Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-16-08 workshop agenda — reading text

procedural rules to govern the official action of the council. The frequency of meetings can, of course, be suited to the needs of the particular city. The section contains the important, standard protection that meetings must be public and that a journal of proceedings be kept as a public record. Most states have open meeting laws which specify the circumstances when closed or executive sessions may be held; such meetings are sometimes necessary for effective council functioning. This charter and state law contain ample safeguards to assure open meetings. All council actions require majority vote, except actions to adjourn, to compel attendance of members in the absence of a quorum, and to appoint additional members if the membership falls below a majority of the total authorized membership as provided in § 2. 06( c). Section 2. 12. Action Requiring an Ordinance. In addition to other acts required by law or by specific provision of this charter to be done by ordinance, those acts of the city council shall be by ordinance which: 1) Adopt or amend an administrative code or establish, alter, or abolish any city department, office, or agency; 17  2) Provide for a fine or other penalty or establish a rule or regulation for violation of which a fine or other penalty is imposed; 3) Levy taxes; 4) Grant, renew, or extend a franchise; 5) Regulate the rate charged for its services by a public utility; 6) Authorize the borrowing of money; 7) Convey or lease or authorize the conveyance or lease of any lands of the city; 8) Regulate land use and development; 9) Amend or repeal any ordinance previously adopted; or 10) Adopt, with or without amendment, ordinances proposed under the initiative power. Acts other than those referred to in the preceding sentence may be done either by ordinance or by resolution. Commentary. This section assures that the enumerated types of council action be taken only after compliance with all the procedural safeguards required for passage of an ordinance by the succeeding sections. Other subjects requiring an ordinance are not mentioned here because the requirement is specifical- ly stated elsewhere in the charter. These include adoption of codes of technical regulations (§ 2. 15), appropriation and revenue ordinances (§ 5. 06), supplemental and emergency appropriations and reduction of appropriations (§ 5. 07), and creation of a charter commission or proposal of charter amendments (§ 8. 01). Council may act via ordinance or resolution on matters other than those enumerated in this section or as required by law or by specific provision in the charter to be by ordinance. This does not pre- clude motions relating to matters of council procedure, which may involve even less formality than resolutions. Section 2. 13. Ordinances in General. a) Form. Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption. No ordinance shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clear- ly expressed in its title. The enacting clause shall be " The city of hereby ordains ..." Any ordinance which repeals or amends an existing ordinance or part of the city code shall set out in full the ordinance, sections or subsections to be repealed or amended, and shall indicate matters to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets or by strikeout type and shall indicate new matters by underscoring or by italics. b)Procedure. Any member at any regular or special meeting of the council may intro- duce an ordinance. Upon introduction of any ordinance, the city clerk shall distribute a copy to each council member and to the city manager, shall file a reasonable number of 18 copies in the office of the city clerk and such other public places as the council may designate, and shall publish the ordinance together with a notice setting out the time and place for a public hearing thereon and for its consideration by the council. The public hearing shall follow the publication by at least seven days, may be held separately or in connection with a regular or special council meeting and may be adjourned from time to time;all persons interested shall have an opportunity to be heard. After the hearing, the council may adopt the ordinance with or without amendment or reject it, but if it is amended as to any matter of substance, the council may not adopt it until the ordinance or its amended sections have been subjected to all the procedures herein before required in the case of a newly introduced ordinance. As soon as practicable after adoption, the clerk of its adoption published and available at a shall have the ordinance and a notice reasonable price. c) Effective Date. Except as otherwise provided in this charter, every adopted ordinance shall become effective at the expiration of 30 days after adoption or at any later date specified therein. d) " Publish" Defined. As used in this section, the term " publish" means to print in the contemporary means of information sharing, which includes but is not limited to, one or more newspapers of general circulation in the city, and, if available, in a web site: ( 1) the ordinance or a brief summary thereof, and ( 2) the places where copies of it have been filed and the times when they are available for public inspection and purchase at a reasonable price. Commentary. This section dispenses with the unnecessary and cumbersome requirements of a full reading of all ordinances and publication of their full text both before and after adoption. Distribution of a copy to each council member obviates the need for a full reading. Permitting the printing of a brief summary, together with notice of the times and places where copies are available for public inspection, simplifies publication. Further simplification occurs in §§ 2. 14 and 2. 15, which contain special provisions for expeditious handling of emergency ordinances and for adoption by reference of standard codes of technical regulations. The section retains the basic safeguards of a public hearing following notice by publication, and a second publication with notice of adoption. It does not go so far as charters that dispense with publication or that permit adoption at the same meeting at which a non -emergency ordinance is introduced. It retains protective features deemed necessary for full and careful consideration. Section 2. 14 provides sufficient leeway for emergency situations. Section 2. 14. Emergency Ordinances. To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace, the city council may adopt one or more emergency ordinances, but such ordinances may not levy taxes, grant, renew or extend a franchise, regulate the rate charged by any public utility for 19  d its services or authorize the borrowing of money except as provided in § 5. 07( b). An emer- gency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances gen- erally, except that it shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall con- twin, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describ- ing it in clear and specific terms. An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced, but the affirmative vote of at least members shall be required for adoption. After its adoption, the ordinance shall be published and printed as prescribed for other adopted ordinances. It shall become "} effective upon adoption or at such later time as it may specify. Every emergency ordinance except one made pursuant to § 5. 07( b) shall automatically stand repealed as of the sixty - first day following the date on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent re- enactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may also be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this section for adoption of emergency ordinances. Commentary. To facilitate timely action, the charter permits an extraordinary majority to introduce and adopt such ordinances at the same meeting. Ordinances passed pursuant to this section may also have an imme- diate effective date. Section 2. 15. Codes of Technical Regulations. The city council may adopt any standard code of technical regulations by reference thereto in an adopting ordinance. The procedure and requirements governing such an adopting ordinance shall be as prescribed for ordinances generally except that: 1) The requirements of § 2. 13 for distribution and filing of copies of the ordinance shall be construed to include copies of the code of technical regulations as well as of the adopting ordinance, and 2) A copy of each adopted code of technical regulations as well as of the adopt- ing ordinance shall be authenticated and recorded by the city clerk pursuant to § 2. 16( a). Copies of any adopted code of technical regulations shall be made available by the city clerk for distribution or for purchase at a reasonable price. Commentary. This provision permits adoption of standard and often lengthy, detailed, and technical regulations, such as building and sanitary codes, by an ordinance which simply incorporates and adopts the code by reference. Publication of the adopting ordinance satisfies publication requirements. The adopt- ing ordinance should indicate the nature of the code. The council is not required to include all such technical codes in the general city code pursuant to § 2. 15. This approach minimizes burden and UFJ expense while at the same time preserving the essential safeguards of the general ordinance procedure of §2. 12. Section 2. 16. Authentication and Recording; Codification; Printing of Ordinances and Resolutions. a)Authentication and Recording. The city clerk shall authenticate by signing and shall record in full in a properly indexed book kept for the purpose all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the city council. b) Codification. Within three years after adoption of this charter and at least every ten years thereafter, the city council shall provide for the preparation of a general codification of all city ordinances and resolutions having the force and effect of law. The general codification shall be adopted by the council by ordinance and shall be published, together with this charter and any amendments thereto, pertinent provisions of the constitution and other laws of the state of , and such codes of technical regulations and other rules and regulations as the council may specify. This compilation shall be known and cited officially as the city code. Copies of the code shall be furnished to city officers, placed in libraries, public offices, and, if available, in a web site for free public reference and made available for purchase by the public at a reasonable price fixed by the council. c) Printing of Ordinances and Resolutions. The city council shall cause each ordinance and resolution having the force and effect of law and each amendment to this charter to be printed promptly following its adoption, and the