§ 2-20. Rules of procedure for city commission meetings.

Flagler Beach City Commission meetings are formal governmental meetings that are conducted to transact public business. Commission meetings are not public forums.

(a)

General procedures. The following procedures are intended by the City Commission of the City of Flagler Beach to, where practicable, be used for the orderly conduct of meetings. The Chair of the City Commission will utilize these rules as a general guideline for the orderly conduct of city meetings. The Chair should always refer to him/herself as the Chair. All actions of the City Commission shall be by proper motion, seconded and passed by the appropriate vote, unless provided otherwise in the City Charter, and subject to the laws of the United States and the State of Florida. In general, the procedures of business may be guided by Robert's Rules of Order (Revised). All motions, unless otherwise designated by the City Commission, may be made orally. The City Commission will meet as prescribed by the Charter. The time and date of the regular meetings will be set by the Commission. A schedule of the regular meetings shall be published.

(b)

Regular meeting agendas. An agenda application shall be submitted in writing before 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday, one (1) week before the meeting date for which the agenda pertains. All supporting documentation relative to each item submitted for the agenda must be submitted to the City Clerk at the same time the agenda application is submitted. Regardless of the date submitted, the City Manager shall have the liberty to schedule agenda applications as necessary due to meeting length. The agenda will be compiled by the City Manager, City Clerk, or designated representative, prepared and distributed by the end of the next working day. The agenda shall be posted on the bulletin board next to the front door of city hall, copies placed in the agenda box at city hall and a copy placed in the respective mailbox of the Mayor, and City Commissioners; e-mailed to the City Attorney, press and interested parties and posted on the website as soon as possible. The City Manager shall review the items and prepare a recommendation no later than noon Friday the week prior to the meeting. The City Clerk shall distribute the information to the City Commission, no later than Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. the week of the meeting. Supporting documentation submitted after the deadline may result in removal of the item from the agenda.

The recommended order of business for the regular meeting agenda shall be:

(1)

Call to order.

(2)

Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence to recognize the members of the Armed Forces.

(3)

Proclamations and awards.

(4)

Deletions and changes to the agenda.

(5)

Public comments regarding items not on the agenda.

(6)

Consent agenda. (Routine items shall be placed on the consent agenda, such as but not limited to the approval of minutes, the approval of a purchase order requisition, and budget transfers.)

(7)

General business. (To the extent possible, the City Manager shall group all matters by subject area, and shall place as many items as possible on the consent portion of the agenda. Time certain consideration will be given to individuals the city is paying to attend the meeting or at the discretion of the City Manager. Consideration shall be given to the dates items were received.)

(8)

Commission comments, including reports from meetings attended.

(9)

Public hearings. (All ordinances will be set for public hearing on both first and second readings. Quasi-judicial items and any other item required by law to have a public hearing will also be listed under this heading. Except as otherwise provided by law, public hearings shall take place no earlier than 2:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible, when the meeting begins before 1:30 p.m. or no earlier than 6:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible, when the meeting begins after 5:00 p.m.)

(10)

Staff reports.

(11)

Adjournment.

Due to unusual circumstances, staff may deviate from the recommended format. Any deviation shall be authorized by the City Manager.

(c)

Special and workshops meeting agendas.

(1)

Pursuant to the City Charter, special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor or of two (2) or more Commission members with no less than seventy-two (72) hours' notice. Seventy-two (72) hours is actual days to include weekends and/or holidays. Normally, not more than one (1) or two (2) items will be placed on the agenda for any special meeting. Meetings of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) may contain more than two (2) items and a consent agenda.

(2)

When a special meeting or workshop is necessary, the agenda application(s) will be forwarded to the City Clerk for the formulation of a memo. This memo will contain at least two (2) lines for the signature of the Mayor or two (2) or more Commission members and will include a requested date and time for the meeting. Once the elected officials sign the memo, the special meeting or workshop is authorized. The clerk's office will contact the other elected officials to ensure a quorum is available for the requested date/time. The city clerk's office will also ensure that the City Attorney and the City Manager are available for the requested date/time. The designated representative will then formulate the agenda for the meeting. The agenda will be limited to only those items contained in the memo. The agenda will be posted on the bulletin board next to the front door of city hall no less than seventy-two (72) hours before the meeting is scheduled to convene. Copies of the agenda will be placed in the agenda box at city hall and a copy placed in the respective mailbox of the Mayor, and City Commissioners; e-mailed to the City Attorney, press and interested parties and posted on the website as soon as possible.

(3)

When a special meeting or workshop is scheduled at a regular City Commission meeting, the designated representative will formulate the agenda for the meeting. The agenda for such meeting will be posted on the bulletin board next to the front door of city hall no less than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time the meeting is scheduled to convene. Copies of the agenda will be placed in the agenda box at city hall and a copy placed in the respective mailbox of the Mayor, and City Commissioners; e-mailed to the City Attorney, press and interested parties and posted on the website as soon as possible. The signature of the Mayor or two (2) or more Commission members will not be required, provided the agenda is limited to only those items designated during the regular meeting. Should additional items be necessary, the requirements of the preceding paragraph shall apply.

(d)

Emergency meetings. Emergency meetings will be held in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(10) of the City Charter.

(e)

Regular meeting procedures. The agenda for the meeting shall state the items; however, the following shall provide guidelines for certain areas of the agenda as suggested in subsection (b):

(1)

Deletions and changes to the agenda: Items may be removed from the published agenda; however, no items will be added to the agenda unless it is an emergency.

(2)

Public comments regarding items not on the agenda: These reasonable rules will allow the public an opportunity to talk about any subject that is not on the agenda in a manner that will also enable the Commission to tend to its business in an orderly and expeditious manner. These rules are necessary because the public comments section of the agenda could take an inordinate amount of time and thus inhibit the ability of the Commission to tend to its business in an orderly and expeditious manner. In addition, it may also affect the ability of others who wish to express comments.

a.

The speaker must be recognized by the Chair in order to speak, and all comments must be addressed to the Chair. There shall be no cross conversations or questions of any other persons.

b.

The speaker must come to the podium and first state his/her name, address, and name of the organization if she/he represents an organization.

c.

Comments must not exceed three (3) minutes and may be about any subject that is not on the agenda.

d.

Each speaker will be allowed to address the Chair only one (1) time, on any one (1) issue.

e.

No loaning or transferring of minutes shall occur.

f.

Redundant or repetitive comments are deemed to have a dilatory effect on the expeditious and orderly progress of the meeting and are not allowed.

g.

Comments may or may not receive a response from commission members.

h.

When the Chair closes the public comment section of the agenda, there will be no further comments from the public.

(3)

Consent agenda: Before any motion is made on the consent agenda, the Chair shall ask if any person wishes to remove any item from the consent agenda. Should any person come forward and ask for an item to be removed from the consent agenda, the item with the commission's consent will be removed and considered separately. Discussion will only be allowed on items removed from the consent agenda. Items removed from the consent agenda will be heard immediately following the vote to approve the consent agenda.

(4)

General business:

a.

Any person or persons having properly submitted an agenda application to be placed upon an agenda shall be allowed to speak uninterrupted, collectively, for no more than ten (10) minutes unless this time be extended by a majority vote of the Commission.

b.

Any item voted to be "Tabled" shall be by a motion that states a definite time and date for this item to be reheard or the item shall remain tabled until it is again placed on the agenda pursuant to the normal procedures.

c.

Each Commissioner, the Mayor, and the City Manager shall be given reasonable time to speak on the agenda item concerned.

d.

Any motion may be amended, but the amendment must also receive a second. A motion or amendment, once on the floor shall not be withdrawn unless both the Commissioner making the same and the Commissioner having seconded the motion or amendment withdraw the appropriate action otherwise a vote is required.

e.

At the conclusion of any discussion as determined by the Chair, the Chair shall call for a vote on the motion and no further discussion will be permitted. The decision of the Chair is appealable to the City Commission.

f.

If the Chair ignores a motion apparently made and seconded in good faith and neither states the question on the motion nor rules it out of order, the maker of the motion should raise a point of order covering the case and from the Chair's decision she/he can appeal. If the Chair also ignores the point of order, the member can repeat the motion and if it is seconded and the Chair still ignores it, the maker of the motion can himself/herself put it to vote standing in his/her place. If the Mayor or Commissioner fails to perform his/her duties, a Commissioner or the Mayor may make a motion to censure that Mayor or Commissioner, which can be put to a vote by the maker of the motion.

g.

Questions of order and appeal. Point of order to call upon the Chair for a ruling and enforcement of regular rules. Appeal to have the City Commission decide whether or not the Chair has made a correct ruling.

h.

Call the question. However, if a Commissioner, the Mayor or the City Manager has not had an opportunity to speak on the item, the opportunity will be provided before the question is called.

i.

The Chair shall open the item to comments from the public. Each speaker must be recognized by the Chair to speak, and all comments must be addressed to the Chair. There shall be no cross conversation or questions of any other person. Each speaker must come to the podium and first state his/her name, address, and name of the organization if she/he represents an organization. Comments must not exceed three (3) minutes. Each speaker will be allowed to address the Chair only one (1) time. No loaning or transferring of minutes shall occur. Redundant or repetitive comments are deemed to have a dilatory effect on the expeditious and orderly progress of the meeting and are not allowed. When the Chair closes the public comment section of the agenda, there will be no further comments from the public.

j.

The purpose of the aforementioned rules are to provide an orderly methodology for conducting city business and to speed up the process by which the City Commission shall be allowed to consider, plan and act on the needs of the city. All members of the public shall be encouraged to consult the agenda in advance and contact individually one (1) or more of the City Commissioners or Mayor with their comments.

(5)

Public hearings.

a.

Any person or persons having properly submitted a written notice requesting to be placed upon the agenda shall be allowed to speak uninterrupted, collectively, for no more than ten (10) minutes unless this time be extended by a majority vote of the Commission.

b.

Any item voted to be "Tabled" shall be so by a motion that states a definite time and date for this item to be reheard or the item shall remain tabled until it is again placed on the agenda pursuant to the normal procedures.

c.

Each Commissioner, the Mayor, and the City Manager shall be given reasonable time to speak on the agenda item concerned.

d.

Any motion may be amended but the amendment must also receive a second. A motion or amendment once on the floor, shall not be withdrawn unless both the Commissioner making the same and the Commissioner having seconded the motion or amendment withdraw the appropriate action otherwise a vote is required.

e.

At the conclusion of any discussion, as determined by the Chair, the Chair shall call for a vote on the motion and no further discussion will be permitted. The decision of the Chair is appealable to the City Commission.

f.

If the Chair ignores a motion apparently made and seconded in good faith and neither states the question on the motion nor rules it out of order, the maker of the motion should raise a point of order covering the case and from the Chair's decision he can appeal. If the Chair also ignores the point of order, the member can repeat the motion and if it is seconded and the chair still ignores it, the maker of the motion can himself/herself put it to vote standing in his/her place. If the Mayor or Commissioner fails to perform his/her duties, a Commissioner or the Mayor may make a motion to censure that Mayor or Commissioner, which can be put to a vote by the maker of the motion.

g.

Questions of order and appeal. Point of order to call upon the Chair for a ruling and enforcement of regular rules. Appeal to have the City Commission decide whether or not the Chair has made a correct ruling.

h.

Call the question. However, if a Commissioner, the Mayor or the City Manager has not had an opportunity to speak on the item, the opportunity will be provided before the question is called.

i.

The Chair will open the item to comments from the public. Each speaker must be recognized by the Chair to speak, and all comments must be addressed to the Chair. There shall be no cross conversations or questions of any other persons. Each speaker must come to the podium and first state his/her name, address, and name of the organization if she/he represents an organization. Comments must not exceed three (3) minutes. Each speaker will be allowed to address the Chair only one (1) time. No loaning or transferring of minutes shall occur. Redundant or repetitive comments are deemed to have a dilatory effect on the expeditious and orderly progress of the meeting and are not allowed. When the Chair closes the public comment section of the agenda, there will be no further comments from the public.

j.

The purpose of the aforementioned rules are to provide an orderly methodology for conducting city business and to speed up the process by which the City Commission shall be allowed to consider, plan and act on the needs of the city. All members of the public shall be encouraged to consult the agenda in advance and contact individually one (1) or more of the City Commissioners or Mayor with their comments.

k.

The following is the procedures utilized for any quasi-judicial hearings:

1.

The Chair shall announce the case.

2.

Disclosure of ex parte communication.

3.

The city clerk shall place on the record, a copy or the original if available, of the notice of publication.

4.

The City Commission shall determine those persons with the right to speak or present evidence.

5.

Those persons who have been determined to have the right to speak will be sworn.

6.

Staff shall present its case.

7.

Applicant shall present its case.

8.

Sworn parties to have standing shall present their cases.

9.

Applicant shall have an opportunity for rebuttal.

10.

The City Attorney shall read the ordinance by title, a motion shall be made and seconded, which contains specific findings of fact and the Commission shall conduct a roll call vote. Such findings of fact shall include that the action taken by the Commission is consistent with the City of Flagler Beach's Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations.

(f)

Special and workshop meeting procedures. The following shall provide guidelines for special and workshop meetings:

(1)

Items may be removed from the published agenda; however, no items will be added to the agenda unless it is an emergency. Items not specified on the agenda will not be discussed.

(2)

Each Commissioner, the Mayor, and the City Manager shall be given reasonable time to speak on the agenda item concerned.

(3)

Any motion, at a special meeting, may be amended, but the amendment must also receive a second. A motion or amendment, at a special meeting, once on the floor, shall not be withdrawn unless both the Commissioner making the same and the Commissioner having seconded the motion or amendment withdraw the appropriate action, otherwise a vote is required. No motions will be made at workshop meetings.

(4)

At the conclusion of any discussion as determined by the Chair, the Chair shall call for a vote on the motion and no further discussion will be permitted. The decision of the Chair is appealable to the City Commission.

(5)

Questions of order and appeal. Point of order to call upon the Chair for a ruling and enforcement of regular rules. Appeal to have the City Commission decide whether or not the Chair has made a correct ruling.

(6)

Call the question. However, if a Commissioner, the Mayor or the City Manager has not had an opportunity to speak on the item, the opportunity will be provided before the question is called.

(7)

The Chair may open the item to comments from the public. Each speaker must be recognized by the Chair to speak, and all comments must be addressed to the Chair. Each speaker must come to the podium and first state his/her name, address, and name of the organization if he/she represents an organization. Comments must not exceed three (3) minutes. Each speaker will be allowed to address the Chair only one (1) time. There shall be no cross conversations or questions of any other person. No loaning or transferring of minutes shall occur. Redundant or repetitive comments are deemed to have a dilatory effect on the expeditious and orderly progress of the meeting and are not allowed. When the Chair closes the public comment section of the agenda, there will be no further comments from the public.

(8)

The purpose of the aforementioned rules are to provide an orderly methodology for conducting city business and to speed up the process by which the City Commission shall be allowed to consider, plan and act on the needs of the city. All members of the public shall be encouraged to consult the agenda in advance and contact individually one (1) or more of the City Commissioners or Mayor with their comments.

(g)

Standards of conduct. Personal attacks on character or motive, impertinent or slanderous remarks, and offensive or boisterous language are not allowed. The presiding officer is responsible for preserving order and ensuring compliance with the rules that have been adopted by the commission and anyone who fails to comply therewith may be asked to leave or may be removed. No placards, signs, handouts or the circulation of petitions will be allowed in the commission chambers.

The Commission may, on its own initiative, seek information and gather facts for the purpose of investigating any circumstance or situation of which the Commission may become aware that appears to violate or may potentially violate an acceptable standard of conduct for city officers. If, as a result of such investigation, the Commission determines the need for remedial or preventative legislation, the commission may make such changes to its ordinances as it deems appropriate.

(h)

[Accessibility to meetings.] The City of Flagler Beach demonstrates its commitment to the American with Disabilities Act by making its programs and information accessible to all people. Persons needing reasonable accommodations to participate in the Commission meetings should contact the City Clerk within three (3) days prior to the date of the Commission Meeting: [phone], P.O. Box 70, Flagler Beach, FL 32136.

(Ord. No. 99-06, § 1, 2-25-99; Ord. No. 2000-16, § 1, 7-13-00; Ord. No. 2004-19, § 1, 5-27-04; Ord. No. 2005-20, § 1, 7-28-05; Ord. No. 2006-18, § 1, 6-22-06; Ord. No. 2007-16, § 1, 5-24-07; Ord. No. 2009-15, § 2, 12-17-09)