- Rules and Regulations for the Government of the City Council

CITY OF CUMBERLAND
- Regulations for the Government of the City Council –

The following rules and regulations are hereby prescribed for the government of the City Council:

RULE 1 – REGULAR MEETINGS
The City Council shall meet on a regular bi-weekly basis, on such day and at such time as may be prescribed by order of the City Council, unless the same be a public holiday, in which event they shall meet the next day at such time as may be prescribed by order of the City Council; provided, however, that such bi-weekly meeting may, by a majority vote of the City Council, be postponed, when said City Council considers such postponement necessary, to another day at such time as the City Council shall, by order, determine.

RULE 2 – MEETING PLACE
The place of meeting of the City Council shall be in Room 212, Council Chambers, City Hall, and no meetings of said body shall be held elsewhere except by a majority vote of all the members elected.

RULE 3 – CALL TO ORDER
Precisely at the time designated by order, the President of the City Council shall take the chair and call the Council to order.

RULE 4 - ORDER OF BUSINESS
The order of business for regular meetings of the City Council shall be as follows:

I.Roll Call
II.Proclamations
III.Certificates and Awards
IV.City Administrator's Report
V.Director's Report
VI.Approval of Minutes
VII.Public Hearings
VIII.Unfinished Business
IX.New Business
X.Public Comments
XI.Adjournment

RULE 5 – SPECIAL MEETINGS
Special Meetings of the City Council may be held at any time on the call of the President or two members, upon forty-eight hours notice to every member of the Council; provided, however, that the requirement of a notice shall not be binding in any special meeting at which all members of the Council are present, nor where special circumstances so require.

RULE 6 – PRESIDENT OF CITY COUNCIL
The Mayor of the City of Cumberland shall act as President of the City Council; he shall preside at all meetings when present and preserve order and decorum; provided, that in the absence of the President, the members present shall elect a president pro tem.  He may designate what other member shall take the chair when he may desire temporarily to relinquish the same. He may speak on all questions before the City Council and shall have the right to vote upon all questions before the Council, except in cases of appeal from his decisions; provided, however, that he shall not have the authority to move or second a matter for consideration or action by the Council.  He shall appoint all committees unless otherwise directed by the City Council.

RULE 7 – MOTIONS / REDUCED TO WRITING
Every motion of proposition shall be reduced to writing on the call of  any members, and a motion made and seconded shall be deemed in possession of the City Council and shall be stated by the President or read by the City Clerk previous to debate, and may be withdrawn at any time previous to a vote being taken.

RULE 8 – DISCUSSION OF PENDING QUESTION
After the previous questions has been seconded and the main questions ordered, the member who has introduced, or the City Administrator who has reported the matter under consideration, shall have one-half hour in which to discuss the proposition pending, at the close of which the vote shall be taken.

RULE 9 – APPROPRIATION OR EXPENDITURE OF MONIES
The passage of all ordinances, resolutions or orders appropriating money shall be by “yeas” and “nays,” and the vote shall be recorded in the journal, and any order, ordinance, resolution or motion for the expenditure of any sum of money in excess of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) shall go to the next meeting before action can be taken thereon, except by unanimous consent, and shall then be taken up under its proper head in the regular order of business.

RULE 10 – ORDINANCES / CHARTER AMENDMENT RESOLUTIONS AND READINGS
Every ordinance and charter amendment resolution shall be read three times by title before a vote is taken upon its passage; and no ordinance or charter amendment resolution shall be amended except upon its second reading, and the second reading can only be dispensed with by unanimous consent. Every ordinance and charter amendment resolution shall be read the first time at the meeting at which it shall be introduced, and shall then lie on the table until the next regular meeting, when it shall be read the second time, and it may then be read the third time and final action taken thereon; provided that by unanimous consent, any ordinance or charter amendment resolution may be passed at the meeting of its first reading. After an ordinance or charter amendment resolution has been read a third time, the only business in order is the call of the role upon its final passage.

RULE 11 – ORDINANCES / AMENDING
It shall be the duty of the City Council, in amending any part of an ordinance previously passed, or of a code or ordinances, to ordain the same as the chapter, section and subsection would read when amended.

RULE 12 – CONSENT AGENDA
Every council order shall be placed on a consent agenda; provided, however, that any member of the Mayor and City Council may request to have an order removed from the consent agenda and voted on separately.

RULE 13 – PROTESTS
It shall be matter of right and privilege to have received and entered in the journal a protest of a member against any action taken by the City Council.

RULE 14 – REPORTS
All reports to the City Council shall be in writing, signed by the individual making the report, and shall specify at the close of the report such action as the individual may recommend as proper for the City Council to take.

RULE 15 – CHARGES
Charges against an officer of the City or member of the city Council shall always be preferred in writing, and such proceedings had thereon as are provided by the City Charter.



RULE 16 – DESTROYING QUORUM
No member shall retire from a meeting of the City Council, or remain away for the purpose of destroying a quorum. Any member violating this rule may be arraigned before the City Council and if found guilty may be fined or expelled in the discretion of the City Council.  Proceedings for the violation of this rule shall be in the manner and form provided by the City Charter.

Rule 17 – PUBLIC COMMENT
Any person desiring to address the Mayor and City Council shall first secure permission from the presiding officer. Upon securing said permission, such person must approach a microphone and state his or her name and address. Remarks must be directed to the matter being considered except during the portion of the agenda for request to be heard.

Each person desiring to address the Mayor and City Council shall be allotted five (5) minute to do so as to each agenda item as well as during requests to be heard. 

RULE 18 – DECORUM
During public meetings of the Mayor and City Council, all persons shall preserve order and decorum. Any person making personal attacks, impertinent, slanderous, offensive or threatening remarks, or becoming boisterous shall be barred from further attendance at the meeting by the presiding officer unless permission for continued attendance is granted by a majority vote of the City Council.

Meetings of the Mayor and City Council shall be conducted in a courteous manner. Members of the public shall be permitted to state their position subject to the time restrictions set forth in Rule 17 and the restrictions set forth in the preceding paragraph.

The Chief of the Cumberland City Police Department shall, upon request of the presiding officer, designate one of the officers of the said Police Department to serve as sergeant-at-arms at the meetings.  Upon the direction of the presiding officer, the sergeant-at-arms shall eject such persons from the meetings who violate these rules and regulations unless such persons continued attendance is permitted by majority vote of the City Council. 

RULE 19 – PRESENTATIONS
Any presentations made to the City Council under Item #9 of the Order of Business (Presentations) shall be made in writing and presented to the City Clerk at least five days before the date of the meeting at which the item presented will be considered.

RULE 20 – VOTING
Each member shall be entitled to one vote, in person.  There shall be no voting by proxy.  A vote may be taken by mail, provided that the question to be voted upon shall be fully set forth on a ballot prepared for that purpose, providing spaces to be filled in or marked so as to record an affirmative or negative vote.  Meetings and vote may be conducted through telephone conference calls, provided that each participant can communicate with all other participants. The minutes of the meetings shall record the vote of each member on each action.  If no member votes against a proposed action, the vote shall be recorded as unanimously in favor; if any one or more members vote “no,” the minutes shall record the names of those voting “yes” and those voting “no.” Any member may voice abstention from the vote for any reason.

RULE 21 – CLOSED MEETINGS
Meetings of the Mayor and City Council shall be open to the public; provided, however, that the Mayor and City Council may meet in closed session or may adjourn an open meeting into a closed session for any of those purposes enumerated in Section 10-508 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Written minutes shall be kept of all closed meetings held by the Mayor and City Council.  These minutes shall be prepared as soon as practicable under the circumstances and shall be open to public inspection during normal business hours; provided, however, that minutes of a meeting lawfully held in closed session may be open to public inspection except for the reasons provided in Section 10-509 (c) (4) of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. A statement of the time, place and purpose of any closed meeting, the record of the vote of each member by which any meeting was closed, a citation of the statutory authority for closing the meeting, and a listing of the topics of discussion, persons present, and each action taken during the closed meeting, shall be included in the minutes of the next regular meeting of the Council. 

RULE 22 – SUSPENSION OF RULES
The rules of order, other than those prescribed by law, may be suspended at any time by consent of a majority of the members present at any meeting.



RULE 23 – ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER
Except when in conflict with the foregoing provisions, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the deliberations of the City Council.


Amended Date: January 9, 2007
Mayor and City Council Order No. 24,496