R-9456
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F .\atty\munl\laws\mJm\ccrules-2. wpd
City Council Meeting 11-9-99
Santa Monica, Cahfornla
RESOLUTION NUMBER 9456 (CCS)
(City Council Senes)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING RESOLUTION NUMBER 8525 (CCS)
TO AMEND THE 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 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 anyone thereof, may be suspended by a vote of two-
thirds (2/3) of the Councilmembers present.
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RU LE 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 Tuesday of each month as the days for holding
regular meetings of the City CouncIl. The regular meeting shall commence at 6 15 P m
The only agenda item that may be considered pnor to 7:00 p m. is a Closed Session or a
Study Session All other agenda Items shall commence after 7.00 P m. If any such
Tuesday falls on any day deSignated by law or 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
In accordance With Section 614 of the Santa Monica City Charter, four
Councllmembers 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.
Whenever any Councilmember questions the presence of a quorum, the presiding
officer shall forthWith direct the City Clerk to call the roll, each Councllmember shall
respond when hiS or her name IS called, and the Clerk shall announce the result. Such
proceedings shall be without debate, but no Councllmember who IS speaking may be
Interrupted by a question as to the presence of a quorum.
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RULE 4.
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
MEETINGS TO BE PUBLIC _M EXCEPTION FOR CLOSED
Act,
No Councllmember, employee of the City, or any other person present dunng a
Closed Session of the City CounCil shall disclose to any person the content or substance
of any communication which took place dunng the Closed Session unless the City CounCil
specifically authonzes the disclosure by majority vote, or unless the disclosure IS required
bylaw.
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
Councllmembers on the Thursday preceding the Tuesday City CounCil meeting to which
it pertains or as soon thereafter as pOSSible.
(c) Any Councllmember or the City Manager may direct that any matter within
the City CounCil's junsdlctlon be placed upon the Agenda. Councilmembers should
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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
(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 appeanng 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 onthe
Agenda If City Council consideration IS deemed appropriate by the Mayor or City Manager.
Wntten 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 ofthe public submitting written requests shall be advised of how their
request IS being handled. CouncIl members shall receive copies of those wntten requests
which are not agendized Agendlzed 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
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(2) Is potentially slanderous or libelous.
(3) Advocates or opposes the candidacy of any person or party for any
elective office.
(4) Is pnmarlly an advertisement or promotion or has as a substantial
purpose the advancement of any cause the major benefit of which is pnvate 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 following order and
manner The order may be changed by a majority vote of those present.
(a) Call to Order
(1) Salute to the Flag
(2) InspiratIon
(b) Roll Call
(c) 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 dUring another agendlzed Item If deemed
necessary.
(d) SpeCial 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.
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(e) Continued Items This Item Includes agendized items of a prevIous City
Council meeting not considered at such meetlng. The City Council may vote by a majority
of ItS members to have a carry-over Item placed on a subsequent agenda as a "continued
Item."
(f) Consent Calendar The consent calendar shall consist of the approval of
minutes of previous meetings and those other items such as contracts and routine
resolutions 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 ofthe
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 appeanng 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 Councllmember 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. Councllmembers may request to have indiVidual matters 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,
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(9) Administrative Proceedings. This Item includes proceedings requiring the
City Council to make a quasi-Judicial decision concerning an individual application or
appeal.
(h) Ordinances
(1) Introduction and First Reading.
(2) Second Reading and Adoption. No public discussion IS permitted on
second readings,
(i) Staff Administrative Items
W Public Hearings This Item consists of public hearings required by specific
provisions of law
(k) Reports of Boards and CommiSSions. Boards and commiSSions which 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 Bayslde District
Corporation.
(I) Resolutions. A resolution Will be considered under thiS Item only If ItS
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.
(m) Written Communications Other Than From Members of the Public
(n) Councllmember DISCUSSion Items.
(0) 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
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action may be taken on any matter under this item unless the item IS specifically
agendlzed.
RULE 7.
PREPARATION OF MINUTES.
The City Clerk shall have exclusive responsibility for preparation ofthe Minutes, and
any directions for corrections In the Minutes shall be made only by maJonty vote ofthe 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 Councllmemberwlth 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 ofthe 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 Councllmembers 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 CounCil members by
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these rules, and shall not be depnved of any ofthe nghts or pnvlleges of a Council member
by reason of his or her acting as the Presiding Officer.
(b) Duties. The Presiding Officer shall: (1) preselVe order at all meetings of the
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 nght to appeal rulings on questions of order to the entire
City Council.
RULE 11. SWORN TESTIMONY AND SUBPOENA POWER.
Any Council member 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 Cou nC11 WIll Immediately vote on whether the indiVidual should be
sworn. A majority vote of the Councllmembers 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 Councllmemberdeslnng to speak shall gain recognition
by the Presiding Officer
(b) Questions to Staff Every Councllmember deslnng to question City staff shall
address his or her questions to the City Manager. the City Attorney, the City Clerk, or
designated staff Members ofthe City staff, after recognition by the Presiding Officer, shall
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hold the floor until completion of their remarks or until recognition IS withdrawn by the
Presiding Officer
(c) Interruptions, A Councllmember 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 pnvllege IS raised by another Councllmember, or the speaker chooses to
Yield to a question by another Councllmember. If a Council member 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 nght of any Councllmember to appeal to the City CouncIl. If an appeal IS
taken, the question shall be "Shall the decIsion of the Presiding Officer be sustained?" A
two-thirds vote of the Councilmembers then present shall conclUSively determine the
appeal and the question of order
(e) Pplnt of Personal Pnvl!eqe The nghtofa CouncllmembertoaddresstheClty
Council on a questIon of personal pnvllege 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) P~lvilege of Final Comment. The Councilmember moving the introduction or
adoption of an ordinance, resolutIon, or motion, shall have the pnvllege of speaking last
on the matter after all other Councllmembers have been given an opportUnity to speak
(g) MotIon to Reconsider. A motIon to reconsider any legislative action taken by
the City CounCil may be made only by one of the Councllmembers on the prevalhng Side
and may be seconded by any CounCil member Such motion may be made at any time and
shall be debatable A motion by a non-prevailing Councllmember or a request by a
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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 Neither the moving party nor the party seconding
any motion IS allowed to call for the questIon
(I) Limitation of Debate Councllmembers shall limit their remarks to the subject
under debate. No Council member shall be allowed to speak more than once upon any
particular subject until every other Councllmember desiring to do so has spoken. Pnorto
beginning deliberation, the Council may, by a two-thirds vote of those present, limit the
amount of time that each Councllmember may spend stating his or her views on a
particular agenda Item
RULE 13. PROTEST AGAINST CITY COUNCIL ACTION.
Any Councllmember 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 oppose 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 ordmances 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 Cou nell's JuriSdiction
However, members of the public do not have the right to give testimony outSide the scope
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of or unrelated to the agenda Item under consideration Additionally, members ofthe 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 Addressing 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 heanng has been closed, no member of the public shall address the
City CounCil on the matter under consideration Without first securing CounCil approval
(d) General Time Limits Except on 13 Items, 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 On 13 Items, those speaking on another's Item shall have one
minute which may be taken dUring the 131tem If the person raising the matter appears and
testifies 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 Item 15 (public Input) A member of the public wishing to speak on more than one
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Item shall limit his or her remarks to a total of six minutes per meeting unless the Council
grants additional time by maJonty vote A member ofthe 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 lime 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 pubhc Wish to speak
on any combination of Items, each speaker's 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 hmlt 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 last
RULE 15. RULES OF CONDUCT.
When the City Council IS In seSSion, all persons present must preserve order
Members of the public should Sit In the seats provided, unless addressing the Councilor
entering or leaVIng the CouncIl Chambers, should not block the aisles WIth personal
belongings and should not bring audible equipment into the CounCil Chambers including
cellular telephones or pagers
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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 Council member 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 Councllmember IS entitled to vote unless disqualified by reason of a conflict
of Interest. A Councllmember who abstains from votmg consents to the deciSion made by
the voting Councllmembers
RULE 18. VOTING PROCEDURE.
Any vote of the City Council, including a roll call vote, may be registered by the
members by casting their votes electronIcally and by answering "Yes" for an affirmative
vote or "No" for a negative vote upon hiS or her name being called by the City Clerk.
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Voting order shall be based on seating order with each roll call vote beginning at
alternating ends of the dlas and the Mayor voting last
RULE 19. DISQUALIFICATION FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Any Cou nCllmember 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 Councllmember 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 Councllmember may be changed only if he or she makes a timely
request to do so immed lately 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
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(a) City Clerk reads the title
(b) Presiding Officer calls for a staff report
(c) Councllmembers question City staff.
(d) Council conducts Public heanng
(e) Council deliberates
(f) A Council member makes a motion, another Councllmember seconds the
motion, and the Council debates It, with the maker of the motion having the opportunity to
speak last.
(g) The Presldmg 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 meetmgs
and give necessary service and adVice
RULE 24. ADJOURNMENT.
Unless otherwise determined by a majority vote of those Council members present,
all CIty Council meetmgs shall adjourn at 11 :00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the
requirements of state law governing public comment are fulfilled.
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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
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 junsdlctlon of the City Councilor invalidate any action taken at a
meeting that otherwise conforms to law
SECTION 2 Resolution Numbers 4525 (CGS), 4548 (GCS), 4570 (GGS), 4631
(GGS), 4848 (GGS), 4909 (CCS), 6387 (GGS), 6744 (CCS), 7212 (GCS), 7279 (CCS),
7353 (GGS), 7417 (CCS), 7447 (CCS), 8168 (CCS), 8489 (GGS), and 8525 (GGS), and
each ofthem, and all other resolution adopting, amending, or relating to City Council Rules
of Order, are hereby repealed In their entirety
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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
h1iL~h;~
'Marsha Mouiffe {
City Attorney
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Adopted and approved this 9th of November, 1999
~4'\.tod1{,--- -
I Pam O'Connor, Mayor
I. Mana M Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby
certify that the foregoing Resolution 9456 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting
of the Santa Monica City Council held on the 9th of November, 1999, by the
following vote
Ayes Council members:
Holbrook, McKeown, Feinstein, Bloom,
Mayor Pro Tem Genser, Mayor O'Connor
Noes Council members
None
Abstain Council members
None
Absent Council members
Rosenstein
ATTEST
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Mana M Stewart