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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 2455 ORDINANCE NO. 2455 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA ADDING SECTION 2.04.060 TO THE AZUSA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH RULES OF DECORUM FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1 . Section 2.04.060 is hereby added to the Azusa Municipal Code to read as follows: "SECTION 2.04.060 COUNCIL MEETING RULES-PURPOSE A. Purpose. In adopting this section, the City Council finds, determines and declares that: 1. In order to govern the City in an efficient but fair manner, the Council must adopt rules of public decorum that enable the public to address issues before the Council on its agenda or of concern to the community. 2. The public expects the City Council meetings to be conducted in a reasoned and deliberative manner so that the issues before the Council can be debated in a careful and thorough manner while preserving the Council meetings as a forum for the full and complete discussion of all points of view. Accordingly, any persons in attendance at the City Council meeting shall be quiet during the proceedings and shall obey the rules set forth in this section in order to preserve and to protect the rights of the public for participation in City government and to enable the Council to conduct public business in a fair and efficient manner. 3. In adopting this section, it is the intent of the Council to prohibit actions which disrupt, disturb or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of the Council meeting. B. Decorum. Meetings of the City Council shall be conducted in an orderly manner to ensure that the public has a full opportunity to be heard and that the deliberative process of the Council is retained at all times. The presiding officer of the Council shall be the Mayor, or in his absence, the Mayor Pro Tempore or, in their absence, another member so designated by the Council, who shall be responsible for maintaining the order and decorum of meetings. C. Rules of Decorum. While any meeting of the City Council (or of another entitybr which the Council is the legislative body) is in session, the following rules of order and decorum shall be observed: 1 . Councilmembers. The members of the City Council shall preserve order and decorum, and a member shall not by conversation or other means delay or interrupt the Council proceedings or disturb any other member while speaking. 2. City Staff Members. Employees of the City shall observe the same rules of order and decorum as those which apply to the members of Council. 3 . Persons Addressing the Council . Each person who addresses the Council on any item shall do so in an orderly manner and shall not make personal, impertinent, slanderous or profane remarks to any member of the Council, staff or general public which disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of Council meetings. Any person who makes such remarks, or who utters loud, threatening, personal or abusive language, or engages in any other disorderly conduct which disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of any Council meeting shall, at the discretion of the presiding officer or a majority of the Council, be barred from that Council meeting. 4. Time Limit on Speaking. Persons addressing the Council on agenda and public participation items shall have a maximum of five (5) minutes to speak. The time spent on questions from Councilmembers or discussions by Councilmembers shall not be charged to the five (5) minute time. The Mayor or presiding officer may, with the consent of the Council, extend the speaker's time. 5. Members of the Audience. No person in the audience at a Council meeting shall engage in disorderly or boisterous conduct, including the utterance of loud, threatening or abusive language, whistling, stamping of feet or other acts which disturb, disrupt or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of any Council meeting. Any person who conducts himself in the aforementioned manner shall, at the discretion of the presiding officer or a majority of the Council, be barred from that Council meeting. D. Enforcement of Decorum. The rules of decorum set forth above shall be enforced in the following manner: 1. Warning. The Mayor or presiding officer shall request that a person who is breaching the rules of decorum be orderly and silent. If, after receiving a warning from the Mayor -2- pmt/ORN48002 or presiding officer, a person persists in disturbing the meeting, the presiding officer shall order him to leave the Council meeting. If such person does not remove himself, the presiding officer may order any law enforcement officer who is on duty at said meeting to remove that person from the Council chambers. 2. Removal. Any law enforcement officer shall carry out all lawful orders and instructions given by the Mayor or presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meeting. 3 . Resisting Removal. Any person who resists removal by a law enforcement officer shall be charged with a violation of this section. 4. Penalty. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall, pursuant to Chapter 1. 12 of the Code, be guilty of a misdemeanor. 5. Motion to Enforce. If the Mayor or presiding officer of the Council fails to enforce the rules set forth above, any member of the Council may move to require him to do so, and an affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall require him to do so. If the Mayor or presiding officer of the Council fails to carry out the will of a majority of the Council , the majority may designate another member of the Council to act as presiding officer for the limited purpose of enforcing any rule of this section which it wishes enforced. 6. Adjournment. If a meeting of the Council is disturbed or disrupted in such a manner as to make infeasible or improbable the restoration of order, the meeting may be adjourned or continued by the Mayor or presiding officer or a majority of the Council, and any remaining Council business may be considered at the next meeting. E. Other Rules. The Council may, by Resolution, provide for the order of the agenda, conduct of meeting, Parliamentary Procedure or such other matters as are necessary for orderly conduct of the meetings. " SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be published as required by law. -3- pmt/ORN48002 PASSED AND APPROVED this 20th day of August 19 90. / ///f - c.‘‘144e)- MAYOR STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF AZUSA ) I, ADOLPH SOLIS, City Clerk of the City of Azusa, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2455 was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 16th day of July , 19 90 . That thereafter, said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 20th day of August , 19 90 , by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: DANGLEIS, STEM:RICH, NARANJO, MOSES NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ALEXANDER ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONEPAW �I► "OVER -4- pmt/ORN48002