Sec. 29. Rules of order by the council.
The rules of order and procedure of the Council, subject to
the right of the body to suspend the same by a two-thirds vote,
shall be as follows:
(1) Parliamentary Rules.—The proceedings of the Council,
except as its own rules may otherwise provide, shall be governed
by Reed's Manual of Parliamentary Rules; and no rule
adopted by the Council shall be suspended without the concurrence
of two-thirds of all the members elected thereto.
(2) The President or Presiding Officer to Enforce Rules,
etc.—The presiding officer shall enforce the rules of the Council,
preserve order and decorum, appoint all committees, not
otherwise provided for, and discharge such other duties as appertain
to his office.
(3) President to Decide Questions of Order.—The president
shall decide questions of order and may, without vacating
his chair, give his reasons for his decisions.
From any decision of the Chair, an appeal may be made to
the Council, the question being, "Shall the decision of the Chair
be sustained as the decision of the Council?"
Upon such appeal, no debate shall be allowed, if it refers
to a question of decorum, but, if it relates to the priority of
business, or to the relevancy, or applicability of propositions,
the appeal may be debated.
(4) President to State Questions of Order and Declare Result
of Votes.—The president shall rise to put a question, but,
may state it sitting. Questions shall be distinctly put in the following
form, namely: "As many as agree that, etc., etc., (as
the case may be) say `aye' " and after the affirmative vote is
given, "Those opposed say `no.' " The president shall declare
all votes and in doubtful cases may direct, or any member may
demand, a division which shall be taken by a rising vote or poll.
(5) Members Not to Withdraw without Leave.—After a
member, at any meeting, has been recorded as present, he
shall not, without unanimous permission of the Council, absent
himself from such meeting until its adjournment.
(6) Members—Conduct in Addressing the Body.—Every
member, before speaking to a question, offering a resolution,
petition, or other communication, shall first rise from his seat
and respectfully address the presiding officer as, "Mr. President,"
who shall pronounce his name. He shall confine himself
to the question before the Council, avoid all personal, or indecorous
language, and resume his seat when he has finished. No
discussion of a sectarian, or political nature shall be allowed.
No member shall interrupt another while speaking, except to
rise to a point of order, the point to be briefly stated to the presiding
officer.
(7) Members—Order of Recognition by the President.—
When two or more members rise at the same time, the president
shall name the one to speak; but in all cases, the member first
rising and addressing the Chair shall speak first.
(8) Members—Number and Length of Speeches.—No member
shall speak more than once on the same question until every
member choosing to speak shall have done so, nor more than
twice, nor for a longer time than fifteen minutes on any question
without the permission of the Council.
(9) Members—How Called to Order.—If in speaking any
member transgress the rules of the Council, the President shall,
and any member may, call him to order, in which case he shall
immediately take his seat, unless permitted to explain. If there
be no appeal, the decision of the Chair shall be submitted to.
If the decision be in favor of the member called to order, he
may proceed; if otherwise, he shall not proceed except by leave
of the Council.
(10) Members—Conduct While Sitting.—No member shall,
while the Council is sitting, interrupt or hinder its business by
standing up, moving about, smoking, talking, expressing approval
or disapproval of any of the proceedings, or by any other
conduct tending to disorder or confusion.
(11) Non-Members to Address Council Only by Permission.
—No person who is not a member of the Council shall orally
address it, until leave to do so has been applied for through a
member of the Council and granted by it.
(12) Communications to Be in Writing.—No communication
to the Council shall be entertained unless the same be in writing.
(13) Motions or Propositions to Be in Writing; to Be Stated
before Discussion; When They May Be Withdrawn.—Every
motion or proposition, except such as are subsidiary or incidental,
shall be in writing. When a motion is made and seconded,
it shall be stated by the president before it is debated. A
motion or proposition may be withdrawn by the mover, with
consent of second, at any time before it is decided, amended or
otherwise acted upon by the Council.
(14) Motions—Amendments Must Be Relevant.—No motion,
proposition, or subject different from that under consideration,
shall be admitted under color of amendment.
(15) General Ordinances to Be Read Twice before Passage
—Reading May Be Dispensed with by Majority Vote.—Every
general ordinance shall be read twice before its final passage.
The first reading shall be for information. If objection be made
to the ordinance, the question shall be: "Shall the proposition
be rejected?" If there be no objections, or if on a vote the objections
be not sustained, the ordinance shall stand referred
without debate to the Ordinance Committee, who shall report
on the same at the next regular meeting of the Council, unless
otherwise specially ordered. Upon the report of the Ordinance
Committee and the second reading of the ordinance the question
shall be upon final passage, which must be determined by a
majority vote. Any reading may be dispensed with by a majority
vote.
(16) General Ordinances to Be Referred to Committee and
Go Over to Next Meeting, unless Otherwise Ordered by Two-Thirds.—No
general ordinance shall be enacted, amended or
repealed without being referred to the Ordinance Committee,
nor until the next regular meeting after such ordinance, amendment
or repeal is proposed, except by a vote of two-thirds of
the entire Council.
(17) Ordinances to Be Repealed or Amended Only by Ordinance—Ordinance
to Take Effect from Date, unless Otherwise
Provided.—No ordinance shall be amended or repealed except
by an ordinance, provided that the suspension of rules may
be made by a motion. Every ordinance shall take effect from
the date of its passage unless otherwise provided.
(18) Style of Ordinances and Resolutions.—The style in
which ordinances shall be enacted by the Council shall be as
follows: "Be it ordained by the Council of Charlottesville,"
and that in which resolutions shall be passed shall be "Be it resolved
by the Council of Charlottesville."
(19) Motion—Order of Procedure.—When a question is
under debate no motion shall be entertained unless specially
provided for, except the following, which shall take precedence
in the order given:
1. To Adjourn, to be made without preliminary remarks and
decided without debate.
2. To Lay on the Table, to be decided without debate.
3. For the Previous Question, to be decided without debate.
4. To Postpone, either indefinitely, or to a day or hour certain.
5. To Refer, or Recommit.
6. To Substitute, or Amend.
7. To Adopt, or Approve.
(20) Motion to Adjourn—When in Order.—A motion to
adjourn shall always be in order except when a member has
the floor, when the Council is engaged in voting, when the
previous question has been ordered, or when the motion to adjourn
has been put and lost and no other business has intervened.
Any member who obtains the floor during a debate and submits
no other motion or remark, may move for the previous
question, which motion, if seconded, shall forthwith be put to
the Council. Two-thirds of the members present shall be required
to order the main or previous question.
(21) Previous Question—How Put.—The previous question
shall be in this form: "Shall the main question now be put?"
If carried, its effect shall be to end all debates and bring the
Council to a direct vote upon a motion to commit, if pending;
then upon pending amendments, if any; and then upon the main
question. If the motion for the previous question be not carried,
debate may continue as if the motion had not been made.
(22) Filling Blanks in Certain Ordinances.—In filling blanks
in ordinances or resolutions involving money or time, the question
shall be put first upon the largest sum or longest time.
(23) Majority Vote to Govern unless Otherwise Ordered.—
In all matters pending before the Council, a majority shall govern,
except in cases where it is otherwise specially provided.
(24) Members Not to Vote When Personally or Pecuniarily
Interested—In Other Cases to Vote unless Excused.—No member
having an immediate personal or pecuniary interest in the
result of any question before the Council shall vote thereon. In
all other cases, every member present when a question is put,
shall vote unless excused by the Council.
(25) Yea and Nay Vote.—On the call of any member of the
Council, the vote on any question may be taken by ayes and
nayes, and recorded, provided the demand be made before other
business has been taken up.
(26) Dissent May Be Recorded.—Any member shall have
the liberty to dissent from or protest against any ordinance, resolution
or order of the Council and have the reason of his dissent
entered upon the record.
(27) Motion to Reconsider.—In all cases a motion to reconsider
will be entertained only when made by a member
who voted with the prevailing side. A majority of those present
can reconsider any vote, but the motion to do so shall be
made at the same session of the Council during which such vote
was taken. A motion to reconsider shall have precedence of all
other questions, and when it has once been put and lost, it shall
not be renewed. This rule, however, is subject to section 9,
ante.
(28) When Committees Shall Report, and on What Matter.
—Every committee shall, unless otherwise ordered, report at
the next regular meeting upon the subject matter referred to
it, or show good cause why such report is not made.
(29) Meetings of Committees; How Called; Chairman;
Quorum.—The members of a committee shall meet on the call
of the chairman, who shall be the first named person on the
committee. In the absence of the chairman the person named
second on the committee shall be recognized as the chairman, a
majority shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
The standing committees of the Council shall meet at
least once in each month, prior to the regular meeting of the
Council, for the purpose of outlining the work in their respective
departments and for the consideration and preparation of
such matters as may be necessary to present to the Council; and
to this end it shall be competent for the Mayor to convene the
several committees at the city hall.
(30) Reports of Committees to Be in Writing.—The reports
of a committee shall be in writing, signed by at least two members;
and the papers referred, as well as all written opinions in
reference thereto from the City Attorney (or solicitor) shall be
returned with the reports. Nothing in this rule shall be construed
to prevent the return of minority reports.
(31) Quarterly and Annual Report.—All standing committees
of the Council shall make written reports of their respective departments
to the Council quarterly, and an annual report at the
regular meeting in September of each year, and the latter report
shall be for the fiscal year. Such reports, when adopted, shall
be annually published with the reports of the officers of the city.
(32) Claims against City—When They May Be Acted on—
Verification of Application for Remission or Repayment of Fine
or Tax.—No claim against the city shall be acted upon at any
meeting of the Council, except by unanimous consent, unless the
same has been considered and reported on by the Committee on
Finance and Claims. Every application for a remission or repayment
of a fine or tax shall be verified by oath of the applicant,
and, without special order, shall stand referred to the
Committee on Finance and Claims.
(33) Rules for the Construction of Statutes.—The rules for
the "Construction of Statutes," as given in the Code of Virginia,
shall, so far as applicable, govern the construction of these ordinances
and of all other ordinances and resolutions of the
Council.
(34) Calendar of Unfinished Business.—A calendar of all
referred and deferred petitions and communications to the City
Council shall be kept for the use of the president of the Council.
(35) Order of Business.—At every regular meeting of the
Council the order of business shall be as follows:
1. Roll call.
2. Reading of minutes. The journal of the preceding meeting
shall be read, and no objection being made, shall be approved
and signed by the person presiding. Such ordinances as
may have been adopted at the preceding meeting and copied in
the ordinance book shall also be read and no objection being
made, shall be approved and signed by the person presiding.
3. Petitions and communications. Every petition or communication
shall be referred without debate to an appropriate
committee, after their purport has been briefly stated by the
member offering same.
4. Reports and communications from city officers, including
financial statements.
5. Reports of standing committees in their order.
6. Reports of special committees.
7. Ordinances for second reading.
8. Offering of original resolutions, orders and ordinances.
9. Miscellaneous and unfinished business.
The order of business shall not be departed from except by
the consent of a majority of the members of the Council.
(36) Special Order of Business.—When any matter is made
the special order for a future meeting, it shall at such meeting
take priority of all other business except the reading of the
minutes of the last meeting.
