HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 019 1
ORDINANCE NO. 19
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATASCADERO ADDING
TITLE 2 TO THE ATASCADERO MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED
ADMINISTRATION, AND ADDING CHAPTER 1 THERETO
RELATING TO COUNCIL PROCEDURE.
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATASCADERO ORDAINS as follows :
Section 1. Chapter 1 of Title 2 is added to the Atascadero
Municipal Code to read as follows :
TITLE 2. ADMINISTRATION
Chapter 1. Council Procedure
Section 2-1 .01 . Meetings.
The Council shall hold regular meetings in, the Rotunda Room,
Fourth Floor, Administration Building, 6500 Palma Avenue, Atasca-
dero, every second and fourth Monday evening at 7 :30 p.m. and on
such other days , at such other times, as may be designated in an
order for a special meeting. A special meeting may be ordered in
accordance with the provisions of Section 54956 of the Government
Code of the State. When the day for any regular meeting of the
Council falls on a legal holiday, the meeting shall not be held
on such holiday but shall be held at the same hour on the next
succeeding day thereafter which is not a holiday, or at such other
time as shall be determined and noticed by the Council.
Section 2-1 .02 . Agenda.
1 n Requests for items to appear on the Council agenda shall be
presented to the City Clerk no later than 5 :OO p.m. on the Tuesday
hp. preceding the day of the Council meeting. The City Clerk shall
�F prepare the agenda of all such matters and cause a copy of such
agenda to be made available to each Councilmember, the City
Manager, the City Attorney, and each Department Head by 5 :00 p.m.
on the Thursday preceding the meeting. The agenda shall be avail-
able to the public in the office of the City Clerk no later than
12 :00 noon on the Friday preceding the Council meeting. In the
event that regular Council meetings are held on a day other than
Monday because of holidays or other reasons , then the agenda
schedule shall be adjusted accordingly.
1No matters other than those on the agenda shall be finally
acted upon by the Council; provided, however, matters deemed to
be emergencies or of an urgent nature by any Councilmember, or by
the City Manager, with an explanation of the emergency or urgency
stated in open Council meeting, with the consent of the Council,
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may be considered and acted upon by the Council following its
consideration of the regular agenda items .
Section 2-1.03. Consent calendar.
The meeting agenda of the Council shall include a consent
calendar which shall consist of routine items . The adoption or
approval of all items on the consent calendar shall be accomplished
by one motion passed on a roll call vote.
(a) Confirming resolutions . Resolutions confirming the
prior action of the Council (action taken at a prior meeting) may
be placed on the consent calendar for adoption. The City Clerk
shall record the Council vote on the resolution in accordance with
' the vote taken by the Council at the time the original action was
taken at the meeting when the matter was considered, debated, and
ivoted upon.
® (b) Removal of items from consent calendar. The motion
to adopt a consent calendar shall not be debatable; provided, how-
ever, if any Councilmember, or staff member, desires Council dis-
cussion or debate on any item of the consent calendar, such item
shall be removed from the calendar and thereafter discussed or
debated. In such case, the Council shall consider the approval
or adoption of the consent calendar, as amended, with the removal
of such item.
Section 2-1.04 . Conduct of business : Public meetings.
All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public;
provided, however, when held in conformity with the provisions
of Section 54957 of the Government Code of the State, the public
shall be excluded from executive sessions held during a Council
meeting. At the hour set by law on the day of the scheduled
1 regular meeting, the Councilmembers, the City Manager, the City
Attorney, the City Clerk, and such other personnel as have been
requested to be present by the City Manager shall take their
regular stations in the Council Chamber.
Section 2-1.05 . Duties of the Mayor: Vice Mayor.
lThe Mayor, or in his absence the Vice Mayor, shall be the
presiding officer and shall assume his place and duties as such
immediately following his election. He shall preserve strict
' order and decorum at all regular meetings of the Council, state
questions coming before the Council, announce its decision on all
subjects, and decide all questions of order, subject, however,
to an appeal to the Council as a whole, in which event a majority
vote shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order.
He shall vote on all questions, and on roll call his name shall be
called last.
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' The Mayor shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted
by the Council at meetings at which he is in attendance. In the
event of his absence, the Vice Mayor shall sign such documents.
' In the absence of the Mayor and Vice Mayor, the Acting Mayor shall
sign such documents .
Section 2-1. 06 . Call to order: Presiding officer.
The Mayor, or in his absence the Vice Mayor, shall take the
chair at the hour appointed for the regular meeting and shall call
the Council to order. In the absence of the Mayor and the Vice
Mayor, the City Clerk or his assistant shall call the Council to
order, whereupon an Acting Mayor shall be elected by the. Council-
members present. Upon the arrival of the Mayor or Vice Mayor,
the Acting Mayor shall relinquish the chair at the conclusion of
the business then before the Council .
Section 2-1. 07 . Roll call.
Before proceeding with the business of the Council , the City
Clerk or his assistant shall call the roll of the Councilmembers .
I The roll shall be called randomly, except that the name of the
Mayor shall be called last. The names of each Councilmember shall
be called on each roll call whether they are present or absent,
and shall be entered in the minutes . Following the roll call vote,
the Mayor shall declare the result.
Section 2-1 .08. Roll call vote.
A roll call vote shall be taken upon the passage of all ordi-
nances, resolutions, and orders for the payment of money and shall
be entered in the minutes of the Council showing those Councilmem-
bers voting aye, those voting no, and those not voting or absent.
Upon the request of ' any Councilmember, a roll call vote shall be
' taken and recorded on any vote. The call of the roll shall not be
interrupted. Any member of the Council may change his or her vote
before the next order of business is taken up.
Section 2-1.09 . Quorum.
A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business. A majority of the Council is sufficient
to do business, and motions may be passed two to one if only three
attend, but ordinances, resolutions granting franchises, and the
payment of money require at least three affirmative votes. When
there is no quorum for a regular meeting, the _Mayor, Vice Mayor,
or any Councilmember shall adjourn such meeting, or, if no Council-
member is present, the City Clerk shall adjourn the meeting.
Section 2-1.10 . Preparation f minutes .
The minutes of the Council shall be kept by the City Clerk
and shall be neatly produced and kept in a file for that purpose,
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with a record of each particular type of business transacted set
off in paragraphs with proper subheads; provided, however, the
City Clerk shall be required to make a record only of such busi-
ness as was actually passed upon by a vote of the Council and
shall not be required to record any remarks of Councilmembers or
of any other person; and provided, further, the City Clerk shall
attempt to record the names and addresses of persons addressing
the Council, the title of the subject matter to which their remarks
related, and whether they spoke in support of or in opposition to
such matter.
Whenever the Council acts in a quasi-judicial proceeding such
as in certain zoning matters and assessment matters, the City Clerk
shall compile a summary of the testimony of the witnesses .
Section 2-1.11. Reading of the minutes .
Unless the reading of the minutes of a regular meeting is
requested by a Councilmember, such minutes may be approved without
reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished each Council-
member with a copy thereof.
Section 2-1 .12. Rules of debate
(a) Presiding officer may debate and 'vote The presid-
ing officer may move, second, and debate from the chair, subject
only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed
on all Councilmembers, and shall not be deprived of any of the
rights and privileges of a Councilmember by reason of his acting
as the presiding officer.
' (b) Getting the floor: Improper references. Every
Councilmember desiring to speak shall address the chair and, upon
recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself or her-
' self to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and
indecorous language.
' (c) Interruptions. A Councilmember once recognized shall
not be interrupted when speaking unless it 'shall be to call him or
her to order or as otherwise provided by this section. If a Council-
member, while speaking, shall be called to order, he or she shall
cease speaking until the question of order has been determined and,
if in order, he or she shall be permitted to proceed.
(d) Motions to reconsider. A motion to reconsider any
action taken by the Councilata regular meeting may be made only
on the day such action was taken or at the next succeeding adjourned
' or regular meeting. Such a motion shall be made by one of the
prevailing side but may be seconded by any Councilmember and may
be made at any time. It shall be debatable. Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to prevent any Councilmember from making
or remaking the same or another motion at a subsequent meeting of
the Council.
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Section 2-1.13 . Addressing the Council.
Any person desiring to address the Council during a regular
' meeting shall first secure the permission of the presiding officer
to do so.
Taxpayers or residents of the City, or their authorized legal
representatives, may address the Council by oral communications on
any matter concerning the City 's business or on any matter over
which the Council has control; provided, however, preference shall
be given to those persons who have notified the City Clerk in ad-
vance of their desire to speak in order that the same may appear
on the agenda of the Council.
Section 2-1.14 . Manner of addressing the Council : Time limit.
(a) Manner: Time. Each person addressing the Council
' shall approach the Council table and step up to the public micro-
phone, if available, give his , or her name and address in an audible
tone of voice for the record, and, unless further time is granted
by the presiding officer, shall limit his or her address to five
(5) minutes . All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a
body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than a Coun-
cilmember and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to
enter into any discussion without the permission of the presiding
officer.
(b) Spokespersons for groups of persons . Whenever any
group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject
matter, it shall be proper for the presiding officer to request
that a spokesperson be chosen by the group to address the Council
' and, in the event additional matters are to be presented at the
time by any other member of such 'group, to limit the number of
persons so addressing the Council so as to avoid unnecessary
repetitions before the Council.
Section 2-1 .15 . Silence constitutesaffirmative vote.
' Unless a Councilmember states that he or she is not voting
because of a conflict of interest, his or her silence shall be
recorded as an affirmative vote.
Section 2-1.16 . Decorum.
(a) By Councilmembers. '.chile the Council is in regular
meeting, the Councilmembers shall preserve order and decorum, and
no Councilmember shall, by conversation or otherwise, delay or
interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council, disturb
any Councilmember while speaking, or refuse to obey the orders of
the Council or the presiding officer, except as provided in this
chapter.
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(b) By other persons. Any person making personal, im-
pertinent, or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous
while addressing the Council shall be forthwith, by the presiding
officer, barred from further audience at such meeting before the
Council, unless permission to continue shall be granted by a
majority vote of the Council .
Section 2-1.17 . Enforcement of decorum.
The Police Chief shall be ex officio sergeant at arms of the
Council. Personally, or through his deputies, he shall carry out
all orders and instructions given him by the presiding officer for
the purpose of maintaining order and decorum in the Council Chamber.
Any person in the audience who uses loud, boisterous, or profane
language at a Council meeting, or language tending to bring the .
Council or any Councilmember into contempt, or any person who per-
sistently interrupts the proceedings of the Council or refuses to
keep quiet or take a seat when ordered to do so by the presiding
officer shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon instructions
of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of any police officer
present to eject any such person from the Council Chamber or place
him or her under arrest, or both.
Section 2-1.18 . Investigations and hearings
The Council shall have the discretionary right to make inves-
tigations and hold hearings with respect to all matters within its
' legislative power and all matters pertaining to the administration
of the business of the City, and shall have the power of subpoena
as provided in Sections 37104 through 37109 of the Government Code
of the State.
Section 2-1 .19.+ Recordation of Council proceedings: Notice
required.
No person shall use a tape recorder, stenotype, or other
mechanical device to record_all or any part of the proceedings of
the Council, whether sitting in regular or special session, with.-
out first notifying the City Clerk of his or her intention to do
so at least four (4) hours prior to the time fixed for the conven-
ing of such meeting. In the event a person intending to so record
Council proceedings fails to give such notice, the Council may
prohibit the use by him or her of a tape recorder, stenotype, or
other mechanical device to record such Council proceedings.
Section 2 . The provisions of this ordinance are intended to
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supersede any provision of Ordinance Nd. 2 which is in conflict
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therewith.
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Section 3. The City Clerk shall cause this ordinance to be
published once within fifteen (15) days after its passage in the
' Atascadero News , a newspaper of general circulation, printed, pub-
lished and circulated in this City in accordance with Section 36933
of the Government Code; shall certify the adoption and posting of
this ordinance; and shall cause this ordinance and its certifica-
tion, together with proof of posting, to be entered in the Book
of Ordinances of this City.
Section 4. This ordinance shall go into effect and be in
full force and effect at 12:01 a.m. on the thirty-first (31st)
day after passage.
' The foregoing ordinance was introduced adopted, and ordered
published at a meeting of the Council held on April 14 1980,
by the following vote:
rAyes : Councilmen Highland, Mackey, Nelson, Stover and
Mayor Wilkins
' Noes : None
Absent: None
Ro ert J. Toil ns Jr. , P2a r
ATTEST
M ray" . Warden, City Clerk
Approved as to fo m: Approved as to content:
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' Allen Grimes, City Attorney Mu ay L Warden, City Manager
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CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true,
and correct copy of Ordinance No. 19 passed by the
Atascadero City Council at its regular Council meeting held
on April 14, 1980
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' MU YL WARDEN, City Clerk
City o Atascadero, California
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