FCPEMSD Resolution No. 67 RESOLUTION NO. 67
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BAYTOWN
FIRE CONTROL, PREVENTION, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
DISTRICT ADOPTING RULES OF PROCEDURE; AND PROVIDING FOR
THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BAYTOWN FIRE
CONTROL, PREVENTION, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DISTRICT:
Section 1: That the Board of Directors of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and
Emergency Medical Services District hereby adopts its Rules of Procedure, which are attached
hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes.
Section 2: This resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by
the Board of Directors of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical
Services District.
INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED, by the affirmative vote of the Board of Directors
of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services District this the 21"
day of January, 2020.
ENDA BRADLEY SMITH, President
ATT T:
ETICIA BRYSC , cretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ;
JCIq
ACIO RAMIREZ, SR. neral Counsel 'moll�``��.���
!-COBFS01,Legal•Karen FilmCity Council Fire Control.Prevention and Emergency Medical Services District Resolutions 2020 January 21 AdoptRulesofProcedure doc
Exhibit "A"
BAYTOWN FIRE CONTROL,PREVENTION,AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL
SERVICES DISTRICT
RULES OF PROCEDURE
1. AUTHORITY
1.1 The Board of Directors of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and
Emergency Medical Services District (the "Board") enacts these rules of
procedure for all meetings of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and
Emergency Medical Services District(the "District").
1.2 During any regular or special board 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 person present at any meeting,
including the administrative staff, news media, and visitors.
2. GENERAL RULES
2.1 Quorum. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.
2.2 Minutes of Meetings. An account of all proceedings of the Board shall
be kept by the Assistant Secretary in accordance with Chapter 551, Texas
Government Code, as amended.
2.3 Questions to Contain One Subject. All questions submitted for a vote
shall contain only one subject.
2.4 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. Generally, no member shall be allowed to
speak more than once on any one subject until every member wishing to speak
shall have spoken.
2.5 General Manager. The General Manager or his/her designee shall attend
all meetings of the Board unless excused. He or she may make recommendations
to the Board and shall have the right to take part in all discussions of the Board,
but shall have no vote.
2.6 General Counsel. The General Counsel or his/her designee shall attend
all meetings of the Board unless excused and shall, upon request, give an opinion,
either written or oral, on questions of law. The General Counsel shall act as the
Board's parliamentarian.
2.07 Assistant Secretary. The Assistant Secretary or his/her designee, shall
attend all meetings of the Board unless excused, and shall keep the official
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Page 2 of 7
minutes and perform such other duties as may be requested and assigned by the
General Manager.
2.08 Suspension of Rules. Any provision of these rules not governed by state
statute may be temporarily suspended by the affirmative vote of a majority of the
quorum present.
2.09 Amendment of Rules. These rules may be amended, or new rules
adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum present.
3. CODE OF CONDUCT
3.1 Directors.
(a) During Board meetings, Directors 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
Board.
(b) A Director, once recognized, shall not be interrupted while
speaking unless called to order by the President 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 Director 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 not in order she or
she shall remain silent or shall alter his or her remarks so as to
comply with rules of the Board.
3.2 Administrative Staff
(a) Members of the Administrative staff and employees shall observe
the same rules of procedure and decorum applicable to members of
the Board, and shall have no voice unless and until recognized by
the President or presiding officer.
(b) While the presiding officer shall have the authority to preserve
decorum in meetings as far as staff members and employees are
concerned, the General Manager also shall be responsible for the
orderly conduct and decorum of all employees under his or her
direction and control.
(c) The General Manager shall take such disciplinary action as maybe
necessary to insure that such decorum is preserved at all times by
employees in Board meetings.
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Page 3 of 7
(d) All remarks and questions addressed to the Board shall be
addressed to the Board as a whole and not to any individual
Director 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 President or presiding officer.
3.3 Citizens
(a) Citizens are welcome and invited to attend all meetings of the
Board, and will be admitted to the meeting room up to the fire
safety capacity of the room.
(b) All citizens will refrain from private conversations in the meeting
room while the Board is in session.
(c) Citizens attending Board 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 Board or while attending the Board meeting shall be removed
from the room if so directed by the President or presiding officer,
and such person shall be barred from further audience before the
Board during that session of the Board.
(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 removal
such offenders from the room. In case the presiding officer shall
fail to act, any Director may move to require him or her to act to
enforce the rules, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the
quorum of the Board present shall require the presiding officer to
act.
(e) No placards, banners, or signs of any kind will be permitted in the
meeting room except exhibits, displays, and visual aids used in
connection with presentations to the Board, 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 rules
of procedure hereby adopted, provided that Section 42, "Rules
Governing Debate" relating to the right of the Chair to participate
in debate shall not be applicable and the President or presiding
officer shall have the right to participate in debate of issues
pending before the Board.
(b) Recognition by presiding officer. No person shall address the
Board without first being recognized by the presiding officer.
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Page 4 of 7
(c) Procedure. Each person addressing the Board shall give his/her
name and address in an audible tone of voice for the record, 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 Board as a whole and not to
any member thereof. No person other than Directors and the
person having the floor shall be permitted to enter into any
discussion, directly or through a Director, without permission of
the presiding officer. No question may be asked a member of the
staff without the permission of the presiding officer.
(d) Spokesperson for group of persons. In order to expedite matters
and to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any group of
persons wishes to address the Board 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 Board, 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 Board.
(e) Charges against employees. Should any person in a Board
meeting charge an employee with improper conduct, malfeasance,
nonfeasance, or misfeasance, then, in such event, such person shall
be ruled out of order immediately and instructed to refer his
complaint to the General Manager.
(f) Disturbances. No person attending any Board 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 Board or while attending the Board meeting
shall be removed from the room if so directed by the presiding
officer.
(g) Communication devices. Any person attending any Board
meeting shall set a pager, cellular telephone, radiotelephone or
other device to a mode to provide nonaudible notification of an
incoming call or page. No person attending any Board meeting
shall use a cellular telephone, radiotelephone or other
telecommunication device for audible communications while the
Board meeting is in session.
4. TYPES OF MEETINGS
4.1 Regular meetings. The Board shall hold its regular meetings in the
Council Chamber at City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas on the third
Tuesday of first month of each calendar quarter beginning at 4:30 p.m., unless
otherwise established by the Board.
4.2 Special meetings. Special meetings of the Board shall be called by the
Assistant Secretary upon the request of the President or the General Manager. In
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Page 5 of 7
the event of a special called meeting, the Assistant Secretary shall notify each
Director.
4.3 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 President or the General Manager; and it shall be sufficient if the
notice is posted in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, as amended.
4.4 Notice of Meetings. The agenda for all meetings shall be posted by the
Assistant Secretary on the District's official bulletin board and notice of all
meetings shall be given by the Assistant Secretary pursuant to the requirements of
the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, as
amended (which includes providing notice to the County Clerk of Harris County,
Texas).
5. PRESIDING OFFICER AND DUTIES
5.1 Presiding Officer. The President, or in the absence of the President, the
Vice President, shall preside as chairman, or presiding officer at all meetings of
the Board. In the absence of both the President and Vice-President, and with a
quorum being present, the Board shall elect a temporary presiding officer.
5.2 Call to order. The President shall call the meetings of the Board to order,
or in the President's absence, the Vice-President, and in the absence of both the
President and Vice President; the Assistant Secretary shall call the meeting to
order.
5.3 Preservation of order. The presiding officer shall preserve order and
decorum, prevent insulting references to Directors, the impugning of other
Director's motives, and confine Directors' remarks to the question under
discussion. The presiding officer shall call upon a police officer as necessary to
enforce compliance with the rules contained herein.
5.4 Substitution for Chair. The President may call upon the Vice President,
or if he or she is unavailable, then any other Director 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 Board. If any appeal is taken,
then questions shall be, "Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustained?".
If a majority of the Directors present vote "No," the ruling of the chair is
overruled; otherwise, it is sustained.
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.
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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 Directors.
5.8 Votes. Directors shall clearly indicate their vote on each matter submitted
to a vote. A concurrence of a majority of the members of the Board is necessary
in matters relating to the business of the District. A two-thirds majority vote of the
Board is required to reject any application for funding.
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 General Manager. The agenda shall
be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Board. This section shall
govern placement of items on the agenda. Conduct of business at special
meetings will likewise be governed by an agenda and the rules of procedure
contained herein.
The agenda for each regular and special meeting of the Board is determined as
follows:
(a) All items to be included on the agenda must be submitted
to the General Manager's Office, the General Counsel's
Office and the Assistant Secretary's Office on or before
5:00 p.m. on the eighth day preceding the meeting.
(b) Agenda items to be included on the agenda must be
approved by(1)the General Manager or(2) the President.
(c) Should a Director's request for an item to be included on an
agenda be refused, such refusal shall be placed on the same
agenda to allow Board to determine whether the item shall
be placed on the next agenda.
(d) The Board may not reconsider an item if the item has been
previously considered and voted on by the Board within the
preceding six months, unless the Board, by majority vote of
the quorum present, waives this restriction as to the item.
The agenda order set out is the desired order for conducting the business
of the District in regular and special meetings. When the best interest of the Board
and the residents of the District 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 Order. The order for the agenda is as follows:
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(a) Call to order.
(b) Approval of minutes. (The minutes of the previous meeting(s) of
the Board shall be submitted to the Board for approval or
correction and approval.)
(c) Public testimony. Any person desiring to address Board regarding
an item on the agenda may do so by registering on the form
provided in the hallway leading to the meeting room. Each
citizen's remarks will be limited to three (3) minutes, unless the
time is extended by a majority vote of the quorum present.
(d) Public hearing.
(e) Business—Resolution, motions, reports, and discussion items shall
be considered at this time.
(f) General Manager's report—The General Manager will present
reports of current problems and affairs of interest to the Board.
(g) Adjournment.
7. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
7.1 Printed or Typewritten Form. All resolutions shall be presented to the
Board in printed or typewritten form. The Board may, by proper motion, amend
any resolution presented to it and direct that the amended resolution be adopted,
except as otherwise provided by state law.
7.2 General Counsel to Approve. The General Counsel thereto shall
approve all resolutions and contracts and amendments as to form.
7.3 Distribution of Resolutions. The General Manager shall prepare copies
of all proposed resolutions for distribution to all Directors at the meeting at which
the 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
Directors present is necessary to adopt or approve any resolution or take any
official action in the name of the District except as otherwise provided by state
law.
COBFSORLegalWaren Files City Counci4Fire Control,Prevention and Emergency Medical Services District\Rules of Procedure\ftules of Procedure.doc