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SR-080522-8A~~~ ~;tYa, City Council Report Santa Monica City Council Meeting: May 22, 2008 Agenda Item: To: Mayor and City Council From: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney Subject: Proposal to Amend the Rules of Order and Procedure for the Conduct of City Council Meetings Recommended Action City staff recommends that the Council consider adopting the attached resolution amending the Rules of Order and Procedure for the Conduct of City Council Meetings and repealing resolution Number 9932, which established the present rules. Executive Summary The City Council constantly strives to makes its meetings as productive, inclusive and efficient as possible and periodically reviews its own rules of order to ensure that they facilitate that effort. The attached proposed revisions to the present rules encompass many suggestions made by Council members over the last year and some suggestions from staff. Because the current rules strike a sound balance-between the needs for robust public process and efficiency, most proposed changes are relatively minor. They would clarify some provisions, incorporate existing practices, and address questions of process which have arisen in recent months. The most significant changes proposed are establishing a requirement relating to the number of Council members necessary to conduct aquasi-judicial hearing and revising time limits for both early speakers and supporters speaking on Written Communications. Background The Council rules were last revised in early 2004 by adoption of Resolution Number 9932. Since then, Council. members, City management and members of the public have continued to express concerns about the length of Council meetings. Despite the best efforts of the Mayors; Council members, and. City staff to maximize efficiency without forsaking public process; the meetings often run into the early morning hours, when most members of the pubic are unable to participate. In part, this reality reflects the volume of City business, which is huge relative o the City's population. It also 1 reflects the community's commitment to prdcess and participation, values which all concerned share and honor. .Nonetheless, in order to maximize efficiency consistent with the workload and. community values, many suggestions .have been made for shortening agendas and managing the Council's workload. A number of those suggestions have been implemented; others are addressed in this report. Additionally, one significant question has arisen about the process for quasi-judicial Council hearings. The City Charter specifies that four Council members constitute a quorum and that Council action requires four. votes. The Rules reflect the Charter's requirements. Thus, under local law and the Council Rules aquasi-judicial hearing could be conducted by four Council members and unanimity would be required for the appellant to prevail.- Last year, some Council members and members of the community raised the question of whether fairness would be better served by allowing the appellant to continue the hearing to a meeting when more .than a mere quorum of Council members would be present. Additionally, Council practice has suggested some possible Rule changes. For instance, when the Council votes to hear a late speaker it virtually always grants one minute, and the Council routinely addresses agenda management at very lengthy meetings. Both these practices could be incorporated into the rules. Finally, experierice has also revealed two ambiguities in the Rules. For example, Rule 12(h) ("Calling the Question") does not. expressly require a Council vote; yet, that requirement is probably implicit. Updating the rules affords an opportunity to make the Rules clearer Discussion As noted above, two of the proposed amendments in the attached resolution are particularly significant. 2 Number of Council Members Hearing Appeals First, in order to address concerns about the number of Council members participating in an appeal, staff suggests that the Council consider a rule similar to the Planning Commission practice of allowing an applicant or appellant the opportunity for a continuance when only a mere quorum of four Council members-would hear the appeal. This change is not required by law. The Charter authorizes action by four Council members, and there is no Due Process violation attendant upon, in effect, requiring an appellant to secure a unanimous vote. However, changing the. rules to ensure that five Council members would hear each appeal could have the salutary effect of promoting public confidence in the appeal process. Staff recommends it on that basis. Adjustments to Time Limits Second, staff recommends adjusting time limits. Many suggestions have been in this area in order to attempt to shorten meetings. For instance, Council members have inquired about establishing time. limits for each agenda item. In general, staff recommends against this approach because it could foreclose individuals from speaking to the item, which would likely violate the Brown Act, and because it might conflict with the high. value that the City places on public participation. However, there is one context ih which ari overall time limit might be appropriate: agenda items listed under Written Communications. Written Communications generally fall into two categories. Some involve ah individual concern. -often raised by a community member who feels that City law or policy is not being appropriately applied in a particular case. Other Written Communication items involve proposals for a change in legislation or City policy. In recent years, there have been many occasions on which the proponent of a piece of legislation or policy spoke under Written Communications and was accompanied by a large number of supporters who also spoke. The Council addressed this situation in the last set of rule changes by adopting a one minute time limit for persons speaking in support of another's item. Rule 3 14(d). Despite this rule change, there have been a number of occasions on which the proponent of a new law or policy was accompanied by many supporters and, even with the shortened time limit, the matter took a significant period of time. That amount of time may not be necessary to ensure sound public process because a policy proposal made under Written Communications in which the Council was interested would return to Council, either as an ordinance or staff item. Therefore, staff recommends that the Council consider adding an overall time limit, per item, for Written Communications of 6 minutes. Thin would allow the proponent. of the matter to use their three minutes and also allow three others to speak. The group could choose its speakers, could also submit written materials, and would have another opportunity to speak if the matter were brought back to Council. Staff also recommends that the Council consider changing the time limits applicable to early speakers. Over time; Council has adopted the practice of allowing certain classes of speakers to speak early on any agenda item or on public input, ahead of all other Council business. The rationale for this privilege has apparently been that the early speakers needed to leave the meeting early because of special needs or trarisportation issues. However; hearing early speakers has become routine at each meeting, and it has the effect of delaying the start of the meeting., which is inconvenient for .all others who are awaiting the start of regular business. Therefore Council might wish to re- examine its practice and consider special time limits for early speakers so that consideration 'of the regular agenda may begin promptly. Anyone who might wish to speak early would, of course, have the option of taking their turn later .along with everyone else, speaking early for a shorter period of time, and/or submitting their views in writing. Staff is recommending one minute per item limits for early speakers. Council members have also asked about the possibility of shortening the present, general three minute time limit to two minutes. This is a policy decision for Council. Staff notes that Council considered this idea when the rules were last changed, and it was rejected: 4 Additionally, it has been suggested that .staff report time should be limited. The Manager currently directs staff members to limit their reports.. So, a rule change is not necessary; however, Council may wish to include a limitation in the Rules. If so, it can be drafted at the meeting. Likewise, it has been suggested that deliberation periods should be shortened, either by limiting individual Council members remarks or otherwise: The Manager's Office currently prepares a proposed time schedule for the meetings. This function could be incorporated into the rules with an admonition to observe the time estimates if Council feels doing so would help make meetings more efficient. Staff notes that the rules currently allow for setting time limits for each Council member. Rule 12 (i)["Prior to beginning deliberation, the Council may, by atwo-thirds vote of those present, limit the amount of time that each Council member may spend stating his or her views on a particular agenda item."] In lieu of somehow incorporating the times estimates into the Rule, Council could simply opfito utilize this provision. Finally, Council may wish to incorporate into its rules the custom of allowing only one minute on late chits. This limitation inconsistently applied, and adding it to the Rules would enhance notice of the practice.. As proposed in the attached resolution, Council would retain its discretion to hear late chits or not; .but no late chits would be heard for longer than one minute unless Council also voted to change its rule. Changes to Enhance Efficiency and Participation Through Scheduling and Agenda Management Several suggestions have been made relating to scheduling and agenda management. Council members have suggested scheduling special meetings for items of very significant public interest. The Manager already endeavors to do this; and Council may wish to include some reference to this practice in its rules but that is not necessary. Council members have also suggested placing major issues early on the agenda. The 5 Rules govern the order of business, which can be changed by a Council vote. So, no rule change is necessary or recommended. Council members have also suggested considering agenda. management and the decision to continue past 11:OOpm at specified times so that members of the public could better anticipate when or if particular matters would be heard. Thus, for instance, the rules could specify that agenda management issues would be considered at or about 9:OOpm and the. decision as to whether to continue past 11:OOpm would be made at 10:30pm. If Council wishes. to add such a provision to the Rules, staff will propose language at the meeting. At least two Council members have also suggested changing the practice of conducting closed sessions after the consent calendar. That practice often keeps the public waiting past 7:OOpm because the length of closed session discussions is difficult to predict. This proposal has been considered and rejected previously but probably warrants renewed consideration. Implementation would require a,rule change; which staff could. draft at the meeting. Other Council members have suggested conducting special meetings entirely devoted to closed session discussions of litigation and giving staff expanded settlement authority on routine cases to conserve the Council's time. No rule change would be necessary to do. closed sessions at special meetings. The proposal to increase staffs settlement authority is beyond the scope of this report and will be addressed at another time. Changes Which Would Enhance the Clarity of the Rules Two changes are proposed to enhance the clarity of the rules.. Rule 12, "Rules of Debate," includes a provision on calling the question. 12(h) provides: "Neither the moving party nor the party seconding any motion is allowed to call for the question." Staff recommends adding that Council must vote on calling the question, otherwise a single Council member could terminate debate so long as he or she neither made nor 6 seconded the motion. Additionally, staff recommends modifying Rule 14(f) to clarify that, on appeals, the appellant speaks first and last.. Miscellaneous Changes Staff also recommends a few minor changes to conform the rules to practice and make them more complete. Thus, staff recommends modifying Rule 15, entitled "Rules of Conduct" to clarify that the conduct rules protect safety as well as order. Staff also recommends changing Rule 18 ("Voting Procedure') to eliminate the reference to electronic voting. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions No direct financial impacts are foreseen as a consequence of updating the Council Rules. Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney Maria Stewart, City Clerk Don Patterson, Assistant to the City Manager Approved: Forwarded to Council: 7 MAY 2 ~. 2C08 City Council Meeting: May 22, 2008 RESOLUTION NUMBER (City Council Series) Santa Monica, California (CCS) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING THE RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NUMBER 9932 (CCS) THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City Council Rules of Order and Procedure are hereby established as follows: RULES FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS RULE 1. RULES OF ORDER. Except as otherwise provided by these rules, the City Charter, the Municipal Code, or applicable provisions of state law, the procedures of the City Council shall be governed by the latest revised edition of Roberts Rules of Order. The City Council rules, or any one thereof, may be suspended by a vote of two- thirds (2/3) of the Councilmembers present. RULE 2. TIME AND PLACE FOR HOLDING REGULAR MEETINGS. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 611 of the Santa Monica City Charter, the City Council establishes the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month as the days for 1 r{~aY 1 a. 2cc~ e holding regular meetings of the City Council. The regular meeting shall commence at 5:45 p.m., for consideration of the Consent Calendar and Closed Session, or for Consent Calendar and Study Session, provided a Closed Session is not scheduled. It is the intention of the City Council that all other agenda items shall commence no earlier than 6:45 p. m. If a Closed Session and a Study Session are scheduled for the same meeting, then the Closed Session will be held after the Consent Calendar and the Study Session will be held immediately after Council reconvenes at 6:45 p.m. or as soon as possible thereafter: If any such Tuesday falls on any day designated by law by the City Council as a day for public feast, Thanksgiving or holiday, such regular meeting shall be held on the date of the regular meeting next following said Tuesday at the hour heretofore fixed or at such other day as may be fixed. The City Council Chamber in City Hall is established as the place for holding its regular meetings. RULE 3. QUORUM AND ACTION. In accordance with Section 614 of the Santa Monica City Charter, four Councilmembers shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Except as otherwise provided in the Charter, or other law or these rules action shall be taken by a majority vote of the entire membership of the City Council. However, in the case of a quasi-judicial hearing, if only four Councilmembers are participating, the applicant or appellant shall be entitled to request and receive a continuance of the hearing, until such time as five Councilmembers are participating. Whenever any Councilmember questions the presence of a quorum, the presiding officer shall forthwith direct the City Clerk to call the roll, each Councilmember shall respond when his or her name is called and the Clerk shall announce the result. Such proceedings shall be without debate, but no Councilmember who is speaking may be interrupted by a question as to the presence of a quorum. 2 RULE 4. MEETINGS TO BE PUBLIC - EXCEPTION FOR CLOSED SESSIONS. As required by the Ralph M. Brown Act (the "Brown Act"), California Government Code Sections 54950, et seq all regular, adjourned regular and. special meetings of the City Council shall be public, provided, however, the City Council may meet in a Closed Session from which the public is excluded, for those purposes authorized by the Brown Act. No Councilmember, employee of the City, or any other person present during a Closed Session of the City Council shall. disclose to any person the content or substance of any communication which took place during the Closed Session unless the City Council specifically authorizes the disclosure by majority vote or unless the disclosure is required by law. RULE 5. AGENDA. The City Clerk shall prepare the Agenda under the direction of the City Manager as follows: (a) The City Manager shall consult with the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore in the preparation of the Agenda. (b) The Agenda and all available supporting documents shall be delivered to Councilmembers on the Thursday preceding the Tuesday City Council meeting to which it pertains or as soon thereafter as possible. (c) Any Councilmember or the City Manager may direct that any matter within the City Council's jurisdiction be placed upon the Agenda. Councilmembers should endeavor to submit agenda items by 3:00 p.m. on Thursday in order to ensure that matters will be agendized for the following Tuesday. Subject to Brown Act requirements, items submitted after 3:00 p.m. Thursday will be agendized for the following Tuesday if possible. 3 Councilmember items may only be combined with other items on the agenda by a vote of the Council. A Councilmember who wishes to combine his or her item with another item on the agenda may direct that the following language be included with the agenda item: "This item may be considered with Item ." The City Manager may combine staff items on the agenda in order to ensure that the public's business is handled efficiently and conveniently. (d) The City Clerk shall post the Agenda as required by the Brown Act. Copies of the Agenda shall be posted in the City Clerk's office and in the lobby of the Police Department. The City Clerk shall maintain on file in his or her office declarations establishing compliance with the posting requirements. (e) No action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the posted Agenda unless the item is added to the Agenda in the manner required by the Brown Act. (f) Matters directed to be placed on the Agenda at the direction of Councilmembers shall be listed on the Agenda in the order of receipt by the City Clerk. (g) Written requests to the City Council shall be received and opened by the City Clerk and referred to the City Manager or his or her designee and either shall be transmitted to the appropriate board, commission or staff member or shall be placed on the Agenda if City Council consideration is deemed appropriate by the Mayor or City Manager. Written requests being agendized shall be scheduled for Council consideration at the earliest convenient meeting, taking into consideration the length and content of meeting agendas. Members of the public submitting written requests shall be advised of how their request is being handled. Councilmembers shall receive copies of those written requests which are not agendized. Agendized communications shall be listed on the Agenda in order of receipt. No communication shall be placed on an Agenda if it contains material that: (1) Is profane. (2) Is potentially slanderous or libelous. 4 (3) Advocates or opposes the candidacy of any person or party for any elective office. (4) Is primarily an advertisement or promotion or has as a substantial purpose, the advancement of any cause the major benefit of which is private and not public. Members of the public submitting written requests to the Council are encouraged to limit their submissions to one per meeting. RULE 6. CATEGORIES AND ORDER OF BUSINESS. The business of the City Council shall be conducted in the order and manner specified below. The order may be changed by a majority vote of those present. The following is the order of business for items to be heard beginning at 5:45 p.m.: (a) Call to Order. (b) Salute to the Flag. (c) Roll Call. (d) Consent Calendar. The consent calendar shall consist of the approval of minutes of previous meetings and those other items such as contracts and routine resolution which do not necessitate a separate public hearing and which are determined in the Agenda preparation process to be relatively non-controversial. Ordinances for second reading and adoption may be placed on the consent calendar if all members of the City Council were present when the vote for first reading and introduction took place. and this vote was unanimous. The consent calendar shall be considered as one item regardless of the number of matters appearing on it and may be approved by a single vote. The title to the individual consent items need not be read unless a request to do so is made by any Councilmember. Members of the public shall have no more than one opportunity to address the City Council concerning any and all items on the consent calendar. Members of the public shall be heard prior to City Council consideration of the consent calendar. Councilmembers may request to have individual matters 5 removed from the consent calendar so that they may be heard on those matters. All matters remaining. on the consent calendar may be approved by a single vote. Any items removed from the consent calendar shall be considered separately in the order of their appearance on the Agenda. Removed items may be heard immediately following the consent calendar or may be heard after the City Council concludes Closed Session or Study Session. (e) Study Session or Closed Session. During Study Sessions staff will present information regarding a complex matter that will be subject to Council deliberation and decisions in the future. No Council action will be recommended or taken as part of the Study Session. A Closed Session may be held at any time deemed necessary in accordance with the requirements of the Brown Act. The following is the order of business for items to be heard beginning at 6:45 p. m.: (a) Inspiration. (b) Special Ceremonial Agenda Items. This item includes proclamations, commendations, introductions of special guests, special meetings, and presentations and reports by other non-City public entities or legislative bodies. (c) Removed Consent Calendar Items. Each item will be considered separately in the order of their appearance on the Agenda. Since members of the public were given the opportunity to comment on any and all items on the consent calendar earlier in the agenda, no additional public comment on these items will be heard. (d) Study Sessions, if Closed Session is also scheduled for the same meeting. (e) Continued Items: This item includes agendized items of a previous City Council meeting not considered at such meeting. The City Council may vote by a majority of its members to have acarry-over item placed on a subsequent agenda as a continued item. 6 (f) Administrative Proceedings. This item includes proceedings requiring the City Council to make aquasi-judicial decision concerning an individual application or appeal. (g) Ordinances. (1) Second Reading and Adoption. No public discussion is permitted on second readings. (2) Introduction and First Reading. (h) Staff Administrative Items. This category will include policy matters to be considered by the City Council or at joint meetings of the City Council, Parking Authority, Housing Authority, the Public Financing Authority and/or Redevelopment Agency. (i) Public Hearings. This item consists of public hearings required by specific provisions of law. Q) Reports of Boards and Commissions. Boards and commissions who may present reports under this item include, but are not limited to, all City boards and commissions and the boards of the Pier Restoration Corporation and the Bayside District Corporation. (k) Resolutions. A resolution will be considered under this item only if it substance makes extensive public input advisable, or if it should be considered after another item on the Agenda, otherwise the resolution will be considered on the Consent Calendar. (I) Written Communication. This item allows the Council to consider issues raised by written submissions from the public. (m) Councilmember Discussion Items. Staff items as deemed necessary 7 (n) Public Input. This item allows members of the public to address the City Council on matters that are within the Council's subject matter jurisdiction. No formal action may be taken on any matter under this item unless the item is specifically agendized. RULE 7. PREPARATION OF MINUTES. The City Clerk shall have exclusive responsibility for preparation of the Minutes, and any directions for corrections in the Minutes shall be made only by majority vote of the City Council. RULE 8. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. Minutes of a City Council meeting may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished each Councilmember with a copy and unless a reading is ordered by a majority vote of the Council. RULE 9. PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mayor shall be the Presiding Officer at all meetings 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 City Council to order and 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 Presiding Officer may move, second, and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are imposed upon Councilmembers by these rules, and shall not be deprived of any of the rights or privileges of a Councilmember by reason of his or her acting as the Presiding Officer. (b) Duties. The Presiding Officer shall (1) preserve order at all meetings of the 8 City Council, (2) state (or cause to be stated) each question coming before the City Council (3) announce the decisions of the City Council on all subjects; and (4) decide all questions of order subject to the right to appeal rulings on questions of order to the entire City Council. RULE 11. SWORN TESTIMONY AND SUBPOENA POWER. Any Councilmember may request that anyone appearing before the City Council on any matter shall be sworn. On receipt of such a request, all proceedings shall be suspended and the City Council will immediately vote on whether the individual should be sworn. A majority vote of the Councilmembers present shall determine whether the speaker shall be placed under oath. All oaths will be administered by the City Clerk. The City Council shall have the power to issue subpoenas as provided in City Charter Section 614. RULE 12. RULES OF DEBATE. (a) Getting the Floor. A Councilmember desiring to speak shall gain recognition by the Presiding Officer. (b) Questions to Staff. Every Councilmember desiring to question City staff shall address his or her questions to the City Manager, the City Attorney, the City Clerk or designated staff. Members of the City staff, after recognition by the Presiding Officer shall hold the floor until completion of their remarks or until recognition is withdrawn by the Presiding Officer. (c) Interruptions. A Councilmember who has the floor shall not be interrupted when speaking unless he or she is called to order by the Presiding Officer, a point of order or a personal privilege is raised by another Councilmember or the speaker chooses to yield to a question by another Councilmember. If a Councilmember is called to order, he or she shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined. (d) Points of Order. The Presiding Officer shall determine all points of order subject to the right of any Councilmember to appeal to the City Council. If an 9 appeal is taken, the question shall be: "Shall the decision of the Presiding Officer be sustained?" Atwo-thirds vote of the Councilmembers then present shall conclusively determine the appeal and the question of order. (e) Point of Personal Privilege. The right of a Councilmember to address the City Council 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 safety or welfare of the City Council is concerned. (f) Privilege of Final Comment. The Councilmember moving the introduction or adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or motion, shall have the privilege of speaking last on the matter after all other Councilmembers have been given an opportunity to speak. (g) Motion to Reconsider Legislative Actions. A motion to reconsider any legislative action taken by the City Council may be made only by one of the Councilmembers on the prevailing side and may be seconded by any Councilmember. Such motion may be made at any time and shall be debatable. A motion by a non- prevailing Councilmember or a request by a member of the public for reconsideration may be made only if one year has passed since the action was taken. (h) Calling for the Question. A question may be called by majority vote of those present. Neither the moving party nor the party seconding any motion is allowed to call for the question. (i) Limitation of Debate. Councilmembers shall limit their remarks to the subject under debate. No Councilmember shall be allowed to speak more than once upon any particular subject until every other Councilmember desiring to do so has spoken. Prior to beginning deliberation, the Council may, by atwo-thirds vote of those present, limit the amount of time that each Councilmember may spend stating his or her views on a particular agenda item. 10 RULE 13. PROTEST AGAINST CITY COUNCIL ACTION. Any Councilmember shall have the right to have the reasons for his or her opposition to any action of the City Council entered in the Minutes. Such opposition shall be made in the following manner:. "I would like the Minutes to reflect that I opposed this action for the following reasons..." RULE 14. PUBLIC TESTIMONY. (a) Pursuant to the Brown Act, public testimony is permitted on all agenda items, except ordinances for second reading, and the public shall have an opportunity to comment on any matter which is not on the Agenda but is within the Council's jurisdiction. However, members of the public do not have the right to give testimony outside the scope of or unrelated to the agenda item under consideration. Additionally, members of the public should strive to avoid unduly reiterating their own or others' testimony. (b) Registration. Any member of the public wishing to address the City Council regarding any item on the Agenda for public discussion shall register with the City Clerk prior to the start of the meeting, if possible, but no later than prior to the public hearing on that item. Any request received after the start of the hearing shall be considered late and may only be heard with Council approval. (c) Manner of Addressina the City Council. After being recognized by the Presiding Officer, each member of the public addressing the City Council shall go to the podium, state his or her name and whom he or she is representing, if he or she represents an organization or other person. Each member of the public is encouraged, but not required, to also state his or her address, neighborhood, or city of residence. All remarks shall be addressed to the City Council as a whole and not to any individual member thereof. After a public hearing has been closed, no member of the public shall address the City Council on the matter under consideration without first securing Council approval. 11 (d) Time Limits. Except on Written Communication, members of the public shall limit their remarks to three minutes per agenda item unless the City Council grants additional time by majority vote. For purposes of these Rules, the consent calendar shall be considered one item. Persons speaking on another's written communication and persons submitting late chits, who receive permission to speak shall be limited to one minute. On Written Communication, those speaking on another's item may speak only if the person raising the matter appears and testifies. Additionally, total time for each item listed under Written Communication shall be six minutes. If the person who raises the item does not appear and testify, the matter shall be received and filed and persons wishing to speak on the matter may give their testimony during Public Input. A member of the public wishing to speak on more than one item shall limit his or her remarks to a total of six minutes per meeting unless the Council grants additional time by majority vote. A member of the public may allocate time between items in one minute increments up to three minutes. Testimony given as an applicant or appellant does not count toward the six minute maximum. A Board or Commission member reporting to the City Council on behalf of a Board or Commission shall not be subject to these rules on time limits; however, Council may limit the duration of such reports. (e) Special Time Limits for Lengthy Meetings. If fifteen or more members of the public wish to speak on one item or if forty or more members of the public wish to speak on any combination of items each speakers remarks on any Agenda item shall be limited to no more than two minutes. (f) Special Time Limits for Applicants and Appellants. Applicants and appellants on administrative items shall limit their remarks to ten minutes and may reserve some of their time for use for rebuttal at the conclusion of the public hearing. The appellant shall have the opportunity to address the City Council first and last. RULE 15. RULES OF CONDUCT AND SAFETY. When the City Council is in session, all persons present must preserve safety and order. Members of the public should sit in the seats provided, unless addressing the Council or entering or leaving the Council Chambers, should not block the aisles 12 with personal belongings and should not bring audible equipment into the Council Chambers including cellular telephones or pagers. Any person who disrupts the meeting shall be called to order by the Presiding Officer. If such conduct continues, the Presiding Officer may request the Sergeant at Arms to remove the person from Council chambers. The Chief of Police or such member or members of the Police Department as he or she may designate, 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 at City Council meetings. Any Councilmember may move to require the Presiding Officer to enforce the rules, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the City Council shall require him or her to do so. RULE 16. SEATING ORDER. After each municipal election, the City Clerk shall determine City Council member seating order by drawing lots. RULE 17. ENTITLEMENT TO VOTE AND FAILURE TO VOTE. Every Councilmember is entitled to vote unless disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest. A Councilmember who abstains from voting consents to the decision made by the voting Councilmembers. RULE 18. VOTING PROCEDURE. Any vote of the City Council, including a roll call vote, may be registered by the members answering "Yes" for an affirmative vote or "No" for a negative vote upon his or her name being called by the City Clerk. Voting order shall be based on seating order with each roll call vote beginning at alternating ends of the dais and the Mayor voting last. 13 RULE 19. DISQUALIFICATION FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST. Any Councilmember who is disqualified from voting on a particular matter by reason of a conflict of interest shall publicly state or have the Presiding Officer state the nature of such disqualification and shall leave the dais prior to Council consideration of the matter. A Councilmember stating such disqualification shall not be counted as part of a quorum and shall be considered absent for the purpose of determining the outcome of any vote on such matter. RULE 20. TIE VOTE. Tie votes shall be lost motions. RULE 21. 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 or the Presiding Officer and prior to the time that the next item in the order of business is taken up. RULE 22. 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) Presiding Officer calls for a staff report. (c) Councilmembers question City staff. (d) Council conducts Public hearing. (e) Council deliberates. 14 (f) A Councilmember makes a motion, another Councilmember seconds the motion, and the Council debates it, with the maker of the motion having the opportunity to speak last. (g) The Presiding Officer or City Clerk restates the motion. (h) The Council votes on the motion. (i) The Presiding Officer or City Clerk announces result. RULE 23. PRESENCE OF CITY STAFF AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS. The City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney, or, in their absence, their authorized representatives, shall attend and be present during all City Council meetings and give necessary service and advice. RULE 24. ADJOURNMENT. Unless otherwise determined by a majority vote of those Councilmembers present, all City Council meetings shall adjourn at 11:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as' the requirements of state law governing public comment are fulfilled. RULE 25. RECORD OF MEETINGS. All public meetings of the City Council shall be recorded by tape recorder. The recording shall be made by the City Clerk and retained in accordance with the City's record retention schedule. The use of other recording or television equipment is permitted so long as it is not disruptive of the meeting. RULE 26. INTERPRETATION AND MODIFICATION OF THESE RULES. These rules shall be interpreted liberally in order to provide for the optimum in the free interchange of information and public debate without an unnecessary waste of time or duplication of effort. These rules may be amended by resolution. 15 RULE 27. FAILURE TO OBSERVE RULES OF ORDER. These rules of order and procedures govern the conduct of City Council meetings. These rules are intended to expedite the transaction of the business of the City Council in an orderly fashion and are deemed to be procedural only. Failure to strictly observe these rules shall not affect the jurisdiction of the City Council or invalidate any action taken at a meeting that otherwise conforms to law. SECTION 2. Resolution Number 9932 CCS and all other resolutions adopting, amending, or relating to City Council Rules of Order, are hereby repealed in their entirety. SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall. certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. APPROVED AS TO FORM: Marsha Moutrie City Attorney 16 Pico Neighborhood Association Board Of MAY 22, 2008 Directors To: Santa Monica City Council From: PNA Board of Directors Maria Loyd Re: PNA Response To Benda Item 8A Co-Chair Dear Mayor Katz and Honorable Council Members: Wes We appreciate all the time and effort you give to govern our City and to hear the Thompson public petitions brought before you. We also appreciate that Council meetings Co-Chair often run late into the night due to the number of issues before you and the number participating in the debate. Ana Jara Other neighborhood groups have submitted their concerns about the options Vice Chair related to limiting the time permitted to speak. The PNA fully supports their arguments. We would like instead, to address the even more alarming staff recommendation, namely, limiting the NUMBER ofpeople who can actually Irma Carranza participate in the discussion. Treasurer The Staff Report, page 5, regarding Written Communications states "that Council consider adding an OVERALL time limit, per item...of 6 minutes... allow the Kristind proponent...to use 3 minutes and allow 3 others to speak" (one minute each). " Lizamd The group could choose its speakers...submit written materials...and would have Secretary another opportunity to speak IF the matter were brought back to the Council". This Staff option totally violates the most basic principals of Parliamentary Order Joseph Blanks and democratic principal: namely the individuals right to be heard, the right to protest, and the right to seek to convince. Furthermore, it is full of assumptions. It assumes the following: Catherine Eldridge • That all speakers are or would want to be part of a group • That all speakers have access to the "group" and the matters presented to council prior to the meeting Gina De Bdcd • That all speakers are part of the majority (In fairness to the opposing side, would the Council only permit the 3 additional speakers to be of the minority Mike Jackson opinion?) • That 3 speakers, speaking for cne minute each, can express EVERYONE'S opinion and ALL relevant points Lu pe Kpachavi That participation should ONLY be permitted if you prepare ahead of time and can agree as to WHO should be the representative speaker Clyde Smith The most egregious assumption is that it implies that the number of individual speakers and their comments have NO IMPACT on the decision of the Council regarding whether or not the item will be returned at a future date. We respectfully request instead that you choose to hold additional and separate Closed Session meetings rather than limit public debate and participation. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, 4'ico Neigk6or6oodAssociation Board of Directors Reference Resolution No. 10290 (CCS).