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ORD 2008-30 - Amend Council ROP Section 3 - 08-19-2008ORDINANCE NO. 2008 -30 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS, AMENDING THE RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL; MAKING VARIOUS OTHER FINDS AND PROVISIONS RELATED THERETO; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Section 4.08 of the City Charter of the City of Huntsville states that "The Council shall by ordinance determine its own rules and order of business'; and WHEREAS, City Council adopted Rules of Procedure by Ordinance 2004 -21 on November 9, 2004; as amended by Ordinance 2006 -03 on January 17, 2006; NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Huntsville, Texas, that: Section 1: The Rules and Procedures for the City Council of the City of Huntsville are hereby amended as Exhibit 1. Section 2: This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its passage by the City Council PASSED AND APPROVED on this the 19th day of August 2008. CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS Turner, Mayor 0 Brim, City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: I. Thomas A. Leep¢r City Attorney ORDINANCE 2008 -30 Exhibit 1 Section 3 — SESSIONS 31. Regular Sessions. The city council shall conduct regular sessions generally on the first (0) and third (3`d) Tuesdays of each month. All regular sessions shall normally be scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall and are open to the public. 12. Special Sessions. In accordance with Section 4.07 (Meetings of the Council) of the City Charter, "special meetings may be called at any time by the Mayor, the City Manager, or by a majority of the councilmembers qualified and serving by giving notice to the City Secretary who shall in turn give notice of such special meetings to all members of the Council at least seventy -two (72) hours prior to such meeting. Provided, however, any member of the Council may either before or after such meetings waive such notice." Special Sessions are open to the public. 3.3. Workshop Sessions. Workshop sessions may be scheduled by the Mayor, a majority of Councilmembers or by the City Manager. They are normally conducted prior to regular or special sessions but may also be conducted at other times as well. Their purpose is to exchange information between Council, staff, vendors or other groups. No official action is taken by Council during these sessions, but workshops shall be posted and are open to the public. 3.4 Executive Sessions. The city council may meet in executive session under the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act. No vote shall be taken in an executive session on any matter under consideration nor shall any city council member enter into a commitment with another respecting a vote to be taken subsequently in a public meeting of the city council. The city council shall follow both the letter and the spirit of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Closed executive sessions shall be kept to a minimum. 3.5 Public Hearings. Public hearings may be scheduled to present evidence on both sides of issues). Some public hearings are required by state law such as approving an annual budget and setting a tax rate. Others are conducted voluntarily to obtain a full range of citizen input on important matters, such as a proposed bond issue. Public hearings may be scheduled as part of a Regular Session or on other- occasions as necessary. 3.6 Town Hall Meetings. Town hall rnectings may be scheduled periodically for the purpose of open discussion with citizens of Huntsville on specific issues or general matters regarding the activities of the City. Action may not be taken by the city council at a town hall meeting. If any action is indicated, the matter will be scheduled as an agenda item at a regular session of the city council. Any citizen may participate in a town hall meeting, and there is no requirement to sign up to speak prior to the meeting. 3.7. Public Notice. The agenda for all meetings and the notice listing items to be considered shall be posted by the city secretary on the City's office bulletin board in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act [Chapter 551, Texas Government Code]. 3.8 Quorum. Five members shall constitute a quorum to legally conduct city business, and a majority of those present shall be necessary to adopt any ordinance or resolution. In the case of council committees, the presence of two councilmembers assigned to the committee shall constitute a quorum to make further recommendations to the City Council. 3.9 City Manager Participation. The city manager, or acting city manager, shall attend all meetings of the city council unless excused by the mayor. The city manager may make recommendations to the city council and shall have the right to take part in all discussions, but shall have no vote. 3,10 City Attorney Participation. The city attorney, or designated assistant city attorney, shall attend all meetings of the city council unless excused by the mayor and shall, upon request, give an opinion, either written or oral, on questions of law. The Mayor may appoint a Councilmember to act as parliamentarian. 3.11 City Secretary Participation. The city secretary or designated deputy city secretary shall attend all meetings of the city council Curless excused by the mayor and shall keep accurate records of all actions taken by the city council. 3.12 City Department Head Participation. The city staff department heads shall be available in City HaII during all city council regular sessions to respond to inquiries made by the city council, unless excused by the city manager. The city council may request the presence of specific department heads or staff members, through the city manager, for other meetings or sessions. 3.13 Agenda. a. The mayor, councilmembers, city manager, city attorney, and the city secretary may place items on the agenda. Agenda items shall be submitted in written form to the city secretary in accordance with subsection 3.13 b. The city secretary will coordinate the placement of items on the agenda with the city manager who will resolve any conflicts with mayor and councilmembers. Agenda items may be removed only by the person who initially placed that item on the agenda. b. Items to be placed on the agenda, including any necessary or applicable supporting documents and materials to be included in agenda packets must be submitted to the city secretary in order to allow compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act 72 -hour notice provision. To that end agenda items and supporting materials should 'be, whenever possible, presented to the city secretary not - later -than 12:00 o'clock noon on the 12`s day preceding the next scheduled council meeting. Matters for the agenda that arise within the 12 -day period should be submitted as soon as possible. c. The City Secretary shall submit a draft agenda to the council, city manager, and city attorney on or before the Wednesday- preceding the next scheduled council meeting for review and revision. d. The agenda packets for all regular sessions will be available in City Hall after 4:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the following Tuesday meeting, or on the fifth day preceding for meetings not on Tuesdays. e. The city secretary will make available to the local media a copy of the agenda and ensure that the agenda is posted to the City web site seventy two (72) hours prior to the meeting. f. The city secretary is responsible to ensure that all meeting agendas are properly posted in full compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act prior to the meeting being conducted. 3.14 Minutes. a. Minutes of city council meetings will be recorded and maintained by the city secretary. The Minutes will include final motions with voting results. The minutes will also reflect the names of those citizens presenting public comments. b. Minutes of meetings will generally be submitted to the city council for approval at the next regular scheduled meeting. c. The city secretary shall maintain recordings of open meetings for 90 days after approval by the city council in accordance with the Records Retention Schedule. 3.15 Attendance by the Public. Members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend any sessions of the city council that are not closed to the public in accordance with the Texas Opening Meetings Act. 3.16 City Legislation and Actions of Significant Public Impact and Concern. Any action or ordinance of the City of Huntsville that falls into the following three categories is considered an action of significant public impact and concern: a. Any action or ordinance that criminalizes behavior or creates criminal liability. b. Any action or ordinance that has a substantial impact on private property rights. c. Any action or ordinance that involves the expenditure of more than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) and that is not a recurring expense or renewal of an expense. The City Council shall not pass nor vote on any action of significant public impact and concern unless and until it has been presented and discussed in at least two regular council meetings, which occur within a 60 -day period of time.