MISSY MOSBY INTRODUCES CHANGE TO THE SPEAKING ORDINANCE

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ORDINANCE G-2016- INTRODUCING: MISSY MOSBY-COMMITTEE: A.S.D.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2.10 (COMMON COUNCIL) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES

(PLEASE REFER TO SECTION 6 ON THIS PROPOSED ORDINANCE)

WHEREAS, the Common Council recognizes that members of the public should be able to address the Council regarding matters that do not appear on the agenda and that a three-minute limitation for each speaker should provide adequate time for each speaker to convey a message or raise a concern to the Council; and

WHEREAS, the Council President, as Presiding Officer, has the duty to maintain order and decorum of meetings and use good judgment in keeping speakers within their allotted time limits; and

WHEREAS, the Common Council finds it necessary to amend Chapter 2.10 of the Code.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, by the Common Council of the City of Evansville as follows:

Section 1. Amendment of Section 2.10.010 of the Code. Section 2.10.010 of the Evansville Municipal Code is hereby amended by deleting the stricken words and inserting the words underlined as follows:

“(A) The Common Council of the City shall meet at least twice per month on Monday evening. The regular meetings shall begin at 6:30 p.m.5:30 p.m., or at a time established by the Common Council at its first regular meeting in January of each year.

(B) Meetings of the Common Council of the City of Evansville shall be held in compliance with the Indiana Open Door Law found at IC 5-14-1.5-1.
(1) Emergency meetings and executive sessions may be held pursuant to Indiana law.
(2) An agenda shall be posted at the entrance of the location of the meeting prior to the meeting.
(3) Notice of the time, date, and place of regularly scheduled meetings may be given by the City Clerk once each year to media representatives requesting such on or before January 1st.
(4) A meeting may be recessed and reconvened at a later time, date, and place, if such is announced at the original meeting, and if the agenda remains the same, without the necessity of further notice being given.

(C) Special meetings of the Common Council may be called by the Mayor, the Council President, or any three Council members. It shall be the duty of the person or persons calling the special meeting to notify the City Clerk of the meeting, allowing the Clerk reasonable time to prepare and serve notice. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to duly notify all Council members and to serve notice of the time, date, and place of said special meeting in writing 48 hours prior to said meeting by posting notice in a public place and mailing, emailing, or faxing notice to media representatives who requested such notice on or before January 1st. No action may be taken on any subject at a special meeting unless that subject was stated in the call for the special meeting.

(D) A quorum of the Council shall be a majority of all elected Council members. A quorum shall be necessary for the transaction of Council business unless otherwise required by statute or this code. No ordinance or resolution shall be passed which shall not have received the votes of a majority of all members of Council.

(E) For purposes of this chapter, “ordinance” means a local law that regulates persons or property and relates to a matter of a general and permanent nature. Any Common Council enactment that regulates persons or property and imposes a fine for violations must be in the form of an ordinance. No ordinance shall be passed on the same day or at the same meeting that it is introduced, except by a unanimous consent of the Council, and then only if at least two-thirds of the Council members are present and voting. An ordinance is required to amend or repeal an existing ordinance.

(F) For purposes of this chapter, “resolution” means a stated position or policy of the Common Council or the City. A resolution may be passed on the same day or at the same meeting as it is introduced, unless it requires affirmative action on behalf of the City, if it is otherwise required by law, or if it is requested by a majority of the members of Council that it be treated with the formalities of an ordinance. A resolution passed under this section requires a majority vote of the Council members. A resolution may be passed by a voice vote rather than a roll-call vote, unless a roll-call vote is requested by any member of Council or unless the resolution requires affirmative action on behalf of the City as required by law or it has been requested by a majority of the members of Council that it be treated with the formality of an ordinance.

(G) The Clerk may read an ordinance or resolution by number and title only, unless the Presiding Officer and two Council members request the item be read in its entirety. No rule, regulation, ordinance, or other final action shall be adopted by reference to agenda or item number alone.

(H) A motion to repeal, amend, or suspend a Council rule, other than subsection (D), (E), (F), (G) or (H) of this section, shall be in order at any time, except after a vote has been ordered. The motion requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Council members present and voting. Subsection (D), (E), (F), (G) or (H) of this section shall not be repealed, amended, or suspended except by an ordinance duly enacted in accordance with this section.

(I) A reading in full of the minutes of the previous meeting shall not be necessary unless upon motion duly made and passed by a majority of the members of Council.

(J) The Sergeant-at-Arms shall be the Chief of Police or his duly appointed designee, who must be a member of the City Police Department. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall preserve order in the lobby outside of the Council chambers and assist the President of Council in doing so within Council chambers. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall act as the messenger of the Common Council while in session. He shall deliver all notices to each member of the Common Council and all papers to the chairmen of the committees that may be placed in his hands by the City Clerk within 24 hours after receiving same.”

Section 2. Amendment of Section 2.10.020(G) of the Code. Section 2.10.020(G) of the Evansville Municipal Code is hereby amended by deleting the stricken words and inserting the words underlined as follows:

“(G) The City Clerk shall prepare an weekly agenda for the meetings of the Common Council at the direction of the Council President.”

Section 3. Amendment of Section 2.10.040(A) of the Code. Section 2.10.040(A) of the Evansville Municipal Code is hereby amended by deleting the stricken words and inserting the words underlined as follows:

“(A) At its first regular meeting after a City election, which meeting shall be held at 6:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. on the first second Monday in January, and on the first second Monday of each succeeding January, the Council shall elect from its membership a President and a Vice-President. The President shall preside at all meetings, call the meetings to order, preserve order and decorum, decide all questions of order subject to appeal to the Council, and perform all other duties required of the President. He shall appoint all standing and special committees and their chairmen and shall fill vacancies on those committees. The President shall sign all ordinances and resolutions passed by the Council before their presentation to the Mayor, as well as the minutes of the Council meetings. The President shall vote on all issues before the Council, voting last.”

Section 4. Amendment of Section 2.10.050 of the Code. Section 2.10.050 of the Evansville Municipal Code is hereby amended by deleting the stricken words and inserting the words underlined as follows:

“The following order of business shall be observed by the Common Council at its meetings. This order of business may be suspended at any time with the vote of the majority of the Council members present.
(A) Call to order.
(B) Roll call.
(C) Invocation and pPledge of allegiance.
(D) Reading, amending, and approving minutes of previous meetings.
(E) Special orders of the day.
(F) Written reports from City officials and other communications from members of the public, including petitions and remonstrances.
(G) Consent agenda – first reading of ordinances and resolutions.
(H) Regular agenda – first reading of ordinances and resolutions.
(I) Consent agenda – second reading of ordinances and resolutions with report of standing committee.
(J) Regular agenda – second reading of ordinances and resolutions with report of standing committee.
(K) Regular agenda – Third reading of ordinances and resolutions.
(L) Resolution docket.
(M) Miscellaneous business.
(N) Committee reports.
(O) Approval of claims.
(P) Adjournment.”

Section 5. Amendment of Section 2.10.080 of the Code. Section 2.10.080 of the Evansville Municipal Code is hereby amended by deleting the stricken words and inserting the words underlined as follows:

“(E) No member shall refuse to vote or absent himself or herself to avoid voting on any question; provided, however, that should any member or the spouse or dependant of the member have a direct economic interest in the subject matter to be voted upon, such member may abstain from voting on such matter, if such member shall submit in writing to the Council President, at any time prior to within five (5) days of the vote being taken, a letter detailing the circumstances of the economic conflict of interest. The written explanation shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting at which the member abstained.”

Section 6. Amendment of Section 2.10.090 of the Code. Section 2.10.090 of the Evansville Municipal Code is amended by the addition of Subsection (F) and Subsection (G) to be added to read as follows:

“(F) No person other than a member or officer of Council shall be permitted to address Council during its meeting except as provided in this rule as follows:

(1) The Presiding Officer may recognize any guest speaker under “miscellaneous business” and permit one report, not to exceed three (3) minutes. If there are many people who wish to speak during the public comment period, the Council may reduce the time allowed for each individual. Guest speakers are not permitted to donate time to other speakers.

(2) When giving a report, guests shall state their name and address for the record. All reports shall be made from the podium; speakers may not approach the Council dais without permission from the Presiding Officer.

(3) Guests from the public shall refrain from:
(a) profanity, vulgar language or gestures, or language which would incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(b) undue repetition, extended discussion of irrelevancies, obscenity, and personal attacks against private individuals unrelated to the operation of the City;
(c) campaigning for public office; and
(d) interrupting other guests or speakers or engaging in behavior that disrupts the meeting.

(4) Any city or county officer or employee may address the Council in response to a question or request for information by a member of the Council.

(5) Any member of Council desiring that someone be heard that is denied the floor by these rules or the Presiding Officer, may move to allow such person to address the Council. The motion shall state the person to be heard, the subject to which the discussion will be limited, and the time to be granted the speaker. The motion shall require a second; it shall be privileged and immediately put to vote without debate. The motion shall be carried only if receiving a vote of a majority of the members of the Council. If the motion is carried, the person shall be permitted to address the Council in accordance with the motion.

(6) If an item of business before the Council is one for which a notice of public hearing has been given, the Presiding Officer shall inquire before calling for a vote whether members of the public desire to be heard on that item. If any person indicates a desire to be heard, the Presiding Officer shall recognize such person. The Council may, by majority vote, impose reasonable limits upon the time and number of persons to be allowed to speak.
(G) In order to prevent obstructed views, distractions, and safety hazards, no person shall be permitted to bring signs, placards, or posters of any design in council chambers during the course of Council meetings; provided, however, that approved presentation materials for scheduled presenters may be permitted by Council. Council chambers attendance shall be limited to the posted seating capacity as determined by the State Fire Marshal.

(H) Any member of the public having been properly granted the privilege of the Council floor for purposes of offering comment or testimony on a particular proposal or issue before the Council must speak to that issue. Any member of the Council, having been recognized by the Presiding Officer, may question the relevancy of comment or testimony being given by members of the public by asking the Presiding Officer to rule on the germaneness of such comment or testimony. The Presiding Officer may also rule on germaneness without request. All such decisions of the Presiding Officer may be challenged and sustained or overruled by a majority vote.”

Section 7. Amendment of Section 2.10.100(G) of the Code. Section 2.10.100(G) of the Evansville Municipal Code is hereby amended by deleting the stricken words and inserting the words underlined as follows:

“(G) Committees may hold meetings at any time following proper notice. Notice of the time and place of committee meetings may shall be given by the committee chairman during a duly convened Council meeting. If this is not done, the committee chairman calling the meeting shall notify the City Clerk who shall promptly notify each Council member.”

Section 8. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Common Council.

6 COMMENTS

    • Without any doubt this city has been held back over the years by Mosby’s. Hell nearly one half of the employees of this town are either Mosbys or related thereto. Why is anyone surprised that this simpleton is censoring the public. Maybe the citizens need to be picketing the civic center during the meetings or the ACLU should be introduced to Messy Nosby

  1. I admit I’m paranoid about anything Eight Vote Mosby proposes, but I don’t see anything addressing the public speaking on things that ARE on the agenda. I don’t see this ordinance accomplishing anything for free speech or transparency.

  2. Clearly with messy and weavy when they “give you sumn” they gonna get ya somewhere else costlier

  3. Nosby is up to no good with her ordinances. She only listens when Winnecke says something.

    • Of Course, she is Winnie’s lap Dancer. She better walk the line or she will be back waiting tables at the old failed Main Gate tavern when Christmas Carol cut off her listings at Tucker.

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