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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-010 - Establishing Rules and Procedures for Meetings of the City Council(JW F: 1 /31 /08) RESOLUTION NO. 2008-010 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA ESTABLISHING RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR MEETINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines and declares as follows: A. Section 409 of the City Charter and Sections 2-100 et seq. of Santa Ana Municipal Code call for the city council to adopt rules and procedures for the scheduling and conducting of meetings of the city council. B. The Ralph M. Brown Act found at Chapter 9, Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the California Government Code beginning with Section 54950 (the "Brown Act") sets forth statewide standards for meetings of local agencies including the Santa Ana City Council. C. The city council desires to update and revise the various meeting procedures and standards for decorum of city council meetings in conformance with the Brown Act and in furtherance of the need for well- managed, efficient and accessible meetings. Section 2. Council meetings, time and place. (a) Regular meetings of the city council shall be on the first and third Mondays of each month. The meeting shall begin no sooner than the hour of 5:00 p.m. The city council shall publicly convene the meeting and then recess to conduct closed or executive sessions between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Any other sessions of the meeting shall begin at 6:00 pm. (b) Regular meetings of the city council shall be initially convened in the conference room on the eighth floor of Santa Ana City Hall and shall thereafter be adjourned to the council chambers in City Hall for all public sessions. After being convened, all meetings may be adjourned to such other place or places as the city council may order. (c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, by motion made at a regular or special meeting, the city council may change the place and time of a succeeding regular meeting. (d) If by reason of damage, repair or alteration of the structure, or other emergency, the council chambers in City Hall are determined to be unsafe, regular Resolution No. 2008-010 Page 1 of 4 meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such place as may be determined by the mayor or four (4) members of the city council. (e) Special meetings of the city council may be held at such locations as stated in the action calling such meetings and otherwise in conformance with the Brown Act. Section 3. Agenda. The clerk of the council shall prepare an agenda for each regular and special meeting of the city council containing all items known by such officer to be considered. The order of placing items on the agenda shall be approved from time to time by the city council. The agenda shall contain such information as required by the Brown Act. Section 4. Rules of Procedure. Procedures before the city council shall be governed by the most current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised. Application of such procedures shall be vested in the sound discretion of the presiding officer. Section 5. Decorum; Time limits and other regulations for speaking. (a) The city council shall preserve decorum and an orderly procedure during debate. Councilmembers desiring to speak shall seek recognition from the presiding officer. Upon being recognized, a councilmember shall confine his or her comments to the questions under debate. A councilmember, once recognized, should not be interrupted unless a point of order is raised by another member. The presiding officer should not recognize a councilmember to speak who has already spoken on a matter under debate until all other councilmembers who wish to be heard have spoken. A councilmember should limit himself or herself to three (3) minutes at any one time without permission of the presiding officer. At the end of each meeting, the presiding officer shall recognize each councilmember who may speak up to three (3) minutes on matters of public or community interest. (b) The agenda for all regular meetings of the city council shall provide members of the public the opportunity to address the city council on agendized matters and non-agendized matters as required by the Brown Act. All requests to speak shall be submitted in writing and submitted to the clerk of the council. No such requests shall be accepted after the public comment session begins without permission of the presiding officer. The ?gendas for special and emergency meetings of the city council shall provide for public comment as provided in the Brown Act. (c) Subject to (d) below, members of the public shall be given a total of three (3) minutes to address the city council on any and all matters contained on the city council agenda as well as the agendas of any of the City's related entities, such as the community redevelopment agency or the housing authority, if those entities have meetings scheduled at the same time. Resolution No. 2008-010 Page 2 of 4 (d) For public hearings, members of the public shall be given three (3) minutes to address the city council for each duly noticed hearing, unless continued prior to taking testimony. This time limitation shall not apply to the applicant appellant and/or their representative(s) whose matter is the subject of the public hearing. Applicants shall limit their presentations to a reasonable period of time, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer. (e) Following the conclusion of all agenda matters, members of the public shall be provided three (3) minutes to address the council on issues of public interest provided that they are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city council. (f) Upon being recognized by the presiding officer, a speaker shall step to the designated speaker location, state his or her name and address for informational purposes, identify the matter by agenda designation (if applicable) and direct his or her remarks to the city council as a body and not to any individual member thereof. No person other than members of the council and the person having the floor may be permitted to enter into the discussion without permission of the presiding officer. (g) It shall be within the sound discretion of the presiding officer to set a maximum time for public comment. In setting any limit, the presiding officer shall take into consideration the level of public interest in the matters in question, the length of the meeting and the need to provide for an orderly and effective meeting. As a means of limiting time while maximizing the public's opportunity to address the city council, if a group of people seeks to address the Council on the same matter or topic, the presiding officer may direct the group to designate a spokesperson or limited number of speakers to address the city council. (h) The following rules shall apply to all persons addressing the city council. All speakers shall: - direct all testimony to the city council or the presiding officer and not individual council members - when speaking on agenda matters, limit their comments to the agenda - when speaking on non-agenda matters, limit their comments to matters within the jurisdiction of the City of Santa Ana - refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, libelous or slanderous statements or other comments that disturb the decorum of the meeting. (i) The presiding officer shall have the power and responsibility to enforce decorum and order of the meeting as set forth in Section 2-104(c). Among the other means of enforcement, the presiding officer may order the podium microphone turned off and/or video broadcast interrupted. Section 6. The provisions of Section 4 and Section 5 of this resolution shall apply to meetings of committees of the city council, as may be modified from time to time by such committees. Resolution No. 2008-010 Page 3 of 4 Section 7. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the city council, and the clerk of the council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution. ADOPTED this 4tn day of February, 2008. ?_ Y I A. Puli yor AP OV FORM: Jos h .Fletcher Ci?i ney AYES: Councilmembers: Alvarez, Benavides, Bustamante, Martinez, Pulido, Sarmiento, Tinaiero (7) NOES: Councilmembers: None (O) ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: None (O) NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers: None (O) CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, PATRICIA E. HEALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached Resolution No. 2008-010 to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on February 4, 2008. Date: o? ??/®? ??? Patricia E. Healy Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana Resolution No. 2008-010 Page 4 of 4