Fort Pierre, South Dakota

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B-4 COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS

B-4-1 DEFINITIONS

Unless the context specifically indicates, the meaning of the terms used in this ordinance shall be as follows:

A. “Ordinance” shall mean a permanent legislative act of the governing body of the municipality within the limits of its powers.

B. “Resolution” shall mean any determination, decision, or direction of the governing body of a municipality of a special or temporary character for the purpose of initiating, affecting, or carrying out its administrative duties and functions under the laws and ordinances governing the municipality.

Authority: SDCL 9-19-1

B-4-2 PURPOSE

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the policies of the City Council of the City of Fort Pierre concerning its meeting, agenda, presiding officer, rules of order, minutes, voting, committees, and also its policies concerning the preparation and passage of ordinances, resolutions, motions, and contracts.

Authority: SDCL ch. 9-8, 9-14, 9-19, 9-21, 9-23

B-4-3 REGULAR MEETINGS

A. Time. The City Council shall hold regular meetings on a fixed date and time as established by Resolution; 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 not a holiday.

B. Place. All regular meetings of the Council shall be held in the council room, Fort Pierre City offices. It shall sit with open doors and shall keep a journal of its proceedings, except while in executive session.

Source:  Ord 973

Authority: SDCL 9-8-8

B-4-4 SPECIAL MEETINGS

The Mayor shall call special meetings of the Council whenever in his opinion the public business may so require, or at the express written request of any four (4) members of the Council. Whenever a special meeting shall be called, a summons or a notice in writing shall be served upon each member of the Council either in person or by notice left at his place of residence, stating the date and hour of the meeting and the purpose for which such meeting is called. No business shall be transacted except such as is stated in the notice. The notice shall be provided within a reasonable time in advance of such meeting.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-8-8

B-4-5 AGENDA

All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents, or other matters shall be submitted to the Finance Officer or his designee, Director of Public Works or his designee, City Council, Mayor, all other appointed officers, and the City Attorney prior to the Council meeting and as far in advance of the meeting as time for preparation will permit. None of the foregoing matters shall be presented to the Council by administrative officials except those of an urgent nature, and the same, when so presented, shall have the written approval of the Mayor before presentation.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5

B-4-6 THE PRESIDING OFFICER – ELECTION AND DUTIES

The presiding officer of the Council shall be the Mayor or, in the absence of the Mayor, the President, who shall be elected annually at the first meeting in May of each year, by the members, from their membership.

The presiding officer shall preserve strict order and decorum at all regular and special meetings of the Council. He shall state every question coming before the Council, announce the decision of the Council on all subjects, and decide all questions of order, subject however, to an appeal by the Council, in which event a majority vote of the Council shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. He shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council during his presence. In the event of the absence of the Mayor, the presiding officer shall sign ordinances or resolutions as then adopted in his presence.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-8-7

B-4-7 CALL TO ORDER – PRESIDING OFFICER

The Mayor, or in his absence, the President of the Council, or in the absence of both the Mayor and the President, the Vice-President of the Council, shall take the chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting, and shall immediately call the Council to order. In the absence of the Mayor, President, or Vice-President, the Finance Officer or his designee shall call the Council to order, whereupon a temporary chairman shall be elected by the members of the Council present. Upon the arrival of the Mayor, President, or Vice-President, the temporary chairman shall relinquish the chair upon the conclusion of the business immediately before the Council.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-8-7

B-4-8 ROLL CALL

Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the Finance Officer or his designee shall record the roll of the members, and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5

B-4-9 QUORUM

A majority of all the members elected to the Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council. In the absence of a quorum, the presiding officer, shall, at the request of any three (3) members present, compel the attendance of absent members.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-8-8

B-4-10 ORDER OF BUSINESS

All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, except where closed to executive session. Promptly at the hour set by law on the day of each regular meeting, the members of the City Council, the Finance Officer or his designee, City Attorney, and Mayor shall take their regular stations in the Council Chambers, and shall approve an agenda prior to conducting any business before the Council.

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-8-8

B-4-11 READING OF MINUTES

Unless a reading of the minutes of a Council meeting is requested by a member of the Council, such minutes may be approved without reading if the Finance Officer or his designee has previously mailed minutes to each member. Once approved, the minutes shall be considered public record.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5

B-4-12 POWERS OF PRESIDING OFFICER

If the Mayor presides over a meeting, he may propose matters for consideration and may assume an active role in debate of any matter which shall come before the Council. The Mayor shall not, however, vote on any issue before the Council unless there is a tie vote, at which time the Mayor may cast the deciding vote. The Mayor may not vote to break a tie upon any proposal to sell any City property, to enter into any lease-purchase agreement for a term exceeding one (1) year, or to pass any ordinance or proposal to create a liability against the municipality or for the expenditure or appropriation of its money.

The Mayor shall have the power to sign or veto any ordinance or resolution passed by the City Council, and the power to veto any part or item of an ordinance or resolution appropriating money. If the Mayor disapproves an ordinance, the Mayor may veto the same by filing a written objection thereto with the Finance Officer within ten (10) days after its passage upon second reading. Such veto may extend to any one or more items contained in an ordinance making an appropriation or to the entire ordinance, and in case the veto only extends to a part of such ordinance, the remainder shall take effect. In all other respects, the Mayor shall have all of the rights and privileges of a Council member. If the Mayor vetoes any ordinance, it shall be presented at the next meeting of the Council by the Finance Officer, with the Mayor’s written objection, and may be reconsidered. If it shall pass by four (4) votes of the Council members, it shall be published and become effective, notwithstanding the Mayor’s disapproval.

Authority: SDCL 9-8-3, 9-8-10, 9-19-10, 9-19-11, 9-21-18.1

B-4-13 SILENCE CONSTITUTES AFFIRMATIVE VOTE

Unless a member of the Council states that he is not voting, his silence shall be recorded as an affirmative vote. This ordinance does not apply to ordinances or proposals to create a liability against the City of Fort Pierre, or for the expenditure or appropriation of the City’s funds, or in cases of a Council member’s abstention due to a conflict of interest.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-8-10

B-4-14 ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM

The Mayor or presiding officer, with the approval of the Council, may appoint a Sergeant-at-Arms at the Council meetings. He 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, or any of them present, to remove any person who violates the order and decorum of the meeting and, upon a complaint to be signed by the presiding officer, such person may be prosecuted for disorderly conduct pursuant to SDCL 22-13-1.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-14-3

B-4-15 MOVEMENT OF MEMBERS OF PUBLIC

When a meeting is in session, no person shall move about the meeting room in a disruptive fashion which may disturb the Council’s proceedings.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-5

B-4-16 SPECIAL COMMITTEES

All special committees shall be appointed by the presiding officer, unless otherwise directed by a majority vote of the Council.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-3, 9-8-5

B-4-17 MEMBERS MAY FILE PROTESTS AGAINST COUNCIL ACTION

Any member shall have the right to have the reasons for his dissent from, or protest against, any action of the Council entered in the minutes.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-5

B-4-18 CLAIMS AGAINST CITY

No account or other demand against the City shall be allowed or conceded until the same has been considered and approved by the Council.

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Authority: SDCL 9-23-1, 9-23-2, 9-8-5

B-4-19 ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, MOTIONS, AND CONTRACTS

A. Ordinances shall be prepared for presentation to the Council by City staff, Council members, or the Mayor, or as an initiated measure pursuant to state law.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-19-3

B. Prior Review by Administrative Staff. All ordinances and contract documents, before presentation to the Council, shall be examined by the City Attorney, the Mayor, and the head of the department under whose jurisdiction the administration of the subject matter lies.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-14-22

C. Introducing For Passage or Approval.

1. Ordinances, resolutions, and other matters or subjects requiring action by the Council must be introduced and sponsored by a member of the Council. The Mayor, Finance Officer or his designee, Director of Public Works or his designee, or City Attorney may present proposed ordinances, resolutions, and other matters or subjects to the Council for consideration, and any Council member may assume sponsorship thereof by moving that such ordinances, resolutions, matters or subjects be adopted; otherwise, they shall not be considered.

2. All ordinances shall be read twice with at least five (5) days intervening between the first and second reading. The ordinance shall be signed by the Mayor or presiding officer, filed with the City Finance Office, and published once, except that an ordinance incorporating and adopting comprehensive regulations or a code promulgated, approved, and published by the recognized and established national organization prescribing building, electrical, plumbing, safety, fire, health, or milk regulations need not be published in the newspaper in its entirety, but upon adoption of such ordinance, the Finance Officer or his designee shall publish a notice of the fact of adoption once a week for two (2) successive weeks in the official newspaper, notifying the public that a copy of such comprehensive regulation may be inspected in the City Finance Office, and twenty (20) days after the completed publication of such notice, unless the referendum shall be invoked, such ordinance shall become effective.

Authority: SDCL 9-19-7

3. No ordinance shall relate to more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, and no ordinance, or section thereof, shall be amended or repealed unless the new ordinance contains the title of the ordinance or section amended or repealed, and when practicable all ordinances shall be introduced as amendments to existing ordinances or sections thereof.

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-19-5

4. The vote upon all ordinances upon the second reading and to pass the same over any veto shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered upon the minutes.

Authority: SDCL 9-19-9

B-4-20 REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

All Committees shall make report in writing, and shall return to the Council the petition, resolution, account, or other paper submitted for consideration.

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Authority: SDCL 9-8-5, 9-8-9

B-4-21 REPORTS AND RESOLUTIONS TO BE FILED WITH FINANCE OFFICER

All reports and resolutions may be passed after one reading and shall be filed with the City Finance Office. Resolutions shall be published in full either as part of the minutes or separately. Lengthy resolutions may be published by title only together with a note that such resolution is available on file in the City Finance Office.

Source:

Authority: SDCL 9-19-8

B-4-22 RULES OF ORDER

The City Council hereby adopts Roberts’ Rules of Order, revised, for the purpose of conducting meetings in a democratic manner to ensure its protection and to consider the rights of its members.

Authority: SDCL 9-8-5