Rules of the Board
RULES FOR BOARD MEETINGS
Quorum
A majority of Board members shall constitute a quorum of the Board. The affirmative vote of the majority members of the Board is required for a decision, including all motions, regulations, and orders of the Board.
Agenda
The President shall prepare the agenda. The agenda, with all supporting matters shall be delivered to the Board members prior to the Board Meeting to which it pertains and shall be made available to the public no later than three o'clock preceding the scheduled Board Meeting; providing, however, that at any time prior to the hour set for the meeting, any Board member, may direct any matter he or she deems urgent to be placed upon the agenda; provided, further, that any item of public interest or concern added to the agenda after its publication to the general public shall not be considered unless it is accompanied by a full explanation by the advocate of such item and until after a majority of the Board has voted to do so. Matters directed to be placed on the Agenda by Board members shall be listed thereon in order of receipt of such direction.
Time and Place for Holding Regular Meeting
(a) Time and place of Board meetings shall be posted no less than 1-week prior to the Board meeting.
Board Correspondence
The Secretary is authorized to open all mail or other written communications collectively addressed to the Board and to give it immediate attention to the end that all administrative business referred to in said communications which does not necessarily require Board action may be acted upon between Board Meetings.
Board Items
Correspondence collectively addressed to the Board shall be received and opened by the Secretary, transmitted to the appropriate officer having jurisdiction, and placed on the agenda if Board action is deemed appropriate by the Secretary, except in the following circumstances:
(1) No communication containing material which:
(i) Is profane;
(ii) Is in the nature of a criminal or civil slander, or is potentially slanderous or libelous;
(iii) Is primarily an advertisement or promotion or has as a substantial purpose the advancement of any cause the major benefit of which is private and not public; or
(iv) Does not necessitate Board action, shall be place upon any Board agenda.
Order of Business
(a) The Board shall consider and dispose of its business in the following order:
(1) Call to Order
(2) Recess to closed session; reconvene to Open Session.
(3) Approval of Minutes of previous meeting.
(4) Special agenda items (such as announcements, commendations, award of service pins, introduction of special guests).
(5) Items from previous Board Meeting agendas not concluded at such meeting.
Items in which the Board is required to make a decision concerning an individual application or appeal. (Public discussion permitted.)
(6) Administrative Items. (Public discussion permitted only if a specific request to be heard is made)
(7) Reports of Committees. (Public discussion permitted except where the committee was composed exclusively of Boardmembers and a public meeting was held wherein all interested members of the public were permitted to address the committee on that item.)
(8) Board Discussion Items. The Secretary shall list said items in order of receipt. (No public discussion permitted unless consent is given by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board members present.)
(9) Requests to speak to the Board. The Board Secretary shall receive requests from members of the public to speak to the Board on any item on the agenda, or on any subject of general interest to the community. Such requests shall generally indicate the subject or agenda item to be addressed. The speaker shall have three minutes to speak unless a majority of the Board permits a longer period.
(10) Report of Closed Session Action.
(11) Adjournment
Preparation of Minutes
The Secretary shall have exclusive responsibility for preparation of the minutes, and any directions for changes in the minutes shall be made only by a majority action of the Board.
Reading of Minutes
Unless the reading of the minutes of a Board Meeting is ordered by a majority vote of the Board, such minutes may be approved without reading if the Secretary has previously furnished each Board member with a copy.
Presiding Officer
The President shall be the Presiding Officer at all meetings. In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-President shall preside. In the absence of both the President and the Vice-President, the Secretary shall call the Board to order whereupon a temporary Presiding Officer shall be elected by the Board members present to serve until the arrival of the President or Vice-President or until adjournment.
Protest Against the Board
Any Board member shall have the right to have the reasons for his/her dissent from, or his/her protest against any action of the Board entered in the minutes. Such dissent or protest to be entered in the minutes shall be made in the following manner: "I would like the minutes to show that I am opposed to this action for the following reasons . . ."
Addressing the Board
(a) Registration
Each person wishing to address the Board regarding items on the agenda where public discussion is permitted shall register first with the Secretary his/her name and address. Preferably the person shall register to speak prior to the start of the Board meeting, and to any discussion of that item.
(b) Manner of Addressing the Board
(1) Each person desiring to address the Board shall:
(i) State his/her name and home address for the record;
(ii) State the subject he/she wishes to discuss;
(iii) Unless further time is granted by majority vote of the Board, shall limit his/her remarks to five (5) minutes, for all other items, unless further time is granted by a majority vote of the Board
(2) All remarks shall be addressed to the Board as a whole and not to any member thereof.
(3) No questions shall be asked of a Board member or a member of the Board staff without permission of the Presiding Officer.
(c) Discretion to Limit Duration and Number of Speakers
(1) Where more than one person desires to speak on a particular item, it shall be within the discretion of the Presiding Officer to limit the number and duration of presentations to not less than ten (10) minutes for each side giving equal time for each position or side.
(2) It is recommended that a spokesperson for each side be chosen prior to the meeting and the Secretary shall advise persons of this recommendation. If a spokesperson has not been selected prior to the meeting, the item may be called and the Presiding Officer may either pass the item or grant a recess to permit the selection of a spokesperson.
(3) The Presiding Officer may also determine which persons have a predominant or proprietary interest in an item and permit such persons to speak first. If the Presiding Officer determines that more than one person desiring to speak has a predominant or proprietary interest, the person having the burden of proof on the matter should be called to speak first.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude the Presiding Officer or a majority of the Board members present from allowing debate an any matter.
(d) Persons Speaking on More Than One Item
Any person wishing to speak on more than one item shall limit his/her remarks to three (3) minutes on the item he/she considers most important, two (2) minutes on the item he or she considers next most important, and one (1) minute on any other item unless a greater or lesser time is set by a majority vote of the Board. This subsection does not apply with respect to an applicant or appellant speaking on a Jurisdictional Proceeding item.
(e) After Motion
After a motion has been made or a public hearing has been closed, no member of the public shall address the Board from the audience on the matter under consideration without first securing permission to do so by a majority vote of the Board.
Rules of Decorum
(a) Persons Addressing the Board
(1) All remarks shall be addressed to the Board as a body and not to any one Board member.
(2) Any person making impertinent, slanderous or profane remarks, speaks in a loud, abusive or threatening way, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the Board, or who engages in any other disorderly conduct which disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of a Board meeting, shall be called to order by the Presiding Officer and if such conduct continues, may, at the discretion of the Presiding Officer, be barred from further audience before the Board during that meeting.
(b) Members of the Audience
(1) No person shall be permitted to interrupt the individual Board members or the Secretary when the Board is in session.
Voting Procedure
Any vote of the Board, including a roll call vote, may be registered by the members by answering "AYE" for an affirmative vote or "NO" for a negative vote upon his/her name being called by the Secretary. Unless a member of the Board states that he/she is not voting, silence shall be recorded as an affirmative vote.
Failure to Vote
Every Board member is entitled to vote unless disqualified by reason of conflict of interest.
Tie Vote
Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered.
Changing Vote
A member may change his/her vote only if he/she makes a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the Secretary and prior to the time that the next item in the order of business is taken up.
(Approval 12-14-08)