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CC Resolution No. 3011RESOLUTION NO. 3011 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. 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 Section 2: All resolutions or parts of resolutions inconsistent with the terms of this resolution are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent ofsuch inconsistency, and in all other respects, this resolution shall be cumulative of other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: If any provision, section, exception, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances 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 this the 26th day of June 2025. I�UARL /XS/NSON, Mayor ATTEST: BAYT01, \41e •s���ss°oveeG' �'fi c e ANGELA OC 1,o1qlerl� z° C2 APPROVED A T l SCOTT LEMQND, City Attorney R:\Ordinances and Resolutions\Resolution Drafts\City Council\2025-06-26\Resolution Amending CC Rules of Procedure Revised 06-26- 251h,docx Council Rules of Procedure Page 2 of 10 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 meetings of the Council, where a quorum of its members are present, 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 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 and/or electronically stored constituting the official record of the Council. A certified agenda shall be prepared for all closed meetings and shall be approved by the Mayor or other Council Member presiding at the meeting in accordance with Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, as amended. 2.5 Questions to Contain One Subject. All questions submitted for a vote shall contain only one subject. 2.6 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. 2.7 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 Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 3 of 10 have no vote. 2.8 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. 2.9 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. 2.10 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. 2.11 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. 2.12 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. 2.13 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 Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 4 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 Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 5 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 Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 6 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 date of the canvass of the November election, as applicable; and (d) 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. In the event of a work session, the City Clerk shall notify each member of the Council and provide public notice of the work session, in accordance with Local Government Code Chapter 551. 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. 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. Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 7 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 City Council meetings in which a quorum is required, shall be posted by the City Clerk on the City's official bulletin board and on the City's website, and notice of all City Council 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. Revised June 26. 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 8 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 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. 5.9 Abstention. Council members may only abstain from voting on an item or question submitted for a vote in the manner prescribed by Section 171.004 of the Texas Local Government Code. 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 in accordance with rules established by the City Clerk. (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 Citizen Addresses. Any person desiring to address Council on an agenda item may do so by registering on the form provided in the hallway leading to the Council Chambers or as provided in Section 6.3(e). For any item on the agenda, each citizen's remarks shall be limited to three (3) minutes, unless the time is extended by a majority vote of the Council. A citizen 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 Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 9 of 10 of the Council. 6.3 Order. 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 whether a quorum is present.) (c) Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation. (d) Non -agenda items —For any item not on the Agenda, each citizen's remarks shall be limited to one (1) minute. The one (1) minute limit may be extended by a majority vote of the Council. A citizen may pass his/her time to another person who has requested to address Council; however, no citizen's remarks shall exceed three (3) minutes in total, unless the time is extended by a majority vote of the Council. The Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, prohibits the City Council from discussing, deliberating, or considering, subjects for which public notice has not been given on the agenda. Issues that cannot be referred to the administration for action may be placed on the agenda of a future City Council Session. (e) 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.) (fl 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) Citizen Communications. I. 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, Council requests that prior to appearing before Council under this section, the citizen make every attempt to resolve the problem through administrative channels. 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 Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 10 of 10 per meeting shall be included on the agenda. II. Citizens desiring to speak during Citizen Communications shall be allowed three (3) minutes. The three (3) minute limit may be extended by a majority vote of the Council. A citizen 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. III. Council reserves the privilege to make inquiries of the citizen at the end of his/her presentation. In general, Citizen Communications is an information -gathering period for Council. Inquiries, requests, etc., will likely be referred to the administration for processing, and a response to the citizen will be made at a later date. (1) 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, or his designee, except that should the City Attorney, upon approval of the City Manager, adopt a policy approving the use of a particular form or format for contracts, such form shall be deemed to be approved as to form by the City Attorney. 7.3 Distribution of Ordinances and Resolutions. To the greatest extent possible, the City Attorney 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. All such committees shall be created during a meeting of the City Council and the creation date and purpose for creation shall be clearly established. 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. Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 1 1 of 10 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 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, excluding those provisions requiring compliance with Texas Government Code Chapter 551, unless compliance is otherwise required by law. 9. PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION OF THE MAYOR PRO TEM 9.1 Establishment of Position: Baytown City Charter - Article II, Section 15 The council shall elect a mayor pro tem who shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor and, if a vacancy should occur, shall become mayor until the next regular election, at which election a mayor shall be elected to fill the unexpired term. Revised June 26, 2025 Council Rules of Procedure Page 12 of 10 9.2 Selection Guidelines: Process: Each Council Member and the Mayor shall have the duty to consider these guidelines and all factors surrounding an individual's election to the office of Mayor Pro Tem and shall thereafter vote in the best interests of the entire City. 2. Unless voted otherwise by the City Council, the office has a one-year term commencing at the call to order of the first meeting after all new Members are sworn in. The office will be filled from within the membership of the City Council by a majority vote of the City Council members in attendance. 3. Generally, the election will be held at the last regular council meeting in December. 4. Prior to the election, the prospective Mayor Pro Tem shall: a) have served on Council for at least one year; b) have reviewed the duties and responsibilities of both the Mayor Pro Tem and the Mayor; and c) state at the meeting at which he or she is elected that he or she understands and agrees to fulfill all the duties and responsibilities of the office of Mayor Pro Tem. Considerations: The Mayor and each Council Member shall consider the following factors in electing a Mayor Pro Tem: 1. Demonstrated leadership skills with Council and City management; 2. Organizational skills; 3. Interpersonal skills in working with Council and city management; 4. Experience with and/or knowledge of the functions of city government; 5. Responsiveness to time deadlines on Council activities; 6. Demonstrated availability of time and willingness to devote the time; and 7. Demonstrated availability for promptly called special meetings -- both full Council Meetings as well as administrative and informational meetings. UKristin Holmes�Boards and Comissions\Rules of Procedure Amendment\FINAL DRAFT\Rules of Procedure Revised June 2025.clean. FINAL. kh.docx Revised June 26, 2025