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HomeMy WebLinkAboutImpact Fee Committee Rules of Procedures- Amended 11-10-15 e-- Impact Fee Advisory Committee Rules of Procedure 11/10/2015 Section 1 Applicability. A. These rules shall govern the conduct of the Impact Fee Advisory Committee established by Commission Resolution 3840. B. These rules are supplementary to the provision of Title 7, Chpt. 1, Part 41, MCA, Title 7, Chpt. 5,Parts 41 and 42, MCA, and Title 2, Chpts. 2 and 3, MCA as they relate to procedures for conducting meets and public hearings before City boards. Section 2 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson — Powers and Duties. During the first meeting of the Committee each year the Committee shall appoint by majority vote, a chairperson and a vice chairperson. If appropriate, they shall also appoint a Committee secretary. The recording secretary may be a staff liaison. The chairperson shall be the presiding officer of the Committee. During the absence of the chairperson, the vice chairperson shall discharge the duties and exercise the powers and authority of the chairperson. The presiding officer shall preserve strict order and decorum at all meetings and confine members in debates to the question under consideration. The presiding officer may move or second any item of business then before the Committee. The presiding officer shall state, or cause to be stated, every motion coming before i the Committee, announce the decision of the Committee on all subjects, and decide all questions of order, subject, however to an appeal to the Committee, in which event a majority vote of the Committee members present shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. The presiding officer shall vote on all questions. Section 3 Parliamentary Authority. Unless otherwise specifically provided herein or by ordinance or statute, all meetings and hearings of the Impact Fee Advisory Committee shall be conducted in accordance with these rules. In all cases not covered by these rules,the controlling parliamentary authority shall be the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order,Newly Revised. Section 4 Meeting Agendas. ;I A. The chairperson, staff liaison, or another designated Committee member shall arrange a list of matters to be brought before the Committee according to the i 1 of 9 I I order of business specified herein, and furnish each member and the public through the city's website with a copy of the agenda and all supporting information no later than 48 hours immediately preceding the meeting for which that item has been scheduled. All material to be presented to the Committee for consideration with an agenda item shall be made available to the public within the above time flame. Copies of the agenda shall be available from the City Clerk and one copy shall be posted at the designated posting board in the City Hall for public viewing and made available on the City's website. Pursuant to Section 7-1-4135, MCA, the Impact Fee Advisory Committee designates as the official posting place for all boards the posting board in the lobby of City Hall located at 121 North Rouse,Bozeman,Montana. B. The staff liaison or Committee chair shall prepare the meeting agenda and may consult with other Committee members in preparing the agenda. The chair person or a majority of Committee members may add to or remove an item from the agenda. The agenda shall be in substantially the following form: i. Executive Session (if required) (only necessary if an executive session is being held). ii. Disclosure of Ex Parte Communication such as comments or information received. iii. Changes to the Agenda. iv. Public Service Announcement(if scheduled). v. Approval of Minutes (if required). A. Consent items (consent items are those which the staff liaison or Committee chair considers that no discussion will be necessary. However, at the beginning of each meeting, any Committee member may request items)be removed from the consent agenda for the purpose of discussion) (if necessary). vii. Public comment on non agenda items (always required). viii. Special Presentations(if required). ix. Action items. x. FYI/Discussion'. xi. Adjournment. Order of the above may be adjusted by the presiding officer. Section 5 Meetings. All meetings of the Committee shall be open to the public unless authorized by law. Prior to closing any meeting of the Committee the chairperson or staff liaison shall consult with the city attorney. No action may be taken on items brought up during this section which are not on the agenda.Discussion must be limited to informational items only or to discuss placing an item on a future agenda;for more substantive or detailed discussion on an item it must be scheduled for an upcoming agenda. 2of9 A. General/Regular Meetings: xii. The Committee shall hold a regular meeting quarterly. xiii. Any meeting of the Committee may be adjourned to a later date and time, provided that no adjournment shall be for a longer period than until the next regular or specially scheduled meeting. xiv. The presiding officer, staff liaison or majority of the Committee may cancel a regular meeting if no business is scheduled for that meeting. B. Public Hearings: xv. Public Hearings are meetings required of some citizen advisory boards to be held as a public hearing pursuant to law. The provisions of subsection A of this section apply to Public Hearings. xvi. Unless prohibited by law, a public hearing may be rescheduled or adjourned to a later date and time. C. Executive Sessions: Executive Sessions are meetings of the Committee with the purpose to discuss litigation strategy, a matter of individual privacy, or other matters wherein a meeting may be closed pursuant to law and will be scheduled as needed. Although each Executive Session will commence as an open public meeting,Executive Sessions may be closed to the public pursuant to authority and limitations in Title 2, Chpt. 3, Part 2,MCA. An Executive Session may be called at any time during any meeting if authorized by law. D. Special Meetings: The presiding officer, a majority of the Committee or the staff liaison may call special meetings of the Committee, upon at least forty eight (48) hours notice to each member personally served on each member through email or left at the member's usual place of residence and also notice to the public by, at a minimum,posting the agenda on the City's website and posting board. Section 6 Order of Presentation/Public Participation. u A. The order of presentation in which items are presented to the Committee shall generally be as follows; s i. The staff liaison shall present the agenda item to the Committee, if appropriate. [ ii. If applicable, the staff liaison may present a background report on the matter for discussion. Upon conclusion of a staff presentation, Committee members may ask questions of staff for the purposes of understanding and clarification. If the agenda item is a public hearing, the presiding officer will open the public hearing prior to staff presentation. iii. If applicable, comments fiom the applicant, or the applicant's agent, shall be heard. The applicant's presentation/testimony is limited, subject to the r I t 3 of 9 ! i f li discretion of the presiding officer,to ten(10)minutes. iv. After being recognized by the presiding officer, a Committee member may direct questions to the staff or applicant. v. Members of the audience or their agent may be invited to present testimony or evidence. To be recognized, each person desiring to give testimony or evidence shall step forward and, after being recognized, give their name and address for the record. The presiding officer may establish a timeframe for each public comment but in no case shall such timeframe be less than three (3) minutes per speaker. The presiding officer may lengthen or shorten the time allotted for public testimony. vi. After being recognized by the presiding officer, a Committee member may direct questions to any person so testifying for purposes of clarification. vii. Following public comment, the staff liaison shall be given the opportunity to comment on any testimony or other evidence. viii. Following staff comment and if a public hearing, the applicant will be given the opportunity to rebut or comment on any testimony or other evidence. The applicant's comments and rebuttal is limited, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer, to five(5)minutes. ix. If a public hearing, following applicant rebuttal and any further questions, the presiding officer will close the hearing and bring the agenda item forward for discussion,motion and vote. x. If a public hearing, after being recognized by the presiding officer, a Committee member may direct questions limited to the rebuttal testimony and evidence. xi. The Committee secretary shall enter into the record all correspondence that has been received but was not yet provided. xii. Unless required to act by a certain date pursuant to law, the Committee may continue the discussion to a date certain, close discussion and vote on the matter, or close the discussion and continue the vote to a date certain. B. All testimony and evidence shall be directed to the presiding officer. No person, other than a Committee member and the person recognized as having the floor shall be permitted to enter into the discussion. No questions shall be asked of a Committee member except through the presiding officer. C. The Committee may ask the staff liaison for its recommendation. D. If a public hearing, in the event the applicant does not appear at the scheduled time and place, unless the applicant has waived his or her appearance in writing, and which waiver has been accepted, or unless the matter is submitted as a consent item, the matter shall be continued to the next available regular meeting, public hearing date, or other date certain. E. All testimony and evidence shall be directed to the presiding officer. No person, other than a Committee member and the person recognized as having the floor shall be permitted to enter into the discussion. No questions shall be asked of a 4of9 Committee member except through the presiding officer. F. For all public hearings involving land use and annexation decisions, the Committee will wait a minimum of one week before making a decision whenever requested by a member unless a decision is required due to a statute, ordinance or other law. G. Committee members are urged to state the reasons for their decisions,particularly on land use issues; the record must reflect findings regarding legal criteria for all quasi-judicial decisions. H. Witnesses may be required to testify under oath. I. The Committee shall not be bound by the strict rules of evidence and may exclude irrelevant, immaterial,incompetent or unduly repetitious testimony or evidence. J. The presiding officer shall rule on all questions relating to the admissibility of evidence with advice from the City Attorney, which ruling may be overruled by a majority vote of the Committee. K. A public hearing which has been formally closed for all public input may not be reopened and no additional evidence or testimony from the public shall be received or considered except as provided herein. If additional information is required from the public before a decision can be made, the Committee upon motion duly made, seconded and passed,may call for an additional public hearing which hearing shall be noticed as required by law, specifying date, time place and subject matter of hearing. This paragraph does not preclude the Committee, after the public hearing, from asking questions of staff or receiving additional evidence from staff. Upon decision by the presiding officer or upon a duly adopted motion of the Committee to reopen the public hearing prior to close of the agenda item in which the hearing was held, the requirement to provide public notice does not apply; the public hearing may be reopened and the additional input provided prior to a final decision on the item. e Section 7 Quorum and Voting. Unless otherwise provided by law, a quorum shall consist of a majority of existing appointed Committee members. If a quorum is not present, those in attendance shall be named and the Committee shall adjourn to a later time. The Committee secretary shall reduce motions to writing and, upon request shall read a motion prior to the vote. Upon every vote, the ` outcome shall be stated and recorded. A Committee member has an obligation to vote unless there is a conflict of interest. Email, telephonic, or proxy voting shall be prohibited. Where i! r, membership on the Committee is assigned to a specific title, per section 1.01.100, BMC the person acting in that position may designate a person under their supervision to perform the required duties of a Committee member. i Ll 5 of 9 iI I! u k i Section 8 Rules of Debate/Reconsideration/Conflict of Interest. A. Every Committee member desiring to speak shall address the presiding officer and upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine discussion to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language. B. A Committee member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless the member is to be called to order, or as herein otherwise provided. If a Committee member, while speaking is called to order, they shall cease speaking until the question of order be determined, and, if in order shall be pei7nitted to proceed. C. Order of rotation in matters of debate or discussion shall be at the discretion of the presiding officer. D. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Committee must be made on the day such action was taken. It must be made either immediately during the same session, or at a recessed and reconvened session thereof. Such motion shall 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 Committee member has the floor. It shall be debatable.-Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any Committee member from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Committee, but the matter must be duly scheduled as an agenda item. E. Pursuant to the City's Code of Ethics, a Committee member may seek the advice of the City Attorney as to whether the member has a conflict of interest pursuant to law. If the Committee member is advised there is a conflict of interest, the member shall recuse himself/herself, step away from the meeting table, and refrain from discussion and vote on the matter. F. After a motion, duly made and seconded, by the Committee, no person shall address the Committee without first securing the permission of the presiding officer. Section 9 Open Meetings and Email. A. Except for properly-called executive sessions as permitted by state law, all meetings of the Committee shall be open to the public and media, freely subject to recording by radio, television and photography at any time, provided that such arrangements do not interfere with the orderly conduct of the meetings. 6of9 B. A majority of the Committee shall ndt conduct synchronized email discussions involving a matter over which the Committee has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. Synchronized email discussions are email exchanges among a majority of Committee members within minutes of each other that create the quality of simultaneity similar to instant messaging or chat room discussions. Such discussions are characterized as an active exchange of information rather than the passive receipt of information. An example of synchronized email discussion would be a majority of Committee members sitting at their computers and instantly exchanging emails concerning Committee business, whereas a passive receipt of information is where a Committee member receives an email and responds in the normal course of time similar to responding by letter received in the mail. The Committee shall not view emails or other electronic communication mechanisms concerning any matter on the agenda during a Committee meeting unless the submission is part of a specifically approved and adopted electronic public testimony program. Electronic communication mechanisms include text messaging or any other emerging technology that violates the spirit of open meeting laws. This does not preclude viewing emails or electronic communication mechanisms that were received prior to the Committee meeting. Emails received by Committee members concerning an agenda item shall be forwarded to the staff liaison or Committee secretary and retained in accordance with the City's retention policy. Section 10 Decorum. uu� A. While the Committee is in a session, Committee 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 Committee nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the Committee or its presiding officer. � B. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Committee may be denied further audience with the Committee by the presiding officer, unless permission to continue is granted by a majority vote of the Committee. C. The Committee shall not debate, in a heated or argumentative manner, with a member of the public presenting testimony during a meeting. D. Speakers shall only address the agenda item before the Committee. Any person speaking on an agenda item not before the bard may be called out of order. Section 11 't Recording of Meetings and Minutes. I` 7of9 i r A. The Committee secretary shall prepare a summary of all meetings to be known as the "Minutes" and to be approved by the Committee. It shall not be necessary to formally read out loud the Minutes prior to approval. Such Minutes may be revised by the staff liaison or Committee secretary to correct-spelling,numbering, and other technical defects. Prior to approval, any Committee member may request the privilege of amending or correcting the Minutes to accurately reflect the substance of the prior meeting. If objection is made by any Committee member to such amendment or correction, a majority vote of the Committee shall be necessary for adoption of the correction or amendment. The minutes shall be forwarded to the City Clerk's office for posting within three months of the meeting. B. Executive Session Minutes. Executive session minutes shall be taken and prepared by the Committee secretary. The Committee shall approve the minutes of an executive session in open meeting; provided, however that any discussion concerning the contents of the minutes, prior to approval, shall be conducted in executive session. The staff liaison or Committee secretary will distribute the draft executive session minutes to the members in a manner that ensures and retains confidentiality. The Committee shall follow the provision 2.02.130, BMC related to dissemination of executive session minutes. C. Televising, broadcasting or audio recording of meetings: At the discretion of the Committee and City Clerk's office, meetings may be televised, broadcast or an audio recording made. If recorded, audio recordings shall be made available to the public unless required to be kept confidential by law. Section 12 Attendance at Meetings/Removal by City Commission/Terms. All Committee members are expected to contribute the time necessary to fulfill their fiduciary obligations to the Committee. All Committee members are required if they are to be absent from a meeting to contact the presiding officer and the staff liaison prior to the meeting. If prior contact is made, the absence will be determined excused. If the Committee member fails to contact the presiding officer or staff liaison prior to the meeting, the absence will be considered unexcused. The City Commission will be notified by the staff liaison of any Committee member with three or more unexcused absences in any calendar year. The Committee, via motion and vote, may forward to the City Commission the name of any Committee member having three or more excused absences, or a combination of excused and unexcused absences. As provided by law, the City Commission may remove a Committee member for excessive absences. A Committee member's term may be extended for up to 30 days after term expiration on a case by case basis by the Deputy City Clerk if the Committee member has reapplied for a subsequent term but the application process has not yet been heard by the City Commission. Section 13 8 of 9 a Compliance with the City Code of_Ethics. All Committee members are required to follow State ethics laws regarding appointed officials and the city of Bozeman Code of Ethics. New Committee members will receive the City of Bozeman ethics handbook and must sign a form acknowledging receipt of the handbook, take an oath they will uphold the state and city ethics codes. Committee members are also required to take an initial ethics training within two months after appointment. Each year Committee members are required to attend city sponsored ethics. Non-compliance with the City Code of Ethics and training requirements may result in removal of a Committee member. See the City Code of Ethics for more details. Section 14 Compliance with the City Purchasing Policy. All boards are subject to the City purchasing policy (Administrative Order 2009-06), as revised, unless specified by law. City staff liaisons shall handle financial transactions unless specific arrangements have been made in writing through the City controller. Section 15 Compliance with State Records Retention Policy. All City boards are subject to the State of Montana records retention policy. A. The City Clerk will handle retention of all agendas, minutes and Committee resolutions once they have been forwarded to the clerk's office. B. E-mails, websites and social networking sites are subject to adopted records retention schedules. For social media and websites please refer to the current Information Technology Social Media Use Policy for further guidelines. S I}4 t ii 9of9 ;y ;s j