R-6744
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City Council Meeting 9-13-83 Santa Monica, Ca1lfornia
RESOLUTION NUMBER 6744(CCS)
(City Councll Serles)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ESTABLISHING
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:
SECT I ON 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 provisions of Section 611 of the Santa
Monlca City Charter, the City Council does establish as the days
and tlme for the holding of regular meetings the second and
fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m.
However, lf any such
Tuesday falls on any day deslgnated by law or by the Clty Coun-
c il as a day for publlC feast, thanksgl ving or holiday, such
regular meeting shall be held on the date of the regular meeting
next following sald Tuesday at the hour heretofore fixed. The
Ci ty Council Chamber in Cl ty Hall 1S estab11 shed as the place
for holding 1ts regular meetings.
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RULE 2.
QUORUM.
In accordance Wl. th Section 614 of the Santa Monica City
Charter, four Counc11members shall const1tute a quorum for the
transact10n of business, but a smaller number may adjourn from
time to t~me until a quorum is present and those present may
obta~n the attendance of the absentees. Except as otherwise
provided 1n the Charter, or by law, act10n taken by the City
Council shall be taken by a majority vote of the ent~re member-
ship of the C1ty Council.
Whenever any Councilmember ral.ses the question as to the
presence of a quorum, the Presiding Offl.cer shall forthwl.th
di rect the Cl. ty Clerk to call the roll and shall announce the
resul t, and such proceedings shall be Wl. thout debate; but no
Councilmember, while speaking, shall be 1nterrupted by rais~ng
the questl.on of the presence of a quorum. Every CounCl.lmember
present must make response when his or her name l.S called.
The Cl ty Council shall Judge the quall.f l.cations 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 speclal meetl.ngs
of the Clty Council shall be publl.c; provided, however, that the
City Council may hold Closed Sessions during a regular or spec-
ial meetl.ng, from which the public may be excluded, for the pur-
pose of consldering the matters referred to in Government Code
Sectlon 54957 or Government Code Section 54957.6 relating to
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Closed Sessions of the legislative body, or pursuant to other
provis~ons of law.
(b) The above subdivision is specifically 1im~ted by the
fo1low~ng:
(1) Restrictions regard~ng Closed Sessions do not
apply to meet~ngs of committees of the City Council consisting
of less than a quorum of ~ts members.
(2) Closed Sess~ons may not be held to consider the
broad category of "personnel" matters.
(3) Closed Sessions re1at~ng to personnel are
limited to those relating to the appointment, employment or
dismissal of a public officer or employee or to hear compla~nts
or charges brought against such officer or employee.
(c> The general categories permitting Closed Sess~ons
shall ~nc1ude, but not be lim~ted to:
(l) To consider the employment or dl. smissa1 of a
pub1~c off~cer or employee, or to hear charges brought against
such person unless the officer or employee in question requests
a public hearing, in which event a publ~c hear~ng shall be per-
mitted.
(2) To discuss with the C~ ty Attorney 1i tl.gat~on
pendl.ng, proposed or ant~cipated where a publ~c d~scussion would
benefit the City's adversary and be detrimental to the publ~c.
(3) To meet wl.th the Attorney General, D~strict
Attorney, Sher~ff or Ch~ef of Police (or thel.r deputies> on mat-
ters pOSl.ng a threat to the security of public buildings or a
threat to the public's r ~ght of access to publ~c services or
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public faci11tles.
( 4) To lnstruct City representatives concernlng
salarles, salary schedules or compensatlon pald in the form of
fringe benefits prlor to or during negotlations with employee
organizations.
(5) To negotiate and dlSCUSS with employee organi-
zatlon representatives following the interventlon of a state
labor concl11ator in a labor dlspute.
(6) To consider matters affectlng the national sec-
urity In the case of a body operated by a private corporation on
WhlCh C~ty offlcers serve ~n their officla1 capaclty and which
is supported partially or totally by C~ty funds.
(7) To conSlder those matters which by law are
properly the subject of a Closed Session.
(d) No Councilmember, employee of the City, or any other
person present dur lng an Closed Session of the City Counci 1
shall d~ sclose to any person the content or substance of any
d~ scussion WhlCh took place dur lng said Closed 5e ssion unless
the Clty Council shall authorlze the disclosure of such infor-
mation by maJority vote, or unless such disclosure ~s required,
and only to the extent so required, by the provisions of Govern-
ment Code Sectlon 54957.1.
RULE 4. AGENDA.
(a) The Cl ty Clerk shall prepare the Agenda under the
direction of the Clty Manager. The Agenda with all supporting
matters shall be delivered to Counci1members on the Thursday
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preceding the Tuesday City Council Meeting to which it pertains
and shall be made avai 1able to the public no later than 3: 00
p.m. on the Friday preced1ng the scheduled City Council Meet1ng;
providing, however, that at any t1me prior to the hour set for
the C1ty Council Meet1ng, any Counc1lmember, the City Manager or
the C1ty Attorney, may direct any matter he or she deems urgent
to be placed upon the Agenda; provided further, that any 1tem of
public Interest or concern added to the Agenda after its publi-
cat10n to the general public shall not be considered unless it
is accompan1ed by a full explanation by the advocate of such
item and until after a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the CounC11-
members present have voted to do so. Matters directed to be
placed on the Agenda by Counci1members shall be listed thereon
1n the order of receipt of such direct10n.
(b) Dates for public hear1ngs required by law or on mat-
ters of spec1al pub11c interest shall be set by the C1ty Coun-
c11, the C1ty Clerk, or the City Manager. Those matters set for
public hearing by the City CounC11 may be so set in the fol10w-
1ng manner: The C1ty Manager shall place on an Agenda the item,
"Motion to fix t1me and date of hearing II The City
Counc11 shall only hear comments regard1ng the time and date,
and not the substantive matter under th1s head1ng.
(c) The time and date f1xed for public hearings shall be
such that large numbers of c1t1zens can be accommodated 1n the
City Counc11 Chambers and also can be heard early 1n the evening
and such not1ces as requ1red by law or requested by the City
Council of the same shall be sent out not less than 15 days
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prlor to the hearing, unless another time lS otherwlse specified
by law.
(d) Where a matter requlres a formal publlC hearing prior
to final aetlon by the C~ ty Counell, no person shall be heard
thereon except at the t~me of the public hearlng.
(e) No publlC discusslon shall be permltted on second
reading of ord~nances, reports of commissions, written communl-
catlons other than reports of off lcers and eOmInlSS10nS, or on
Councilmember discussion items, unless consent is glven by two-
thlrds (2/3) vote of the Councllmembers present.
RULE 5. CITY COUNCIL CORRESPONDENCE.
(a) Non-Council Items. Wrltten communicat~ons addressed
to the Ci ty Counc~l, the subJect matter of whlch comes within
the ]urlsdlctlon of any Board, CommisSlon, or Department of the
Ci ty, may be referred to such body or department, or both, by
the C~ ty Manager, and such eommunicatlons shall not be placed
upon the City Councll Agenda.
All commun~catlons directly relatlng to the work or juris-
dictlon of a Board, Commission, or Department of the Clty shall
be referred thereto, notwlthstanding the fact that direct
CIty Councll actIon may be sought In such communications: such
communlcatlons shall not be placed upon the City Council Agen-
da.
Any person submitting a written communIcation to the Clty
Council which is subsequently referred to a Board, Commission,
or Department of the CIty shall be notifled of such referral by
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the City Manager. If dlssatisfied wlth either the action of the
Clty Manager or the action of the Board, Commisslon, or Depart-
ment to WhlCh the cornmunlcation was referred, such person may
appeal to the Clty Council.
(b) Authority of the City Manager. The City Manager is
authorized to open all mail or other wrltten communications col-
lectively addressed to the City Council and to give it irnmedlate
attention to the end that all administratlve business referred
to in said communlcatlons which do not necessarily requlre City
CounCll actlon may be acted upon between City Council meetings.
(c) Councl1 Items. Correspondence collectively addressed
to the City Councl1 shall be received and opened by the City
Council's Secretary, transmitted to the appropriate public
off 1cer havlng jurisdiction over, and placed on the Agenda if
Ci ty Councll actlon is deemed appropriate by the Mayor, Cl ty
Manager or City Clerk, except that no communication shall be
placed on that agenda that contains materla1 which:
(1) Is profane.
(2) Is in the nature of a crlmlnal or clvi1
slander, or 1S potentially slanderous or 1lbe1ous.
(3) Advocates or opposes the candidacy of any
person or party for any electlve office.
(4) Is prlmarl1y in advertlsement or promotion or
has as a substantial purpose the advancement of any cause the
major beneflt of which is prlvate and not public.
(5) Does not necessitate City CounCl1 action.
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Cd) AvaIlability to the Public~ Correspondence addressed
to indivIdual Counci1members shall not be opened by the City
Council Secretary unless authorIzed to do so by IndIvIdual Coun-
cllmembers. Such communIcations shall not become public records
untIl received and f lIed by the Ci ty Counc~l at a regular,
specIal or adJourned meetIng of the CIty Councl1, or retained or
used as provided In Government Code Sect~on 6250 et seq.
Correspondence received In the City Clerk's OffIce or other City
l' f .""
Offices after 12:00 Noon on Mondays prior to the Clty Councl1
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MeetIng shall not be placed on the Agenda unless it concerns a
matter to be consIdered by the City CounCIl at the next regular
meeting or IS determIned by the City Manager to be an urgent
matter which should be brought to the immedIate attention of the
CIty CounCl1~ Correspondence shall not be read aloud at a City
Council Meetlng unless requested by a maJority vote of the
CouncIl. No item which IS exempted by disclosure by Government
Code SectIon 6254 shall be di sclosed or treated as a public
record.
RULE 6. ORDER OF BUSINESS.
The busIness of the CIty CouncIl shall be taken on for
consideratIon and dISposItion in the following order:
(a) Call to Order.
(1) Salute to the Flag.
(2) Invocation.
(b) Roll Call.
(c) Approval of MInutes of Previous Meetlng.
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(d) Spec~a1 Agenda Items. (Such as commendations, award
of service p~ns, ~ntroduct~on of special guests.)
(e) Cont~nued Items. Agendized ~tems of a previous City
Counc~l Meet~ng not cons1dered at such meeting.
(f) Consent Calendar. The consent calendar shall consist
of those items determ1ned at the pre-Counc~l agenda meeting to
be of a non-controvers~a1 nature and which under the C1ty Coun-
c1l Rules do not generally require a pub11c hearing. Unless a
Counc11member or a member of the general public wishes to be
heard on these ~ terns, they may be considered as a group by a
s1ngle rnot1on to approve the consent calendar, and the t1tle to
the individual consent 1tems need not be read unless a request
to do so 15 made by any Counci1member. (Public d1scussion per-
mitted only if the ~tem allows discussion and a specific request
to be heard is made.)
(g) PubllC Hear1ngs. Public hear1ngs the time for which
has been set prevlously or set by law. (Public d~Scusslon per-
m~ t ted. )
(h) Ordlnances.
(1) Introductlon and F~rst Reading. (Public
d~scussion perm1tted.)
( 2) Second Reading and Adoption. (No pub1 ic
d~Scusslon permitted.)
(~) Resolutions. (Public discussion perm~tted.)
(J) Reports of Boards and Commissions. (No public d1s-
cuss~on permitted unless consent is given by a two-thirds (2/3)
vote of the Counci1members present.)
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<k) Staff Adm~nistrat~ve Items. (Public discussion per-
m~tted only if a spec~f~c request to be heard is made.)
(1) Administrat~ve Proceedings. AdministratIve proceed-
ings l.n which the ci ty Counc~l is requl.red to make a decl.sion
concerning an individual appll.cation or appeal. (Public d~scus-
sian perml. tted. )
(m) Written Commun~cations Other Than Reports of Commis-
sions and Off~cers. The C~ty Clerk shall list written communi-
cations in order of receipt. (Public dl scussion permitted only
by person present~ng the communication unless consent is gIven
by two-thIrds (2/3) vote of the Councllmembers present.)
(n) Councilmember D~scussion Items. The C~ty Clerk shall
1 ~st Counci 1member d~ scussion ~ terns in order of receipt. (No
public diSCUSSIon permitted unless consent is given by two-
thirds (2/3) vote of the Councilmembers 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 directions for changes in
the MInutes shall be made only by maJority 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 major I ty vote of the City CouncIl, such
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Minutes may be approved without readl.ng if the Cl. ty Clerk has
prevl.ously furnished each Councl.lmember with a copy.
RULE 9. PRESIDING OFFICER.
The Mayor shall be the Preslding Offl.cer 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 Clty Clerk shall call the Clty Council to
order whereupon a temporary Preslding Officer shall be elected
by the Councl1members present to serve untl1 the arrival of the
Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore or until adjournment.
RULE 10. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER.
(a) Partlcipation. The Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore or
such other member presiding may move, second and debate from the
chalr, subJect only to such 11mltations 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 actl.ng as the presidlng Officer.
(b) Duties. The presl.ding Officer shall preserve order
at all meetl.ngs of the City Council. Such Offl.cer shall state
each question coming before the City Council, announce the deci-
Slons of the Cl.ty Council on all subjects, and decide all ques-
tions of order; subJect, however, to an appeal by the Cl.ty Coun-
cil, and a majorl.ty vote of the City Council on any question of
order shall govern and determine conclusively such questl.on of
order.
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(c) Signing of Documents. The Pres~d1ng Officer shall
Slgn all ord1nances, resolutions, and other documents necessita-
t1ng signature Wh1Ch were adopted in his or her presence, unless
he or she is unavailable, ~n which case the signature of an
alternate Presiding Officer may be used. The C~ty Manager shall
execute all contracts on behalf of the City unless otherwise
ordered by the City Council. No contract shall be of any force
or effect unless authorized by the Ci ty Counc~l and approved
prior thereto by the City Attorney as to form and legality.
RULE 11. SWORN TESTIMONY.
The Presiding Officer may require any person address~ng
the City Council to be sworn as a witness and to test~fy under
oath, and the Presid~ng Off1cer shall so require if directed to
do so by a major1ty vote of the C1ty Council. Any Counci1member
may request that anyone appearing before the City Council on any
matter shall be sworn. On rece1pt of such a request, all pro-
ceed1ngs shall be suspended and the City Council will, without
debate, 1nuned1.ately vote on whether the ind1v~dual should be
sworn. A maJority vote of the Counci 1members present shall
determ1.ne whether the speaker shall be placed under oath. All
oaths will be administered by the City Clerk.
The City Counci 1 shall have the power and author1 ty to
compel the attendance of witnesses, to examine them under oath,
and to compel the product1on of eV1dence before it. Subpoenas
may be issued ~n the name of the C~ ty and be attested by the
C1.ty Clerk. Disobedience of such subpoenas, or the refusal to
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testify
(upon
other
than
constitutional
grou nds )
shall
constitute a m1sdemeanor.
RULE 12. RULES OF DEBATE.
(a) Getting the Floor. Every Counc1lmember desiring to
speak shall first address the Cha1r, gain recognition by the
Pres1d1ng Off1cer, and shall confine himself or herself to the
question under debate, avoid1ng persona11ties and decorous lang-
uage.
(b) Quest10ns to Staff. Every Counci1member deslring to
question the City Staff shall, after recognit1on by the Pres1d-
ing Officer, address h~s or her questions to the City Manager,
or the City Attorney, who shall be entl tIed to answer the
inquiry h1mse1f or herself or to designate a member of his or
her staff for that purpose.
(c) Interrupt1ons. A Councilmember, once recognized,
shall not be interrupted when speaking unless called to order by
the Presidlng Off lcer, unless a p01nt of order or a personal
prlvi lege 1S raised by another Counc1lmember, or unless the
speaker chooses to Yle1d to a question by another Councilmember.
If a Councilmember, wh1le speaklng, 1S called to order, he or
she shall cease speaking untll the question of order is deter-
mined and, if determined to be in order, may proceed. Members
of the Clty Staff, after recognitlon by the Preslding Officer,
shall hold the floor until completion of their remarks or until
recogn1tion is withdrawn by the Presiding Officer.
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Cd) P01nts of Order. The Presid1ng Officer shall deter-
mine all points of order subject to the right of any Council-
member to appeal to the C1ty Council. If an appeal is taken,
the question shall be: "Shall the decis10n of the Presiding
Off icer be sustained?" A ma]ori ty vote of the Councilmembers
then present shall conclusively determine such quest10n of
order.
(e) P01nt of Personal privilege. The right of a Council-
member to address the City Counc11 on a question of personal
pr1v1lege shall be l1m1ted to cases 1n which the Counci1member's
1ntegrity, character or motives are questioned or where the
welfare of the Cl ty Council 1S concerned. A Counc11member
raIsing a p01nt of personal privilege may interrupt another
Councilmember who has the floor only if the presidi ng Off 1cer
recognizes the pr1vi1ege.
(f) Privi1eqe of Closing Debate. The Counci1member mov-
Ing the 1ntroduction or adopt1on of an ordinance, resolution or
mot1on, shall have the priv1lege of c1os1ng debate, after all
other Counc11members have been glven an opportunity to speak.
(g) Motion to Reconsider. A motion to reconsider any
action taken by the City Council may be made only by one of the
CounC1lmembers on the prevailing side and may be seconded by any
Counc1lmember. Such motion by a prevai11ng Councilmember may be
made at any t1me and shall have precedence over all other
motions or wh1le a Councilmember has the floor and said motion
shall be debatable. A mot1on by a non-prevailing Councilmember
or a request by a member of the public for reconsideration
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may be made only if one year has passed since the action was
taken.
<h) Call~ng for the Quest~on. Ne~ther the mov~ng party
nor the party seconding any motion ~s allowed to call for the
question.
<i ) L~m~ ta tlon of Debate. No CounCllmember shall be
allowed to speak more than once upon any particular subject
until every other Councilmember desiring to do so shall have
spoken. Each Councllmember speakIng on anyone item on the
Agenda shall be limited to 10 mInutes per item to state hIS or
her opInIon and views.
RULE 13.
DEBATE.
A CouncI1member may request through the Presiding Officer
under the privilege 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 right to have the reasons
for hIS or her dissent from, or his or her protest against, any
action of the City CouncIl entered ~n the minutes. Such dissent
or protest to be entered in the m~nutes shall be made in the
following manner: "1 would like the minutes to show that I am
opposed to thIS actIon for the follOWIng reasons. . . ."
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RULE 15. RULES OF ORDER.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the C1 ty Charter,
other rules adopted by the City Counc1l, or appl1cable provi-
sions of State law, the procedures of the C1ty Council shall be
governed by the latest rev1sed edi tion 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 Councilmembers pre-
sent.
RULE 16. FAILURE TO OBSERVE RULES OF ORDER..
Rules adopted to expedite the transaction of the business
of the City Counc1l 1n an orderly fash10n are deemed to be pro-
cedural only and the fa1lure to strictly observe such rules
shall not affect the jurisdiction of the City Counc1l or 1nvali-
date any action taken at a meet1ng that is otherwise held 1n
conformity with law.
RULE 17. ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL.
(a) Registration. Each person wishing to address the
City Council regard1ng items on the Agenda where publ1c discus-
sion is perm1tted shall reg1ster first w1th the C1ty Clerk his
or her name and address prior to any discuss10n of that 1tem,
and preferably shall register pr10r to the start of the C1 ty
Counc1l Meet1ng.
(b) Manner of Address1ng the City Counc11.
desir1ng to address the City Counc1l shall step
Each person
up to the
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microphone in front of the rail, state hlS or her name and
address for the record, state the subject he or she wishes to
dl scuss, state whom he or she is representing If he or she
represents an organization or other person, and, unless further
time is granted by majority vote of the City Council, shall
llmlt hls or her remarks to flve mlnutes 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 City Staff without the permisslon of the Pre-
sldlng Offl.cer.
(c) Discretion to Liml.t Duration and Number of Speakers.
Where more than one person desires to speak on a particular
item, it shall be within the dlscretion of the preslding Officer
to liml. t the number and duration of presentations to not less
than 10 minutes for each slde gl.Vlng equal time for each posi-
tlon or sl.de. It is recommended that a spokesperson for each
sl.de be chosen prlor to the meeting and the City Clerk shall
advlse persons of thls recommendatlon. If a spokesperson has
not been selected prlor to the meeting, the ltem may be called
and the Presiding Officer may el ther pass the item or grant a
recess to permlt the selectlon of a spokesperson. The Presiding
Offlcer may also determine which persons have a predomlnate or
proprietary interest in an item and permit such person or per-
sons to speak flrst. Nothlng in this section shall be deemed to
preclude the Presiding Officer or a maJority of Councllmembers
present from allowlng extended debate on any matter.
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(d) Persons Speak~ ng on More Than One Item. Anyone
person w~shing to speak on more than one ~tem shall limlt his or
her remarks to flve minutes on the ltem he or she cons~ders most
important and three minutes on any other item unless further
time is granted by a maJority vote of the City Counc~l.
(e) After Motion. After a mot~on has been made or a pub-
lic hearing has been closed, no member of the public shall
address the C~ty Council from the audience on the matter under
consideration w~thout flrst securing permlssion to do so by a
majority vote of the City Counc~l.
RULE 18. RULES OF DECORUM.
(a) Councilmembers. When the City Council 15 in session,
Counci1members must preserve order and decorum, and a council-
member shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or
interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Clty Council nor
distrub any CounCllmember while speaking or refuse to obey the
orders of the Presiding Officer. Councilmembers shall not leave
thei r seats dur lng a meeting wi thout first obtainlng the per-
m~ssion of the Presidlng 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 Council, W~ th the exception that members of
the City Staff who are not seated at the City Council table may
leave their seats during a meetlng without first obtainlng the
permission of the Presid~ng Off~cer.
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(c) Persons Addressing the CouncIl.
(1) No person other than a CounCllmember and the
person having the floor shall be permitted to enter into discus-
sions, eIther dIrectly or through a Councllmember, without per-
miSSIon of the PresIdIng OffIcer.
(2) No questions 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 making impertinent, slanderous or
profane remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the
City CounCIl shall be called to order by the PreSIdIng Officer
and, if such conduct contInues, may at the dl scretion of the
Presiding Off icer, be barred from further audience before the
City Council during that meeting.
(d) Members of the Audience.
(1) Any person in the audience or at the City Coun-
cil table who engages in disorderly conduct such as hand clapp-
Ing, stampIng of feet, whistlIng, USIng profane language, yell-
ing, and similar demonstratIons, or who disturbs the peace and
good order of the meeting, or who refuses to comply wIth the
lawful orders of the PreSIding Officer shall be gUIlty of a mis-
demeanor and upon InstructIons from the Presiding 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 Council Chambers and to place hIm or her under
arrest.
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(2) No person shall be permitted to interrupt the
ind1v1dual Counc1lmembers or the City Clerk when the C1ty Coun-
cil 1S 1n session.
(3) Except w1th pr10r authorization of the presid-
1ng Officer, no placards, signs or posters, or packages, bund-
les, sU1tcases or other large obJects shall be brought 1nto the
City Counc11 Chambers.
(4) Unless address1ng the City Councilor entering
or leaving the City Council Chambers, all persons in the audi-
ence shall remain S1 tt1ng in the seats prov1ded. No person
shall stand or sit in the aisles or along the walls nor shall
the doorways be blocked.
(5) Except w1th pr10r authorization of the presid-
1ng Off1cer, the distribution of 11terature, of whatever nature
or kind, is proh1b1ted.
(e) Persons Author1zed to be Within Ra11. No person
except Councilmembers and C1ty Staff and recognized representa-
tives of the news media shall be perm1tted within the rail with-
out the consent of the Pres1d1ng Off1cer.
(f) Enforcement of Decorum. The Chief of Police or such
member or members of the Po11ce Department as he or she may des-
19nate, shall be Sergeant at Arms of the City Council and shall
carry out all orders g1ven by the Presiding Officer through the
City Manager for the purpose of ma1nta1n1ng order and decorum at
C1 ty Counc11 meetings. Any Councilmember may move to requ1re
the Presiding Officer to enforce the rules and the affirmat1ve
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vote of a major~ty of the City Council shall require h~m or her
to do so.
RULE 19. VOTING PROCEDURE.
Any vote of the C~ty Counc~l, including a roll call vote,
may be registered by the members by answering "Aye" for an
affirmat~ve vote or "No" for a negative vote upon h~s or her
name be~ng called by the Ci ty Clerk. Unless a member of the
City Council states that he or she is not vot~ng, s~lence shall
be recorded as an aff~rrnat~ve vote.
RULE 20. DISQUALIFICATION FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Any Counc~lmember who is disqua1~f ~ed 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 d~squalificat~on in an open meeting. Where no thoroughly
disqualifying conflict of ~nterest appears, the matter of d~s-
qualification may, at the request of the Counc~lmember affected,
be decided by the other Councilmembers. A Counci1member who is
d~squa1ifled by reason of a conflict of interest In any matter
shall not remain in his or her seat dur~ng the debate and vote
on such matter, but shall request and be given the permlssion of
the Presiding Officer to step down from the City Council table
and leave the City Counci 1 Chambers. A Councilmember stat~ng
such disquallfication shall not be counted as part of a quorum
and shall be consldered absent for the purpose of determining
the outcome of any vote on such matter.
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RULE 21. FAILURE TO VOTE
Every Counc~lmember is entitled to vote unless disquali-
fied by reason of a confl~ct of interest. A Counc~lmember who
abstains from voting in effect consents that a majority of the
quorum may dec~de the quest~on voted upon.
RULE 22. TIE VOTE.
T~e votes shall he lost mot~ons and may be reconsidered.
RULE 23. CHANGING VOTE.
The vote of a Councilmember may be changed only ~f 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 followl.ng procedure shall be followed in connection
w~th any agenda item requiring a motion:
(a) C~ty Clerk reads the title.
(b) Explanat~on by C~ ty Manager, if called for by the
Presiding Officer.
(c) Questions to Cl.ty Manager by Councilmembers.
(d) All background material complete at th~s po~nt.
(e) Publl.c to be heard subject to the ll.mitat~ons set
forth herein.
(f) Close of public discussion.
(g) pres~d~ng Off~cer to ask for a motion and second.
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(h) Mot1on and d1Scuss1on by the City Council.
(1) The maker of the mot1on to have a chance for further
d1scussion.
(]) Presiding Off1cer to restate the mot1on.
(k) Vote on the motion.
RULE 25. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND CONTRACTS.
(a) The preparation of ord1nances shall be ordered only
by a ma]Or1ty vote of the City Council, except for those ordi-
nances specif1ed 1n Section 619 of the City Charter. All ord1-
nances shall be prepared by the City Attorney.
(b) Ordinances shall be prepared accord1ng to three pri-
or1t1es. When request1ng the preparation of ord1nances, the
City Council shall instruct the C1ty Attorney as to whether the
request is "urgent." The City Attorney shall class1fy all other
requests for ordinances as IInormalll or lIextended.1I
(c) Ordinances designated as "urgent 11 shall be returned
to the City Council at the next subsequent City Council Meetlng.
Likewise, ordinances for second readlng shall be returned to the
Clty Council at the next subsequent meet1ng. Ordinances desig-
nated as "normal II or lIextended II shall be returned according to
the schedule of due dates prepared by the City Attorney.
(d) Specific due dates for each ordinance, other than
those des1gnated lIurgent, II shall he determined by the Cl ty
Attorney and due dates for all ordinances shall be communicated
to the C1ty Council in the next subsequent Agenda package. In-
sofar as practicable, the City Attorney shall endeavor to return
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ordinances to the C~ty Counc~l wh~ch have been des~gnated as
"normal" within four weeks of the request therefor.
(e) Ordinances des~gnated 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 Counc~l Meeting at
which the request ~s made.
(2) By 12:00 Noon one calendar week and two days
follow~ng sa~d meet~ng (the second Thursday following), the C~ty
Attorney shall submit drafts of requested ordinances to the C~ty
Manager for review.
(3) By 12:00 Noon one calendar week and six days
following said meeting (the second Monday following), and fol-
lowing h~s rev~ew, the C~ty Manager shall return said drafts to
the C~ty Attorney.
(4) By 10:00 a.m. two weeks and two days following
said meeting (the th~rd Thursday follow~ng), the C~ty Attorney
shall submit final documents of requested ordinances to the City
Manager, to be included in the Agenda package for the next sub-
sequent City Council Meet~ng for first reading.
(f) ResolutIons shall be prepared, when requested by the
ci ty Counci 1, in the same manner as ordi nances in the "normal"
cycle.
(g) Ordinances and resolutions may be voted on in a group
rather than separately, unless a Counci1member expresses a
desire to debate a particular ordinance or resolution, where
there is a d~vision of votes "pro" or "con" or where a specific
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number of votes is required by law, In WhlCh cases, the particu-
lar ordlnance or resolutlon shall be considered separately.
(h) A resolution, unless laid over by a majority vote of
the Cl ty Councl1, shall be acted upon on the day of presenta-
tlon.
(i) Matters comlng before the City Council in the form of
recommendatlons which require the preparation of an ordlnance
and subsequent fIrst and second readIngs shall be open to public
discussion, except at the tlme of second reading.
(j) The Presiding Officer, before calling for a motIon on
the adoption of any resolution, shall first lnquire if there is
anyone who desires to be heard on said proposed resolution. All
persons desIrIng to be heard must have reglstered with the City
Clerk, prior to the discussion of the reso1utlon, their name and
address and the resolution item they wish to speak on and the
Presiding Officer will call upon speakers from that list. Pub-
lic hearings held at the tIme of fIrst reading and introduction
of ordInances shall be conducted, Insofar as applicable, in the
same manner.
(k) At the tIme of adoption of an ordInance or a resolu-
tIon, 1 t shall be read in full unless after reading the tItle
thereof, further readlng IS waIved by a unanImous vote of the
Councilmembers present. Such consent may be expressed by a
statement of the Presiding Officer that "If there IS no objec-
tIon, the further reading of the Ordinance or Resolution 1 s
waived. "
(I) Resolutlons may be adopted by the City Council by
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tlt1e only, and the Clty Councl1 may direct that the resolutlon,
other than the title, be drafted following such adoption. In
this event, lt lS not necessary that resolutlons so adopted be
returned to the City Council after the date of their adoptlon.
(m) Contracts for WhlCh amounts have been budgeted pre-
vlously by the Clty Councl1 shall be deemed approved by the bud-
geting of such amounts and shall not be required to be presented
to the City Council for further approval or authorization for
the Cl 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, reso1ut10ns, and contract documents shall,
before presentation to the Clty Council, have been approved as
to form and legality by the City Attorney, and shall have been
examlned for admlnistratlon by the Ci ty Manager or his or her
authorized representative. No request for the preparation of an
ord1oance or other item by the Clty Councl1 shall be placed on
the Agenda before the flnal, reviewed document has been received
by the Clty Manager.
ROLE 27. INFORMAL MEETINGS.
The Clty Counel1, subJect to notice and other requirements
1mposed by law, may hold informal meetlngs in the City Council
Chamber of City Hall at such times as may be designated in an
order for a special meeting. At any such informal meeting, the
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Ci ty Councll shall not take any formal or bindlng action upon
any formal motion, resolution, ordlnance, nor any other action
required by law to be taken by the City Council. Such informal
sessions shall be devoted exclusively to the presentatlon and
exchange of lnformation.
RULE 28. JOINT MEETINGS WITH BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
The City Council, dur lng the year, shall meet Wl th the
lndividual Boards and Commlssions at least once, when feasible
with the Agenda of the Clty Councl.l, 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 COInIUl.ssion shall transmit an official
resolution or any other correspondence of sald Board or Commis-
Slon on any matter of City pollcy to any non-City Agency, Board
or CommlSSlon without 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 City Attorney or, in
their absence, thelr authorized representative, shall attend and
be present during all City Council Meetlngs and give necessary
serVlce and advice. However, any of the above is permitted to
leave the City Council Chamber after seeking and obtaining
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permissl.on from the Presiding Officer and be absent therefrom
for a period of time not to exceed 10 minutes without said
absence causing a halt l.n the Cl.ty Council proceedl.ngs.
RULE 31. ADJOURNMENT.
All City Councl.l Meetl.ngs shall adJourn at 11: 00 p.m.
unless otherwise determined by a two-thirds vote of those Coun-
cl.1members present.
RULE 32. RECORD OF MEETINGS.
All public meetl.ngs of the City Council shall be recorded
by tape recorder. The recordl.ng shall be made by the City Clerk
and shall be part of the records of the Cl.ty Councl.1. The use
of other recording or televl.sl.on equl.pment is perml.tted so long
as it l.S not dl.sruptive of the meeting.
RULE 33.
INTERPRETATION AND MODIFICATION OF THESE RULES.
These rules shall be l.nterpreted ll.berally in order to
provide for the optl.mum l.n the free l.nterchange of l.nformation
and publl.c debate without an unnecessary waste of time or
duplication of effort. These rules may be amended by resolu-
tion.
* * * *
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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 adopting, amending or
relatIng to CIty Council Rules of Order, are hereby repealed in
Its 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:
c-~..J~ .. L... ~
~-... _.~r'
ROBERT M. MYERS
CIty Attorney
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"
RULE 1
RULE 2
RULE 3
RULE 4
RULE 5
RULE 6
RULE 7
RULE 8
RULE 9
RULE 10
RULE 11
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RULES FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
Index
Tlme and Place for Ho1dlng Regular Meetlngs . . . . 1
Quorum
. 2
Meetings to be Pub1ic--Exception for
Closed Sessions . ... . ....
. 2
Agenda
. 4
Clty CouncIl Correspondence.
. . . . . 6
Order of Business . . . .
. . . . . . 8
Preparation of MInutes
10
Readlng of Minutes
10
Presiding OffIcer .
11
Powers and DutIes of Presldlng OffIcers .
11
Sworn Testimony .
12
RULE 12 Rules of Debate .
13
RULE 13 Remarks of CouncI1members and SynopsIs
of Debate . . . . . . e _ . . . . . . . . .. 15
RULE 14
Protest Against City Council Action .
15
RULE 15 Rules of Order
RULE 16
RULE 17
16
Fal1ure to Observe Rules of Order .
16
Addressing the City Councl1 .
16
18
RULE 18 Rules of Decorum
RULE 19 VotIng Procedure
21
RULE 20 DisqualificatIon for ConflIct of Interest
21
RULE 21 Failure to Vote .
22
22
RULE 22 Tie Vote
RULE 23 Changing Vote
22
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RULE 24 Procedure on Agenda Items Requiring A Motion 22
RULE 25 Ord1nances, Resolut1ons and Contracts 23
RULE 26 Prior Approva 1 By Administrative Staff . . . . . 26
RULE 27 Informal Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
RULE 28 Joint Meet1ngs W1th Boards and Comm1ssions . . . 27
RULE 29 Communications By Boards and Commissions 27
RULE 30 Presence of City Staff at City
Council Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
RULE 31 Adjournment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
RULE 32 Record of Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
RULE 33 Interpretation and Modification
of These Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
-ii-
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OF
ADOPTED AND APPROVED THIS
September t 1983.
13th
DAY
--------
/
/
n-~
--
MAYOR
~
NO.
CITY
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION
6744(CCS)WAS DULY ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
" .
OF SANTA MONICA ~T A MEETING THEREOF HELD ON
September 13 t 1983 BY THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL VOTE:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Conn, Epstein, JennIngs, Press, Reed,
Zane and Mayor Edwards
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN:
COUNCIlMEMBERS: ~one
ATTEST:
~~
CITY CLERK