Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 08-27-13--special--rules and procedures — reading text

Attachment: Robert' s Rules Presentation ( 3481 : Presentation on Robert' s Rules of Order)  A debate, regardless of length, cannot be ended by interrupting the debate with " Question!" or " I call the question!" Any member who wishes to force an end to a debate must first be recognized and then move the Previous Question. This motion must then be seconded and adopted by unanimous consent or by a two -thirds vote of the body. Even if no one is speaking, it is still necessary to seek recognition. RONR ( 10th ed.) pp. 189 -193] 0 Attachment: Robert' s Rules Presentation ( 1481 : Presentation on Robert 's Rules of Order)  City Council of Fort Walton Beach qV CITY MANAGER MEMORANDUM To: Michael D. Beedie, City Manager From: Carole Jones, Executive Assistant Date: August 27, 2013 Subject: Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law ATTACHMENTS: Sunshine Law Presentation ( PDF) SIGNATURE BLOCK: Carole Jones Completed 08/ 21/ 2013 2: 10 PM Carole Jones Completed 08/ 21/ 2013 2: 10 PM City Manager Completed 08/ 21/ 2013 2: 27 PM City Council Pending Page 1 of 1  Sunshine Law Reference for City Compliance with Florida' s Public Records and Open Meetings Law Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 3483 : Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law) Meetings Three basic requirements of the Sunshine Law concerning meetings c public boards or commissions: 1. Meetings must be open to the public; z. Reasonable notice of such meetings must be given; and 3. Minutes of the meetings must be taken. How to tell if you' re participating in a Sunshine Law meeting: Meetings' applies to all discussions, deliberations and formal actioi Meetings" include formal and casual gatherings of z + members oft same board when discussing any matter that could be foreseeably addressed by the public board. A quorum is not required forthe event to be considered a " meeting, Public agencies must give reasonable notice of a meeting, but specii meeting items are not required to be published. Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2463 : Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law) Conversing in a Meeting When council or board members talk amongst themselves while at a meeting of the council or board, the conversations are subject to Sunshine Law: Conversations beyond simple comments must be audible to the participating public. Conversations should not include comments on topics before the board or which will come before the board in the future. Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2482 : Presentation on FI. HO. Sunshine Law) Text Messages, Emails & Social ME Text messages discussing topics that could foreseeably before the board during a future meeting are subject t Sunshine Law. Applies to text messages sent during a meeting as well as of a meeting. Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2482 : Presentation on Florida Sunshine La.. Text Messages, Emails & Social Me Similarly, emails discussing topics that could foreseeably E with during a future meeting are subject to Sunshine Law. Applies to emails sent during meetings as well as those se outside of a meeting. Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 3983: Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law Text Messages, Emails & Social Media Social media communication ( e. g. Facebook or Twitter) are also subject to Sunshine Law when the content could foreseeably be dealt with during a future meeting. Includes both personal and council- or board -operated social media accounts. Attachment Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2082 : Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law) Emails Sent Prior to a Meeting Email messages written or received by agency officers and employees relating to official business are public records and subject to disclosure. Members should not distribute position statements amongst themselves on the same topic. The AGO discourages the practice of circulating independent opinion statements. One -way" communication is permitted such as articles or comments sent for information, but: Must be maintained as public record. Other council members may not respond via email. The council office should distribute these communications, preserve them as public record, and ensure responses are not sent via email. Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 398] : Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law) Documenting Communication If the content of a report, email, or fax may be discussed upcoming meeting, the content must be documented as public record. Reports and statements circulated among commissioners o) between specific board or council members must be documented. While any response must be documented, information circulated prior to a meeting should not receive response that would violate Sunshine Law meeting standards. Discussions that are unrelated to official business need maintained as public record. ( ex. Sending out a recipe) Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 3483: Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law) Regulating Participation Public agencies may adopt reasonable rules and require the public attending to maintain orderly behavior. Permissible rules and requirements include: Limiting the amount of time an individual can speak Requesting that a representative of each side of the issue speak rather than every one present when there is a large number of attendees wishing to speak. Additionally: The facility must be large enough to accommodate the public either inside the location or through the use of technology. Board members' discussion and comments must be audible to the entire audience, notjustthose individuals in closest proximity. Attachment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2482: Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law( Regulating Participation Aboard may not request that members of the public leave the room for a portion of the meeting. Forexample, in one case, the appellate court affirmed a lower court ruling finding that a meeting of a procurement committee in which the chairman asked each presenter " as a courtesy" to leave the meeting room while the committee considered competing presentations violated the Sunshine Law. A city may not require the public attending a meeting to present identification. However, the city may impose certain security measures on members of the public entering a public building ( metal detectors etc.). Public participation is regulated by the nature of the board or commission: Forinstance, Krause v. Reno 366 so. 2d 1244 ( Fla. 3d DCa 1979): " citizen input factor" is an important aspect of public meetings. But, Wood v. Marston 442 so. 2d 934, 941 ( Fla. 1983), the Court held that the sunshine law does not give the public the right to speak at a meeting of a committee appointed by a university president to recommend candidates for a university position. Attachment: Sunshine law Presentation ( 2402: Presentation on Florida Sunshine law) 2013 Right -to -Speak Measur 2013 Right -to -Speak measure will take effect Oct. 2013, guaranteeing the public' s ability to speak at public board and commission meetings. Exceptions to the Right -to- Speak: Public testimony can occur at a meeting close to final decision making meeting rather than at the time officials make the Tina decision. Officials can limit testimony length, call for a summation of th( opinion of a group, and require speakers to follow procedure declaring they wish to speak. Decisions can be made without public comment during emerg or quasi -judicial or procedural actions. Violating the new measure would not automatically void actic AMaChment: Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2482: Presentation on Rondo Sunshine Law) Advisory Groups When a board member or commission allows a group of people to advise or assist on public policy matters, the group, individual, or agency becomes subject to Sunshine Law. A public officer individually may become an " agency" when creating a board or commission (section 286. oi3., Florida Statutes). For example, in one case, the court held that when a city manager created an advisory group to assist him in screening applications and making recommendations forthe position of chief of police, the group was a " board" under Sunshine Law. Similarly, the Attorney General has concluded that a chief of police' s advisory group which makes recommendations regarding various issues affecting the police department is subject to the Sunshine Law. Attachment: Sunshine law Presentation ( 2682: Presentation on Floods Sunshine Law) Staff When staff of boards or commissions covered by the Sunshine Law me are not ordinarily subject to section 286. oii, Florida Statutes. Exceptions: If a staff member is appointed to a committee with authority within tl public board or commission, the staff and the committee are subject ti Sunshine Law while the staff member remains on the committee. When determining whether a staff member is subject to Sunshine Lat law does not consider: The makeup of the committee orthe proximity of the act to final decision. The nature of the act performed by the staff member is the deciding 1 Attachment. Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2602: Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law) Voting Requirements A member of a municipal board, commission or agency who is present at a meeting at which " an official decision, ruling, or other official act is to be taken or adopted" must vote unless there is the possibility of a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest may include: Measures which include personal or private gain or loss forthe board member, Or gain or loss for an entity retaining the board member. When a board member abstains, he must follow disclosure requirements concerning the abstention. Except when abstaining, a vote shall be recorded for each member present. No proxy votes are permitted unless there is statutory authority for the proxy. Members may not use pre- assigned numbers, codes or secret ballots to vote. Attachment Sunshine Law Presentation ( 2482: Presentation on Florida Sunshine Law)  Voting Requirements If abstaining, the member must: State the nature of his interest in the issue. Within 15 days, disclose the nature of his interest in a memorandum as public record. If a member casts a vote on a matter in which he should have abstained, he must disclose days. the nature of the interest as a public record in a memorandum within is If a person is both a city council member and an officer of a financial institution interested in purchasing or serving as trustee or co- trustee for a proposed or outstanding bond issue," the person must not vote on " any matter related to such bond issue" once the bank' s interest in the bond issue has become known to him. An appointed municipal officer shall not participate in matters which would affect: the member' s special private gain or loss, the special gain or loss of any principal, parent organization or subsidiary bywhom the officer is retained, orthe special gain or loss of a relative or business associate. Participate" means " any attempt to influence the decision by oral or written communication whether made