HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-091-09/20/2011-AMENDING THE RULES OF PROCEDURE GOVERNING THE CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS RESOLUTION 2011-091
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING THE RULES OF PROCEDURE GOVERNING THE
CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
WHEREAS, the City Council has previously adopted rules of procedure governing the
conduct of City Council meetings (the "Rules of Procedure"); and
WHEREAS, in order to allow citizen comment regarding items originally planned for City
Council discussion but removed from the agenda, the City Council wishes to modify the Order of
Business so that review of the agenda by the City Manager will take place before Citizen
Participation; and
WHEREAS,the City Council wishes to amend Section 3a of the Rules of Procedure dealing
with citizen comment so as to eliminate the 30-minute time limit that currently exists for the Citizen
Participation segment of the Council meetings and to clarify the topics that are appropriate:for citizen
comment.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS that the following revised rules governing the conduct of all regular City Council
meetings are hereby adopted by the City Council:
Section 1. Order of Business. Council business shall be conducted in the following
order:
Proclamations and Presentations. (Prior to the meeting)
Pledge of Allegiance
Call Meeting to Order
Roll Call
Agenda Review
Citizen Participation
Citizen Participation Follow-up
Consent Calendar
Consent Calendar Follow-up
Staff Reports
Councilmember Reports
Items Needing Individual Consideration
Pulled Consent Items
Other Business
Adjournment
Section 2. Length of Meetings
a. Council meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m. Proclamations will be presented
prior to the meeting at approximately 5:30 p.m. or such earlier time as may
be necessary in order for the presentation of proclamations to end by 6:00
p.m.
b. No more than two (2) short breaks will be planned per meeting. All
Councilmembers and staff will return to their seats in the Council Chambers
at the conclusion of each ten-minute break. The Mayor will resume the
meeting at the prescribed time.
C. Every Council meeting will end no later than 10:30 p.m.,except that: (1)any
item of business commenced before 10:30 p.m.may be concluded before the
meeting is adjourned and(2)the City Council may, by majority vote,extend
a meeting until no later than 12:00 a.m. for the purpose of considering
additional items of business. Any matter,which has been commenced and is
still pending at the conclusion of the Council meeting, and all matters
scheduled for consideration at the meeting which have not yet been
considered by the Council, will be continued to the next regular Council
meeting and will be placed first on the discussion agenda for such meeting.
Section 3. Citizen Comment.
a. During the"Citizen Participation"segment of each meeting,citizen comment
will be allowed on matters of interest or concern to citizens other than the
following:
(1) items to be considered by the City Council under the discussion
agenda for that night's meeting;
(2) a pending land use proposal that, if approved by the Planning and
Zoning Board or hearing officer, would be subject to appeal to the
City Council.
A maximum of five (5) minutes will be allowed per speaker. In order to
determine the actual amount of time to be allotted to each speaker,the Mayor
will ask for a show of hands by all persons intending to speak. If the;number
of persons intending to speak is more than six(6),the Mayor will shorten the
allotted time in order to allow as many people as possible to address the
Council within a reasonable period of time given the scheduled agenda.
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b. Citizen input will be received with regard to: (i)each item on the discussion
agenda, (ii)each item pulled from the consent agenda,and(iii)any item that
is addressed by formal Council action under the "Other Business" segment
of the meeting that may directly affect the rights or obligations of any
member of the general public. Such citizen input will be permitted only once
per item regardless of the number of motions made during Council's
consideration of the item.
C. The time limits for individual citizen comments regarding agenda items will
be established by the Mayor prior to each such item. In order to determine
the amount of time to be allotted to each speaker, the Mayor will ask for a
show of hands by all persons intending to speak to the item. If the number
of persons indicating an intent to speak to an item is twelve(12)or less,each
speaker will generally be allowed five(5)minutes. If the number of persons
indicating an intent to speak to an item is thirteen(13)or more, each speaker
will generally be limited to three(3)minutes per item. However,the Mayor
may increase or decrease the time limits per speaker as he or she deems
necessary to facilitate the City Council's understanding of the item, or to
allow the Council to consider and act upon the item in a timely fashion.
d. Any determination of the Mayor with regard to the foregoing time limits may
be overridden by a majority vote of the Council.
Section 4. Council Questions and Debate.
Council questions and debate regarding an agenda item will occur immediately following
citizen input and prior to entertaining any main motion related to the item. Except when raising a
point of order, Councilmembers seeking to ask questions or participate in debate will do so only
when called upon by the Mayor. The Mayor may limit or curtail questions or debate as he or she
deems necessary for the orderly conduct of business, except as overridden by a majority of
Councilmembers present and voting, pursuant to a point of order. No Councilmember will speak
to an item more than once until all other Councilmembers have had an opportunity to be heard.
Section 5. Basic Rules of Order.
The following commonly used rules of order will govern the conduct of City Council
business. Except as specifically noted, all motions require a second. These rules of order are based
upon Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised and have been modified as necessary to conform to
existing practices of the Council and to the requirements of the City Charter. For example, while
a two-thirds vote is necessary for the passage of some of the motions listed below under Robert's
Rules of Order,all motions of the Council,except a motion to go into executive session or a motion
to adopt an emergency ordinance,may be adopted upon approval of a majority vote of the members
present at a Council meeting, pursuant to Art. II, Sec. 11 of the City Charter.
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If there is a question of procedure not addressed by these rules, reference shall be made to
Robert's Rules of Order for any needed clarification or direction. In the event of any conflict
between these rules of order and Robert's Rules of Order, these rules of order shall prevail. In the
event of any conflict between these rules of order or Robert's Rules of Order and the City Charter
or City Code provisions, the City Charter or City Code provision shall prevail.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 20th
day of September A.D. 2011.
M or
d R T
ATTEST:
SEAL :
Chief Deputy City Clerk
coo OL OR Nv
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