of such a request, all pro-
ceedlngs shall be suspended and the City Council will, without
debate, immediately vote on whether the individual should be
sworn. A maJority vote of the Councilmembers present shall
determlne whether the speaker shall be placed under oath. All
oaths will be administered by the City Clerk.
The City Council shall have the power and author! ty to
compel the attendance of witnesses, to examine them under oath!
and to compel the product1on of evidence before it. Subpoenas
may be issued in the name of the City and be attested by the
City Clerk. Disobedlence of such subpoenas, or the refusal to
-12-
e
e
testify (upon other than
constitute a misdemeanor.
constitut~onal
grounds)
shall
RULE 12. RULES OF DEBATE.
(a) Getting the Floor. Every Couneilmember desiring to
speak shall first address the Chair, ga~n recogni tlon by the
Presid1ng Officer, and shall confine himself or herself to the
question under debate, avoiding personalities and decorous lang-
uage.
(b) Questions to Staff. Every Counc~lmember desiring to
question the City Staff shall, after recogn1tion by the Presid-
ing Officer, address his or her questions to the City Manager,
or the Ci ty Attorney, who shall be ent1 tIed to answer the
inqu~ry himself or herself or to designate-a member of hlS or
her staff for that purpose.
(c) Interruptions. A Counei Imember, once recogni zed,
shall not be interrupted when speak1ng unless called to order by
the Presiding Off icer, unless a point of order or a personal
privilege is raised by another Councilmember, or unless the
speaker chooses to yield to a question by another Counc~lmember.
If a Counc~lmember, while speaklng, is called to order, he or
she shall cease speaking until the quest10n of order is deter-
mined and, if determ1ned to be in order, may proceed. Members
of the City Staff, after recognition by the preslding Officer,
shall hold the floor until completion of their remarks or until
recognition is wlthdrawn by the Presiding Officer.
-13-
e
.
(d) Po~nts of Order. The Presiding Off~cer shall deter-
mine all points of order subject to the right of any Counc~l-
member to appeal to the City Council. If an appeal ~s taken,
the question shall be: IrShall the decision of the Presiding
Off ieer be sustained? II A maJority vote of the Councilmembers
then present shall conclusively determine such question of
order.
(e) POlnt of Personal Privilege. The right of a Council-
member to address the City COUDCll on a question of personal
privilege shall be limited to cases in which the Councilmember's
integrity, character or motives are questioned or where the
welfare of the City Counc~l is concerned. A Counc~lmember
raising a point of personal privilege may interrupt another
Councilmember who has the floor only if the Presidlng Off icer
recognizes the privllege.
<f) Privilege of Closing Debate. The Councilmember mov-
ing the introduction or adoption of an ordinance, resolution or
motion, shall have the privilege of closing debate, after all
other Councllmembers have been glven an opportunity to speak.
(g) Motion to Reconsider. A motion to reconsider any
action taken by the City Counc~l may be made only by one of the
Counci1members on the prevaillng slde and may be seconded by any
Councilmember. Such motion by a prevaillng Councilmember may be
made at any time and shall have precedence over all other
mot~ons or whlle a Counc~lmember has the floor and said motion
shall be debatable. A mot~on by a non-prevailing Councllmember
or a request by a member of the public for reconsiderat1.on
-14-
e
e
may be made only if one year has passed since the act10n was
taken.
(h) Callinq for the Question. Neither the moving party
nor the party seconding any mot1.0n 1S allowed to call for the
quest1.on.
(i) Limitation of Debate. No Councilmember shall be
allowed to speak more than once upon any particular subJect
until every other Councilmember desiring to do so shall have
spoken. Each CouncJ.lmember speaking on anyone item on the
Agenda shall be limited to 10 minutes per item to state his or
her opin1.on and views.
RULE 13.
DEBATE.
A Counc1.1member may request through the Presiding Officer
under the privllege of having an abstract of his or her state-
ment on any subject under consideration by the City Council
entered in the minutes. If the City Council consents thereto,
such statement shall be entered in the minutes.
REMARKS OF COUNCILMEMBERS AND SYNOPSIS OF
RULE 14. PROTEST AGAINST CITY COUNCIL ACTION.
Any Councilmember shall have the r1.ght to have the reasons
for his or her dissent from, or his or her protest against, any
act1.on of the City Council entered in the m1.nutes. Such dissent
or protest to be entered J.n the m1.nutes shall be made ln the
following manner: "r would l1.ke the minutes to show that I am
opposed to this action for the fol1owlng reasons. . . 0"
-15-
e
e
RULE 15. RULES OF ORDER.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the City Charter,
other rules adopted by the City Council, or appllcable provl.-
sions of State law, the procedures of the City Councl.l shall be
governed by the latest revl.sed editlon of Roberts Rules of
Order.
The City CoUncil rules, or anyone thereof, may be sus-
pended by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Councllmembers pre-
sent.
RULE 16. FAILURE TO OBSERVE RULES OF ORDER.
Rules adopted to expedite the transaction of the business
of the City Council in an orderly fashion are deemed to be pro-
cedural only and the failure to strictly- observe such rules
shall not affect the Jurisdiction of the City Councilor lnvali-
date any actlon taken at a fileet1.ng that is otherwl.se held in
conformlty with law.
RULE 17. ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL.
(a) Registration. Each person wishlng to address the
City Council regarding ltems on the Agenda where public dlSCUS-
sian is perrnltted shall reglster first with the Clty Clerk hlS
or her name and address prior to any discuss1.on of that i tern,
and preferably shall register pr.1.or to the start of the City
Council Meeting.
(b) Manner of Addressing the City Council.
desirIng to address the City Council shall step
Each person
up to the
-16-
e
--
m~crophone in front of the ra~l, state his or her name and
address for the record, state the subject he or she wishes to
di SCllSS, state whom he or she is representing if he or she
represents an organ~zation or other person, and, unless further
time is granted by majority vote of the c~ ty Council, shall
limit hlS or her remarks to five m~nutes per item. All remarks
shall be addressed to the City Council as a whole and not to any
member thereof. No questions shall be asked of a Councilmember
or a member of the C~ty Staff w~thout the permiss~on of the Pre-
siding Officer.
(c) Discretion to L~m~t Duration and Number of Speakers.
Where more than one person desires to speak on a particular
item, it shall be within the discretion of the Presiding Officer
to limit the number and duration of presentations to not less
than 10 m~nutes for each side g~vlng equal time for each posi-
tion or side.
It is recommended that a spokesperson for each
side be chosen prior to the meeting and the C~ty Clerk shall
advise persons of thlS recommendation.
If a spokesperson has
not been selected prior to the meeting, the item may be called
and the Pres.ld.Lng Off icer may ei ther pass the item or grant a
recess to permit the selectlon of a spokesperson. The Presiding
Officer may also determine which persons have a predominate or
proprietary interest in an item and permit such person or per-
sons to speak first. Nothing ln this section shall be deemed to
preclude the Presiding Officer or a majorlty of Councilmembers
present from allowing extended debate on any matter.
-17-
It
-
(d) ~~rsons Speaking on More Than One Item. Anyone
person wishing to speak on more than one item shall Ilmit hlS or
her remarks to five minutes on the ttem he or she constders most
lmportant and three rnlnutes on any other i tern unless further
time is granted by a majority vote of the City Counell.
(e) After Motl0n. After a motion has been made or a pub-
lic hearing has been closed, no member of the publtc shall
address the City Council from the audience on the matter under
consideration without first securing perml.ssl.on to do so by a
majority vote of the City Council.
ROLE 18. ROLES OF DECORUM.
(a) Councilmembers. When the City Council is in session,
Councllmembers must preserve order and decorum, and a Council-
member shall nel.ther by conversatLon or otherwise delay or
l.nterrupt the proceedlngs or the peace of the Clty Council nor
dl.strub any Councilmember while speaking or refuse to obey the
orders of the Presiding Offlcer. Councilmembers shall not leave
thelr seats dur l.ng a meeting wi thcut first obtainlng the per-
ffiLssion of the Pres1ding Offlcer.
(b) Employees. Members of the City Staff and employees
shall observe the same rules of order and decorum as are appli-
cable to the Cl. ty ccunci 1, with the exception that members of
the City Staff who are not seated at the City Council table may
leave their seats durlng a meetl.ng without first obtaining the
permls510n of the Presiding Officer.
-18-
e
-
(c) Persons Addressing the Counc~l.
(1) No person other than a Councilmember and the
person having the floor shall be permitted to enter lnta dlSCUS-
sions, either directly or through a Councilmember, without per-
rnisslon of the Presiding Offlcer.
(2) No questlons shall be asked a Councilmember
except through the Presiding Officer.
(3) All remarks shall be addressed to the City
Council as a body and not to anyone member thereof.
( 4) Any person mak~ng impertinent, slanderous or
profane remarks, or who becomes boisterous whlle addressing the
City Counc~l shall be called to order by the Presid1ng Officer
and, if such conduct continues, may at the discretion of the
presidlng Off icer, be barred from further audlence before the
City Council during that meeting.
(d) Members of the Audience.
(1) Any person in the audlence or at the City Coun-
cil table who engages in disorderly conduct such as hand clapp-
lng, stamping of feet, whistllng{ using profane language, yell-
ing, and simllar demonstrations, or who disturbs the peace and
good order of the meeting, or who refuses to comply W1 th the
lawful orders of the Presiding Officer shall be guilty of a mis-
demeanor and upon instruct10ns from the Presidlng Officer, with
the consent of the majority, through the City Manager, it shall
be the duty of the Sergeant at Arms to remove any such person
from the City Counc11 Chambers and to place him or her under
arrest.
-19-
e
--
(2) No person shall be permitted to interrupt the
individual Councilmembers or the City Clerk when the City Coun-
cil is in session.
.~
(3) Except with prior authorization of the presid-
ing Officer, no placards, signs or posters, or packages, bund-
les, suitcases or other large objects shall be brought into the
City Council Chambers.
(4) Unless addressing the City Councilor entering
or leaving the City Council Chambers, all persons in the audi-
ence shall remain sitting in the seats provided.
No person
shall stand or sit in the aisles or along the walls nor shall
the doorways be blocked.
(5) Except with prior authorization of the presid-
:;
ing Officer, the distribution of literature, of whatever nature
or kind, is proh~bited.
(e)
Persons Authorized to be Wi thin Rail.
No person
except Councilmemhers and City Staff and recognized representa-
tives of the news media shall be permitted within the rail with-
out the consent of the Presiding Officer.
(f) Enforcement of Decorum. The Chief of Police or such
member or members of the Police Department as he or she may des-
ignate, shall be Sergeant at Arms of the City Council and shall
carry out all orders given by the Presiding Officer through the
City Manager for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at
Ci ty Counci 1 meetings.
Any Councilmember may move to require
the Presid~ng Officer to enforce the rules and the affirmative
-10-
.
e
e
<.
t
i
vote of a majority of the City council shall require him or her
to do so.
. ~
RULE 19. VOTING PROCEDURE.
Any vote of the City council, including a roll call vote,
may be registered by the members by answering "Aye" for an
affirmative vote or "No" for a negative vote upon his or her
name be1ng called by the City Clerk.
Unless a member of the
City Council states that he or she is not voting, silence shall
be recorded as an affirmative vote.
RULE 20. DISQUALIFICATION FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Any Councilmember who is disqualified from voting on a
~
particular matter by reason of a conf lict of interest shall
publicly state or have the presiding Officer state the nature of
such disqualification in an open meeting.
Where no thoroughly
disqualifying conflict of interest appears, the matter of dis-
qualification may, at the request of the Councilmember affected,
be decided by the other Councilmembers. A Councilmember who is
disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest in any matter
shall not remain in his or her seat during the debate and vote
on such matter, but shall request and be given the permission of
the Presid1ng Officer to step down from the City Council table
and leave the City council Chambers.
A Councilmember stating
such disqualificat10n shall not be counted as part of a quorum
and shall be cons1dered absent for the purpose of determining
the outcome of any vote on such matter.
-21-
It
tit
RULE 21. FAILURE TO VOTE
Every Councilmember is entitled to vote unless disquali-
fied by reason of a conflict of interest. A Councilmember who
abstains from voting in effect consents that a majority of the
quorum may decide the question voted upon.
RULE 22. TIE VOTE.
Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered.
RULE 23. CHANGING VOTE.
The vote of a Councilmember may be changed only if he or
she makes a timely request to do so immediately following the
announcement of the vote by the City Clerk and prior to the time
that the next item in the order of business is taken up.
RULE 24. PROCEDURE ON AGENDA ITEMS REQUIRING A MOTION.
The following procedure shall be followed in connection
with any agenda item requiring a motion:
(a) City Clerk reads the title.
(b) Explanation by city Manager, if called for by the
Presiding Officer.
(c) Questions to City Manager by Councilmembers.
(d) All background material complete at this point.
(e) pub1 ic to be heard subject to the 1imi tations set
forth herein.
<f) Close of public discussion.
(g) Presiding Officer to ask for a motion and second.
-22-
e
e
(h) Motion and discusslon by the City Councll.
(i) The maker of the motion to have a chance for further
discussion.
(j) Presidlng Officer to restate the motl0n.
(k) Vote on the motion.
RULE 25. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND CONTRACTS.
(a) The preparation of ordinances shall be ordered only
by a majority vote of the City Council, except for those ordi-
nances specified in Section 619 of the City Charter. All ordi-
nances shall be prepared by the City Attorney.
(b) Ordinances shall be prepared according to three prl-
ori ties. When requestlng the preparation of ordinances, the
Clty Council shall instruct the City Attorney as to whether the
request 1S "urgent." The City Attorney shall classify all other
requests for ord1.nances as "normal" or "extended."
(c) Ordinances designated as "urgent" shall be returned
to the City Council at the next subsequent City Council Meeting.
Likewise, ordinances for second reading shall be returned to the
C1ty Council at the next subsequent meeting. Ordinances desig-
nated as "normal" or "extended" shall be returned accordlng to
the schedule of due dates prepared by the City Attorney.
(d) Speclf ic due dates for each ordinance, other than
those des1gnated "urgent," shall be determined by the City
Attorney and due dates for all ordinances shall be communicated
to the City Council in the next subsequent Agenda package. In-
sofar as practlcable, the City Attorney shall endeavor to return
-23-
e
e
ordinances to the City Counci 1 wh~ch have been designated as
"normal" within four weeks of the request therefor.
(el Ordinances designated as "normal" shall be processed
in the following manner:
(1) The City Attorney shall schedule due dates for
such requests on the day following the City Council Meeting at
which the request is made.
(2) By 12:00 Noon one calendar week and two days
follow~ng said meeting (the second Thursday follow~ng), the City
Attorney shall submit drafts of requested ordinances to the C~ty
Manager for reV1ew.
( 3 ) By 12: 00 Noon one calendar week and six days
following said meeting (the second Monday follow1ngl, and fol-
lowing his review, the City Manager shall return sa~d drafts to
the C~ty Attorney.
(4) By 10:00 a.m. two weeks and two days following
sa~d meet~ng (the third Thursday following), the City Attorney
Shall subm1t final documents of requested ordinances to the C1ty
Manager, to be 1ncluded in the Agenda package for the next sub-
sequent City Council Meeting for first reading.
(f) Resolut1ons shall be prepared, when requested by the
City Council, in the same manner as ordinances in the "normal"
cycle.
(g) Ordinances and resolutions may be voted on in a group
rather than separately, unless a Counc11member expresses a
des1re to debate a partlcular ordinance or resolution, where
there is a d1v1s10n of votes "pro" or "con" or where a spec1fic
-24-
e
e
number of votes is required by law, in which cases, the part1cu-
lar ordlnance or resolution shall be considered separately.
(h) A resolution, unless laid over by a majority vote of
the Ci ty Council, shall be acted upon on the day of presenta-
tion.
<i) Matters coming before the City Council in the form of
recommendations which requ1re the preparation of an ord~nance
and subsequent first and second read1ngs shall be open to public
discuss~on, except at the time of second reading.
(j) The Presiding Officer, before calling for a motion on
the adoption of any resolution, shall first inquire if there is
anyone who desires to be heard on said proposed resolution. All
persons des1ring to be heard must have registered with the City
Clerk, prior to the discussion of the resolution, their name and
address and the resolution i tern they wi sh to speak on and the
Presid1ng Officer will call upon speakers from that list. Pub-
lic hearings held at the time of first reading and 1ntroduction
of ord1nances shall be conducted, insofar as app11cable, in the
same manner.
(k) At the time of adoptIon of an ordinance or a resolu-
tion, it shall be read in full unless after read 1 ng the title
thereof, further reading is waived by a unanimous vote of the
Cauncllmembers present. Such consent may be expressed by a
statement of the Presiding Officer that "If there 1S no obJec-
tIon, the further reading of the Ordinance or Resolution 1.S
waived."
(l) Resolut ions may be adopted by the CJ. ty CouncJ.l by
-25-
e
e
t~tle only, and the City Council may direct that the resolut~on,
other than the ti tIe, be drafted following such adopt~on. In
this event, it ~s not necessary that resolutions so adopted be
returned to the C~ty Council after the date of their adoption.
(m) Contracts for which amounts have been budgeted pre-
viously by the City Council shall be deemed approved by the bud-
geting of such amounts and shall not be required to be presented
to the ci ty Counc11 for further approval or authorizat~on for
the Ci ty Manager to execute the same, so long as the amounts
represented by such contracts are the same as those amounts
approved and budgeted.
RULE 26. PRIOR APPROVAL BY ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF.
All ordinances, resolutions, and contract documents shall,
before presentation to the City Council, have been approved as
to form and legal~ty by the City Attorney, and shall have been
examlned for adm~nlstration by the City Manager or his or her
authorlzed representative. No request for the preparation of an
ordinance or other item by the City Council shall be placed on
the Agenda before the f~nal, reviewed document has been received
by the City Manager.
RULE 27. INFORMAL MEETINGS.
The City council, subject to notice and other requ~rements
imposed by law, may hold informal meetings in the City Council
Chamber of Cl ty Hall at such times as may be deslgnated In an
order for a special meet~ng. At any such informal meeting, the
-26-
e
tit
City Council shall not take any formal or binding action upon
any formal motion, resolutlon, ordlnance, nor any other action
requlred by law to be taken by the City Council.
Such informal
sessions shall be devoted exclusively to the presentation and
exchange of information.
RULE 2B. JOINT MEETINGS WITH BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
The Cl ty Council, dur lng the year, shall meet Wl th the
individual Boards and Commlssions at least once, when feasible
with the Agenda of the City Council, said meetings to be calen-
dared as study sessions, to be held in the City Council Chamber
at such time as is convenient to the Councilmembers.
~
RULE 29. COMMUNICATIONS BY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
No City Board or Commission shall transmit an off icial
resolutlon or any other correspondence of said Board or Commis-
sion on any matter of City policy to any non-City Agency, Board
or Commission w1thout a vote of such Board or Commission to do
so, nor without the prior approval of the City Council that such
communlcation be so transmitted.
RULE 30. PRESENCE OF CITY STAFF AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
The City Manager, City Clerk and Ci ty Attorney or, 1n
their absence, their authorized representative, shall attend and
be present during all City Council Meet1ngs and glve necessary
serVice and advlce.
However, any of the above 15 perm1tted to
leave the Clty Council Chamber after seeking and obtaining
-27-
e
e
perml.SSl.on from the Preslding Officer and be absent therefrom
for a perl.od of time not to exceed 10 minutes without sa1d
absence causing a halt in the City Council proceedings.
RULE 31. ADJOURNMENT.
All City Council Meetings shall adjourn at 11: 00 p.m.
unless otherw1se determined by a two-thirds vote of those Coun-
c1lmembers present.
RULE 32. RECORD OF MEETINGS.
All public meet1ngs of the City Council shall be recorded
by tape recorder. The recording shall be made by the Clty Clerk
and shall be part of the records of the Clty Council. The use
of other record1ng or television equipment is permitted so long
as it is not disruptive of the meeting.
RULE 33. INTERPRETATION AND MODIFICATION OF THESE RULES.
These rules shall be l.nterpreted IJ.berally in order to
prov1de for the optimum in the free interchange of information
and publlC debate without an unnecessary waste of time or
dupl icat10n of effort. These rules may be amended by resolu-
tion.
* * * *
-28-
e
e
SECTION 2.
Resolution Numbers 4525 (CCS), 4548 (CCS),
4570 (CCS), 4631 (CCS), 4848 (CCS), 4909 (CCS), and 6387 (CCS),
and each of them, and any other resolution adopt~ng, amending or
relating to C~ty Council Rules of Order, are hereby repealed in
its entirety.
SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall cert~fy to the adoption
of th~s Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same
shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
.:{2w... ~~"""-. ~
.J"UQ ~ ~~.~ . -~:
f
ROBERT M. MYERS .-
City Attorney
-29-
.
. . .
RULE 1
RULE 2
RULE 3
RULE 4
RULE 5
RULE 6
RULE 7
RULE 8
RULE 9
RULE 10
RULE 11
RULE 12
RULE 13
RULE 14
RULE 15
RULE 16
RULE 17
RULE 18
RULE 19
RULE 20
RULE 21
RULE 22
RULE 23
e
e
RULES FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
Index
Time and Place for Holding Regular Meetings . . . . 1
Quorum
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meetlngs to be Publlc--Exception for
Closed Sess~ons . . . . . . . .
Agenda
City Counc~l Correspondence . .
Order of BUSlness . . . .
Preparation of Minutes
Read~ng of Minutes
Presiding Officer .
Powers and DutIes of Pres~ding Officers . .
Sworn Testimony
Rules of Debate .
Remarks of Councilmembers and Synopsis
of Debate . . . . . . .. .... . .
Protest Against City Council Action
Rules of Order
. . . . . . . . .
Failure to Observe Rules of Order
Addressing the City Council .
Rules of Decorum
Voting Procedure
Disqualificatlon for Conflict of Interest .
Failure to Vote . .
Tie Vote
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ChangIng Vote . .
-i-
. 2
. . . 2
. 4
. 6
8
10
10
11
11
12
13
15
15
16
16
16
18
. . .
21
21
22
22
. . .
22
'0
. .
~
.
: ~
e
e
. .
RULE 24 Procedure on Agenda Items Requiring A Motion 22
RULE 25 Ordinances, Resolutlons and Contracts . . . . 23
RULE 26 Prior Approval By Admlnistrative Staff . . . 26
RULE 27 Informal Meetlngs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
RULE 28 Joint Meetings With Boards and Commissions . . . 27
RULE 29 Communications By Boards and Comrnlssions . . . . 27
RULE 30 Presence of C~ty Staff at City
Council Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
RULE 31 Adjournment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
RULE 32 Record of Meetings . . . . . . . 28
RULE 33 Interpretatlon and Modification
of These Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
-il-
>. '; t
. .
. t ,
-~
e
e
ADOPTED AND APPROVED THIS
13th
DAY
OF
SeDtember
.
, 1 983 .
<~~
--
MAYOR
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION
NO. 6744(CC~}WAS DULY ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA ~T A MEETING THEREOF HELD ON
September 13 , 1 9 a:s BY TH E FOLLOWING COUNCIL VOTE:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Conn, Epstein, Jennings. Press, Reed
Zane and Mayor Edwards
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: CQUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN:
COUNCILMEMBERS: ~one
ATTEST:
~ ntxflUVcL
.
CITY CLERK