CC Resolution No. 2797 RESOLUTION NO. 2797
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, AMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE;
PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE;
AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS:
Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas hereby amends its
Rules of Procedure, which rules, as amended, are attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and are
incorporated herein for all intents and purposes.
Section 2: All resolutions or parts of resolutions inconsistent with the terns of this
resolution are hereby repealed;provided,however,that such repeal shall be only to the extent ofsuch
inconsistency and in all other respects this resolution shall be cumulative of other resolutions
regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this resolution.
Section 3: Any provision,section,exception,subsection,paragraph,sentence,clause or
phrase of this resolution or the application of same to any person or the set ofcircumstances,shall for
any reason be held unconstitutional,void or invalid,such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the
remaining provisions of this resolution or their application to other persons or sets of circumstances
and to this end all provisions of this resolution are declared to be severable
Section 4: This resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by
the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas.
INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the
City of Baytown, Texas this the 81h day of September 2022.
NDON CAPETIL O, Mayor
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Exhibit "A"
RULES OF PROCEDURE
1. AUTHORITY
1.1 Charter. Pursuant to the provisions of sections 25 and 27 of the Charter
of the City of Baytown, the City Council enacts these rules of procedure for all
meetings of the City Council of the City of Baytown,Texas.
1.2 During any regular or special council meeting, a reasonable opportunity
shall be given for citizens to be heard under these rules. The rules of procedure are
enacted as guideline to be followed by all persons in the Council Chamber including
the City administrative staff, news media, and visitors.
2. GENERAL RULES
2.1 Meetings to be Public. All official meetings of the Council shall be open
to the public pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act,Chapter
551, Texas Government Code, as amended.
2.2 Quorum. A majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.
2.3 Compelling Attendance. No member shall be excused from attendance at
a Council meeting except for good valid reasons.
2.4 Misconduct. The Council may punish its own members for misconduct.
2.5 Minutes of Meetings. An account of all proceedings of the Council
shall be kept by the City Clerk and shall be entered in a book constituting the official
record of the Council.
2.6 Questions to Contain One Subject. All questions submitted for a vote
shall contain only one subject.
2.7 Right of Floor. Any member desiring to speak shall be recognized
by the Presiding Officer, and shall confine his or her remarks to the subject under
consideration or to be considered.No member shall be allowed to speak more than
once on any one subject until every member wishing to speak shall have spoken.
2.8 City Manager. The City Manager, or Acting City Manager, shall
attend all meetings of the Council unless excused. He or she may make
recommendations to the Council and shall have the right to take part in all
discussions of the Council, but shall have no vote.
See Baytown,Tex., Code§2-807(2009).
Council Rules of Procedure
Page 2 of 10
2.9 City Attorney. The City Attorney, or Acting City Attorney, shall
attend all meetings of the Council unless excused and shall, upon request, give an
opinion, either written or oral, on questions of law. The City Attorney shall act as
the Council's parliamentarian.
2.10 City Clerk. The City Clerk, or Acting City Clerk, shall attend all meetings
of the City Council unless excused, and shall keep the official minutes and perform
such other duties as may be requested and assigned by the City Manager.
2.11 Sergeant at Arms. The Chief of Police, or his or her designee, shall serve
as Sergeant at Arms for the City Council, and shall attend all meetings of the City
Council unless excused.
2.12 Officers and Employees. Any officer or employee of the city, when
requested by the City Manager,shall attend any meeting of the Council. If requested
to do so by the City Manager, such employee may present information relating to
matters before the Council.
2.13 Suspension of Rules. Any provision of these rules not governed by
the City Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended by the affirmative vote of
a majority of the quorum present.
2.14 Amendment of Rules. These rules may be amended, or new rules
adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum present, provided that
the proposed amendments or new rules shall have been introduced before the City
Council at a prior Council meeting.
3. CODE OF CONDUCT
3.1 Council Members.
(a) During Council meetings, Council members shall preserve order
and decorum and shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or
interrupt the proceedings nor refuse to observe the rules of the
Council.
(b) A Council member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted while
speaking unless called to order by the Mayor or presiding officer,
unless a point of order is raised by another member or the
parliamentarian, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to questions
from another member. If a Council member is called to order while
he or she is speaking, he or she shall cease speaking immediately
until the question of order is determined. If ruled to be in order, he
or she shall be permitted to proceed. If ruled to be
Council Rules of Procedure
Page 3 of 10
not in order she or she shall remain silent or shall alter his or her
remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council.
3.2 Administrative Staff
(a) Members of the Administrative staff and employees of the City shall
observe the same rules of procedure and decorum applicable to
members of the Council, and shall have no voice unless and until
recognized by the Mayor or presiding officer.
(b) While the presiding officer shall have the authority to preserve
decorum in meetings as far as staff members and City employees are
concerned,the City Manager also shall be responsible for the orderly
conduct and decorum of all City employees under his or her
direction and control.
(c) The City Manager shall take such disciplinary action as maybe
necessary to ensure that such decorum is preserved at all times by
City employees in Council meetings.
(d) All remarks and questions addressed to the Council shall be
addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any individual
member thereof.
(e) No staff member, other than a staff member having the floor, shall
enter into a discussion either directly or indirectly without
permission of the Mayor or presiding officer.
3.3 Citizens
(a) Citizens are welcome and invited to attend all meetings of the
Council,and will be admitted to the Council Chamber,or other room
in which the meeting is held, up to the fire safety capacity of the
room.
(b) All citizens will refrain from private conversations in the Chamber,
or other room, while the Council is in session.
(c) Citizens attending Council meetings shall observe the same rules of
propriety, decorum, and good conduct applicable to the
administrative staff. Any person making personal, impertinent, or
slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing
the Council or while attending the Council meeting shall be removed
from the room if the Sergeant at Arms is so directed by the Mayor
or presiding officer, and such person shall be barred from further
audience before the Council during that session of the Council.
(d) Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of feet,
applauding, whistles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be
permitted by the presiding officer, who shall direct the Sergeant at
Arms to remove such offenders from the room. In case the presiding
officer shall fail to act, any member of the Council may
Council Rules of Procedure
Page 4 of 10
move to require him or her to act to enforce the rules, and the
affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum of the Council present
shall require the presiding officer to act.
(e) No placards, banners, or signs of any kind will be permitted in the
Council Chamber except exhibits, displays, and visual aids used in
connection with presentations to the Council, provided that such
exhibits, displays, and visual aids do not disrupt the meeting.
3.4 In General
(a) Rules. Robert's Rules of Order (latest revision) shall govern in all
cases, unless Robert's Rules of Order are in conflict with the City
Charter, City ordinances, or rules of procedure hereby adopted,
provided that Section 42, "Rules Governing Debate, Rules Against
the Chair's Participation in Debates" shall not be applicable and the
Mayor or presiding officer shall have the right to participate in
debate of issues pending before the Council.
(b) Recognition by presiding officer. No person shall address the
Council without first being recognized by the presiding officer.
(c) Procedure. Each person addressing the Council shall approach the
podium and give his/her name and address in an audible tone of
voice for the records, state the subject the person wishes to discuss,
and, if representing a group, identify the group or organization the
person represents. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as
a whole and not to any member thereof. No person other than
members of the Council and the person having the floor shall be
permitted to enter into any discussion,directly or through a member
of the Council, without permission of the presiding officer. No
question may be asked a member of the City staff without the
permission of the presiding officer.
(d) Repetitious comments prohibited. A speaker shall not present the
same or substantially the same items or arguments to the Council
repeatedly or be repetitious in presenting their oral comments.
Nothing in the foregoing precludes submission of comments to the
City Council in writing, for such action or non- action as the
Council, in its discretion, may deem appropriate.
(e) Spokesperson for group of persons. In order to expedite matters
and to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any group of
persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject, it shall
be proper for the presiding officer to request that a spokesperson be
chosen by the group to address the Council, and in case additional
matters are to be presented by any other member of the group, to
limit the number of such persons addressing the Council.
(f) Charges against employees. Should any person in a Council
meeting charge an employee with improper conduct, malfeasance,
nonfeasance, or misfeasance, then, in such event, such person shall
Council Rules of Procedure
Page 5 of 10
be ruled out of order immediately and instructed to refer his
complaint to the City Manager.
(g) Disturbances. No person attending any Council meeting shall
delay, interrupt, or disrupt the proceedings or refuse to obey the
orders of the presiding officer. Any person making personal,
impertinent, and slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous
while addressing the Council or while attending the Council meeting
shall be removed from the room if the Sergeant at Arms is so
directed by the presiding officer. The Chief of Police, or such
member or members of the Police Department as the presiding
officer may designate, shall be Sergeant at Arms of the Council
meetings.
(h) Communication devices.No person attending any Council meeting
shall possess a pager, cellular telephone, radiotelephone or other
device that is set in a mode to provide audible notification of an
incoming call or page. No person attending any Council meeting
shall use a cellular telephone, radiotelephone or other
telecommunication device for audible communications while the
Council meeting is in session.
4. TYPES OF MEETINGS
4.1 Regular meetings. Unless otherwise established by the City Council, the
Council shall hold its regular meetings in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 2401
Market Street, Baytown, Texas, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on:
a. the second and fourth Thursdays for the months of January through
October;
b. the second Thursday in November;
C. either:
(i) the Monday in November immediately preceding
Thanksgiving Day or
(ii) the date of the canvass of the November election,
as applicable; and
C. the second Thursday in December.
4.2 Work sessions. Work sessions shall be called by the City Clerk upon the
request of the Mayor, the City Manager, or three(3)members of the Council. Such
meetings shall be held in the Don Hullum Conference Room unless otherwise
established by the Council. In the event of a work session, the City Clerk shall
notify each member of the Council. A work session is to provide information to the
members of the Council and to allow Council to discuss the issues presented during
the work session. While members of the public are invited to attend all work
sessions,the public is not provided a right or time to speak on a topic during a work
session, unless invited to do so by the Council. No decision shall be made by the
Council during a work session,nor shall any vote of the Council be taken to decide
a matter during a work session.
Council Rules of Procedure
Page 6 of 10
4.3 Special meetings. Special meetings of the council shall be called by the
City Clerk upon the request of the Mayor, the City Manager, or three(3) members
of the Council. In the event of a special called meeting, the City Clerk shall notify
each member of the Council.
4.4 Emergency meetings. In case of emergency or urgent public necessity,
which shall be expressed in the notice of the meeting, an emergency meeting may
be called by the Mayor,the City Manager,or three(3)members of the Council,and
it shall be sufficient if the notice is posted in accordance with Chapter 551, Texas
Government Code(Open Meetings Act), as amended.
4.5 Notice of Meetings. The agenda for all meetings, including Council
committee or subcommittee meetings, shall be posted by the City Clerk on the
City's official bulletin board and on the City's website, and notice of all meetings
shall be given by the City Clerk pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open
Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, as amended.
5. PRESIDING OFFICER AND DUTIES
5.1 Presiding Officer. The Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor
Pro Tem, shall preside as chairman, or presiding officer at all meetings of the
Council. In the absence of both the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, and with a quorum
being present, the Council shall elect a temporary presiding officer.
5.2 Call to order. The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the
Mayor, or in the Mayor's absence, the Mayor Pro Tem, and in the absence of both
the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, the meeting shall be called to order by the City
Clerk.
5.3 Preservation of order. The presiding officer shall (i) preserve order and
decorum, (ii)prevent insulting references to Council members, impugning of other
member's motives, and repetitious comments and (iii) confine remarks to the
question under discussion. The presiding officer shall call upon the Sergeant at
Arms as necessary to enforce compliance with the rules contained herein.
5.4 Substitution for Chair. The Mayor may call upon the Mayor Pro Tem, or
if he or she is unavailable, then any other member to take his or her place, for a
portion of a meeting, such substitution is not to continue beyond adjournment.
5.5 Points of Order. The presiding officer shall determine all points of order,
subject to the right of any member to appeal to the Council. If any appeal is taken,
then questions shall be, "Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustained?".
If a majority of the members present vote"No",the ruling of the chair is overruled;
otherwise, it is sustained.
Council Rules of Procedure
Page 7 of 10
5.6 Questions to be Stated. The presiding officer shall state all questions
submitted for a vote and announce the result. A roll call shall be taken upon the
request of any member.
5.7 Call for Recess. The presiding officer may call for a recess of up to fifteen
minutes at regular intervals of approximately one hour at appropriate points in the
meeting agenda, or if requested by any two members.
5.8 Votes. Council members shall clearly indicate their vote on each matter
submitted to a vote.
6. ORDER OF BUSINESS
6.1 Agenda. The order of business of each regular and special meeting shall
be as contained in the agenda prepared by the City Manager. The agenda shall be a
listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Council. Placement of items on
the agenda shall be governed by this Section. Conduct of business at special
meetings and council committees and subcommittees will likewise be governed by
an agenda and the rules of procedure contained herein.
The agenda for each regular and special meeting of the City Council is determined
as follows:
(a) All items to be included on the agenda must be submitted to the
City Manager's Office, the City Attorney's Office and the City
Clerk's Office on or before 4:00 p.m. on the tenth day preceding
the meeting.
(b) The City Manager, or the Mayor, or three Council Members must
grant approval for an item to be included on the agenda.
(c) An item may not be reconsidered by the Council if the item has
been previously considered and voted on by the Council within the
preceding six months,unless the Council,by majority vote,waives
this restriction as to the item.
The agenda order set out is the desired order for conducting the business of the City
Council of the City of Baytown in regular and special meetings. When the best
interest of the Council and the citizens of the City require, any item appearing on the
agenda shall be considered out of order as shall be determined by the presiding
officer in his.her sole discretion.
6.2 The order for the agenda shall be as follows unless the Mayor or
City Manager determines that a different order is in the best interest of the City
Council and;or the citizens of the City:
(a) Call to order.
(b) Announcement of quorum. (The presiding officer shall announce
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whether a quorum is present.)
(c) Pledge of Allegiance.Invocation.
(d) Approval of minutes. (The minutes of the previous meeting(s)of the
City Council shall be submitted to the Council for approval or
correction and approval.)
(e) Citizen Communications.
I. Items not on the agenda (3 minutes per speaker).
a. Any citizen who desires to address Council on a
matter not included on the agenda may do so at this
time provided the person has complied with
subsection I.c of this section. Council requests that
prior to appearing before Council, the citizen make
every attempt to resolve the problem through
administrative channels.
b. The three (3) minute limit may be extended by a
majority vote of the Council. Council reserves the
privilege to make inquiries of the citizen at the end
of his:her presentation. As this is an information-
gathering period for Council, all inquiries, requests,
etc., will be referred to the administration for
processing, and a response to the citizen will be
made at a later date.
C. To provide an efficient and orderly process to
handle citizen communications and to provide
notice to the public of each item to be discussed
during the Council meeting, each citizen desiring to
speak will be asked to complete a citizen
communication form to be provided by the City
Clerk. The form will provide a space for the
individual's name, address, telephone number, date
of requested appearance, reasons for request to
appear before Council and requested action of
Council. The form must be submitted no later than
5:00 p.m. on the day prior to the date that the
meeting is scheduled to be posted by the City Clerk.
Timely, complete requests will be included on the
agenda; however, only one citizen communication
per citizen per meeting shall be included on the
agenda.
I1. Items on the agenda.
Any person desiring to address Council regarding an item on
the agenda may do so by registering on the form provided in
the hallway leading to the Council Chambers. Each citizen's
remarks will be limited to three (3) minutes, unless the time
is extended by a majority vote of the Council.
Council Rules of Procedure
Page 9 of 10
III. A citizen requesting to address Council under either of the
above methods may pass his.her time to another person who
has requested to address Council; however, no citizen's
remarks shall exceed nine (9) minutes in total, unless the
time is extended by a majority vote of the Council.
(f) Public hearing.
(g) Business—Ordinances, resolution, motions, reports, and discussion
items shall be considered at this time.
(h) Consent agenda—Routine matters which require no discussion
(Any Council member may remove any item from the consent
agenda for discussion.)
(i) Appointments—Any appointment to boards, committees or
commissions shall be considered at this time.
(j) City Manager's report—The City Manager will present reports of
current problems and affairs of interest to the Council.
(k) Adjournment.
7. CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
7.1 Printed or Typewritten Form. All ordinances and resolution shall be
presented to the Council in printed or typewritten form.The Council may,by proper
motion, amend any ordinance or resolution presented to it and direct that the
amended ordinance or resolution be adopted, except as otherwise provided by the
Charter or state law.
7.2 City Attorney to Approve. All ordinances, resolutions, and contracts and
amendments thereto shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney.
7.3 Distribution of Ordinances and Resolutions. The City Manager shall
prepare copies of all proposed ordinances and resolutions for distribution to all
members of the Council at the meeting at which the ordinance or resolution is to be
considered, or at such earlier time as is expedient.
7.4 Majority Vote Required. An affirmative vote of the majority of the
Council members present is necessary to adopt or approve any ordinance,
resolution or take any official action in the name of the City except as otherwise
provided in the Charter or by state law.
8. CREATION OF COMMITTEES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
8.1 Council Committees. The Council may, as the need arises,
authorize the appointment of the "ad hoc" Council committees. Any committee so
created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for
which it was created or when abolished by a majority vote of the Council.
8.2 Citizen Boards,Commissions,and Committees. The Council may create
other committees, boards and commissions to assist in the conduct of the operation
of the City government with such duties as the Council may specify not
Council Rules of Procedure
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inconsistent with the City Charter, Code or state law. Memberships and selection
of members shall be as provided by the Council if not specified by the City Charter,
Code or state law. Any committee,board, or commission so created shall cease to
exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created, or
when abolished by a majority vote of the Council.No committee so appointed shall
have powers other than advisory to the Council or to the City Manager, except as
otherwise specified by the Charter, Code or state law.
8.3 Appointments.
(a) Individual City Council members making nominations for members
to citizen boards and commissions will consider interested persons
on a city-wide basis.
(b) The City Council will make an effort to be inclusive of all segments
of the community in the board and commission appointment
process. City Council members will consider ethnicity, gender,
socio-economic levels, and other factors to ensure a diverse
representation of Baytown citizens.
(c) The City Council will take into consideration an individual's
qualifications, willingness to serve, and application information in
selecting nominations for membership to each board and
commission.
(d) In an effort to ensure maximum citizen participation, City Council
members should consider a practice of nominating new citizens to
replace board members who have served three consecutive, full
terms on the same board.
8.4 Rules of Procedure. Each board, commission, and committee of the City
shall adopt Rules and Procedures for the conduct of business and matters that may
come before them. Such rules and procedures shall be consistent with the rules and
procedures set forth herein. In the alternative, the board,commission or committee
may use these Rules and Procedures, as applicable.
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