[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners (now
Town Council) of the Town of Denton 7-6-1981 as Ord. No. 186; amended
in its entirety 12-5-2022 by Ord. No. 736. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The Town Council shall hold regular meetings
on the first Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m.; provided, however,
that when the day fixed for any regular meeting of the Council falls
upon a day designated by law as a legal or national holiday, such
meeting shall be held at the same hour on the next succeeding day
or week, except that such meeting may be held on a legal or national
holiday with the common consent of the Town Council.
A.
The
Mayor shall call special meetings of the Town Council whenever, in
his opinion, the public business may require, or at the express written
request of any three members of the Town Council. Whenever a special
meeting is called, the following notice shall be given:
(1)
Councilpersons.
(a)
If the special meeting is called at a regular meeting, announcement
of the date, hour and purpose of the special meeting at the regular
meeting shall be sufficient notice to the Councilpersons present at
the regular meeting.
(b)
If the special meeting is not called at a regular meeting, the Clerk-Treasurer
shall mail a notice to each Councilperson containing the date, hour
and purpose of the special meeting. The same notice shall be given
to any Councilperson absent from a regular meeting when a special
meeting is called at that regular meeting.
(2)
Public. If a special meeting is called by the Mayor or by the Town
Council, the Clerk-Treasurer shall give reasonable advanced notice
of the special meeting. The notice shall be in writing; include the
date, time and place of the special meeting; and, if appropriate,
include a statement that a part or all of a meeting may be conducted
in closed session. The Clerk-Treasurer shall post the notice of special
meeting at the Town Hall. The Clerk-Treasurer shall also deliver a
copy of the notice to the representatives of the news media who regularly
report on sessions of the Town Council.
B.
No
business may be transacted at a special meeting, except such as is
stated in the notice.
All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract
documents or other matters to be submitted to the Town Council shall,
at least ten (10) business days prior to each meeting of the Town
Council, be delivered to the Town Administrator, whereupon the Town
Administrator shall immediately arrange a list of such matters according
to the order of business and furnish each member of the Town Council
with a copy of the same not less than five (5) days prior to the Council
meeting.
The presiding officer of the Town Council shall be the Mayor.
The presiding officer shall preserve strict order and decorum at all
regular and special meetings of the Town Council. He shall state every
question coming before the Town Council, announce the decision of
the Town Council on all subjects and decide all questions of order,
subject, however, to an appeal to the Town Council, in which event
a majority vote of the Town Council shall govern and conclusively
determine such questions of order. In the event of the absence of
the Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall preside.
The Mayor shall take the Chair precisely at the hour appointed
for the meeting, and shall immediately call the Town Council to order.
In the absence of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall call the Town Council
to order. Upon the arrival of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall immediately
relinquish the Chair upon the conclusion of the business immediately
before the Town Council.
A majority of all the members elected to the Town Council shall
constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Town
Council. In the absence of a quorum, the presiding officer shall,
at the instance of any two members present, compel the attendance
of absent members.
All meetings of the Town Council shall be open to the public.
Promptly at the hour set on the day of each regular meeting, the members
of the Town Council, the Clerk-Treasurer, Town Administrator, Attorney
and Mayor shall take their regular stations in the Town Council chambers,
and the business of the Town Council shall be taken up for consideration
and disposition in the following order:
Unless a reading of the minutes of a Town Council meeting is
requested by a member of the Town Council, such minutes may be approved
without reading if the Clerk-Treasurer has previously furnished each
member with a copy thereof.
A.
Presiding
officer. The Mayor, or such other member of the Town Council as may
be presiding, may debate from the Chair, subject only to such limitations
of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members.
B.
Getting
the floor; improper references to be avoided. Every 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 otherwise provided.
If a member, while speaking, shall be called to order, he shall cease
speaking until the question of order shall be determined, and, if
in order, he shall be permitted to proceed.
D.
Motion
to reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Town
Council 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. Such motion must be made by one of the
prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member and may be made
at any time and have precedence over all other motions or while a
member has the floor; it shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall
be construed to prevent any member of the Town Council from making
or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of
the Town Council.
E.
Remarks
of Councilpersons; when entered in minutes. A Councilperson may request,
through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an abstract
of his statement on any subject under consideration by the Town Council
entered in the minutes. If the Town Council consents thereto, such
statement shall be entered in the minutes.
F.
Synopsis
of debate; when entered in minutes. The Clerk/Treasurer may be directed
by the presiding officer, with consent of the Town Council, to enter
in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion on any question coming
regularly before the Town Council.
Any person desiring to address the Town Council shall first
secure the permission of the presiding officer so to do; provided,
however, that under the following heading of business, unless the
presiding officer rules otherwise, any qualified person may address
the Town Council without securing such prior permission.
A.
Written communications. Interested parties or their authorized representatives
may address the Town Council by written communications in regard to
matters then under discussion.
B.
Oral communications. Taxpayers or residents of the Town and their
authorized legal representatives may address the Town Council by oral
communications on any matter concerning the Town business, or any
matter over which the Town Council has control; provided, however,
that preference shall be given to those persons who may have notified
the Clerk-Treasurer in advance of their desire to speak in order that
the same may appear on the agenda of the Town Council.
C.
Reading of protests, etc. Interested persons or their authorized
representatives may address the Town Council by reading of protests
or communications relating to zoning, sewer and street proceedings,
hearings on protests, appeals and petitions, or similar matters, in
regard to matters then under consideration.
After a motion is made by the Town Council, no person shall
address the Town Council without first securing the permission of
the presiding officer so to do.
Each person addressing the Town Council shall give his name
and address in an audible tone of voice for the records, and unless
further time is granted by the Town Council, shall limit his address
to five (5) minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the Town Council
as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than the
Town Council and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to
enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of
the Town Council, without the permission of the presiding officer.
No question shall be asked a Councilperson except through the presiding
officer.
A.
By Councilpersons members. While the Town Council is in session,
the members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither,
by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or
the peace of the Town Council nor disturb any member while speaking
or refuse to obey the orders of the Town Council or its presiding
officer, except as otherwise herein provided.
B.
By persons. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous
remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Town Council
shall be forthwith, by the presiding officer, barred from further
audience before the Town Council, unless permission to continue be
granted by a majority vote of the Town Council.
C.
Enforcement of decorum. The Chief of Police, or such member or members
of the Police Department as he may designate, shall be Sergeant at
Arms of the Town Council meetings. He, or they, shall carry out all
orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose
of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meeting. Upon instructions
of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of the Sergeant at
Arms to place any person who violates the order and decorum of the
meeting under arrest and cause him to be prosecuted under the provisions
of this Code, the complaint to be signed by the presiding officer.
No person except Town officers shall be permitted to be seated
at the Town Council table unless granted permission to do so by the
presiding officer.
All special committees shall be appointed by the Mayor unless
otherwise directed by the Town Council.
Any member shall have the right to have the reasons for his
dissent from, or protest against, any action of the Town Council entered
in the minutes.
No account or other demand against the Town shall be allowed
until the same has been considered and reported upon by the Council.
All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before
presentation to the Town Council, have been approved as to form and
legality by the Town Attorney or his authorized representative and
shall have been examined and approved for administration by the Mayor
or his authorized representative, where there are substantive matters
of administration involved.
Ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects requiring
action by the Town Council must be introduced and sponsored by a member
of the Town Council, except that the Mayor or Town Attorney may present
ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects to the Town
Council, and any Councilperson may assume sponsorship thereof by moving
that such ordinances, resolutions, matter or subject be adopted; otherwise,
they shall not be considered.
A.
All ordinances shall have two separate readings, but the second reading
shall never be had on the same day. When the committee to which an
ordinance has been referred shall report such ordinance to the Town
Council at a subsequent meeting, the ordinance shall stand for final
action in accordance with the report of the committee, notwithstanding
that such committee reports an amended or substituted ordinance, provided
that such amendment or substitution is germane to the ordinance originally
referred to such committee.
B.
No ordinance shall relate to more than one subject, which shall be
clearly expressed in its title, and, when practicable, all ordinances
shall be introduced as amendments to existing ordinances or section
thereof.
C.
No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced.
At any regular or special meeting of the Town Council held not less
than six nor more than 60 days after the meeting at which an ordinance
was introduced, it shall be passed or passed as amended or rejected
or its consideration referred to some specified future date. In cases
of emergency, the above requirement may be suspended by the affirmative
votes of four members of the Town Council. Every ordinance, unless
it be passed as an emergency ordinance, shall become effective at
the expiration of seven calendar days following approval by the Town
Council. A fair summary of each ordinance shall be published at least
twice in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in the
municipality. An emergency ordinance shall become effective on the
date specified in the ordinance.
All reports and resolutions shall be filed with the Clerk-Treasurer
and entered in the minutes.
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and decided without
debate.
All ordinances passed by the Town Council shall be prefaced
by, "Be it enacted and ordained by the Town Council of the Town of
Denton that." Ordinances shall be signed by the Mayor and attested
to by the Clerk-Treasurer. Procedure for the passage of ordinances
shall be provided in the Town Charter[1] and Code of the Town of Denton.
