HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTIONS-2001-030-R-01At
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RESOLUTION
Adopting Rules and Organization of
the City Council of the
City of Evanston
BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Evanston, 76th Session
Cook County, Illinois, adopts as its Rules and Organization, the following Rules 1 to 26
inclusive, dated May 7, 2001.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all Rules, Order of Business and Organization
of the City Council heretofore adopted, are hereby expressly rescinded and repealed,
and the following Rules 1 to 26 inclusive, shall be in effect from and after April 29, 1997.
GLOSSARY
• "Acting Mayor" is a member of the City Council elected by the Council to fill a vacancy
in the office of the Mayor until filled by a regular or special election. The Acting Mayor
shall possess all the rights and powers of the Mayor.
"City Council" and "Corporate Authorities" shall mean the nine Aldermen and the
Mayor and may be used interchangeably.
"Journal" is the official record of the City Council, wherein are recorded the yeas and
nays taken on the passage of designated ordinances, resolutions, motions, and other
actions of the Council.
"Mayor pro tem" is a member of the City Council, who is elected by the Council to
perform the duties and possesses all the rights and powers of the Mayor if a temporary
absence or disability of the Mayor prevents the performance of Mayoral duties, but does
not create a vacancy in the office. (Exception: See Rule 14.4)
"Quorum" is six members of the Corporate Authorities for a City Council meeting; three
aldermen for an Administration and Public Works Committee; three aldermen for a
Human Service Committee meeting; three aldermen for a Planning and Development
Committee meeting; three alderman for a Budget Committee meeting, and five
• alderman for a Rules Committee meeting.
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"Temporary Chair" is a member of the Council, who in the absence of the Mayor,
acting Mayor, or Mayor pro tem for a portion of a meeting, is elected by the Council to
act as a temporary chair. The temporary chair shall have only the powers of a presiding
officer and has a right to vote as Alderman. (Exception: See Rule 14.4)
INDEX
1. ADJOURNMENT
2. AGENDA
3. AMENDMENT OF RULES
4. APPEALS
5. APPOINTMENTS
6. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
7. CITY MANAGER
8. CLOSED SESSIONS
9. COMMITTEES
10. CONDUCT OF MEMBERS
11. CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ABSTENTIONS
12. DEBATE
13. GENERAL PROVISIONS
14. MAYOR
15. MEDIA
16. MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL
17. MINUTES
18. MOTIONS
19. OMNIBUS AGENDA
20. ORDINANCES
21. QUORUM
22. RECONSIDERATION
23. ROBERT'S RULES
24. TOWNSHIP
25. VOTES
26. EXTRAORDINARY VOTES
1. ADJOURNMENT
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1.1 A motion to adjourn the Council shall always be in order except while a
vote is being taken.
1.2 A motion to adjourn cannot be amended or debated, but a motion to
adjourn to a specific date or time may be amended and debated.
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(0 2. AGENDA: ORDER AT COUNCIL MEETINGS
2.1 The first order of business at each meeting of the City Council shall be the
calling of the roll of Alderman by the City Clerk, who shall mark the
absentees and announce whether a quorum is present; the Council shall
then be called to order by the Mayor. Thereupon, the Council shall
proceed to the business before it, which shall normally be conducted in
the following order. The Mayor or the Council may vary the order of
business:
(1)
Mayor and City Manager Public Announcements.
(2)
Citizen Comment.
(3)
Approval of the minutes of the preceding meeting
(4)
Communications addressed to the Council. The City Clerk shall
give notice to the Council members of all written communications
directed to the Council.
(5)
Consent Agenda
(6)
Report of Standing Committees.
(7)
Report of Special Committees.
(8)
Report of the City Manager
(9)
Miscellaneous business including announcements and
appointments by the Mayor.
• (10)
Call of the Wards, at which time each Alderman shall be called
upon by the Mayor to announce or provide information about any
Ward or City matter which that Alderman desires to bring before the
Council.
2.2 All matters relating to priority of business shall be decided by the Mayor
without
debate.
2.3 The Mayor shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide all
questions of order.
2.4 During the meetings of the City Council only city officers and staff, former
Aldermen, former Mayors and persons connected with the accredited
media shall be admitted to the Council floor except upon invitation of the
Mayor.
2.5 In the case of disturbance or disorderly conduct the Mayor shall have the
power (1) to remove the offenders; (2) to clear the Council Chamber of all
spectators; or (3) to suspend or adjourn the meeting.
• 2.6 Committees or individual Alderman who intend to ask for official Council
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• action shall ask the City Manager to put such matters on the printed
agenda prior to the Council meeting.
3. AMENDMENT, REPEAL OR SUSPENSION OF RULES
3.1 Any rule may be amended or repealed at any regular meeting of the City
Council, upon a prior submission thereof in writing, by the Rules
Committee or by three or more Aldermen. The requested changes must
be distributed to members of City Council at least one week in advance of
the vote thereon. The proposed amendment or repeal must be approved
by a majority of the Aldermen currently holding office.
3.2 Any rule may be temporarily suspended for the matter under consideration
at any time by a two-thirds vote of the Aldermen present, except as
provided in Rule 20.1.
4. APPEALS
The rulings of the Mayor may be appealed to the City Council and shall be
decided by a majority vote without debate.
• 5. APPOINTMENTS - EXCEPT AS DESIGNATED BELOW
5.1 The Mayor shall have the sole right and power, with the advice and
consent of the City Council, to make all appointments to the commissions,
boards, and advisory bodies of the Council unless otherwise provided by
ordinance or resolution. All appointments shall be introduced at least one
week in advance of their consideration by the City Council. The Mayor
shall precede introduction by transmitting to each Alderman in confidence
a written biography of the prospective appointee no later than the Friday
prior to introduction.
5.2 A board or commission appointee may be reappointed only once. When a
vacancy is created by the resignation of the member prior to expiration of
that member's term, the member appointed to fill this vacancy shall be
appointed to a full term unless otherwise provided by City Ordinance or
State Statute. All vacancies shall be published in such communications of
general circulation within the community that the Mayor deems
appropriate. Vacancies shall also be listed on the City Cable channels.
5.3 The term for board or commission membership shall be three years,
• except where otherwise provided by statute or ordinance.
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5.4 No board or commission member shall be appointed to serve on more
than one board or commission concurrently, except where required by
official position.
5.5 The City Council shall be given notice of the reappointment of any board
or commission appointee in the same manner as established for original
appointments.
5.6 Committee Chairs
5.6.1 Committees consisting of all aldermen shall have their chair appointed by
the Rules Committee.
5.6.2 Committees consisting of Aldermen and citizens, which report directly to
the Council, shall have an Aldermanic Chair appointed by the Rules
Committee for a term determined by the Rules Committee.
5.6.3 Committees consisting of Aldermen and citizens, which report to Standing
Committees, shall have a citizen chair elected by the members of the
committee.
• 5.6.4 Boards, Committees and Commissions composed entirely of citizens shall
elect their chairs, except the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Emergency
Telephone System (E-911) Board, which are required by the City Code to
have a Mayoral chair appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent
of the City Council.
5.6.5 Special Committees (Ad Hoc) shall have a chair appointed by the Mayor
with the advice and consent of the City Council.
6. CITIZENS PARTICIPATION
6.1 Any citizen may address a committee at the invitation of the Mayor or by
invitation of the chair of the committee official. Official Public Hearings for
citizens shall allow for free exchange of comments by the City Council
and citizens.
6.2. The Council, as part of the agenda, shall, at the commencement of
each regular Council meeting, provide a period for Citizen Comment.
Interested persons shall sign their name, address and state the topic to be
addressed on a posted list. If there are five or less speakers a period not
• to exceed fifteen minutes shall be provided. If there are more than five
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• speakers a period not to exceed forty-five minutes shall be provided for all
comment, and no individual shall speak longer than three minutes. The
Mayor will allocate time among the speakers to ensure that citizen
comment does not exceed forty-five minutes. The business of the City
Council shall commence no later than forty-five minutes after the
beginning of Citizen Comment.
6.3 Persons who sign up to speak on an agenda item marked for decision at
this meeting may be given priority and should indicate an agenda item or
subject to be addressed.
6.4 A person invited to address the Council as specified herein, when
accorded the floor, shall limit comments to include items within the
jurisdiction of the Evanston City Council as determined by the Mayor and
be governed by these rules to the extent applicable.
6.5 During periods of citizen participation, comments from Aldermen shall be
limited to requests for information, referrals to the appropriate committee,
or the City Manger for response.
6.6 The right of a Council member to address the Council on a question of
• personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which the members
integrity, character or motives are assailed, questioned or impugned.
7. CITY MANAGER
7.1 The City Manager shall be appointed by a two-thirds vote of the Corporate
Authorities (City Council and Mayor) and shall be delegated the full
executive powers specified in Section 1-8-3 of the City Code.
7.2 The Manager may at any time be removed from office by a majority vote
of all the elected members of the Council.
7.3. The Manager shall attend all meetings of the City Council with the right to
take part in discussion but with no right to vote.
7.4. No committee or its individual members shall in any way assume or
attempt to assume any executive or administrative function delegated to
the City Manager or appointees thereof.
7.5. In the case of absence of disability of the Manager for a period exceeding
30 days, the Council may designate a qualified administrative officer of the
• municipality to perform the duties of the Manager during such absence or
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• disability.
8. CLOSED SESSIONS
8.1 At any Council meeting for which proper notice under Sec. 42.02 of the
Open Meeting Act, (Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 120) has been
given, the Council may decide to hold a closed session for any purpose
authorized by Sec. 120/2 of the Act. Such closed session must be
approved in open meeting by a majority vote of a quorum present, and
each vote and the purpose of the closed session shall be recorded in the
minutes of the open meeting.
8.2 Only topics specified in the vote to close may be considered during the
closed session. No final action may be taken at a closed session. Minutes
of the same quality and detail as regular meetings shall be kept at all
closed sessions and shall remain confidential unless the Council
determines otherwise. The Rules Committee shall be responsible for
compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
8.3 All proceedings of a Closed Session shall be kept in strict confidence by
all those in attendance.
• 8.4 Consideration of confidential information shall be consistent with the Open
Meetings Act. An Alderman who has a question about the confidentiality of
an item should exercise a good faith effort in contacting the Mayor first to
discuss the confidentiality of the item before requesting that the City
Council consider its confidentiality.
9. COMMITTEES (62-R-00 June 6/12/00)
9.1 Open Meetings. All regular and special meetings of committees, boards
and commissions shall be open to the public and to the press, except
closed sessions as authorized by the statutes of the State of Illinois.
9.2 Standing Committees. There shall be five standing committees of the City
Council: (1) Rules Committee; (2) Administration and Public Works; (3)
Human Services; (4) Planning and Development; and (5) Budget
Committee. The Planning and Development Committee and
Administration and Public Works Committee shall meet before the regular
Council meetings. The Human Services Committee and the Rules
Committee shall meet in accordance with a published schedule, but in no
event less than once per month. The Budget Committee shall meet in
• accordance with a published schedule. Standing Committees may
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establish subcommittees as needed to assist them in more efficiently
conducting their business.
9.3 Rules Committee (nine members)
9.3.1 The jurisdiction of this committee shall be as follows:
(1) Assignment of Aldermen to standing committees, Economic
Development Committee, and the Community and
Development Committee (CD Committee) which
recommends to the Council expenditure of Federal funds.
(2) Determination of jurisdictional disputes between committees;
(3) Revision of Council Rules;
(4) Preparation and maintenance of the list of mayor pro tem;
(5) Insure compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
(6) Appointment of chairs to standing committees;
(7) Coordination of the City Manager evaluation.
(8) Such other matters as are referred to it by the Council, an
individual Alderman, or the Mayor. (64-R-97-9/22/99)
9.4 Administration and Public Works Committee. (four members) The duties of
this committee shall include matters relating to bills and purchases;
finance; fire; legal; licensing; personnel; public works, including: streets
and alleys, lighting, refuse disposal, water and sewers, traffic control and
parking; public buildings, public transportation; public utilities; safety
(including civil defense); liaison with the police and fire pension boards;
and capital improvements.. This committee shall meet at 7:00 p.m. on the
night of regular scheduled City Council meetings.
9.5 Human Services Committee. (four members) The duties of this committee
shall include matters relating to the Department of Health and Human
Services, including public health, mental health, youth, aging, emergency
assistance and community purchased human services, liaison with human
service -related boards and commissions; private and public organizations
funding or providing human services within the City and matters relating to
the arts, recreation, library, environment, unemployment, the Township,
unified budgeting, the Farmers' Market and Police services. The
committee will sit as the Township Committee when dealing with all
matters related to the Township. It will sit as the Police Services
Committee when dealing with citizen review cases. The Human Services
Committee shall meet on the first Monday of each month.
9.6 Planning and Development Committee. (five members) The duties of this
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• committee will include matters relating to planning; physical development,
zoning, building conservation, preservation, housing, and relocation. The
Committee shall review and advise the City Council on the use and
planning of all City park land. This Committee shall meet at 7:00 p.m. on
the night of regular scheduled Council meetings.
9.7 Budget Committee (five members) The duties of this committee will
include matters relating to the creation and amending of a budget policy,
the prioritization of services for the capital and operating budgets, the
review of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, and the
examination of revenue enhancing and expenditure reduction techniques.
The Budget Committee shall meet once monthly as per published
schedule.
9.8 Committee Chairman. The Rules Committee will establish a schedule of
Standing Committee chairmanship, with no Alderman holding two
chairmanships at the same time, except for the Budget Committee.
9.9 Committee of the Whole. By majority vote, the Council may resolve itself
into a Committee of the Whole for the purpose of informally discussing any
matter. The presiding official shall be the Mayor or the appropriate
• Committee Chairman.
9.10 Standing Committees' Priorities and Procedures.
9.10.1 The chair shall confer on a regular basis with staff to review the
committee agenda.
9.10.2 Each committee shall adopt guidelines for the conduct of its
meeting and for public participation. The chair shall report
committee deliberations and actions to the Council and may
appoint, as necessary, a speaker to present majority or minority
committee reports to the Council.
9.10.3 References — Committees, Boards, and Commissions composed
entirely of Aldermen shall consider matters referred to them by the
Mayor, Aldermen or staff without the necessity of a vote of the
Council. References by individual aldermen to standing committee
can be made at the call of the wards, during individual standing
committee meetings, or through communication to the standing
committee chair by an individual alderman. References to other
Committees, Boards, or Commissions, which are approved by the
• City Council, shall be considered by that Committee, Board, or
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• Commission. Prior to approval of such reference, the Council shall
have the right to debate the motion for such references. (64-R-99-
9/22/99)
9.10.4 The Chair of the Standing Committees may appoint subcommittees
with the approval of the committee for better operational efficiency
and/or greater community involvement to consider particular issues
or problems. The sub -committee shall report to the standing
committee which created it.
9.11 Special Committees (Ad Hoc)
9.11.1 Special committees may be appointed to consider particular
problems. At the time of creating of any special committees, the
appointing body shall also designate to whom the special
committee will report and the time frame within which its work
should be completed. There shall be three types of special
committees.
9.11.2 Special Committees of the Aldermen which shall be composed of
Aldermen appointed by the City Council, or the Rules Committee,
• or by the Mayor.
9.11.3 Special Committees of Aldermen and citizens of the City which
shall be appointed by Aldermen, by the City Council, the Rules
Committee, or by the Mayor.
9.11.4 Special Committees appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and
consent of the City Council, which may be composed entirely of
citizens.
9.11.5 Except as provided in section 5.6 of these rules the chairs of these
special committees shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice
and consent of the City Council.
9.11.6 All appointments of the above committees shall be with the advice
and consent of the City Council.
9.12 Special Meetings. Three or more members of a Committee, Board or
Commission may call a meeting of that body when the Chair has canceled
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the meeting. Such call for a meeting shall be in writing, duly signed by the
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• callers and shall be presented to the Chair. (Resolution 65-R-92).
10. CONDUCT OF MEMBERS
10.1 No member of the Council shall speak until recognized by the
Mayor,
10.2 While business of the Council is being transacted, no member shall
leave the Council meeting without informing the Mayor.
10.3 An Alderman called to order by the Mayor shall immediately sit
down.
10.4 Any Alderman who acts in a disorderly manner at a Council or
standing committee meeting or who does not obey the order of the
Mayor, may be censured by a majority vote of the members present
or expelled for the remainder of the meeting by a two-thirds vote of
the Aldermen present.
10.5 Any A:Iderman who does not comply with the Evanston City Code of
Ethics may be censured by majority vote of members present at a
• Council meeting.
10.6 An Alderman shall stand when speaking.
11. CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ABSTENTIONS
11.1 An Alderman is expected to vote yea or nay on all matters when
present except on any matter which involves a direct personal
pecuniary interest or conflict of interest. The reason for an
abstention should be announced. If the Mayor or any Alderman
believes there is a conflict of interest in any matter before the
Council, consultation with the Board of Ethics is available.
11.2 Aldermen serving on the Board of Directors of an Evanston not -for-
-profit agency shall disclose their membership and refrain from
participating in Council discussion or voting on matters pertaining to
the not -for -profit agency.
11.3 No Alderman shall give testimony before the Zoning Board of
Appeals or the Plan Commission on any matters that will ultimately
come before the City Council for consideration except when
• presenting the official recommendations of a Council committee or
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• subcommittee on a matter within its jurisdiction and upon which a
formal vote by that committee or subcommittee has been taken. An
Alderman may give such testimony only when the Alderman is the
appellant before the Zoning Board of Appeals or Plan Commission.
11.4 Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit an Alderman from
attending Zoning Board of Appeals or Plan Commission meetings
or from giving testimony on those items for which the Zoning Board
of Appeals is the final authority.
12. DEBATE
12.1 No Alderman shall speak for longer than five minutes on the same subject
except by consent of a majority of the Council. Council consent shall be
assumed in the absence of objections by any Alderman or the Mayor.
12.2 No Alderman shall speak twice on the same subject until all Aldermen who
wish to speak have had an opportunity to be heard at least once.
13. GENERAL PROVISIONS
13.1 The powers of the City Council shall be purely legislative.
• 13.2 The City Council shall approve for payment all expenses and liabilities of
the municipality.
14. MAYOR
14.1 The Mayor is the presiding officer at all meetings of the City Council and is
an ex officio member of all City Council committees.
14.2 The Mayor shall be an ex officio member of all committees, boards and
commissions.
14.3 All ordinances and resolutions passed by the Council shall be deposited
with the City Clerk. The Mayor shall indicate approval of these by signing
them. Those disapproved shall be returned to the Council accompanied by
written objections at the next regular meeting occurring not less than
seven (7) days after passage. The Mayor may disapprove of any one or
more sums appropriated in any ordinance or resolution making an
appropriation, and, if so, the remainder shall be considered approved.
However, the Mayor may disapprove entirely of an ordinance or resolution
making an appropriation. If the Mayor fails to return any ordinance or
resolution with written objections within the designated time, it shall be
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14.4 When the Mayor votes:
14.4.1 The Mayor shall vote on Ordinances, Resolutions and motions in
the following instances:
A. When the vote of the Aldermen has resulted in a tie.
B. When a vote greater than a majority of the Corporate Authorities
(Aldermen and Mayor) is required by statute to adopt an ordinance,
resolution or motion.
C. On the appointment of a City Manager.
14.4.2 The Mayor shall not vote in the following instances:
A. To break a tie vote on an incidental motion. (Incidental motions
consider procedural issues and are used to enforce correct rules of
procedure.) A tie vote on an incidental motion sustains the decision
of the Mayor.
is B. On any ordinance, resolution or motion when there is no tie vote.
14.4.3 An Acting Mayor or Mayor pro tem shall not be accorded the voting
privilege of Mayor; however nothing in this section may deprive an
Acting Mayor or Mayor pro tem of the voting privilege of Alderman.
14.5 The Mayor shall have authority to refer any matter to the agenda of any
committee of the City Council, or to any Aldermanic committee, board,
commission, or advisory body of the City Council.
14.6 The Mayor shall at all times have access to any and all records,
documents, and information relative to any and all functions of the
municipal government as allowed by law.
14.7 MAYOR PRO TEM
14.7.1 If a temporary absence or temporary disability of the Mayor prevents the
performance of Mayoral duties, but does not create a vacancy in
the office, the City Council shall elect one of its members to act as
Mayor pro tem. The Mayor pro tem during such absence or
. disability shall perform the duties and shall possess all the rights
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• and powers of the Mayor.
14.7.2 The City Clerk shall maintain at all times the list of Aldermen by seniority
to serve as either Mayor pro tem or Temporary Chair (as defined in
glossary) as prepared by the Rules Committee. The chair of the
Rules Committee shall nominate as Mayor pro tem in the order of
succession from said list.
14.8 ACTING MAYOR
14.8.1 A vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor by reason of resignation,
failure to elect or qualify, death, permanent physical or mental
disability, conviction of a disqualifying crime, abandonment of
office, removal from office or by removal of residence from the City.
14.8.2 In accordance with the state election code, if a vacancy occurs in
the office of the Mayor and there remains an unexpired portion of
the term, the office shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the
term by special election at the non -mayoral consolidated election
provided that the vacancy occurs more than 130 days before that
election. If the vacancy occurs less than 130 days before the non -
mayoral consolidated election, the vacancy shall be filled at the
next consolidated election when the office of Mayor is normally on
the ballot. The City Council shall elect one of its members Acting
Mayor who shall perform the duties and possess all the rights and
powers of the Mayor until a successor to fill the vacancy has been
elected and has qualified. (Exception: See Rule 14.4)
15. MEDIA
All official meetings of the City Council and its committees shall be open to the
media, freely subject to recording by radio, television, and photographic devices at
any time, provided that such arrangements do not interfere with the orderly conduct
of the meeting.
16. MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL
16.1 All meetings of the City Council shall be open to the public and the press,
with the exception of closed sessions as specified in the Open Meetings
Act.
16.2 A quorum of the City Council shall be six members of the City Council
• (Corporate Authorities) including the Mayor, acting Mayor or Mayor pro
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• tem, currently holding office. Except as required by the statutes of this
State, enacted ordinances of this City, or these rules, action may be taken
by a majority vote of a quorum. (Moved to 21.1)
16.3 Special meetings may be held at any time upon proper public notice as
specified in the Open Meetings Act*, by call of the Mayor, or by the call of
three or more Aldermen. Such call for special meetings shall be in writing,
duly signed by the callers, and shall be presented to the City Clerk, who
shall prepare and issue notices of the same to the Mayor and all members
of the Council at least forty-eight hours before the meeting. Such notices
shall describe in brief the nature or object of the special meeting. At every
special meeting the call for said meeting shall be read and afterwards filed
by the Clerk and no business other than that proposed by the call shall be
in order at such meeting.
*Public notice under the Open Meetings Act requires that the notice of a special,
rescheduled regular, or a reconvened meeting must be given at least forty-eight hours
beforehand and must also include the agenda for the meeting. The notice must be
posted in the Civic Center or at the building in which the meeting is to be held. Copies of
the notice must be supplied to all media who have filed an annual request for such
service.
• 16.4 Emergency meetings. Notice of an emergency meeting shall be given as
soon as possible, but in any event, prior to the holding of such meeting, to
any news medium which has filed an annual request for notice.
17. MINUTES
17.1 A journal of the minutes of the City Council shall be kept by the City Clerk
and a copy of the minutes of the immediately preceding meeting shall be
delivered to each Alderman prior to the convening of the next reguar
meeting.
17.2 In all cases where a motion is entered in the minutes of the Council, the
name of the Alderman moving the same and the name of the seconded
shall recorded, except for a motion to adjourn.
18. MOTIONS
18.1 A motion is not before the Council until it has been seconded. A motion
• shall be reduced to writing if requested by an Alderman, the Clerk, or the
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• Mayor.
18.2 A motion maybe withdrawn by the proposer at any time before a vote is
called.
18.3 All ordinances and authorizations to expend or disburse monies shall be
passed only by a roll call vote duly recorded. (Five votes)
18.4 Upon motion of any Alderman, the vote shall be by roll call and shall be
recorded.
18.5 The Mayor shall announce the result of the Council's vote on every roll
call. Prior to such announcement, Aldermen may change their vote.
18.6 A motion to table any matter is not debatable, and, if adopted, by majority
vote of Aldermen present, shall end all further debate of the subject. A
motion to take a matter from the table may be proposed at the same
meeting or at any subsequent meeting.
18.7 An amendment to modify an original motion shall be in order at any time,
but no amendment to a motion shall be made which changes the intent of
• an original motion or relates to a different subject.
18.8 A substitute of any original motion or proposition may be entertained and if
adopted by the Council shall entirely supersede the original motion or
proposition.
18.9 When a motion is made and seconded to "call for the question", a vote
shall then be taken without debate unless one of the following motions is
interposed ---namely, a motion to adjourn, a motion to adjourn to a
specified time, a motion to recess, or a motion raising a point of personal
privilege. If the motion to call for the question is carried, all further motions
and debate shall be excluded and the question before the Council shall
then be put. If a roll call vote is requested on a motion to call for the
question, a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Aldermen present is required for
passage.
18.10 A motion to limit further debate to a specified period of time, being duly
seconded, shall be carried if it is approved by a majority of the Aldermen
present. This motion is not debatable.
18.11 Any matter before the Council may be made a special order of business
for any future time by action of the Council. A special order of business
• refers to Council consideration of a docket item which will be considered
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• at a specified date previously agreed upon by a majority vote of the
Council.
18.12 At the request of two Aldermen, any matter except a special order of
business may be held over for consideration until the next regular meeting
of the Council. Any matter so held over may not be held over a second
consecutive time by this procedure. An Alderman may ask either the City
Manager or the Alderman requesting the holdover to explain the impact of
the holdover at the time the holdover is requested. If a request to hold the
matter over is contested by a motion to overrule the request, duly made
and seconded, the motion to overrule will be sustained if at least two-
thirds (2/3's) of the Alderman present vote in favor of the motion. A motion
to overrule is debatable. Any citizen may inspect the matter under such
deferred deliberation at the office of the City Clerk.
19. OMNIBUS AGENDA (CONSENT AGENDA)
19.1 Consent agenda items are marked by an asterisk(*) on the regular Council
agenda.
19.2 All items on the consent agenda are decided by one roll call vote without
• discussion or debate.
19.3 An item may be removed from the consent agenda by the request of either
the Mayor or an Alderman. Such a request does not require a second or a
vote.
19.4 An item removed from the consent agenda will be considered separately
as called by the appropriate committee.
19.5 An Ordinance to be introduced may remain on the Consent Agenda, if it
was approved by the Committee.
20. ORDINANCES
20.1 No ordinance may be adopted by the Council at the same meeting at
which it is introduced. During the period between introduction and
consideration, any citizen may inspect any such proposed ordinance at
the office of the City Clerk. However, an ordinance may be adopted by the
Council at the same meeting at which it is introduced after the rules are
suspended by a unanimous vote of the Aldermen.
• 20.2 An ordinance, to pass, requires a majority vote (five) of the nine Aldermen,
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unless otherwise specified, i.e., unless an extraordinary vote is required.
(See Council Rule 26) If the Mayor's vote to break a tie constitutes the fifth
vote, the item passes.
21. QUORUM
21.1 A quorum of the City Council shall be six members of the City Council
(Corporate Authorities) including the Mayor, acting Mayor or Mayor pro
tem, currently holding office. Except as required by the statutes of this
State, enacted ordinances of this City, or these rules, action may be taken
by a majority vote of a quorum.
21.2 A quorum of the Administration and Public Works Committee shall be
three Aldermen.
21.3 A quorum of the Human Services Committee shall be three Aldermen.
21.4 A quorum of the Planning and Development Committee shall be three
Aldermen.
21.5 A quorum of the Budget Committee shall be three Aldermen.
• 21.6 A quorum of the Rules Committee shall be five Alderman.
22. RECONSIDERATION
22.1 Any vote to approve a purchase, contract, bond sale, zoning variation or
special use, whether by motion, resolution or ordinance, or to confirm an
appointment by the Mayor to a commission, board or advisory body, or to
convene into a closed session, may be reconsidered but only at the same
meeting at which said vote was taken, upon an affirmative vote of 2/3's of
the Aldermen present. The vote taken on any other motion, resolution or
ordinance may be reconsidered but only at the next regular meeting held
after the meeting at which said vote was taken, upon the vote of the
majority of the Aldermen present. A motion for reconsideration may be
made as set forth herein only once. A motion to reconsider must be made
by an Alderman who voted on the prevailing side; however, when a
motion, resolution, ordinance fails to pass by reason of not having
received a required extraordinary vote, a motion to reconsider, properly
made, may be seconded by any other Alderman.
22.2 No vote of the Council shall be reconsidered or rescinded at a special
. meeting.
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22.3 Every resolution, motion, and ordinance which is returned to the council by
the Mayor after veto may be reconsidered by the Council by a motion to
override the veto at the same meeting of such return. If two-thirds of all
Aldermen elected to the Council vote to pass the ordinance, resolution or
motion, notwithstanding the Mayor's refusal to approve it, then it shall be
effective. The vote on the question of passage over the Mayor's veto shall
be by roll call.
23. ROBERT'S RULES
The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in the latest edition of Robert's Rules
of Order shall govern the Council in all cases to which they are applicable and in
which they are not in conflict with these Rules of the Council.
24. TOWNSHIP
The Aldermen and Mayor of the Evanston City Council are the Trustees of the
Town of the City of Evanston, and all matters relating to Township affairs may be
considered and acted upon by the City Council acting as the Town Board of
Trustees. Prior to consideration of any Township matter, the Mayor shall announce
. that the item of business is before the Town Board of Trustees.
25. VOTES
25.1 Votes may be taken on motions, resolutions, and appointments, except
where a roll call vote is specifically called for by statute, rule of the
Council, or by a request of any Alderman.
25.2 Roll call votes are required on all ordinances, expenditures, calling a
closed meeting, items requiring an extraordinary majority, or when
requested by an Alderman.
25.3 The order in which Aldermen shall be called for roll call votes shall be
alternated. The order of voting for the year shall be published by the City
Clerk at the beginning of the year.
25.4 A Mayoral vote is required in the instances specified in rule 14.4.
25.5 An Alderman may abstain from voting in the instances as set forth in 11.1
as summarized on the last page of this book under the heading
"Extraordinary Votes..."
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0 26. EXTRAORDINARY VOTES
A. 3/4 of (Elected) Aldermen then holding office (7 votes)
1. Vacation of streets and alleys
65 ILCS 5/11-91-1
2. Passage of Map amendment when 30% of property owners within 500 feet of
boundary of area to be amended file written protest with the City Clerk (6-3-4-7)
3. Passage of a unique use when 30% of property owners within 1000 foot radius of
the area boundary file with the City Clerk a written protest (6-3-7-6)
B. 3/4 of Aldermen Present
2/3 of (Elected) Aldermen then holding office (6 votes)
1. Sale or lease of real property
City Code: 1-17-4-1; 1-17-4-2; 1-17-5)
. 2. Purchase of goods and services over $5,000.00 without public bids (City Code:
1-17-1)
3. Passage of an ordinance over veto of the Mayor (City Code: 1-6-4 (B);
4. Overrule Liquor Commissioner in rejection of application (City Code: 3-5-2 (C)
5.)
5. Passage of modification of a site development allowance in excess of that
established in zoning district, upon Plan Commission recommendation and City
Council written finding (6-3-6-6).
2/3 of Aldermen present (number will vary)
1. Temporary suspension of any rule (except Rule 20.1) (Council Rule 3.2e)
2. A roll call vote on a motion to call for the questions Council Rule 18.9
3. A motion to overrule the request of two Aldermen to hold a matter over until the
next regular meeting.
• 4. A motion to reconsider made at the same meeting at which original vote was
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0 taken. (Council Rule 22.1)
5. Expulsion of an Alderman for the remainder of a Council meeting (Council Rule
10.4)
6. Passage of a text or map amendment to the zoning ordinance (6-3-4-6(F)).
2/3 of Corporate Authorities
To appoint a City Manager (Council Rule 7.1)
The Mayor cannot vote on extraordinary votes except to break a tie. (See Council Rule
15.4 Note: Although the Mayor's vote is required by break a tie vote, the item will fail
unless the extraordinary vote numbers are met.)
Unanimous Vote
To suspend the rules for the purpose of adopting an ordinance at the same meeting
at which it is introduced.
(Council Rule 20.1)
0 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that said Rules and Organization be published in
pamphlet form.
This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval,
and publication in the manner provided by law.
� Mayor
ATTEST:
City GlIrk
Adopted: , 2001
is
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