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RES 95-04 REVISION OF RES 92-12 ESTABLISHING RULES FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGSRESOLUTION NO. 95 - 04 A RESOLUTION of the City of Bainbridge Island, Washington relating to City Council procedures; establishing rules for City Council meetings and business; and revising Resolution No. 92-12: 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 BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WASHINGTON, DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. 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 of the City Council. The Council Chair shall have the responsibilities described in Paragraphs 3A, 5D and 5G of this Resolution. Section 2. State of the 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 major accomplishments, describing the status of the personnel, equipment and finances of the City, and discussing the issues and events to come before the City during the upcoming year. Section 3. Presiding OffiCer. A. The Mayor, or in the Mayor's absence, the Council Chair, shall serve as the presiding officer at all regular and special meetings of the City Council. If neither the Mayor nor the Council Chair are present at a meeting, the presiding officer far the meeting shall be elected by a majority vote of the City Council members 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 Council procedures set forth in this Resolution. The presiding officer shah preserve strict order and decorum at City Council meetings. 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 subjects. Procedural decisions made by the presiding officer may be overruled by a majority vote of the City Council. Section 4. Elimination of Deputy Mayor Position. 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 Committees. A. The following standing committees of the City Council are-created and established: 1. Finance and Personnel Committee; 2. Public Works and Transportation Committee; 3. Human Services and Public Safety Committee; 4. Land Use Committee; 5. Economics and Community Relations Committee; 6. Operations and Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee. B. The standing committees shall inform and educate the City Council on existing City programs and issues, provide an opportunity to explore policy issues, provide an opportunity to explore policy alternatives as a part of the policy devdopment process, and make recommendations on proposed alternatives as a part 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 authority to commit the City or to take any binding action on the part 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 involved 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 be to review matters within the following subject areas: 1. Finance and Personnel Committee: Review, analyze, and recommend actions and/or policies that pertain to vouchers, budgets, and f'mancial management of the City; and the employment, compensation, benefits and other personnel issues. Review and/or recommend appointments that require City Council confirmation. ' 2. Public Works and Transportation Committee: Review, analyze and make recommendations on streets and rights-of-way, recycling, public buildings, parks and docks, transportation, and public utilities, such as water, sewer and storm drainage; 3. Human Services and Public Safety Committee: Review, analyze and make recommendations on human service issues, including social, youth, housing, senior citizens, public safety, municipal court, and marine activities. on land use planning; Land Use Committee: Review, analyze and make recommendations 5. Economics and Community Relations Committee: Review, analyze, and make recommendations regarding economic issues. Provide a liaison function between the Council and citizens by actively meeting with community groups and citizens. -.The committee should coordinate with other Council committees regarding the information it receives and issues it wishes to consider to insure there is no duplication. 6. Operations and Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee: Provides a forum for coordinating activities between the executive branch, City Council, and boards, commissions, advisory committees, and agencies of the City. Reviews and recommends names of appointees to City boards, commissions, advisory committees, and agencies for submission by the Mayor to the City Council for confirmation. Review, analyze and make recommendations on regional issues, including City policy for regional councils of governments, the City's relationship with Kitsap County and state departments, and City policy toward other local and regional governments, such as school, fire, park and sewer districts. C. Each standing committee of the City Council, except the Operations and Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee, shah consist of three City Council members. The Operations and Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee shah consist of the Mayor, the City Administrator, and three Council Members, provided, that one of the Council Members shall be the Council Chair. The Mayor and Council Chair shall co-chair the Operations and Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee. 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 committee assignments, and sham then make a recommendation to the City Council as to committee memberships. The City Council may 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, except the Council Chair, may be appointed to either two or three committees. E. Each standing 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 that 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 and Mayor. 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 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 presiding officer 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 committees. 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 who 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 committee. 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. Reading and Committee Review of Proposed Ordinances. A. Every ordinance shah receive three readings by title prior to its passage as follows: 1. The first reading shall occur at the first City Council meeting at 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 review 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 shall study 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. 2. The second reading of a proposed ordinance shah occur at the City Council meeting a~ which the standing committee or committees report the recommendation on the proposed ordinance to the City Council. 3. The third reading of a proposed ordinance shah 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, any City Council member may request the proposed ordinance 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 Council Meeting Agenda. A preliminary agenda of a regular City Council meeting shall be posted at City Hall, the City Council meeting place, the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce, the Bainbridge .Island Ferry Terminal, and the Bainbridge Island Public Library, and shall be distributed to the City's official newspaper, on or before 5:00 PM on the Friday before a regular City Council meeting. Section 9. Council Meeting Agenda. A. The agenda for each City Council meeting shall be developed by the 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 shah be available to the public at the entrance to the City Council meeting place, and shall be followed in order unless the presiding officer determines that a variation from the agenda is appropriate. The presiding officer shah announce time limits on agenda items when appropriate. B. A designated public comment period shah be placed on each City Council meeting agenda. During the public comment period, the public may bring issues 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 questions and clarify issues, but lengthy discussions shah not take place during this period. A sign-up list for the public comment period shah be made available to the public at the entrance of the City Council meeting place. Section 10. Speaking Procedures. A.' City Council member speaking procedure for an agenda item under consideration shah be as follows: 1. A City Council member desiring to speak shah address the presiding officer, and upon recognition by the presiding officer shall conf me 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 on 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 will 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 shah be limited to three minutes unless further time is given by the presiding officer. All comments shall be made to the City Council as a body and not to any individual City Council member. 3. No person shall be permitted to comment without furst being recognized by the presiding officer. The presiding officer shall recognize members of the public in the foilowing order: (a) subject under discussion; (b) agenda; Persons designated by the presiding officer to introduce the Persons whose request to be heard is contained in the written (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 meeting by the presiding officer, unless permission to continue is granted by a majority vote of the City Council. 5. Members of the public may not speak a second time until all other members of the pfiblic have been given an opportunity to speak. 6. After the public comment period is concluded, no further public comment will be permitted during City Council debate, unless in response to specific questions from City Council members. 7. The attached "Public Participation Rules of Procedure" will be made available to the public at all council meetings. Section 11. Parliamentary Procedure. Questions of parliamentary procedure 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. Minutes. A. City Council proceedings will be tape recorded. Summarized minutes of each meeting shall be prepared and provided to the City Council for review and approval. B. Tapes of the meetings 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 reasonable fee as determined by the City Clerk to cover transcription and administrative costs. PASSED by the City Council this 12th day of January, 1995. APPROVED by the Mayor this 13th day of January, 1995. ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE: JANET K. WEST, Mayor SUSAN P. KASPER, FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: January 9, 1995 PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: ~¢~y~//~, RESOLUTION NO. 95-04