Chapter 2.02.090 Meetings--Rules.

B. Duties of Presiding Officer. The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum and may speak to points of order in preference to other members, and shall decide all questions of order, subject to appeal.

In case of any disturbances or disorderly conduct, the presiding officer shall have the power to remove the offender(s) from the chambers, except that council members may not be expelled for disorderly conduct, except on the concurrence of two-thirds vote of the aldermen elected, in accordance with the provisions of subsection E of this section.

C. Duties of Members. Every member, previous to his speaking, making a motion or seconding the same shall not proceed with his remarks until recognized and named by the chair. He shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding personalities and refraining from impugning the motives of any other member’ s argument or vote.

D. Visitors. No person other than a member of the council shall address that body, except with the consent of the mayor or majority of members present.

E. Censure of Members--Expulsion of Members. Any member acting or appearing in a lewd or disgraceful manner, who uses opprobrious, obscene and insulting language to or against any member of the council, or who does not obey the order of the chair, or who otherwise engages in disorderly conduct, shall be on motion, censured by a majority vote of the members present, or expelled by a two-thirds vote of all aldermen elected.

G. Call of Members to Order. A member, when called to order by the chair, shall thereupon discontinue speaking and take his seat and the order or ruling of the chair shall be binding and conclusive, subject only to the right to appeal.

H. Appeals from Decision of the Chair. Any member may appeal to the council from a ruling of the chair, and, if the appeal is seconded, the member making the appeal may briefly state his reason for the same, and the chair may briefly explain his ruling; but there shall be no debate on the appeal and no other person shall participate in the discussion. The chair shall then put the question, "Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?" If a majority of the members present vote "No," the decision of the chair shall be overruled; otherwise it shall be sustained.

I. Question of Personal Privilege. The right of a member to address the council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which his integrity, character or motives are assailed, questioned or impugned.

J. Special Order of Business. Any matter before the city council may be set down as a special order of business at a time certain, if a majority of the members present vote in the affirmative.

K. Seconding of Motions Required; Written Motions. No motion shall be put or debated in the meeting, nor in committee unless it be seconded. When a motion is seconded, it shall be stated by the presiding officer before debate, and every motion in the council, except motions of procedure shall be reduced to writing, if required by a member, and the proposer of the motion shall be entitled to the floor.

L. Withdrawal of Motions. After a motion or resolution is stated by the presiding officer, it shall be deemed to be in possession of the council, but it may be withdrawn at any time before decision, by consent of the council.

M. Division of Questions. If any question under consideration contains several distinct propositions, the aldermen, by a majority vote of the members present may divide such question.

N. Record of Motions. In all cases where a resolution or motion is entered in the journal, the name of the member moving the same shall be entered also.

O. Taking and Entering the Votes--Explanations of Votes Not Permitted. The "yeas" and "nays" upon any question shall be taken and entered in the journal.

When the clerk has commenced to call the roll of the council for the taking of a vote by yeas and nays, all debate on the question before the council shall be deemed concluded, and during the taking of the vote, no member shall be permitted to explain his vote, but shall respond to the calling of his name by the clerk, by answering "yea," or "nay," as the case may be.

Q. Precedence of Motions. When a question is under debate, the following motions shall be in order and shall have precedence over each other in order, as listed:

A motion simply to adjourn shall not be subject to amendment or debate, but a motion to adjourn to a time certain shall be.

The city council may, at any time, adjourn over one or more regular meetings, on a vote of a majority of all the aldermen present.

S. Previous Question. When the previous question is moved on the main question, and seconded, it shall be put on this form: "Shall the main question now be put?". If such motion be carried, all further amendments and all further motions and debate shall be excluded, and the question put without delay, upon the pending amendment in proper order, and then upon the main question.

T. Motions to Lay on the Table and to Take From the Table. A motion simply to lay the question on the table shall not be debatable, but a motion to lay on the table and publish, or with any other condition shall be subject to amendment and debate.

A motion to take any motion or other proposition from the table may be proposed at the same meeting at which such motion or proposition was laid upon the table, provided two-thirds of the aldermen vote therefor.

A motion to lay any particular motion or proposition on the table shall apply to that motion or proposition only. An amendment to the main question or other pending question may be laid on the table and neither the main question nor such other pending question shall be affected thereby.

U. Indefinite Postponement--Motion to Defer or Postpone Without Any Reference to Time. When consideration of a motion or other proposition is postponed indefinitely, it shall not be again taken up at the same meeting.

A motion to defer or postpone, without any reference to time, shall not be construed as a motion to postpone indefinitely, but shall be considered to be of the same general nature, and to possess the same general attributes so far as applicable under these rules, as a motion to postpone indefinitely or to a time certain.

V. Motion to Refer. A motion to refer to a standing committee shall take precedence over a similar motion to refer to a special committee.

W. Motion to Amend. A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be entertained.

An amendment modifying the intention of a motion shall be in order; but an amendment relating to a different subject shall not be in order.

On an amendment to "Strike Out and Insert," the paragraph to be amended shall first be read as it stands, then the words proposed to be stricken out, then those to be inserted, and finally, the paragraph as it will stand if so amended shall be read.

An amendment to the main question or other pending questions may be referred to a committee and neither the main question nor such other pending question shall be affected thereby.

X. Filling of Blanks. When a blank is to be filled, and different sums or times proposed, the question shall be taken first on the least sum or the longest time.

Y. Motion to Substitute. A substitute for any original proposition under debate or for any pending amendment or such proposition may be entertained notwithstanding that at such time further amendment is admissible; and if accepted by the aldermen by a vote, shall entirely supersede such original proposition or amendment as the case may be and cut off all amendments appertaining thereto.

Z. Reconsideration. A vote or question may be reconsidered at any time during the same meeting, or at the first regular meeting held thereafter. A motion for reconsideration, having been once made and decided in the negative, shall not be renewed, nor shall a motion to reconsider be reconsidered.

A motion to reconsider must be made and seconded by members who voted on the prevailing side of the question to be reconsidered, unless otherwise provided by law; provided, however, that where a motion has received a majority vote in the affirmative, but is declared lost solely on the ground that a greater number of affirmative votes is required by statute for the passage or adoption of such motion, then in such case, a motion to reconsider may be made and seconded only by those who voted in the affirmative on such question to be reconsidered.

AA. Adoption of Robert’ s "Rules of Order Revised." The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in the latest published edition of Robert’ s "Rules of Order Revised" shall govern the council in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the rules of the council adopted by ordinance.

BB. Temporary Suspension of Rules--Amendment of Rules. These rules may be temporarily suspended by a vote of two-thirds of all members entitled by law to be elected and shall not be repealed, altered or amended, unless by concurrence of two-thirds of all the members entitled by law to be elected. (Prior code § 2-2-1)