91-34 CITY COUNCIL PROCEDURES01,'13/92 15:51 FAX 206 885 511211 INSLEE,BEST lgI002.,"t)9
RESOLUTION NO. 9 1- 34
A RESO~ITION of the City of Winslow,
Washington, relating to City Council
procedures; establishing rules for City
Council meetings and business; providing for
a Council Chair, a presiding officer, and
City Co~lncil standing committees; and
eliminating the office of Deputy Mayor.
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to establish a format to
regulate its affairs and enhance its policy making functions in
a manner which is in the best interests of the City; noW,
therefore,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY oF WINSLOW,
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
WASHINGTON, DOES
~ec~ion ~. Council Chair. At the first regular meeting in
January of each year, the members of the City Council shall
elect, from their number, a Council Chair who shall hold office
at the discretion ofthe City Council. The Council Chair shall
have the responsibilities described in Paragraphs 3A, 5D and 5G
of this Resolution.
SectiOn 2. ~tate of ~he city. At the first regular
meeting in January of each year, the Mayor shall report to the
City Council on the "state of the City" by itemizing the
previous year's ~tajor accomplishments, describing the status of
the personnel, 6:quipment and finances of the city, and
discussing the is;sues and events to come before the City during
the upcoming year.
sectiDn 3. Pa~esidinu Officer.
A. The Mayor, or in the Mayor's absence, the Council
Chair, shall se]~e as the presiding officer at all regular and
special meetings of the City Council. If neither the Mayor nor
the Council Cha2r are present at a meeting, the presiding
officer for the meeting shall be elected by a majority vote of
the City Council ]~embers present at the meeting.
B. The Council Chair or City Council member serving as
presiding officer at a City Council meeting shall not lose the
right to vote on matters coming before the City Council.
C. The function of the presiding officer is to facilitate
the orderly flow of City Council business in accordance with
the City Counci~ procedures set forth in this Resolution. The
presiding officer shall preserve strict order and decorum at
cab/~ ?'5 1R
01,'13,'92 15:51 FAX 206 885 5101 INSLEE,BEST [~]003,'009
City Council mee~:ings. The presiding officer shall state all
questions coming before the City Council, provide opportunity
for comment from 'the public and staff and discussion by Council
members and the Mayor, and announce the decision of the City
CounCil on all ~ubjects. Procedural decisions made by the
presiding officer may be overruled by a majority vote of the
City Council.
Sect~Qn 4. Elimination of Deputy May_or Po~iti0n. The
position of deputy mayor iS eliminated. In the Mayor's
absence, the City Administrator shall perform the executive
functions previously performed by the Deputy Mayor.
Section 5. Council Co/nmit~ee~.
A. The following standing committees of the City council
are created and established:
1. Fin0nce and Personnel Committee;
2. Public Works and Transportation Committee;
3. Hume.n Services and Public Safety Committee;
4. Land Use and Economic Issues Committee;
5- Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
B. The standing committees shall inform and educate the
City Council on existing City programs and issues, provide an
opportunity to e:~lore policy issues. provide an opportunity to
explore policy alternatives as a pa~t of the policy development
process, and make recommendations on proposed legislation
within their areas of responsibility before the legislation is
voted on by the City Council. The committees shall have no
power or authorit]~ to commit the City or to take any binding
action on the ]~art of the City Council or the City. The
committees shall be concerned primarily with policy matters and
matters vested in the legislative body of the City, and shall
not become involv.~d in the supervision of the City departments
or the administration of the City government. Official
correspondence which expresses the City's position on any issue
must be signed by the Mayor. In general, the purpose of each
committee shall ~e to review matters within the following
subject areas:
1. Finance and Personnel Committee: Review, analyze
and make recommendations on appointments which require City
Council confirmation, and on budgetary, employment,
compensation, benefits, and personnel policies.
adtlcab/1751R
- 2 -
01,'13,'92 1.5:.~2 FAX 206 885.51(11 INSLEE,BEST ~]')~4,'((9
2. Publ.[c Works and Transportation Committee:
Review, analyze and make recommendations on streets and
rights-of-way, recycling, public buildings, parks, docks,
transportation an,~ public utilities, such as water, sewer and
storm drainage;
3. Human Services and Public Safety Committee:
Review, analyze ~nd make recommendations on human service
issues, including social, youth, housing, and senior citizens,
public safety, and municipal oourt;
4. Land
analyze and make
including economic
comprehensive plan.
Use and Economic Issues Committee: Review,
recommendations on land use planning,
issues relating to land use and the City's
5. Intergovernmental Relations Committee: Review,
analyze and make. recommendations on regional issues, including
City policy for rE.gional councils of governments, the City's
relationship with. Kit~ap County and state departments, and City
policy toward othe:r local and regional governments, such as
school, fire, park and sewer districts.
c. Each standing committee of
consist of three City Council members.
the
City Council shall
D. Standing committee membership shall be assigned on an
annual basis. After the Council Chair is elected, the Council
Chair shall consult with the City Council members and the Mayor
regarding standi~g committee assignments and appointees to City
Boards, Commissions, and Agencies and shall then make
recommendations 1:o the City Council. The City Council shall
approve or modify the recommendations of the Council Chair.
The Council Chair shall also make recommendations regarding
chairs for each committee, giving due regard to seniority,
previous experience and expertise. No City Council member may
serve as chair of more than one committee. Each City Council
member may be appointed to either two or three committees.
E. Each st.=nding committee shall meet on a regular,
announced basis. Each City department head should attend
meetings Of the committee which has responsibility for City
policies concerning tha= department. The City Administrator
and Mayor may attend committee meetings as desired.
F. The standing committees shall consider, review and
make recommendations to the City Council concerning matters
referred to them by the City Council. The Mayor, committee
chairs, and City boards, agencies, and commissions are
encouraged to suggest items to the City Council which should be
considered by a committee. Each committee shall have general
responsibility as indicated in Paragraph B of this section to
adttcab/17511~
- 3 -
u1./13.'92 15:53 FAX 206 ~$5 5101 INSLEE,BEST ~]005,'009
investigate, collect and review appropriate information for the
formulation of possible City Council action, and to make
recommendations to the City Council.
G. Whenever an item is referred to a standing committee,
the City Council shall establish a date by which the committee
shall report back to the City Council. The Council Chair shall
monitor the issues being considered by each committee, and
report periodically to the City Council and Mayor on' the
progress of the cmmmittees. If the City Council concludes that
a committee is not making satisfactory progress on an issue,
the City Council by a majority vote may remove the issue from
the committee and bring the issue before the City Council for
action.
H, At the City Council meeting designated for a committee
recommendation, in the appropriate place on the City Council
agenda, a report from the standing committee shall be made by
the standing committee chairperson or an alternate designated
by the chairperson. A minority report may be given by any
committee member %~o dissents from the report by the majority.
Oral reports shall be sufficient, unless the City Council by a
majority vote directs the committee to prepare a written report.
I. When necessary, the Mayor may assign staff assistance
to a standing com~ittee.
Section 6. Attendance at Council Meetings. The City
Administrator, City Attorney, and city department heads should
attend all City Council meetings. The presiding officer may
excuse the city Attorney and any staff member when their
attendance is clearly not necessary.
Section 7. b~ading and Committee Review of Proposed
~Tdinances.
A. Every ordinance shall receive three readings by title
prior to its passage as follows:
1. The first reading shall occur at the first City
Council meeting a'= which the proposed ordinance is brought
before the City council. At this meeting, the presiding
officer shall assign the proposed ordinance to a standing
committee for r~view and recommendation. If two or more
committees have jurisdiction over the proposed ordinance, the
presiding officer shall determine which committee will be
assigned the proposed ordinance, or whether two or more
committees ~hall ~tudy different aspects of the proposed
ordinance. Multiple committee review may be done
concurrently. The presiding officer shall set a date on which
the assigned committee or committees shall report to the City
Council on the proposed ordinance.
~dt/cab/175 11~
- 4 --
01,'13,'92 15:53 FAX 206 885 5101 INSLEE,BEST [~006,'009
2. The second reading of a proposed ordinance shall
occur at the Ci'cy Council meeting at which the standing
committee or co~mmittees report the recommendation on the
proposed ordinance to the City Council.
3. The third reading of a proposed ordinance shall
occur at the City Council meeting at which the City Council
votes on the proposed ordinance.
B. The City Council may take public input on the proposed
ordinance at any of the three readings of the proposed
ordinance, or at such other time as the city council deems
appropriate. Generally, the City Council shall take public
input at the second reading of the proposed ordinance.
C. Prior to calling for a vote on a proposed ordinance,
the presiding oificer shall inquire of the City Cguncil as to
whether the same should be read in full. If any City Council
member so requests, the proposed ordinance shall be read in
full, unless a full reading is declared unnecessary by a vote
of one more than a majority of the City Council.
D. The City Council may, at any time, modify or waive the
three reading procedure described above, for any proposed
ordinance, or standing committee review of any proposed
ordinance, by a vote of one more than a majority of City
Council members present.
Section 8. Preliminary C~uncil Meeting Aqen~a. A
prelimina'ry agenda of a'regula~ City ~ouncil meeting shall be
posted at City Mall, the City Council meeting place and the
Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce, and shall be distributed
to the City's official newspaper, on or before 5:00 p.m. on the
Friday before a regular City council meeting.
$ection 9.. ~)uncil Meetinq Age~da.
A. The agenda for each City Council meeting shall be
developed by th~ Mayor after consultation with the Council
Chair and City Administrator. City Council members may have an
item placed on 'the agenda by submitting the request in writing
to the MayOr with copy to the Council Chair at least five
business days prior to the next scheduled Council meeting. The
agenda ~hall be available to the public at the entrance to the
City Council me-~ting place, and shall be followed in order
unless the presiding officer determines that a variation from
the agenda is appropriate. The presiding officer shall
announce time limits on agenda items when appropriate.
B. A designated public comment period shall be placed on
each City Council meeting agenda for approximately 8:30 p.m.
During the public access period, the public may bring issues
cab/17'j 1.
- 5 -
01,'13;92 15:54 FAX 21216 885 5101 INSLEE,BEST li~007,'009
not on the agenda to the City Council's attention and inform
the City Council of the public's concerns. The City Council
may answer que~tions and clarify issues, but lengthy
discussions shall ~lot take place during this period. A sign-up
list for the pu]31ic access period shall be made available to
the public at the .~ntrance of the City Council meeting place.
Section..10. ~?~akin~ ProcedureS.
A. City Council member speaking procedure
item under consideration shall be as follows:
for an agenda
1. A City Council member desiring to speak shall
address the presiding officer, and upon recognition by the
presiding officer shall confine the statement to the question
under discussion.
2. Any City Council member, while speaking, shall
not be interrupted unless it is to call that member to order.
3. No City Council member shall speak a second time
upon the same issue before opportunity has been given each City
Council member to speak on that issue.
B. Audience member speaking procedure, when addressing
the City Council c.n items under consideration, is as follows:
1. The public may be permitted to speak at a
designated time prior to the City Council voting on any
ordinance, resolution or motion. When deemed appropriate, a
sign-up list wi].l be made available to the public at the
entrance of the City Council meeting place.
2. In addressing the City Council, each person shall
stand and, after recognition by the presiding officer, state
the person's name. Each person's comments shall be limited to
three minutes unless further time is given by the presiding
officer. All co~ents shall be made to the City Council as a
body and not to aBy individual City Council member.
3. No person shall be permitted to comment without
first being recognized by the presiding officer. The presiding
officer ~hall r,~cognize member~ of the ~ublic in the following
order:
(a) Persons designated by the presiding officer
to introduce the :~ubject under discussion;
(b) Persons whose
contained in the written agenda;
request to be heard is
adt/cab/l~lR
- 6 -
0i,'13.'92 18:55 FAX 206 885 5101 INSLEE,BEST [g]008,'009
(c) Persons listed on the public sign-up list;
(d) Persons seeking recognition from the floor.
4. Any 'perSon whose conduct is abusive or disruptive
to the City Council meeting may be prohibited from further
speaking and audience participation, or may be removed from the
City Council meetin? by the presiding officer, unless
permission to continue Ks granted by a majority vote of the
City Council.
B. Members of the public may not speak a second time
until all other members of the public have been given an
opportunity to speak.
6. After the public comment period is concluded, no
further public co~ent will be permitted du~ing City Council
debate, unless in response to specific questions from City
council members.
7. The
Procedure" will
meetings.
attached "Public Participation Rules of
be made available to the public at all council
Section 11. P.~rliamentary Pr0c~dure. Questions of
parliamentary prc~cedure shall be governed by Robert's Rules of
Order, Newly Revised (latest edition). All City Council
members and the Mayor shall have an abbreviated version of the
Rules of Order, if available, in City Council notebooks.
.Section 12. l~inUtes.
A. City Council proceedings will be tape recorded.
Summarized minutes of each meeting shall be prepared and
provided to the C.Lty Council for review and approval.
B. Tapes of the meeting~ will be retained for 90 days
during which tim~ they will be made available to the public for
listening or copying. If any person other than a City employee
wishes to obtain a verbatim copy of a tape or any portion of a
tape, he or she 'may do so by paying a ~ea~onable fee a~
determined by ~he City Clerk to cover transcription and
administrative costs.
C. After the summarized minutes have been approved by the
City Council or 90 days has elapsed from the date of a meeting,
whichever is later, the tapes shall be erased. However, if the
city Clerk determines that a meeting included a public hea~ing,
adt/cab/l~1 P-
- 7 -
quasi-judicial hearing, appeal of a land use matter, or other
similar proceedings, the tapes will not be erased but will be
retained until the completion of the pertinent matter.
PASSED by the City Council this
199~!.
19th day of December
APPROVED
19991 .
by the Mayor this l c~th day of December
ATTES T/AUTHENT I CATE:
Ralph Eells, City Clerk
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK:
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
RESOLUTION NO.: 91-34
December 19, 1991
adt/cab/1751R
-- 8 --
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
AUDIENCE COMMENTS
This is an opportunity for the public to address the City Administration and Council on problems, issues,
or items of concern. This is not an appropriate time to make comments on items scheduled elsewhere
on the Agenda or items which will be heard in a Public Hearing. Essentially, this opportunity is an oral
substitute for a letter, although the latter is preferred so that the facts and observations can be
reviewed in a more orderly and efficient manner.
Method
When recognized by the Chair, those desiring to speak should stand and state their full name, address
and relationship to the City (e.g., City Pesident, City property owner, business owner/employee, etc).
Comments may be used to summarize an issue, with a memorandum of the particulars being submitted
to the Clerk. A three (3) minute limit must be strictly observed.
Response
A response may be made by the Administration or Council immediately or the issue may be referred
to the AdmEnistration or a Council Committee for a later response.
AGENDA ITEMS
The public may address the Council on items scheduled on the Agenda, if time permits. Essentially,
this opportunity is an oral substitute for a letter, although the latter is preferred so that the facts and
observations can be reviewed in a more orderly and efficient manner.
PUBLIC HEARING
The purpose of a public hearing is for citizens, taxpayers and others to provide the Council with
information and opinions on the subject for which the hearing was convened. It is an official "on-the-
record", one-way communication geared toward giving Council Members data they should consider
in their decision-making process.
How to
1)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Participate
Individuals desiring to speak may be asked to sign up prior to the hearing or the chair may
simpiy declare the hearing open and call for comments for or against the issue.
Those desiring to speak are called by the Chair. They should state their name, address and
relationship to the City (e.g., City resident, City property owner, business owner/employee,
etc.) and give their testimony.
Statements should be limited in length. Complex information should be put in writing with
copies provided to the Clerk for insertion into the record and distribution to the Council.
Repetition should be avoided. Unless new information is available, support or disagreement
should be simply stated, if previous speakers have made the same points.
To allow every participant a fair opportunity to be heard, statements shall not exceed five (5)
minutes in duration.
Council Members, Administration and other members of the audience will remain silent during
testimony so that each point of view-and information can be fairly considered. Questions will
not be answered during the testimony portion of the hearing. The Council may consider these
remarks and questions during their deliberation.
When the last person has been caIled (or the predetermined completion time has arrived)'the
Chair will close the public portion of the hearing and open the subject for Council
discussion/decision.
QUASI-JUDICIAL PUBLIC HEARING
In order to allow every participant a fair opportunity to be heard, statements should not exceed five
(5) minutes in duration during quasi-judicial public hearings (which shall be announced as such by the
Chair). Each person will be allowed a second opportunity to speak, but no person may speak a second
time until everyone has had an opportt]nlty to address the Council.