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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-043 - Rules and Procedures for Meetings of the City Council(JWF: 8I3l09) RESOLUTION I` . 2009 -043 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL F THE CITY F SANTA ANA ESTABLISHING RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR MEETINGS F THE CITY COUNCIL AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2008-010. E IT RESOLVED PY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY F 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 h II,II. Brown Act found at Chapter g, Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 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. (b) Regular meetings of the city council shall be initially convened in the conference room on the eighth floor of Santa Ana City Hall (unless another location is specified in the meeting notice) and shall thereafter be adjourned to the council chambers in City Nall for all public sessions, except as provided in below. After being convened, all meetings may be adjourned to such other place or places as the city council may order. Resolution No. 2009 -043 Page 1 of (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 ball are determined to be unsafe, regular meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such place as may be determined by the mayor or four 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. Coun ilrner bers 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 coun ilmember to speak who has already spoken on a ratter under debate until all other councilmembers who wish to be heard have spoken. A oun ilmember 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 agendi ed matters and non -agen i ed 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 Resolution lo. 2009 -043 Page 2 of 5 presiding officer. The agendas 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 horsing authority, if those entities have meetings scheduled at the same time. (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 taping testimony. This time limitation shall not apply to the applicant/appellant and or their representatives) whose natter 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 ratter jurisdiction of the city council. Upon being recognized by the presiding officer, a speaker shall step to the designated'' speaker location, Mete his or her name and address for informational purposes, identify the ratter 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 eater 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 natters 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 sane 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 ales 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 natters, limit their comments to the agenda, -when speaking on non- agenda clutters, limit them- comments to matters within the jurisdiction of the City of Santa Ana, and - refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, libelous or slanderous statements or other comments that disturb the decorum of the meeting. Resolution No. 2009 -043 Wage 3 of (i) The presiding officer shall have the power and responsibility to enforce decorum and order of the meeting as set forth in Section 2 -0. 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. Section 7. This Resolution tlon shall supersede Resolution tlon Zoo -o and shall fake effect immediately upon its adoption by the city council. The clerk of the council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution. ADOPTED this 3rd day of August, 2009. APPROV Jos h F alt,: Ve AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: S To FORM: eta er-' Conollrnerbers: Benavides Bustamante Martinez Plido Sarmlento Tina`ero (6) Conollrnenbers Co n llmer bens: NOT PRESENT: T: Co nollmer hers: Resolution No. 2009 -043 Page None 0 None 0 Alvarez (1) CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND I IGII ALIT I, PATRICIA E. H ALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached Resolution Ito. 2009 -043 ' to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on August 3, 2009. Date: Patricia E, ealy Clerk of the Council Resolution Igo. 2009 -043 Page 5 of