[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Markesan
as Ch. 2 of the 1991 Municipal Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
B.
The Mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the City. He shall
have the powers and duties prescribed in Ch. 62, Wis. Stats., and
applicable sections of the Wisconsin Statutes.
C.
The Common Council shall be the judge of the election and qualification
of its members, may compel their attendance, and may fine or expel
members for neglect of duty. (See § 62.11(3), Wis. Stats.)
D.
At its first meeting subsequent to the regular election and qualification
of new members, the Common Council shall, after organization, choose
from its members a President, who, in the absence of the Mayor, shall
preside at meetings of the Common Council and, during the absence
or inability of the Mayor, shall have the powers and duties of the
Mayor, except that he shall not have power to approve an act of the
Common Council which the Mayor has disapproved by filing objections
with the Clerk-Treasurer. He shall, when so officiating, be styled
"Acting Mayor."
A.
Annual organizational meeting. The Common Council shall meet annually
on the third Tuesday of April for the purpose of organization.
B.
Regular meetings. The regular meetings of the Common Council shall
be held in the Common Council Room in the City Hall on the second
Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m., except that when the day for holding
any regular meeting shall be a legal holiday, the regular meeting
shall be held on the next following secular day at the same place
and hour unless otherwise determined by the Common Council.
C.
Special meetings.
(1)
Special meetings of the Common Council may be called by the Mayor,
or in his absence, the President of the Common Council, at such time
as he may appoint, by written notice of the purpose and time thereof
to each member delivered to him personally or left at his usual place
of abode, at least six hours before the meeting.
(2)
Upon petition of three or more of the members of the Common Council,
the Mayor, or in his absence the President of the Common Council,
shall call a special meeting of the Common Council.
D.
Adjournments. Any regular or special meeting may be adjourned by
a majority of the members present, but no adjournment shall be made
to a time later than the next regular meeting.
E.
Open meetings. Except as provided in § 19.85, Wis. Stats.,
all meetings of the Common Council or of any City board, commission,
committee or otherwise designated formally constituted subunit of
City government shall be open sessions as defined by § 19.82,
Wis. Stats. Pursuant to § 19.84, Wis. Stats., notice of
all meetings shall be given as to time, place and subject matter not
less than 24 hours prior to the commencement of such meetings unless
for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical, in which
case shorter notice may be given, but in no event less than two hours
in advance of the meeting. In addition, such notice shall be posted
for a like period on the City Hall bulletin board. The subject matter
of all closed sessions shall be announced by the Mayor and a roll
call vote taken on the motion to go into closed session so as to comply
with the requirements of § 19.85, Wis. Stats.
A.
Call to order. The Mayor, or in his absence the President of the
Common Council, shall promptly call each meeting of the Common Council
to order at the hour fixed for the holding of such meeting. In case
of the absence of the Mayor and the President, the Clerk-Treasurer
shall call the meeting to order and the Alderpersons present shall
elect one of their number President Pro Tem. In the absence of the
Clerk-Treasurer, the Mayor shall appoint a Clerk for that meeting.
B.
Roll call. After the presiding officer calls the meeting to order,
the Clerk-Treasurer shall call the roll.
C.
Order of business. At all meetings, the following order shall be
observed in disposing of business before the Common Council unless
otherwise provided in the agenda:
The standing rules for the government of the Common Council
shall be as follows:
A.
Introduction of business.
(1)
All ordinances, resolutions or other communications shall be delivered
to the Clerk-Treasurer and entered on the minutes. The Mayor shall
refer the ordinance, resolution or communication to the appropriate
committee or to the appropriate place on the agenda. The committee
to which any matter shall be referred shall report thereon no later
than the second regular meeting after such reference unless there
is no objection by the Common Council to further time being taken.
[Amended 4-14-2015 by Ord. No. 233]
B.
Questions of order. The presiding officer shall decide all questions
of order, subject to an appeal to the Common Council. No appeal shall
be debatable and the appeal may be sustained by a majority of the
members.
C.
Presiding officer to preserve order. It shall be the duty of the
presiding officer to preserve decorum. If any member transgresses
the rules of the Common Council, the presiding officer shall, or any
member may, call such offending member to order, in which case the
member called to order shall immediately be silent, unless permitted
to explain, and the Common Council, if appealed to, shall decide the
matter. If any member is not recognized by the presiding officer,
he may appeal to the Common Council to be heard and the Common Council
shall decide, by a majority vote, whether the member shall be heard.
D.
Motions.
(1)
When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be deemed to be in the
possession of the Common Council and shall be stated by the presiding
officer, or, if written, shall be delivered to the Clerk-Treasurer
and read by him before debate begins.
(2)
Unless otherwise provided in these rules, the rules of order pertaining
to motions shall be according to Robert's Rules of Order, Revised.
E.
Division of question. Any member may call for a division of the question
when the same will admit thereof and such division shall be made by
the chair and a separate vote shall be taken on each division.
F.
Debate.
(1)
No member shall address the Common Council until he has been recognized
by the presiding officer. When a member wishes to speak to a question
or make a motion, he shall respectfully address the presiding officer.
No member shall address the Common Council until he has been recognized
by the presiding officer. When two or more members desire to address
the presiding officer at the same time, the presiding officer shall
designate the member who shall have the right to speak first. The
presiding officer's determination on who shall speak first under this
subsection shall be final.
(2)
No member shall speak more than a total of 10 minutes on any question
unless the Common Council, by a majority vote, shall grant an extension
of time for a member to speak.
(3)
When a question is under discussion, no action shall be in order
except to adjourn, to lay on the table, to postpone to a certain day,
to refer to a committee, to amend, or to postpone indefinitely. All
such motions shall have precedence in the order listed.
(4)
Any member wishing to terminate debate on a question may move to
put the question before the Common Council. The presiding officer
shall then state that the previous question has been moved and a vote
shall be taken on whether the question shall be put to a vote. If
a majority of the members vote in the affirmative, debate shall be
terminated and the presiding officer shall then clearly state the
question before the Common Council. The Common Council shall vote
first upon pending amendments and then upon the main question.
G.
Quorum; voting.
(1)
Four members of the Common Council shall be a quorum. A lesser number
than a quorum may compel the attendance of absent members and may
adjourn. A majority of all the members present shall be necessary
to a confirmation on all questions. In case of a tie, the Mayor shall
have a vote. When the Mayor does vote in case of a tie, his vote shall
be counted in determining whether a sufficient number of the Common
Council has voted favorably or unfavorably on any measure. The Mayor
shall not be counted in determining whether a quorum is present at
a meeting. (See § 62.11, Wis. Stats.)
[Amended by Ord. No. 182]
(2)
Unless approved by unanimous consent of the members, the ayes and
noes shall be taken and recorded by roll call upon all questions before
the Common Council. It shall not be in order for any member to explain
his vote during such call. On confirmation and on the adoption of
any measure assessing or levying taxes, appropriating or disbursing
money, or creating any liability or charge against the City, or any
fund thereof, the vote shall be by ayes and noes.
(3)
All laws, ordinances, rules, resolutions and motions shall be passed
by an affirmative vote of a majority of all the members of the Common
Council present unless an extraordinary vote is otherwise required.
[Amended by Ord. No. 182]
(4)
It shall be the duty of every member to express his opinion on a
question by voting thereon; however, no member can be compelled to
vote.
(5)
The Mayor shall have the veto power as to all acts of the Common
Council, except such as to which it is expressly or by necessary implication
otherwise provided by Wisconsin law. All acts of the Common Council
shall be submitted to the Mayor by the Clerk-Treasurer and shall be
enforced upon approval evidenced by the Mayor's signature or upon
failing to approve or disapprove within five days, which fact shall
be certified thereon by the Clerk-Treasurer. If the Mayor disapproves,
the Mayor's objection shall be filed with the Clerk-Treasurer, who
shall present them to the Common Council at the next meeting. A 2/3
vote of all the members of the Common Council shall then be required
to make the act effective notwithstanding the objections of the Mayor.
If the last day for exercising a veto falls on a Sunday or a holiday,
the Mayor may exercise a veto on the next succeeding secular day.
H.
Reconsideration. It shall be in order for any member who voted in
the affirmative on any question which was adopted, or for any member
who voted in the negative when the vote is evenly divided, or for
any member who voted in the negative when the number of affirmative
votes was insufficient for adoption, to move a reconsideration of
such vote at the same or next succeeding regular meeting of the Common
Council. A new Common Council member shall succeed to the voting position
of his predecessor. A motion to reconsider shall not be in order when
the same result can be obtained by another motion.
I.
Resolutions and ordinances. All resolutions and ordinances shall
be presented in writing to the Common Council by a member of the Common
Council. Whenever a resolution or ordinance shall be referred to a
committee for consideration, such reference shall be made by the presiding
officer without motion unless objected to by some member. Following
passage of any ordinance, the Clerk-Treasurer shall cause the same
to be published in the official City newspaper, as provided by § 62.11(4),
Wis. Stats., unless the Common Council, by majority vote, directs
the Clerk-Treasurer to cause the ordinance to be published pursuant
to § 66.0103, Wis. Stats.
J.
Common Council agenda. A proposed agenda, together with relevant
materials and communications, shall be prepared by the Clerk-Treasurer
and be available at the Clerk-Treasurer's office for public inspection
and copying, and delivered to the Mayor, the Common Council members,
and City officers required to attend regular meetings not later than
4:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately preceding the regular Common Council.
The agenda and materials for a special Common Council meeting shall
be available as soon as prepared and assembled by the Clerk-Treasurer.
[Amended 4-14-2015 by Ord. No. 233; 3-10-2020 by Ord. No. 257]
K.
Citizens' right to address Common Council.
(1)
Any citizen shall have the right to speak on any action item of business
that is on the agenda for Common Council action if he is recognized
by the presiding officer. Speakers may be limited to 10 minutes, except
by consent of the Common Council. No citizen shall be permitted to
speak on petitions, communications and reports when first introduced
before the Common Council and which are scheduled to be referred to
and reported back at a later meeting or which will be taken up at
a later time in the regular meeting.
(2)
No person, except members and officers of the Common Council, shall
be allowed to address the Common Council during the session of the
Common Council without the permission of the presiding officer.
L.
Public hearings. In conducting a public hearing, the Common Council
shall allow all interested parties an opportunity to speak on the
subject matter of the hearing. At the beginning of a public hearing,
the presiding officer shall request all speakers to remain in the
Common Council chambers until the conclusion of the public hearing
so that each speaker will be available for questioning by the Common
Council members. Public hearings shall be conducted by first allowing
those citizens to speak who are against the question. Each side shall
be given an opportunity to rebut new evidence presented by the opposing
side.
M.
Robert's Rules of Order to govern. In the absence of a special ordinance
or state statute, the Common Council shall be governed by Robert's
Rules of Order, Revised.
N.
Business at special meetings. At special meetings of the Common Council,
no business shall be transacted but for which the meeting shall have
been called.
O.
Suspension of rules.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided by law or this chapter, 2/3 of the members
shall be required to suspend, alter or modify any of the rules in
this section.
(2)
When a member moves for a suspension of the rules, he shall be required
to state the particular standing rule to which the motion is addressed.
The presiding officer shall then put the question, "Is there any objection
to the suspension of the rules in accordance with the motion?" An
objection voiced to suspension of the rules by one member shall require
a roll call on the motion for suspension. If no such objection is
made, the Clerk-Treasurer shall record a unanimous consent to the
suspension, and the presiding officer shall then proceed to state
the principal questions.
P.
Disturbances and disorderly conduct. Whenever any disturbance or
disorderly conduct occurs in any meeting of the Common Council, the
presiding officer may cause the room to be cleared of all persons
guilty of such disorderly conduct, except the Common Council members.
If any Common Council member is guilty of disorderly conduct, the
presiding officer may order the police to take the member into custody
for the time being or until the meeting adjourns. Such member may
appeal from such order to the Common Council as in other cases.
Q.
Failure to observe rules not a waiver. The failure to observe or
enforce the standing rules under this section shall not constitute
nor be deemed a waiver of the future enforcement of the rules.
A.
Appointment and duties. The standing committees of the Common Council
shall be appointed by the Mayor annually at the time of the organization
of the Common Council and shall consist of five members, including
the Mayor, except as otherwise provided, and the duties shall consist
of, but not be limited to, the following:
[Amended by Ord. No. 155; Ord. No. 160]
(1)
Finance, Personnel and Safety Committee. Responsible for reviewing
and reporting to the Common Council all matters regarding expenditures,
investments, insurance, police, safety and personnel.
(2)
Street, Building and Utilities Committee. Responsible for planning
and budgeting and implementing repair and improvements. The Building
Inspector shall submit all applications for review.
[Amended 4-14-2015 by Ord. No. 233]
(3)
Public Property and Health Committee. Responsible for planning and
budgeting and implementing maintenance and improvements for all municipal
properties, buildings, parks, health and sanitation.
B.
Reports. All committees to whom any matter shall be referred shall
report thereon at the first stated meeting after such reference. Committees,
on making their reports, shall return all papers containing the subject
matter referred. All reports and resolutions shall be entered on the
minutes and filed with the Clerk-Treasurer.
C.
Expenditures. Any committee appointed by the Mayor and approved by
the Common Council shall have the right to order work done for the
City with expenditures limited to $1,000.
[Amended 4-14-2015 by Ord. No. 233]
In addition to the standing committees, special committees may
be appointed from time to time to deal with special matters of interest
to the City. All such committees shall be appointed by the Mayor unless
otherwise directed by the Common Council.
