§ 2.04.100. Rules and order of business

The following shall constitute guidelines for the rules and order of business of the city.

A. Rule 1: Adjourned Meetings. Adjourned meetings of the governing body may be held at such time and place as the governing body may determine in the motion to adjourn.

B. Rule 2: Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the mayor or acting mayor, on the written request of any one member of the commission.

1. The call of a special meeting shall be in substantially the following form:

CALL FOR SPECIAL GOVERNING

BODY MEETING

Pratt, Kansas

____________, 19____________

To the Members of the Governing Body

 A special meeting of the governing body is hereby called to be held at the city hall, , 19 at o'clock m., the object of said meeting being to ____________ (state object)

Signed:

_____

_____

_____

2. A notice of such special meeting, stating the time, place and object of the meeting, directed to the city commission, shall be issued by the city clerk to the chief of police, his or her deputy, or a law enforcement officer or other city employee, who shall be required to make service of said notice at once personally upon each commissioner or to leave it at his or her usual place of residence, and such notice must be served or left at the usual place of residence at least two hours before the time of meeting. The person serving the notice shall make a return in writing of the service, showing the manner of such service. Attendance at a special meeting by any member of the governing body shall constitute a waiver of the right to notice under this rule for that member. The notice and the return shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE OF SPECIAL GOVERNING

BODY MEETING

Office of the City Clerk

Pratt, Kansas

To  ____________
Commissioner

 You are hereby notified that there will be a special meeting of the Governing Body at ____________o'clock ____________m., ____________, 19____________, at the city hall for the object of (state the same object as shown in the call).

 Witness my hand and the seal of said city this ____________ day of ____________, 19____________.

State of Kansas

_____
City Clerk

County of Pratt   ss.

City of Pratt

 To (chief of police, his or her deputy, or a law enforcement officer or other city employee).

Greeting:

 You are hereby directed to serve the above notice at once personally upon commissioner ____________ or to leave it at his or her usual place of residence before ____________ o'clock ____________m., ____________ 19____________, and to make a return in writing of said service, showing the manner of such service.

(SEAL)	____________
	City Clerk
	RETURN

 

 Received the original notice of special governing body meeting, of which the fore-going is a copy, at ____________ o'clock ____________m., on the ____________ day of ____________, 19____________, and (served the same personally on commissioner ____________ or left said original notice at the usual place of residence of ____________) at ____________ o'clock ____________m., on the ____________ day of ____________, 19____________.

 Dated this ____________ day of ____________, 19____________

Signed:

_____
Person serving notice

C. Rule 3: Order of Business. At the hour appointed for meeting, the governing body shall be called together by the mayor, and in his or her absence by the acting mayor. The city clerk shall call the roll and note the absentees and announce whether a quorum be present. Upon the appearance of a quorum the governing body shall proceed to business, which shall be conducted in the following order:

1. Reading of the minutes of the last regular meeting and intervening special meetings, which if no corrections are offered, shall stand approved;

2. Presentation of petitions, memorials and remonstrances;

3. Presentations of claims and appropriation ordinance;

4. Reports of other city officers.

D. Rule 4: Order. The mayor shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide questions of order subject to an appeal to the commission.

E. Rule 5: Decorum. Every member, previous to his or her speaking, shall address himself or herself to the chair and shall not proceed until recognized by the chair. He or she shall indulge in no personalities and confine his or her remarks to the matter under debate.

F. Rule 6: Point of Order. A member called to order shall immediately suspend until the point of order raised is decided by the chair.

G. Rule 7: Certain Motions in Writing. Every motion except to adjourn, postpone, reconsider, commit, lay on the table, or for the previous question, shall be reduced to writing if the chair or any member requires it; when made and seconded, it shall be stated by the chairperson or, being written, shall be read by the clerk, and may be withdrawn before decision or amendment, or any disposition thereof has been made, or a vote thereon had.

H. Rule 8: Resolutions. All resolutions must be in writing.

I. Rule 9. Motions During Debate. When a question is under debate no motion shall be entertained except:

1. To adjourn;

2. To lay on the table;

3. To take the previous question;

4. To postpone;

5. To amend; which several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are named, and the first three shall be decided without debate.

J. Rule 10: Division. Any member may call for a division of a question when the same will admit thereof.

K. Rule 11: Voting; Abstaining from Voting. When a question is put by the chair, every member present shall vote unless for special reasons the chair shall excuse him or her. For those questions for which an abstention is permitted, such a vote shall be counted as a vote cast in favor of the position taken by the majority of those persons present and voting. In doubtful cases the chair may direct, or any member call for, a division. The yeas and nays shall be called upon a requisition of the chair or any member, and upon the final passage of all ordinances in which case the names of the members voting and their votes shall be recorded in the minutes.

L. Rule 12: Precedence of Questions. All questions shall be put in the order in which they are moved, except in case of privilege questions, and in filling blanks the longest time and the largest sum shall be first.

M. Rule 13: Previous Question. The previous question shall be put in these words: "Shall the main question now be put?" It shall be admitted on demand of any member and until decided shall preclude all amendments and debate of the main question.

N. Rule 14: Passing of Ordinances. All ordinances shall be read by sections, at which time amendments, if any, may be offered, but the reading of any section shall not preclude the offering of an amendment to any preceding one. If amendments are made the chair shall so report, and each section shall be read as amended before the vote on the passage of the ordinance is taken. After reading and amendment (if any) of the ordinance, the question shall be: "Shall the ordinance pass?" The vote on the final passage of an ordinance shall be taken by yeas and nays, which shall be entered on the journal by the clerk; and no ordinance shall be valid unless a majority of (or otherwise as required by law) the members of the council vote in favor thereof; provided, that no ordinance shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, and no section or sections of an ordinance shall be amended unless the amending ordinance contains the entire section or sections as amended and the section or sections amended shall be repealed.

O. Rule 15: Signing and Engrossing Ordinances. After an ordinance shall have passed it shall be correctly entered in the original ordinance book and the original and the book copy shall be signed by the mayor, or in the absence of the mayor by the acting mayor, and attested by the clerk, who shall secure publication of the ordinance as required by law.

P. Rule 16: Clerk Reads Communications. Petitions and other papers addressed to the governing body shall be read by the clerk under proper order of business upon presentation of the same to the board.

Q. Rule 17: Robert's Rules of Order. In all points not covered by these rules the governing body shall be governed in its procedure by Robert's Rules of Order.

(KSA 12-3002; 3004)

(Prior code § 1-209)