HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation Commission RulesM • •
PARKS
PROPOSED RULES A~'D PROCEDURES FOR MEETINGS OF THE
SARATOGA PARKS & RECREATION CO:L~SISSION
These rules and procedures are adopted pursuant to the authority of
Resolution No. 432 of the City Council of the City of Saratoga.
1. MEETINGS
The term "meeting" shall mean the gathering together of a majority of
the members of the Saratoga Parks & Recreation Commission, each member with-
in normal hearing distance of the other, at the time and place established
by Resolution for regular meetings, or at such other time and place as
authorized by law for special meetings, for the purpose of acting in their
official capacity as members of the Saratoga Parks & Recreation Commission.
Unless otherwise authorized by law to be held in private, all such meetings
shall be open to the public.
No other gathering of the persons who constitute the Saratoga Parks &
Recreation Commission, or any portion thereof, shall be considered a meeting.
Any action or decision required by law to be taken or made at a meeting shall
be invalid and of no force and effect if the same is not taken or made at a
meeting as herein defined.
The foregoing shall not prevent less than a quorum, otherwise gathered
at the time and place and for the purpose of conducting a meeting, from ad-
journ.ing from time to time in accord with law until a quorum is present.
Failure to observe the rules hereinafter set forth shall not invalidate
any action taken which is otherwise lawful, and defective only for failure to
follow the procedure outlined in these rules and procedures.
2. GENERAL ORDER A\'D CO\'DUCT OF 3USI~,~SS
Roll Call. Before proceeding with the business of the Commission, the
Chairman or other presiding officer shall call the roll of the members, and
the names of those physically present shall be entered in the minutes.
uorum. A majority of all the members aapointed to the Commission shall
constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Commission. The
presence or absence of a quorum shall be determined by the presiding officer.
Reading of Minutes. At least two (2) days prior to each regular meeting,
the Clerk shall furnish each mmber of the Commission a cop}- of the minutes of
the last preceding regular or special rleetin~. Unless a reading of the minutes
._ .... _ .. _ . r_
• •
of the Commission meeting is requested in open meeting by a member of ttie
Commission, such minutes may be approved withev* reading if the Clerk has
previously furnished each member with a copy thereof. Notwithstanding the
above, re adii~g of the minutes may always be waived by a duly carried motion
to waive the reading thereof.
Voting. A.vote by roll call shall not be required unless a Commission
member specifically requests a roll call after a motion is made and before
r
the presiding officer calls for the vote. Unless a member of the Commission
audibly states he is not voting, his silence shall be, and shall be recorded
as, an affirmative vote.
3. PRESIDING OFFICER, POj~,ERS A\~ DUTIES
The Chairman of the Commission shall be the Presiding Officer, or in
- his absence, the Vice-Chairman. In. the absence of both Chairman and Vice-
Chairman, a temporary presiding officer shall be elected by the members of
the Commission present. Upon the arrival of the Chairman or Vice-Chairman,
the temporary presiding officer shall immediately relinquish the chair upon
the conclusion of the particular business immediately before the Commission
at that time.
The presiding officer shall have a vote, but no veto power, and may
move, second and debate from the chair. He shall preserve strict order
and decorum at all regular and special meetings of the Commission. He
shall state, or call upon the Clerk to state., every question before the
Commission, call for the vote, and announce the decision of the Commission
on all subjects. He shall decide all questions of order, subject however
to an appeal to the Commission by any Commission member, in which event a
majority vote of the Commission shall govern and conclusively determine
such question of order. He shall have and exercise such other powers and
duties as are contained elsewhere in these rules, and as are authorized by
1 aw.
The presiding officer shall have power and authority in his discretion
and without a vote of the Commission, to:
(a) Refer any matter, whether or not on the agenda to a committee for
study and report. Such power may not be exercised while a motion
is on the floor cq~~ering such matter, until the motion is disposed of.
:~
.. • • ~ .
Once a matter has been referred to committee and a report rendered
thereon, it may not thereafter be re~erred to committee a second
time under this power but only by Commission action.
(b) Set time limits on Commission discussion on any matter.
(c) Set time limits on any communications from members of the public to
the Commission.
(d) Declare the opening and closing of public hearings.
(e) Rule any motion on a subject not on the agenda as being out of order,
in which case the motion shall thereafter be void and the clerk shall
set the subject matter thereof down on the agenda of the next regular
or special Commission meeting.
4. SECRETARY, DUTIES
The Secretary to the Commission, need not be a Commission member, but may
be a member of the staff of the City of Saratoga. Should the Secretary be a
member of the City staff, he shall perform the duties of the Clerk as provided
in these rules and procedures. The Secretary shall be the recording officer of
the Commission and the custodian of its records, except those that are specific-
ally assigned to others. Commission records shall be available to Commission
members at all reasonable times.
5. REPORTS, RESOLUTIO\S & RECO~L~fE~,~ATIONS TO THE CITY COU\CIL
(a) Reports, resolutions .and recommendations to the City Council may be
presented in written or oral form. .Where written, the resolution or
recommendation need only be read by title and number prior to action
thereon, and only the motion adopting it need appear in the minutes.
- Where oral, the same shall be stated in full by the moving party,
and if adopted shall be transcribed in full in the minutes.
(b) No motion shall die for lack of a second, and the Presiding Officer
..shall call all motions to a vote whether seconded or not. ~ _
(c) The secretary shall report to the Commission all actions taken by
the City Council on recommendations sent to the Council by the Com-
mission.
(d) All motions for enactment of any resolution, recommendation or other
Commission action which do not receive the required vote for passage
shall nevertheless be entered in the minutes.
- ~.. .
• •
6. RULES OF DEBATE
(a) Presiding Officer 1`1ay Debate. The Chairman or such other member
of the Commission as may be acting as Presiding Officer may move,
second and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations
of debate as are by these rules imposed upon all members. He shall
not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of~. a Commission
member by reason of his being Chairman or acting as Presiding Officer.
(b) Getting the Floor. Every Commission member desiring to speak shall
address the chair, and upon recognition by the Presiding Officer,
' shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all
personalities and indecorous language.
(c) Interruptions. A member,•once recognized, shall not be interrupted
when speaking unless it be to call him to order, or as herein other-
wise provided. If a member, while speaking, be called to order, he
shall cease speaking until the question of order be determined, and,
if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed.
(d) Privilege of Closing Debate. The Commission member moving the adop-
• tion of a resolution, or commission action, shall have the privilege
of closing the debate.
(e) Motion to Reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by
the Commission may be made only on the day such action was taken.
It may be made either immediately during the same session, or at
a recessed or adjourned session thereof. Sach motion must be made
by one who votes with the prevailing side, may be made at any time,
shall have precedence over all other motions and shall be debatable.
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the Com-
e mission from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a
subsequent meeting of the Commission.
(f) Remarks of Cow-^is~ion "embers and S1nopsis of Debate.
A Commission member may request, through the Presiding Officer, the
privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject under
consideration by the Commission entered in the minutes. If the Com-
mission consents thereto, such statement shall be entered in the
minutes. The Secretary may be directed by the Presiding Officer,
• •
with consent of the Commission, to enter in the minutes a synopsis
of the discussion on any question coming regularly before the Com-
mission.
(g) Rules of Order. Except as otherwise provided in this ordinance,
proceedings of the Commission shall be governed under "Roberts,
~ Rules of Order" on all matters pertaining to parliamentary law.
(h) Failure to Observe Rules of Order ~on Debate. P7o action of the Com-
mission shall be invalidated nor the legality thereof affected by
the failure or omission to observe or follow the within rules of
debate or Roberts Rules of Order.
7. ADRESSING THE CO~L~IISSION
(a) General. Any person desiring ~ address the Commission shall first
secure the permission of the Presiding Officer so to do: provided,
however, that under the following headings of business, unless the
Presiding Officer rules otherwise, any qualified and interested
person shall have the right to address the Commission upon obtaining
recognition by the Presiding Officer:
1. Written Communications. Interested parties or their authorized ,
representatives may address the Commission by written communica-
. tion. If copies of said communications are furnished each Com-
mission member present, such written communications need not be
read aloud at the meeting unless so ordered by a majority vote
of the Commission.
2. Oral Communications. Taxpayers or residents of the City of
Saratoga or their authorized legal representative may address
the Commission by oral communications on any matter concerning
the business of the Commission or any matter over which the _
Commission has control; provided, however, that preference shall
be given to.those persons who may have notified the Presiding
Officer in advance of their desires to speak.
3. Informal Public Hearings. Interested persons or their authorized
representatives may address the Commission by reading a protest,
petition, or cot*-~unication relating to matters the subject of the
public hearing u~.3er this category, and the order of presentation
•:1
-_ _._ - _ _. _ _ . _. ._ - - r--
and the dime thereof shall be under the direction and control
of the Presiding Officer.
(b) Manner of Addressing Commission. Each person addressing the Com-
mission shall give his name and address in an audible tone of voice
for the record. All remarks shall be addressed to the Commission
E
' as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than the
Commission and person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter
into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Com-
mission without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No person
shall address or question a Commission ;mmber or other official
at the Commission table without the prior consent of the Presiding
Officer.
(c) Particular Rules.
1. Written Communications on a particular matter for Commission
discussion shall be read by the Commission at the time of such
discussion rather than under the agenda item of "Written Com-
municatioas".
2. Written communications from the Administrative Staff shall not
be read aloud unless requested by the writer of any Commission
member.
3. Anonymous communications shall not be read.
4. The Presiding Officer shall not permit any communication, written
or oral, to be made or read where it does not bear directly on an
agenda item then under discussion.
S. After a motion is made by a Commission member no person shall
• address the Commission without first securing the permission of
the Commission to do so.
8. INFORMAL PUBLIC HEEA~tI\GS
The Commission may establish informal public hearings whenever it deems
them necessary or advisable. Such hearings shall be conducted as provided in
these rules.
9. DRCnRtT41 A'~~ ENFORCE~~NT .
(a) By Commission riembE,rs. While tt_e Commission is in session, the
members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither
J
• •
by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt proceedings or
the peace of the Commission nor disturb any member while speaking
or refuse to obey. the orders of the Commission or its Presiding
Officer, except as otherwise herein provided.
(b) y other Persons. Any person making personal impertinent or
slanderous remarks or who shall be boisterous while addressing
the Commission shall be forthwith, by the presiding Officer,
barred from further audience before the Commission, unless per-
mission to continue be granted by a majority vote of the Com-
mission.
10. ADJOURNAiENT
Any meeting may either be terminated, or continued to another time, place
and/or date by adjournment, regardless of whether or not all matters on_the
agenda, or under discussion have been covered, acted on or~concluded. A
motion to adjourn shall always be in order and decided without debate. Where
a meeting is continued to a future date, if either the time or place, or either
of them, is not stated in the order of adjournment, it shall be deemed to be
at the hour and place specified for regular meetings of the Commission.
,~
J