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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1516Resolution No. 1516 ["Beginning Jully 1, 1998"] (Amending or Repealing Resolutions) Repealed by Res. No. 1562 RESOLUTION NO. I 5 I 0 A RESOLUTION of the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, relating to rules and procedures for the City Council, City Council meetings, Council committee meetings and further repealing Resolution No. 1461. WHEREAS, the City Council, pursuant to Resolution No. 1461, established rules and procedures for the City Council, City Council meetings and meetings of Council committees; WHEREAS, the City Council desires to update and revise those rules and procedures; NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT, WASHINGTON DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Applicability. The rules and procedures contained herein shall govern all meetings of the Council of the City of Kent, Washington and committees thereof unless suspended by the City Council as provided for herein. Failure to fully conform to these rules and procedures will not render any action by the City Council or any of its committees invalid. I. COUNCIL PRESIDENT - -MAYOR PRO TEMPORE SECTION 2. Term. The City Council shall elect from its members a President of the Council during the month of January in the even numbered years on or before the second regular meeting of said month. The Council President so elected shall serve a two-year term. SECTION 3. Mayor Pro Tempore. The Council President shall serve as Mayor Pro Tempore and shall preside at all meetings of the Council when the Mayor is not present. The Mayor Pro Tempore shall act as Mayor and assume the authority and perform the duties thereof whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Mayor or the Mayor is absent from the City or is unable for any cause to discharge the duties of Mayor. SECTION 4. President Pro Tempore. A President Pro Tempore may be appointed by the Council President in the absence of the duly-elected Council President. The President Pro Tempore shall have the same authority and duties as the Council President. If the President Pro Tempore is absent or unavailable, the councilmember in attendance who has served longest, either by consecutive or non-consecutive terms, shall be deemed the acting President Pro Tempore. SECTION 5. Duties and Responsibilities. The Council President shall administer the Council budget, set the Council's agenda, refer proposed ordinances and resolutions to the appropriate Council committee and may call for a workshop or a meeting of the Council Committee of the Whole. The Council President shall appoint the membership of each established committee and the committee chairpersons by the third regular meeting of the year. The Council President may substitute for an absent councilmember on any of the Council's committees at the request of the committee chairperson. II. COUNCIL MEETINGS SECTION 6. Regular Meetings. Pursuant to Kent City Code 2.01.020, the regular meetings of the Council shall be held on the First and Third Tuesday of each month except that during the month of December of each year, there shall be only one regular council meeting to be held on the second Tuesday of said month. If any such day of a regular meeting is a legal holiday, the meeting shall be held on the next business day. All council meetings shall be held in the City council chambers of city hall at seven o'clock p.m. unless otherwise determined by the City Council. 2 SECTION 7. Special Meetings. Special meetings or hearings of the Council may be called by the Mayor or any three members of the Council by written notice delivered to each member of the Council at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time specified for the proposed special meeting or hearing. In addition, the City Clerk shall give notice of such special meeting as further provided for in RCW 42.30.080. The notices provided in this section may be suspended pursuant to RCW 42.30.070 in the event a special meeting is called and there is a need for expedited action due to fire, flood, earthquake or other emergency. SECTION 8. Presiding Official. Regular meetings of the Council shall be presided over by the Mayor, if present, or the Council President who shall be Mayor Pro Tempore. In the absence of the Mayor and Council President and Council President Pro Tempore, the acting President Pro Tempore as set forth in section 4 shall preside. The presiding over a meeting by the Mayor Pro Tempore, President Pro Tempore or by an acting President Pro Tempore shall not in any way abridge that member's right to vote on matters before the Council during such meeting. SECTION 9. Forfeiture of Office. Pursuant to RCW 35A.l2.060, a councilmember shall forfeit office if he or she fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by the Council. SECTION 10. Quorum. At all meetings of the Council, a majority of the Council membership shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. SECTION 11. Majority Vote. Action by the City Council requires the affirmative vote of a majority of members voting at a legal meeting except that the passage of any ordinance, grant or revocation of any franchise or license, and any resolution for the payment of money shall require the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the whole membership of the Council. Emergency ordinances as defined by state law shall require the unanimous vote of those councilmembers present at the meeting. 3 SECTION 12. Executive Sessions. The City Council may hold executive sessions during a regular or special meeting to consider matters as permitted pursuant to RCW 42.30.110 and RCW 42.30.140. No official action shall be taken during any executive session. No member of the City Council, employee of the city or any person present during an executive session shall disclose to any other person the content or substance of discussion which took place during the session, unless a majority of the Council authorizes such disclosure. Executive sessions, to the extent permitted by law, shall be limited to members of the City Council, the Mayor and staff, and other personnel as authorized by the City Council. SECTION 13. Agendas. Only items that have been previously discussed by a Council committee shall be put on the agenda for a Council meeting, unless approved by the Council President. The order of Business of all meetings of the Council. 1. Call to order/ Pledge of allegiance; 2. Roll Call; 3. Changes to Agenda; (a) from the council, administration, or staff; (b) from the public; 4. Public Communications; 5. Public Hearings; 6. Consent Calendar; 7. Other Business; 8. Consideration of bids, and related matters; 9. Report from standing committees and staff; 10. Report from special committees; 11. Continued communications; 12. Executive Sessions (as required) 13. Adjournment SECTION 14. Public Communication. No person shall address the Council without the permission of the presiding officer except during the third, fourth, 4 fifth, and eleventh orders of business set forth in Section 13 above. When addressing the Council, each person shall proceed to the speaker's podium, unless otherwise directed by the presiding officer, and shall state their name and address for the record and state the subject they wish to discuss. Remarks will be limited to the time allocated by the presiding officer for each speaker. All remarks shall be pertinent to the subject matter at hand and shall be addressed to the presiding officer and the Council as a whole and not to any member individually. No questions shall be asked of a councilmember or member of the city staff without the permission of the presiding officer. No one shall use any impertinent, degrading or slanderous language to the presiding officer, councilmember, staff or other member of the public or otherwise engage in disruptive behavior. Such conduct shall constitute grounds for removal from the council chambers at the Council's direction. SECTION 15. Added Agenda Items. A member of the public, Council or the Mayor may ask that an item be considered by the City Council, even if it is not identified on the formal agenda, by raising the issue during Changes to Agenda. Such item shall then be considered with the consent of the Council. SECTION 16. Mayor Participation. The Mayor may address the Council on any matter or participate in the debate of any question, provided the Mayor shall first call upon the Council President to take the chair. SECTION 17. Councilmember Conduct. While the Council is in session, all its members must preserve order, decency and decorum at all times and no member shall, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb any member while speaking or refusing to obey the order of the presiding officer. The members of the City Council may reprimand another councilmember for disorderly conduct and, upon written charges entered upon the journal thereof, may expel a member from the Council meeting by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership of the Council in attendance at that meeting. 5 SECTION 18. Voting. Discussion by members of the Council shall relate to the subject matter at hand and shall be relevant and pertinent. Every councilmember, unless disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest or as otherwise provided by law or excused by the Council, shall cast his or her vote upon any matter put to vote by the legislative body. Any councilmember who abstains from voting without a valid reason for such abstention shall be deemed to have cast their vote with the majority on any issue so voted upon. Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered unless such tie is broken by the Mayor's vote if permitted pursuant to RCW 35A.l2.100-120. At the request of the presiding officer or of any member, any question shall be noted upon by a roll call and the "ayes" and "nays" shall be recorded in the journal. Section 19. Motions for Reconsideration. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the City Council may be made only on the day such action was taken. Such motion may be made only by one of the councilmembers who voted with the prevailing side. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any councilmember from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council. SECTION 20. Summoned to Meetings. Every city official or employee who shall fail to report to the Council at times and in a manner requested by the Council, shall be summoned in accordance with the direction of the Council. During meetings of the Council and its committees, city officials, employees and members of the public shall observe the same rules of order and decorum as are applicable to members of the City Council. SECTION 21. Ordinances. Resolutions and Contracts -Presentation. No ordinance, resolution, contract document or other matter for consideration shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless ordered by a majority of the Council, or requested by the Mayor, or submitted by the City Attorney unless otherwise approved by the Council President. All ordinances, resolutions, contract documents and other such material shall, before presentation to the Council and its committees, have been approved as to form by the City Attorney and shall have been examined and approved by the 6 department head having jurisdiction over the subject matter of such ordinance, resolution and contract document, or by his or her duly authorized representative. SECTION 22. Parliamentary Rules. The City Attorney shall act as parliamentarian and advise the presiding officer on inquiries concerning parliamentary procedure. The presiding officer shall rule on issues of parliamentary procedure, unless overruled by a majority of the councilmembers present. Robert's Rules of Order (latest revision) shall govern the deliberations of the Council except when in conflict with any section herein. SECTION 23. Suspending the Rules. When the suspension of a rule is requested, and no objection is offered, the Presiding Officer shall announce that the rules are suspended and the Council may proceed accordingly. When there is an objection to suspending the rules, it shall require a vote of majority of the members present to suspend the rules. III. COUNCIL COMMITTEES SECTION 24. Established. There are hereby established the following four standing committees each of which shall consist of three councilmembers: a chairperson, and two other councilmembers. Councilmembers shall be appointed to a committee by the Council President for a two-year term. 1. Operations Committee. The Operations Committee shall consider all matters related to the general fiscal and financial conditions and operations of the City. This committee shall also consider all policy matters related to personnel, including, but not limited to, salary ranges and step schedules, position classification, merit system development and other items in coordination with the Operations Department and other departments as appropriate. This is not to be construed as a limitation or infringement upon the executive powers of the Mayor. 7 2. Parks Committee. The Parks Committee shall consider all matters related to planning and implementation of recreational facilities, programs and activities in the City, including but not limited to, the Kent Senior Center, Resource Center, Kent Commons, Riverbend Golf Course as well as coordination of programs and activities with affected school districts. 3. Public Works and Planning Committee. The Public Works and Planning Committee shall consider all matters related to community growth and development including, but not limited to, planning of the physical, economic, aesthetic, and social development of the City, including, without limitation, the City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Zoning Code, housing policies, annexation policies, and Human Service operations. Additionally, the committee shall consider matters related to rights-of-way and water, sewer, and storm drainage systems. It shall also consider matters related to transportation, transportation plans, traffic, transit, streets, street lighting, signalization, maintenance and telecommunications. 4. Public Safety Committee. The Public Safety Committee shall consider matters related to Police and Fire protection, including, but not limited to, law enforcement, firefighting and emergency response services, hazardous material, controls and general dispatch. SECTION 25. Duties and Responsibilities. The Council committees shall consider all matters referred to them. All proposed ordinances or resolutions and other matters for Council consideration shall first be discussed by, or referred to, the appropriate Council committee, unless otherwise designated by the Council President; PROVIDED, however, the Council shall not be denied the right to refer the subject to a committee or workshop for further consideration. Matters not otherwise designated shall be assigned for consideration to a council meeting, workshop or to the appropriate council committee by the Council President, in consultation with the Mayor. Each committee chairpersons shall report to the Council the findings and/or recommendations of the committee. 8 SECTION 26. Quorum. No committee shall act in the absence of a quorum, which shall consist of at least two members. At the request of the committee chairperson, the Council President or another councilmember may sit on any committee when necessary to constitute a quorum or to fill a vacancy. SECTION 27. Committee of the Whole. Council workshop meetings where the Council sits as a Committee of the Whole shall be held at such time and location as announced by the Council. Public input shall be permitted at Council workshops at the discretion of the City Council. SECTION 28. Committee Reassignments. The City Council, upon a vote of the majority of its membership, may reorganize and rearrange the membership of standing committees including the discontinuance of any standing or special committee and the reassignment of its duties and functions to another committee or committees, together with the establishment of special, temporary and ad hoc committees. SECTION 29. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. SECTION 30. Repealed. City Council Resolution 1461 is hereby repealed in its entirety. PASS ED at a regular open public meeting by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, this iLtJ day of ({}~ , 1998. 9 CONCURRED in by the Mayor of the City of Kent this oLD day of tf}~,1998. / ATTEST: APPROVED AS T JiiR~gj!.CWt~·~ I, BRENDA JACOBER, City Clerk of the City of Kent, Washington, certifY that the attached copy of Resolution No. /5 1/o is a true and correct copy of the original resolution adopted on the J..iJ day of {]2~ , 1998, as that resolution appears on the Minute Book of the City. DATED this c)...( day of {]2 ~ '1998. P: \LA W\RESOLUTI\counci l.res.doc 10