§ 2-1. City council.

(a)

Time and place of regular council meetings. The city council shall regularly meet at the city hall on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. The city council may by a two-thirds vote change the time of a regular meeting to any other time.

(b)

Mayor to preside at council meetings. The mayor shall preside over all meetings of the city council. At the hour of meeting the mayor shall take the chair and call the council to order, direct the roll to be called and the minutes of the previous meeting to be read, corrected, if need be, and adopted.

If the mayor be absent at the hour of meeting, the mayor pro tempore shall take the chair and preside over the meeting and the business shall be proceeded with as indicated above.

Editor's note— At the discretion of the editor, the term "chairman" was changed to read as "mayor" in order to reflect the jargon as most applicable.

(c)

Parliamentary standard. "The Scott, Foresman Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised" and any subsequent revisions, shall be the parliamentary standard for the conduct of all meeting of the Council of the City of Terrell, and maintained in the city secretary's office.

(d)

Agenda. The agenda for regular and special meetings of the City Council of the City of Terrell shall be divided into the following types of business and order:

(1)

Public hearing and announcements. This time shall be set aside to hear and respond to public hearings and any announcements of interest to the public or to the council.

(2)

Disposition of minutes.

(3)

Bid awards. All awards for purchase and/or services after there has been opportunity for competitive bidding as provided for by law or ordinance.

(4)

City manager's report. This item shall consist of a report by the city manager on subjects he deems of importance for the council or have been requested by the mayor or members of the council.

(5)

Monthly reports (may be staggered). All reports consisting of all departments and boards of the city.

(6)

old business. All business under this category shall be those written action items requiring subsequent readings, tabled or deferred from immediate prior old business agenda.

(7)

New business. The business under this category shall be written action items considered for the first time or items tabled or deferred from immediate prior new business agenda.

(8)

Discussion items. Items for discussion not requiring formal action by council.

(9)

Executive session. The executive session shall consider items as authorized by Article 6252-17, Section 2, V.T.C.S., Texas Open Meetings Law.

(10)

Comments from the public.

(e)

Establishing agenda.

(1)

Introductions of ordinances. Any member of council, city manager or the city secretary may offer ordinances for consideration by council, but must in all cases, follow the rules set forth as follows. Ordinances shall be in writing for placing on the agenda of a regular council meeting. Copies of the proposed ordinance, in the form required for adoption, shall be available at the office of the city secretary and shall be furnished to citizens, upon request to the city secretary, before first reading and, if amended, shall be available and furnished in the amended form for as long as the proposed ordinance is before council.

(2)

Placing items on the agenda.

a.

Any agenda item other than ordinances must be provided to the city manager by 5:00 p.m. of the Tuesday previous to the regular Tuesday meeting or at least 72 hours in advance of any other scheduled meeting.

b.

Any member of the city council, city manager, the city staff, boards, commissions, or the public may submit items for consideration by the city council. The city manager and management staff will determine if submitted items are to be placed on a future agenda or if the request can be resolved within the authority of the city staff. At the request of two members of the city council items denied placement on an agenda will be considered on the following agenda.

(3)

Emergency items. Emergency items may be added to the agenda up to two hours previous to a meeting. Cases of emergency and urgent public necessity are limited to imminent threats to public health and safety or reasonably unforeseeable situations requiring immediate action by the city council.

(4)

Limited effect. Failure to comply with this section shall not affect the validity of any action subsequently taken.

(f)

Regular, emergency and special meetings. The regular meetings of the city council are held at 7:00 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. The agenda of regular meetings shall be posted at least 72 hours in advance, as required by the Texas Open Meetings Act (Texas Revised Civil Statute Act 6252-17) as amended. An emergency meeting may be announced two hours previous to such a meeting. The agenda for such a meeting shall be set by the mayor. A special meeting shall be called by the city secretary upon request of the mayor, or a majority of the members of the council or by the city manager and shall be publicly announced pursuant to the 72-hour advance notification procedure.

(g)

Executive sessions. The City of Terrell establishes these rules for executive sessions in accordance with open meetings act, Texas Revised Civil Statute.

(1)

Certified agenda. For each of its meetings that is closed to the public, the city council may keep a certified agenda of the proceedings.

(2)

Tape recording. In lieu of the requirements for maintaining a certified agenda as provided in this section, the City of Terrell city council shall make a tape recording of the proceedings which shall include an announcement made by the presiding officer at the beginning and end of the meeting indicating the date and time, and persons present.

(3)

Sealing of certified agendas and tape recordings. At the conclusion of the executive session, the certified agenda or tape recording shall be placed in an envelope and sealed and thereafter kept in a secure and confidential location by the city secretary. A certified agenda or tape recording shall not be made available for public inspection and copying until in camera inspection by a court of competent jurisdiction and upon issuance of a court order in an action brought under the open meeting act.

(4)

Two-year tape preservation. The custodian of records shall preserve the tape recordings for at least two years after the date of the meeting. If an action involving the meeting is commenced during the required preservation period, the certified agenda or tape recording shall be preserved pending the outcome of the litigation.

(h)

Agenda; comments from the public. Persons or organizations that want to make presentations to council in excess of four minutes duration are required to register with the city secretary up to the time the council meeting convenes stating name, address and subject of presentation. A registration book will remain in the lobby of the city hall for this purpose. In no event will an individual be allowed to speak over ten minutes. Comments to council of less than four minutes duration by any person do not require prior registration; however, each addressee should clearly state his name and address to facilitate accurate recording.

(i)

City council workshops. The city council must devote their regular city council meetings to formal actions. Workshops shall be called from time to time so the city council has an opportunity to review established policies, establish priorities and informally discuss upcoming matters, but no binding decisions shall be made in workshop session which require formal action. The notification requirements of the open meetings act shall be observed in calling workshop sessions.

(1)

Workshops to be called. Workshops shall be called by the city secretary upon request of the mayor, city manager, or a majority of the members of the council and shall be publicly announced pursuant to the 72-hour notification procedure, as required by the Texas Open Meetings Act.

(2)

Workshop time. The workshop shall begin at 6:30 p.m. and shall be adjourned by 9:00 p.m.

(3)

Workshop agenda. The workshop agenda shall be prepared by the city manager and shall include any items requested by council members. Deliberations, as defined by the Texas Open Meetings Act, shall only be held on those items described in a timely posted workshop agenda.

(4)

Department heads' presence. Any agenda item affecting city departments shall require that the department head to be present.

(5)

Priorities. One workshop per year shall be devoted entirely to the review and establishment of short and long range city priorities.

(j)

Media.

(1)

All regular meetings, special meetings, emergency meetings, executive sessions and city board meetings will be called and conducted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Law.

(2)

Regular, special and emergency meetings of the city council of the City of Terrell are open to the public and to representatives of the media. Properly called and convened executive sessions of the city council are not open to the public, media coverage, pictures, or taping for public release.

(3)

No media personnel or equipment, including lights, cameras or microphones, will be located on the council dais. Media personnel shall be located along the south wall of the council chambers no closer than five feet in front of the council table, and shall not obstruct other aisles or exits. This procedure applies to all city council and appointed board meetings.

(4)

Reporters and media technicians are required to structure their movements, equipment set-up, removal and adjustments, etc., in such a manner as to not disrupt any council deliberations or the ability of the audience to see and hear the proceedings.

(5)

Interviews shall not be conducted inside the city council chamber during the time that the council is in session.

(6)

During the time the council meeting is in session, interviews may not be conducted in the lobby adjacent to the city council room; however, interviews may be conducted in front of the city hall.

(7)

The city secretary will furnish media representatives with a copy of the meeting agenda upon request.

(Code 1968, § 2-16; Ord. No. 1356, 3-27-84; Ord. No. 1596, 12-5-89; Ord. No. 1945, Art. I, 11-3-98)