Rules redux
I am back proposing new City Council Rule changes.
Council does not follow the rules but we should at least correct them so, one day, we will be able to enforce and they will be useable.
The following is a proposed change;
METHUEN CITY COUNCIL RULES AND PROCEDURES Amended February 2008
RULE II – AGENDA
A true copy of any order, request, resolution or other form of business to be presented to the City Council at its regular meeting for its action shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Council as follows:
1) Title for the Agenda shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Council no later than 3:00 P.M. on the Monday prior to the Council meeting. The agenda shall be prepared, posted and a copy mailed to each Councilor on said Monday prior to the regularly scheduled Council meeting.
2) All items to be placed on the agenda, including but not limited to, resolutions, ordinances, contracts and all back-up material relative to an agenda item, are to be submitted to the Council Clerk no later than 10:00 a.m. on the Wednesday prior to a Council meeting.
3) The Council meeting packets will be delivered to the Councilors on the Wednesday prior to the Council meeting, and, absolutely no items will [Shall] be considered for inclusion on the agenda after that time.
* Change will to Shall as noted above. *
4) Any material relative to an agenda item submitted to Council after the above described cut-off dates will [Shall] be stricken from the agenda and the action item, be it an ordinance, contract or resolution , will [Shall] be held over until the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
* Change will to Shall as noted above. *
Chapter 2, Section 2-18
No matter requiring final action in the form of an ordinance, resolution or order coming before the City Council shall be considered as a first reading item unless it shall be submitted in the proper written form of an ordinance, resolution or order; nor shall any such item be entertained for first reading until the City Council shall have affixed to such document a Council docket number. (See Ordinance #319, effective October 19, 1988, attached)
* Add the following two sections.*
Chapter 2, Section 2-18A
No order or resolution shall be received or acted upon unless sponsored by member of the Council or the Mayor per applicable Municipal Code (Section 2-17.). Sponsorship must be noted on the agenda.
Chapter 2, Section 2-18B
Every order, resolution, proposal, etc. appearing on the Council agenda be accompanied by approximate amount of the costs involved if at all possible that those costs can be determined prior to being placed on the Council agenda.
* Renumber this paragraph. *
Chapter 2, Section 2-19
Except in cases of special emergency, at least forty-eight hours before any meeting of the City Council is to be held, an agenda, containing all specific items which are scheduled to come before it at the meeting shall be posted. No action taken on a matter not included in the posted agenda shall be effective unless the body first adopts by special vote a resolution declaring that an emergency exists and that the particular matter must be acted upon at that meeting for the immediate preservation of the peace, health, safety or convenience of the City. A preamble which declares and defines the emergency shall be separately voted on and shall require the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Council present. An emergency measure may be passed with or without amendment, or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced. No measure making a grant, renewal or extension, whatever its kind or nature of any franchise of special privilege shall be passed as an emergency measure. (Ch. Ref. Sec. 9-11b; 2-9b)
These changes will bring us more in line with the rules and procedures of other Cities within the State and with the legislature rules.
They take away some unwritten protocols and enforce the intent of the original ordinance.