Fowler Municipal Code Art. 1 Meetings

(a) Time—Place. Annually, by Council Resolution, the Council shall set a schedule of regular meetings of the Council. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable annual resolution approved by Council, the Council shall hold regular meetings on the first and the third Tuesdays each month at the hour of 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, 128 South Fifth Street, in the City or at such other place within the City of Fowler, as designated by the Council.

(b) Meetings to be Public. Meetings shall be open to the public consistent with state law.

(Ord. 2-5 §§ 2, 5; Ord. 78-3, 6-1-78; Ord. 99-7 § 1, 10-7-99)

(Ord. No. 2023-03, § 1, 3-21-23)

Special meetings may be called at any time by the Mayor, or by a majority of the Councilmen, by delivering personally or by mail a written notice to each Councilman and to each person or entity having filed a written request for a notice of Council meetings. Such notice shall be delivered personally or by mail at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time of such meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such meetings. Such written notice may be dispensed with as to any Councilman who files with the City Clerk, at or prior to the time the meeting convenes, a written waiver of such notice. Such written notice may also be dispensed with as to any Councilman who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes.

All special meetings of the Council shall be open to the public.

(Ord. 2-5 §§ 3, 5)

The Council, from time to time, may meet in study sessions, open to the public, at a time and a place designated by the Mayor. The nature of such sessions will be given at the prior Council meeting or by the City Clerk at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of such meeting to those persons or entities who have requested a notice in writing. The purpose of such meetings shall be for hearing reports from the staff and reviewing, discussing, and debating matters of interest to the City. No official action shall be taken at a study session. The participation of the public in such sessions shall be subject to the discretion of the presiding officer.

(Ord. 2-5 § 4)

The Council may hold executive sessions during a regular or special meeting, from which the public and any person or entity having filed a written request for notices of Council meetings may be excluded, for the purpose of considering the matters as authorized by Sections 54950 through 54961 of Chapter 9 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code of the State.

No member of the Council, employee of the City, or any other person present during an executive session of the Council shall disclose to any person the content or substance of any discussion which took place during such executive session, unless the Council shall authorize the disclosure of such information by a majority vote.

(Ord. 2-5 § 5)

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article and to comply with applicable State statutes, the procedures set forth in this section shall apply to meetings of the Council and all other boards and commissions of the City.

(b) Notices of all meetings, regular or special, shall be posted at the City Hall, near the entrance to the Council chamber, as follows: for regular meetings, at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the meeting; and for special meetings, at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting.

(c) Such notice shall consist of a copy of the proposed agenda for such meeting which agenda shall contain a brief description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at such meeting. Such agenda shall follow the order of business as set forth in Section 2-1.109 of this article.

(d) No action may be taken on any item not appearing on such posted agenda, except as permitted under applicable provisions of the Brown Act. This does not preclude discussions of staff reports presented at regular meetings which provide the legislative body, board, or commission with updated information on City business. If action is to be taken based upon staff reports, then the subject matter should be described on the agenda, unless excepted therefrom as set forth in subsection (c) of this section.

(e) In the event any person objects to any action taken by the Planning Commission or any other board or commission of the City and seeks to nullify such action under applicable provisions of the Brown Act, such board or commission shall provide a full and detailed confidential report to the Council and City Attorney concerning such matter.

(f) The Council may adopt supplementary regulations by resolution as to such meeting procedures.

(Ord. 2-5 § 6, as amended by Ord. 87-1, 3-5-87)

Items which have been reviewed by the Council and its staff and which have been made available to the public and to any person or entity having filed a written request for notices of Council meetings shall be grouped together and listed under the consent calendar. Actions recommended by the staff shall be in summary form and shall be a part of that item. The adoption of the consent calendar may be made by one motion only by the Council; provided, however, the presiding officer shall first advise the audience that the consent calendar matters will be adopted in total by one action of the Council, unless any Council member or individual or organization interested in one or more consent calendar items wishes to be heard, in such event, the presiding officer may defer action on the particular matter or matters and place them on the regular agenda for consideration in any order he deems appropriate.

(§ 7, Ord. 2-5)

(a) Availability to the public: Placement on agenda. Correspondence addressed to the Council which is received by the City Clerk or any other officer or employee of the City shall not be a matter of public record until it has been received and filed by the Council at a regular, special, or adjourned meeting of the Council. Correspondence received in the office of the City Clerk or in any other office after 10:00 a.m. on the Friday preceding a regular Council meeting shall not be placed on the agenda, unless the correspondence concerns a matter to be considered by the Council at the next regular meeting or is determined by the Mayor to be an urgent matter which should be brought to the immediate attention of the Council.

(b) Authority of the City Clerk. The office of the City Clerk is hereby authorized to open and examine all mail or other written communications addressed to the Council, except correspondence marked personal or confidential, and to give such communications warranted attention to the end that all administrative business referred to in the communications, and not requiring Council action. may be acted upon between Council meetings.

(§§ 8 and 9, Ord. 2-5)

At the hour set on the day of each regular meeting, each member of the Council, the City Clerk, the City Attorney, and such department heads or others as have been requested to be present shall take their regular stations in the Council Chamber.

(§ 10, Ord. 2-5)

The business of the Council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order:

(a) Call to order;

(b) Approval of minutes of previous meeting;

(c) Public hearings;

(d) Requests of citizens;

(e) Communications;

(f) Consent calendar;

(g) Warrants;

(h) Report of the City Attorney;

(i) Reports of committees;

(j) Reports of department heads; and

(k) Adjournment.

The presiding officer or a majority of the Council may change the order of business at any time during the meeting; provided, however, business will be considered in the order set forth in this section unless so modified.

(§ 12, Ord. 2-5)

(a) Preparation. The official minutes of the Council shall be kept by the City Clerk in a minute book. The City Clerk shall be required to make a record only of such business as was actually passed upon by the Council and shall not be required to record any remarks of any members of the Council or of any other person, except at the special request of a member of the Council. The City Clerk shall enter into the minutes the reasons for dissent from, or protest against, any action of the Council if any member of the Council so requests. The names and addresses of the persons addressing the Council, the title of the subject matter to which their remarks are related, and whether they spoke in support of, or in opposition to, such matter shall be entered in the minutes.

(b) Distribution. As soon as possible after each meeting, the City Clerk shall furnish a copy of the minutes to each Councilman, the City Attorney, each department head, and any other individuals designated by the City Clerk.

(c) Approval. Unless the 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 City Clerk has previously furnished each member of the Council with a copy. (§§ 44, 45, and 46, Ord. 2-5)

A Councilman may request through the presiding officer of the Council meeting the privilege of having an abstract of the statement of such Councilman on any subject under consideration by the Council entered in the minutes. If the Council consents thereto, such statement shall be entered in the minutes.

(§ 21, Ord. 2-5)

Any Councilman shall have the right to have the reasons for his dissent from, or his protest against, any action of the Council entered in the minutes of the Council meeting. Such dissent or protest to be entered in the minutes shall be made in substantially the following manner: "I would like the minutes to show that I am opposed to this action for the following reasons..."

(§ 22, Ord. 2-5)

The Mayor shall be the presiding officer at all meetings of the Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tempore, the City Clerk shall call the Council to order, whereupon a temporary presiding officer shall be elected by the Councilmen present to serve until the arrival of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore or until adjournment.

(§ 13, Ord. 2-5)

(a) Participation. The presiding officer shall assume his place and duties immediately following his election. He shall preserve order at all meetings, have the power to reasonably limit the time of any citizen speaking from the floor, state questions coming before the Council, announce the decision of the Council on all subjects, and decide all questions of order; subject, however, to a majority vote of the Council determining questions of order.

(b) Voting. The presiding officer shall vote on all motions.

(c) Signing documents. The Mayor shall sign all ordinances and other documents adopted and approved by the Council at meetings at which he is in attendance. In the event of his absence, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall sign such documents as have been adopted and approved by the Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall sign such documents as have been adopted and approved during the meeting at which he presided.

(§ 14, Ord. 2-5)

Three (3) members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Motions may be passed by a majority if only three (3) attend, but ordinances, resolutions granting franchises, and the payment of money shall require at least three (3) affirmative votes. Less than a quorum may adjourn from time to time. Where there is no quorum, the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, or any member of the Council shall adjourn such meeting, or if no member of the Council is present, the City Clerk shall adjourn the meeting. For the purpose of considering any item subject to the vote of the Council, when a member of the Council disqualifies himself due to a conflict of interest, his presence shall not be considered in determining the presence of a quorum. Consideration at such time shall be deferred until a quorum of noninterested Councilmen is present to discuss and vote on such item if such disqualification reduces those in attendance to less than a quorum.

(§ 11, Ord. 2-5)

(a) Getting the floor. Every Councilman desiring to speak shall first address the chair, gain recognition by the presiding officer, and confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding references to character and indecorous language.

(b) Questioning the staff. Every Councilman desiring to question the City staff shall, after recognition by the presiding officer, address his questions to the City Clerk or the City Attorney, who shall be entitled either to answer the inquiries themselves or to designate members of their staffs for that purpose.

(c) Interruptions. A Councilman, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless called to order by the presiding officer, or unless a point of order or personal privilege is raised by another Councilman, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to a question by another Councilman. If a Councilman is called to order while speaking, he shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if determined to be in order, he may proceed. Members of the City staff, after recognition by the presiding officer, shall hold the floor until the completion of their remarks or until recognition is withdrawn by the presiding officer.

(d) Points of order. The presiding officer shall determine all points of order, subject to the right of any Councilman to request a full Council ruling, and the question shall be "Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustained?" A majority vote shall conclusively determine such question of order.

(e) Points of personal privilege. The right of a Councilman to address the Council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which his integrity, character, or motives are questioned or where the welfare of the Council is concerned. A Councilman raising a point of personal privilege may interrupt another Councilman who has the floor only if the presiding officer recognizes the privilege.

(f) Privilege of closing the debate. The Councilman moving the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or motion shall have the privilege of closing the debate, subject to a Council majority ruling that the debate should continue.

(§§ 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, Ord. 2-5)

The business of the Council shall be conducted in substantially the order and in the manner as set forth in Section 2-1.109 of this article, and, so far as practicable, in accordance with the parliamentary rules laid down in Robert's Rules of Order (revised); provided, however, a failure to observe or enforce such rules shall in no manner affect the regularity, validity, or legality of any action or proceedings taken by the Council, and the Council, in its discretion and in accordance with its right to govern its own proceedings, does hereby reserve the right to proceed at any time otherwise than as prescribed or indicated in said Robert's Rules of Order.

(§ 10, Ord. 2-5)

Rules adopted to expedite the transaction of the business of the Council in an orderly fashion shall be deemed to be procedural only, and the failure to strictly observe such rules shall not affect the jurisdiction of the Council or invalidate any action taken at a meeting which is otherwise held in conformity with law.

(§ 23, Ord. 2-5)

(a) Persons addressing the council. The presiding officer may bar from further audience any person who shall make any personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks, who becomes boisterous or disruptive while addressing the Council, who speaks without being recognized by the presiding officer, or who speaks out of order, unless permission to continue is granted by a majority vote of the Council.

(b) Members of the audience. Any person in the audience who engages in disorderly conduct, such as clapping of hands, the stamping of feet, whistling, using profane language, yelling, or similar demonstrations, which conduct disturbs the peace and good order of the meeting, or who refuses to comply with the lawful orders of the presiding officer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, after a request by the presiding officer, the officer of the law shall remove any such person from the Council Chamber and place him under arrest.

(§§ 24 and 27, Ord. 2-5)

The Chief of Police, or such members of the Police Department as he may designate, shall attend each Council meeting and shall carry out all orders given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order at Council meetings. Any Councilman may move to require the presiding officer to enforce the rules, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall require him to do so.

(§ 28, Ord. 2-5)

(a) Manner. Each person desiring to address the Council shall state his name and address for the record, the subject he wishes to discuss, whom he is representing if he represents an organization or other person, and, unless further time is granted by a majority vote of the Council, shall limit his remarks to five (5) minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any member thereof. No question shall be asked a Councilman or a member of the City staff without obtaining the permission of the presiding officer. Any person violating the provisions of Section 2-1.119 of this article while addressing the Council shall be called to order by the presiding officer and, if such conduct continues, such person, at the discretion of the presiding officer, may be ordered barred from further audience, and, if the conduct warrants, such person may be ordered removed from the Council Chamber.

(b) Spokesmen for groups of persons. In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the presiding officer to inquire whether or not the group has a spokesman and, if so, that he be heard with following speakers in the group to be limited to any facts not already presented by the group spokesman.

(§§ 25 and 26, Ord. 2-5)

Any vote of the Council, including a roll call vote, may be registered by the members by answering "Yes" for an affirmative vote or "No" for a negative vote upon his name being called by the City Clerk.

(§ 29, Ord. 2-5)

Any Councilman who is disqualified from voting on a particular matter by reason of a conflict of interest shall publicly state, or have the presiding officer state, the nature of such disqualification in the open Council meeting. Where no clearly disqualifying conflict of interest appears, the matter of disqualification may be decided by the other Councilmen, at the request of the Councilman affected. A Councilman who is disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest in any matter may remain in his seat during the debate and not vote on such matter or may request and be given the permission of the presiding officer to step down from the Council table and leave the Council Chamber. A Councilman stating such disqualification shall not be counted as a part of a quorum and shall be considered absent for the purpose of determining the outcome of any vote on such matter.

(§ 30, Ord. 2-5)

Every Councilman should vote unless disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest. A Councilman who abstains from voting acknowledges that a majority of the quorum may decide the question voted upon. A Councilman who is silent or inattentive and fails to vote without stating his abstention or without being disqualified shall be deemed to have cast a "Yes" vote.

(§ 31, Ord. 2-5)

Tie votes shall be lost motions or "no action", and the matter voted upon may be subject to further Council consideration.

(§ 32, Ord. 2-5)

A Councilman may change his vote only if he makes a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the City Clerk and prior to the time the next item in the order of business is considered. A Councilman who publicly announces that he is abstaining from voting on a particular matter shall not subsequently be allowed to withdraw his abstention.

(Ord. 2-5 § 33)

A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be made only at the meeting such action was taken. The motion to reconsider the action may be made either immediately during the same session or at a recessed or adjourned session thereof. Such motion may be made only by one of the Councilmen who voted with the prevailing side. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent any Councilman from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council.

(Ord. 2-5 § 34)

(a) Preparation—Authorization. All ordinances and contracts shall be prepared by the City Attorney. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless ordered by a Councilman, the whole Council, or the Mayor or which has been prepared by the City Attorney on his own initiative. All department heads shall route requests for ordinances through the Mayor.

(b) Prior approval by administrative staff. All ordinances, resolutions, and contract documents, before presentation to the Council, shall have been approved as to form and compliance with all applicable laws by the City Attorney.

(Ord. 2-5 §§ 35, 36)

At the time of the adoption of an ordinance or resolution, such ordinance or resolution shall be read in full unless, after the reading of the title thereof, the further reading thereof is waived by the unanimous consent of the Councilmen present. Such consent may be expressed by a statement by the presiding officer in the following manner: "If there is no objection, the further reading of the ordinance (or resolution) shall be waived". If any Councilman so requests, the ordinance or resolution shall be read in full.

(Ord. 2-5 § 37)

Wherever by law the Council is required to hold a public hearing on any matter before it, such hearing shall be held in accordance with the rules and procedures set forth in this article. The provisions of this article shall not prohibit or limit the Council from holding a public hearing on any matter before it, whether required by law or not, and shall not prohibit or limit any member of the public from addressing the Council in accordance with the rules provided for in this article, irrespective of whether or not a public hearing is being held.

(Ord. 2-5 § 38)

After the City Clerk has announced that the time has arrived for a public hearing on any scheduled agenda item set for a public hearing, the presiding officer shall announce that it is the time and place for such public hearing and shall ascertain whether or not anyone wishes to be heard on the agenda item under consideration. If there are persons present wishing to be heard, the presiding officer shall request that the proponents be heard first, and such persons shall be given an opportunity to address the Council.

(Ord. 2-5 § 39)

During the public hearing the Council shall receive oral or written evidence relevant to the matter being considered, and the presiding officer, or any member of the Council through the presiding officer, may require the City Clerk to swear in any person giving evidence at the time of the hearing on the matter under consideration if such oath is necessary in the opinion of the presiding officer or any member of the Council. Evidence received at the public hearings provided for in this article shall be relevant and material to the issues before the Council; provided, however, the rules of evidence established by the Evidence Code of the State shall be substantially relaxed in order to afford a full presentation of the facts essential for the judicious consideration by the Council of the matter which is the subject of the public hearing.

(Ord. 2-5 § 40)

At any time it appears to the presiding officer, or a majority of the Council through the presiding officer, that inadequate evidence has been presented to afford the judicious consideration of any matter before the Council at the time of a public hearing, a continuation of such hearing may be ordered to afford the applicant, his opponents, or the City staff adequate time to assemble additional evidence for consideration by the Council. Any continuation ordered by the Council through its presiding officer shall be to a stated date, which date shall be publicly announced in the Council Chamber and shall constitute notice to the applicant and his opponent of the time and place further evidence will be taken. A public hearing may be continued in the event the matter is to be returned to the Planning Commission for further consideration. In such event, the presiding officer shall publicly state in an open Council meeting the fact that the matter has been returned to the Planning Commission for consideration and that the Council hearing will be continued to a stated date. The public announcements provided for in this section shall constitute the notice to the applicant and his opponents of the time and place when further evidence will be taken by the Council.

(Ord. 2-5 § 41)

When neither the applicant, his opponents, or the City staff have further evidence to produce or when sufficient evidence has been presented, in the opinion of the presiding officer or the majority of the Council through the presiding officer, the presiding officer shall order the public hearing closed, at which time no further evidence, either oral or written, shall be accepted by the Council; provided, however, this rule may be relaxed by the presiding officer or the majority of the Council through the presiding officer where it appears that good cause exists to hear further evidence concerning the matter which is the subject of the public hearing.

(Ord. 2-5 § 42)

A public hearing on any matter once closed cannot be reopened on the date set for the hearing; provided, however, this provision is not intended to prevent or prohibit the reopening of a public hearing at any subsequent regular or special meeting of the Council. No public hearing may be reopened without due and proper notice being given to the applicant and his opponents designating the time and place of such reopening.

(Ord. 2-5 § 43)