Resolution No. 06-51 CITY OF TIGARD, OREGON
TIGARD CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. 06-,
A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE COUNCIL GROUNDRULES (EXHIBIT A) AND
SUPERSEDING RESOLUTION NO. 04-83
WHEREAS, the Council periodically reviews Council Groundrules; and
WHEREAS, on July 11, 2006, the City Council discussed its groundrules whereby support was
expressed to add a statement to the Groundrules: "Council members should attempt to give at least 24
hours' notice, by advising the City Manager and the City Recorder of a request to remove a Consent
Agenda item for separate discussion."
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED by the Tigard City Council that:
SECTION 1: The City Council hereby revises the Council Groundrules as described in the
attached Exhibit A, Page 6, with the following wording shown in the Council
Agenda and Packet Information section:
• Council members should attempt to give at least 24 hours' notice, by advising
the City Manager and the City Recorder of a request to remove a Consent
Agenda item for separate discussion.
SECTION 2: The attached City Council Groundrules supersede the City Council Groundrules
adopted by Resolution No. 04-83.
SECTION 3: This resolution is effective immediately upon passage.
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PASSED: This �� ! day o 2006.
f
Mayor- ity of Tigard
ATTEST:
City Recorder- City of Tigard
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RESOLUTION NO. 06
Page 1
EXHIBIT A
Resolution No. 06-
CITY COUNCIL GROUNDRULES AND AGENDA PROCESS
The following information is intended to assist with preparation for and the conduct
of City Council meetings. The City Charter,Article IV, Section 13, contains
regulations that govern Council meetings. The Groundrules describe the process
followed by Council in scheduling and conducting meetings.
Council/Mayor Roles
• The Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor, the Council President, shall be the
Presiding Officer at all meetings. The Presiding Officer shall conduct all
meetings, preserve order, enforce the rules of the Council and determine the order
and length of discussion on any matter before the Council, subject to these rules.
The Presiding Officer may move, second, debate and vote and shall not be
deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Councilor. The Presiding Officer
shall sign all ordinances, resolutions, contracts and other documents, except where
authority to sign certain contracts and other documents has been delegated to the
City Manager and all documents shall be attested to by the City Recorder. The
Mayor shall appoint the committees provided by the Rules of Council.
• In all other actions, decisions and other matters relating to the conduct of business
of the City, the Mayor or President shall have no more or less authority than any
other Council member. For the purposes of this written procedure any reference
to the Council (unless otherwise specifically noted to the contrary) will include the
Mayor, President and Council members.
Conduct of City Meetings
• Council will meet at least once a month. Regularly scheduled meetings shall be on
the second, third, and fourth Tuesdays of each month.
• The Council meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays are "Business"
meetings; the Council meetings on the third Tuesday of the month are
"Workshop" meetings unless otherwise designated by the City Council.
• Unless specifically noted otherwise, the meetings of Council shall begin at 6:30
p.m. at the established place of meeting. On the second and fourth Tuesdays the
meetings will begin with a Study Session following by the Business meeting. On
the third Tuesday, the Workshop meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.
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• Roll Call/Voting Order: The roll shall be called in alphabetical order by last name.
At each succeeding meeting at which a roll call vote is taken, the council person
who voted last during the previous meeting, shall vote first and the Council
person who voted first during the preceding meeting shall vote second and so on
in a rotating fashion. It is the intent that the voting order remain fixed for each
meeting and that a different Council person shall vote last during each separate
meeting for the duration of the meeting.
• Charter Section 19 provides that'the concurrence of a
majority of the members of the Council present and
voting,when a quorum of the Council is present, at a
Council meeting shall be necessary to decide any
question before the Council.' A Council member who
abstains or passes shall be considered present for
determining whether a quorum exists, but shall not be
counted as voting. Therefore, abstentions and 'passes'
shall not be counted in the total vote and only votes in
favor of or against a measure shall be counted in
determining whether a measure receives a majority.
• The Chair, or other members if the Chair fails to remember, shall call for a Point
of Order at or around 9:30 p.m. to review remaining items on the agenda with the
Council. The Council may reset or reschedule those items,which it feels may not
be reached prior to the regular time of adjournment.
• The Council's goal is to adjourn prior to 10 p. m. unless extended by majority
consent of all Council members then present. If not continued by majority
consent, then the meeting shall be adjourned to either the next scheduled meeting
or the meeting shall be continued to a special meeting on another date.
• Definitions - Meeting Types, Study Sessions and Executive Sessions:
> BUSINESS MEETINGS: Business meetings are regular meetings
where Council may deliberate toward a final decision on an agenda item
including consideration of ordinances, resolutions & conducting public
hearings. Business meetings are open to the public. The regularly
scheduled business meetings are televised.
Business meetings are generally scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. with a
study session preceding the Business Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Study
Sessions are a workshop-type of meeting (see definition below) which
also provide an opportunity for the Council to review the business
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meeting agenda and to ask questions for clarification on issues or on
process. Study Sessions are open to the public.
All Council meetings are open to the public with the exception of
Executive Sessions. Executive Sessions can be called under certain
circumstances and topics are limited to those defined by ORS 192.660.
The "Citizen Communication" portion of the agenda is a regular
feature on the Council Business meetings. This item will be
placed near the beginning of the Council Agenda to give citizens
a chance to introduce a topic to the City Council. Citizen
Communications are limited to two minutes in length and must
be directed to topics that are not on the Council Agenda for that
meeting.
At the conclusion of the Citizen Communication period, either
the Mayor, a Council member or staff member will comment
what, if any, follow-up action will be taken to respond to each
issue. At the beginning of Citizen Communication at the next
business meeting, staff will update the Council and community
on the review of the issue(s), the action taken to address the
issue, and a statement of what additional action is planned.
Council may decide to refer an issue to staff and/or schedule
the topic for a later Council meeting.
> WORKSHOP MEETING: Workshop meetings are regular meetings
where Council reviews and discusses agenda topics with no intent of
deliberating toward a final decision during the meeting. Workshop
meetings are not currently scheduled to be televised but are open to the
public.
Workshop agenda items are generally topics which Council is receiving
preliminary information on and providing direction for further staff
analysis and information gathering for a later business meeting.
Workshop topics may also include discussions with standing boards
and committees, as well as other governmental units.
Appropriate topics for Workshop meetings include:
Introduce a Topic: Staff will bring up new items to determine
whether Council wants to entertain further discussion and
whether to schedule the topic as an item on a future agenda.
Educational Meetings: Council will review research information
presented by staff, consultants, or task forces - usually as a
process check;i.e., is the issue on the right "track"?
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Meet with individuals from City boards and committees or other
jurisdictions to discuss items of common interest (examples:
other Councils, the School District, and other officials).
Administrative Updates: Items such as calendar information,
scheduling preferences, process checks.
> STUDY SESSIONS: Study Sessions precede or follow a Business
Meeting or Workshop Meeting. As stated above, they are conducted in
a Workshop-type setting to provide an opportunity for Council to
review the Business Meeting Agenda and to ask questions for
clarification on issues or on process. Information is also shared on
items that are time sensitive. During Study Sessions, any Council
member may call for a Point of Order whenever he or she wishes to
stop the "discussion" because he or she feels that it is more appropriate
for the City Council to discuss the matter during the Council meeting.
If a Point of Order is raised, the City Council will discuss the Point of
Order and determine whether the "discussion" should continue on or
be held during the Council meeting. The decision on whether to
continue the "discussion" or not shall be determined by the majority
consensus of the Council members present. If Council discusses a
Council Agenda Topic in a Study Session prior to that Council meeting,
either the Presiding Officer or City Manager will briefly state at the
introduction of the Agenda Topic, the fact that Council discussed the
topic in the Study Session and mention the key points of the discussion.
> EXECUTIVE SESSIONS: Meetings conducted by the Council, City
Manager, and appropriate staff for deliberation on certain matters in a
setting closed to the public. Executive Sessions may be held during a
regular, special or emergency meeting after the Presiding Officer has
identified the ORS authorization for holding the Executive Session.
Among the permitted topics are employment of a public officer,
deliberations with the persons designated by the Council to carry on
labor negotiations, deliberations with persons designated to negotiate
real property transactions, and to consult with legal counsel regarding
current litigation or litigation likely to be filed.
Policy Regarding Interrelationships Between the City Council and Its Appointed
Commissions, Boards or Committees (hereinafter referred to as "Boards")
The Council shall follow the Procedure for Recruitment and Appointments to
Boards and Committees established in Resolution No. 95-60.
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• Appointments to any committees not covered by Resolution No. 95-60 shall be
made following the procedure provided within the Resolution or Ordinance,
which created the committee.
• Appointments to intergovernmental committees shall be made by Council Action.
• Appointments of Council members to internal City committees as the Council
Liaison shall be made by the City Council.
• It is Council policy to make known to the public, by notice in the Cityscape, of the
occurrence of vacancies on City boards for the purpose of informing persons who
may be interested in appointment.
• Council will entertain regular representation by persons outside the City on those
boards, which provide for such non-city membership.
• The Mayor and one Council member will serve on the Mayor's Appointment
Advisory Committee for the purpose of interviewing and recommending potential
board members. Council members will serve on this Committee with the Mayor
on a rotated basis for a term of six months. Terms shall begin January 1 and
July 1
Communications Between City Councilors, City Manager and Staff
• Councilors are encouraged to maintain open communications with the City
Manager, both as a group and individually in one-on-one sessions.
• Councilors are encouraged to direct inquiries through the City Manager, giving as
much information as possible to ensure a thorough response.
• In the absence of the City Manager, Councilors are encouraged to contact the -
Assistant to the City Manager. In the absence of both the City Manager and the
Assistant to the City Manager, Councilors are encouraged to contact the
Department Head, realizing that the Department Head Will discuss any such
inquiries with the City Manager.
• Contacts below the Department Head are discouraged due to the possible
disruption of work, confusion on priorities, and limited scope of response.
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Council Agendas and Packet Information
• The City Manager will schedule agenda items while attempting to maintain
balanced agendas to allow for discussion of topics while meeting the established
10 p.m. adjournment time.
• The City Manager will schedule items allowing time for staff research and the
agenda cycle deadlines.
• The agenda cycle calls for submittal of items 10 days in advance of a Council
meeting. Add-ons are to be minimized, as well as handouts distributed at the start
of meetings, except Executive Sessions.
• Councilors and staff will prepare in advance of public meetings and issues should
be presented fully in packets.
• Council is supportive of the role staff should play in offering professional
recommendations. Staff is aware of Council's right to make final decisions after
considering the staff recommendation, public input, the record and Council
deliberation on the matter.
• Council members should attempt to give at least 24 hours' notice, by advising the
City Manager and the City Recorder of a request to remove a Consent Agenda item
for separate discussion.
Communications Among Councilors
• Councilors are encouraged to suggest agenda topics at the bench or to contact the
City Manager about scheduling an item into the Tentative Agenda.
• Add-on Agenda items should be brought up at the start of the meeting and
generally considered only if continuing to a later agenda is not appropriate.
• Requests for legislative action of Council may be initiated by an individual Council
member during a Council meeting. The City Manager will respond to the request
consistent with resources and priorities, or refer the question of scheduling to
Council as a whole.
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Communications with Community/General Public
• Councilors and the General Public are reminded of the Agenda cycle and cut-off
dates. Administrative staff is available to explain how public issues are handled
and how citizen input may be accomplished.
• "Official'_' communication should come through City Hall and be provided by the
City Manager. Direct submittal or inquiries to the Council or individual
Councilors should be referred to the City Manager or Councilors may ask the City
Manager to look into an issue.
• Official "press releases" are encouraged, both to assure accurate reporting and to
advise Council and Staff of the official position communicated to the press. Press
releases are through the City Manager's Office.
General
• Councilors are always Councilors in the eyes of the Administration, never simply
private citizens. Thus, Councilors are always treated by Administration as Council
members.
• Information that"affects" the Council should go to Council. The City Manager is
to decide on "gray areas," but too much information is preferable to too little.
• Budget cuts or increases are policy decisions. Budgets will not be cut "piece meal"
or "across the board," but rather should be made in service or program areas,
giving staff full opportunity to provide data clearly defining the anticipated impact
of the action.
• It is the policy of the Council that if Councilors are contacted regarding labor
relations during labor negotiations or conflict resolution proceedings, then
Councilors have no comment.
• Councilors and the City Manager agree to report and discuss any contact, which
might affect labor relations with the entire Council in Executive Session.
• The Council Groundrules will be submitted for review by Council each year either
in the July or August Workshop Meeting. The Groundrules can be reviewed and
revised at any other time in the year when a specific issue or issues are identified
requiring action prior to the established review period.
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