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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law 997/79THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF PICKERING BY-LAW NUMBER 997/79 Being a By-law to provide for the rules of order of the Council and its Committees. WHEREAS pursuant to Section 242 of The Municipal Act, Chapter 284, R.S.O., 1970, By-laws may be passed for governing the proceedings of the Council, the conduct of its members and the calling of meetings; NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF PICKERING HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: INTERPRETATION: 1. In this by-law: (a) "Chairman" means the person presiding at the meeting of Council; (b) "Clerk" means the Town Clerk; (c) "Committee" means a Standing Committee of Council, but does not include the Committee of the Whole; (d) "Committee Chairman" means the person presiding at the meetings of any of the standing committees of Council, including the Committee of the Whole; (e) "Committee of the Whole" means all the members present at a meeting sitting in committee; (f) "Council" means the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Pickering; (g) "meeting" means a meeting of Council; (h) "member" means a member of Council; (i) "recorded vote" means the recording of the name and vote of every member present when the vote is called on any matter or question. GENERAL 2. In all the proceedings at or taken in this council the following rules and regulations shall be observed and shall be the rules and regulations for the order and dispatch of business in the Council, and in the Committee thereof. 3. Except as herein provided, the rules of order of the Legislature of Ontario shall be followed for governing the proceedings of Council and the conduct of its members. 4. Any person who has an interest in an item being considered by a Committee and who is not satisfied with or not in favour of the recommendation of the Commit- tee, may make application to the Clerk to be placed on the agenda to appear before the Council at the meeting at which it will be dealing with the recommendation of the Committee, providing a written brief is submitted to the Town Clerk not later than 12:00 noon on the Thursday preceding the Council meeting. - z - CONVENING MEETINGS: 5. Subject to the provisions of The Municipal Act, the hour, date and place of the inaugural meeting of the Council in every year shall be fixed by the Council at its last meeting in the next preceding year. 6. After its inaugural meeting the Council shall meet on the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the afternoon and on such other days and at such times as may from time to time be fixed by Council, unless such day shall be legal, public or civic holiday in which case the Council shall meet at the same hour the next following day which is not legal, public or civic holiday and at the same place, or unless post- ponement is made in the manner hereinafter provided. 7. (a) Any ordinary meeting of the Council may be postponed to a day named in: (i) A notice by the Head or Acting Head of Council given through the Clerk's Office and two clear days in advance of the ordinary meeting, or (ii) A resolution of Council passed by a major- ity of the whole number of the members (iii) Or in extreme emergency, to cancel on poll by telephone. (b) The postponed meeting shall be held at the time and place provided for the ordinary meeting so laid over. 8. Subject to the provisions of The Municipal Act, the Council may be summoned to a special meeting on one clear day's notice specifying the purpose of such meeting which shall be the sole business transacted thereat. In the event of an emergency decision being required, all members of Council shall be polled by telephone or other means. 9. (a) The Clerk shall give notice of each regular and special meeting of Council and of each Committee to the members thereof and to the heads of all civic departments. (b) The notice shall be accompanied by the agenda and any other matter, so far as known, to be brought before such meeting. (c) The notice shall be delivered or sent by mail to the residence or place of business of each member so as to be received not later than the day previous to the day of the meeting. (d) Lack of receipt of the notice shall not affect the validity of holding the meeting or any action taken thereat. PREPARATION OF THE AGENDA 10. The Clerk shall have prepared for the use of the members at the regular meetings the agenda as follows: (a) confirmation of minutes (b) delegations (c) reports of standing committees - 3 - (d) consideration of by-laws (e) motions of which notice had previously been given (f) motions (g) confirmation by-law (h) statements of members (non-debatable) (i) adjournment 11. For special meetings, the agenda shall be prepared when and as the Mayor or Town Manager may direct or, in default of such direction, as provided in the last preceding section so far as applicable. 12. The business of each meeting shall be taken up in the order in which it stands upon the agenda, unless otherwise decided by Council. 13. All motions called in pursuance of the agenda and not disposed of, shall be placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting unless otherwise decided by Council. COMMENCEMENT OF MEETINGS: 14. As soon after the hour fixed for the meeting as a quorum is present, the meeting shall be called to order. 15. If there be no quorum present within thirty minutes after the time appointed for the meeting, the Council shall stand adjourned until the next day of meeting, and the Clerk shall record the names of the members present. 16. (a) In the absence of the Mayor the Acting Mayor shall take the chair and in the absence of both, the members of Council shall appoint a member to take the chair. (b) In the event the Mayor, or Acting Mayor do not attend within fifteen minutes after the time appointed, the Clerk shall call the members to order and if a quorum be present, a Chairman shall be chosen who shall preside during the meeting, or until the arrival of the Mayor or Acting Mayor. 17. An Acting Mayor shall be designated by by-law and the said by-law shall be deemed to be in force for the t erm of the Council which passed the said by-law. RULES OF DEBATE AND CONDUCT OF MEMBERS IN COUNCIL 18. The chairman shall preside over the conduct of the meeting, including the preservation of good order and decorum, ruling on points of order and deciding all questions relating to the orderly procedure of the meetings; subject to an appeal by any member of the Council from any ruling of the Chairman. 19. If the Chairman desires to leave the chair for the purpose of taking part in the debat e or otherwise, he shall call on another member to fill his place until he resumes the chair. - 4 - 20. When two or more members wish to speak, the Chairman shall name the member who in his opinion, should speak first. 21. (a) No member shall speak more than once on the question without leave of the Council, except in explanation of a material part of his speech which may have been misconceived and in doing so he is not to introduce new matters. (b) No member, without leave of Council, shall speak to the same question, or in reply, for longer than fifteen minutes. 22. A member may ask a question only of the previous speaker and such question must be stated concisely and relate to the speaker's remarks. 23. Any member may require the question or motion under discussion to be read at any time during the debate, but not so as to interrupt a member while speaking. 24. A member shall not: (a) speak disrespectfully of the Reigning Sovereign, any member of the Royal Family, the Governor-Gen- eral, the Lieutenant-Governor, the Head of the Government of Canada and of the Province of Ontario. (b) use offensive words or unparliamentary words or expressions in Council; (c) disobey the rules of the Council or decision of the Chairman or of the Council on questions of order or practice or upon the interpretation of the rules of the Council; (d) leave his seat or make any noise or disturbance while a vote is being taken and until the result is declared; (e) interrupt a member while speaking except to raise a point or order, or (f) pass between a member who is speaking and the Chair. 25. (a) In the event that any member persists in a breach of the foregoing section after having been called to order by the Chairman, the Chairman shall without debate put the question, - "Shall the Member be ordered to leave his seat for the duration of the meeting?". (b) If Council vote in the affirmative, the Chairman shall order the member to leave his seat for the duration of the meeting. (c) If the member apologizes, the Chairman, with the approval of Council, may permit him to resume his seat. - 5 - QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE AND POINTS OF ORDER: 26. When a member desires to address the Council upon a matter that concerns the rights or privileges of the Council collectively or of himself as a member thereof, he shall be permitted to raise such matter of privilege and a matter of privilege shall take precedence over all other matters. 27. (a) When a member desires to call attention to a violation of the rules of procedure, he shall ask leave of the Chairman to raise a point of order and, after leave is granted, he shall state the point of order to the Chairman without unnecess- ary comment, and the Chairman shall then decide upon the point of order and advise the members of his decision. (b) Unless a member immediately appeals to the Counc- il from the Chairman's decision, the decision of the Chairman shall be final. (c) If the decision is appealed to Council, it shall decide the question without debate and this decision shall be final. 28. When the Chairman calls a member to order, he shall not speak until the point of order is dealt with and he shall not speak again without the permission of the Chairman unless to appeal the ruling of the Chairman. MOTIONS AND ORDER OF PUTTING QUESTIONS: 29. A motion for introducing new matters shall not be presented without notice unless the Council, without debate, dispense with such notice by a two-thirds vote of the members present. 30. Notices of motion, which must be signed by the mover and have a seconder, shall be received by the Clerk at any time the Council is in session and in his office up to 12:00 noon of the Thursday preceding the Council meeting, and they shall be printed in full in the agenda of succeeding meetings until the motion is considered. 31. Every motion shall be in writing except those dealing with Council procedures and shall be moved and seconded before being debated or put to a vote. 32. Every motion shall be deemed to be in possession of the Council for debate after it is presented by the Chairman, but may, with permission of the Council, be withdrawn at any time before amendment or decision. 33. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be received, except a motion: (a) to refer the question to a Committee; (b) to amend; (c) to lay the question on the table; (d) to postpone the debate; (e) to adjourn the matter; (f) to adjourn; or (g) that the vote be now taken. 34. A motion to refer the question to a Committee shall take precedence over any motion to amend the question. - 6 - 35. When a motion "that the vote be now taken" is present- ed, and only after all members have spoken to the motion pursuant to section 24 herein, it shall be put to a vote without debate, and if carried, the motion and any amendments thereto under discussion shall be submitted to a vote forthwith without further debate. 36. A motion relating to a matter not within the jurisdict- ion of the Council shall not be in order. VOTING: 37. (a) Only one amendment can be presented to the main motion at one time and only one amendment can be presented to an amendment at one time, but when a sub-amendment has been disposed of, another may be introduced, and when an amendment has been decided, another may be introduced. (b) The sub-amendment, if any, shall be voted first, then if no other sub-amendment is presented, the amendment shall be voted on next, then if no other amendments are introduced, the motion or motion as amended, shall be put to a vote. 38. When the question under consideration contains distinct propositions upon the request of any member, the vote upon each proposition shall be taken separately. 39. After a question is put to a vote by the Chairman, no member shall speak to the question, nor shall any other motion be made. 40. Every member present at a meeting of the Council when a question is put shall vote thereon unless prohibited by statute, or unless the member indicates a conflict of interest, or unless the Council shall by resolution excuse him, and if any member present persists in refusing to vote, he shall be deemed to be voting in the negative. 41. Upon a request made before proceeding to another item of business, by a member who was present when the question was stated, a division on the question shall be taken, and the decision of a vote determined in any other manner, and whether declared or not, shall not be binding upon the Council. The manner of determining the decision of Council on a recorded vote shall be verbal vote only and the Clerk shall record those voting in the affirmative, those voting in the negative and those who have abstained from voting. 42. After any question, except one of indefinite postpone- ment has been decided, any member who voted thereon (with the majority) may at the same meeting move for a reconsideration, or at any other regular meeting there- after during the same year any member may give notice of a motion for a reconsideration, but no discussion of the main question shall be allowed until the motion for reconsideration is carried and no question shall be reconsidered more than once, unless a request is made in writing signed by a majority of the members of Council. - 7 - ADJOURNMENT: 43. A motion to adjourn the Council or adjourn the debate will be in order, except: (a) when a member is speaking or; (b) when it has been decided that the vote be now taken or; (c) during the taking of the vote; but no second motion to the same effect shall be made until after some intermediate proceedings shall have taken place. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: 44. (a) Whenever it shall be moved and carried that the Council resolve into Committee of the Whole, the Chairman shall appoint a Chairman of the Committ- ee of the Whole and then vacate the Chair. (b) The Chairman of a Committee whose report is under consideration shall not be required to take the Chair. 45. No report of a Committee shall be referred to the Committee of the Whole unless a copy of it has been placed in the hands of the members, except by a majority vote of those present. 46. The rules governing the procedure of the Council and the conduct of its members shall be observed in the Committee of the Whole so far as applicable, except that: (a) no motion shall require to be seconded; (b) the number of times of speaking on any question shall not be limited, provided no member shall speak more than once until every member who desires to do so shall have spoken; and (c) a motion for adjournment shall not be allowed, although a motion for a recess shall be permitt- ed. 47. (a) The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole shall report the proceedings to Council. (b) No matter requiring a two-thirds vote or more shall be reported without having received such a vote. (c) A motion to rise without reporting shall take precedence of any other motion and debate shall be allowed thereon. (d) Where the Committee of the Whole votes to rise without reporting the subject then being consid- ered, the question shall be deemed to have been disposed of in the negative, in which case the Chairman of the Council shall resume the Chair and proceed with the next order of business. - 8 - 48. A motion to rise and report progress shall always be in order and be decided without debate except when a member is speaking or during the taking of a vote, but no second motion to the same effect shall be made until after some intermediate proceeding has taken place. 49. The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole shall have all the powers and duties of the Chairman of the Council with the following exceptions: (a) an appeal from the ruling of the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole shall lie to the Chairman of the Council; and (b) where a member persists in any disobedience after having been called to order by the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, or when a member desires to appeal a decision of the Chairman of the Council rendered in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, or if any disorder arises in the Committee of the Whole, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole shall forthwith suspend its proceedings and report the matter to Council. ENQUIRIES: 50. All enquiries by members of Council as to facts concerning any part of the administration should be in writing and delivered to the Town Manager at least two clear working days before the day of the meeting at which such enquiry is to be made, and the answer, if available, may be in writing and shall be distributed to the Council by the Town Manager unless the Council decided otherwise. COMMUNICATIONS: 51. All written messages, memorials and enquiries over the signature of the sender for the information of Council on matters of fact or which contain a request for action on the part of the Council in respect to matters within the jurisdiction of the Council and the replies thereto may be referred to a Committee or disposed forthwith. PROCEEDINGS ON BY-LAWS: 52. Every By-law shall, without amendment or debate, be introduced by a member upon motion, and shall be entitled and numbered and be referred to the Committee of the Whole for consideration. 53. The By-law shall be considered in Committee of the Whole and shall be open to amendment and debate. 54. Upon conclusion of the debate the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole will report all amendments and recommendations to the Council. 55. Council shall then consider the report of the Committee of the Whole, which report is open to debate and amendment and shall proceed to take whatever action is deemed advisable. 56. The Clerk shall endorse on all By-laws read in Council the date of the passing thereof and shall be respons- ible for the correctness of such By-laws should they be amended. - 9 - 57. Every By-law which has passed the Council shall be sealed with the seal of the Corporation, signed by the Mayor or by the Chairman of the meeting at which the By-law was passed, and by the Clerk, and deposited with the Clerk for custody. STANDING COMMITTEES: 58. (a) A quorum of the Standing Committees shall consist of four members. (b) If there is no quorum present, the Committee may proceed with its meeting if at least three members are present and the fact is so noted in the minutes and reported to Council. 58. The Chairman of the Standing Committees shall be rotated every meeting on an alphabetical basis and the Mayor shall be deemed a member of the Standing Committ- ees without ever being deemed its Chairman. 60. The Chairman of the Standing Committee may be removed by a vote of a majority of the members of the Committee, but no motion to remove him shall be in order unless notice of the motion shall have been given in writing at a regular meeting of the Committee held at least seven days prior to the meeting at which the motion will be considered. 61. Special meetings of the Standing Committees may be called by the Mayor whenever he may consider it necessary to do so; and it shall be the duty of the Mayor, or in the case of his illness or absence from the Town it shall be the duty of the Town Manager, to summon a special meeting of the Standing Committees whenever requested in writing to do so by a majority of the members composing it. 62. Except as herein provided, meetings or part of meetings may be held in private on a vote of the members. 63. The rules governing the procedure of the Council shall be observed in the Standing or Special Committees insofar as applicable, except that: (a) the Chairman shall call for a vote by a show of hands on all matters before the Committee; (b) the number of times of speaking on a question shall not be limited; (c) a member shall not be restricted to asking questions only to the previous speaker, but the question must relate directly to the matter under discussion; (d) the rules as to hearing deputations and as to introducing new matters shall not apply. 64. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to study and report to Council on: (a) all matters within the jurisdiction of the Counc- il or referred to them by the Mayor or by Council, save and except for those duties con- ferred upon the Planning Committee and to recom- mend such action as it deems necessary; - 10 - 65. It shall be the duty of the Planning Committee to study and report to Council on: (a) all matters relating to land use and the enact- ment of restricted area by-laws and official plans; (b) all matters relating to the re-development of land under the Planning Act. GENERAL: 66. (a) Unless otherwise specifically provided, where any act is required to be done by the head of a Department, it may be done by the deputy head or other designated authorized official of the de- partment. (b) Where the Mayor is required to authorize the payment of or to sign an account or document the same may be done by the Acting Mayor. 67. In this by-law words importing the singular number or the masculine gender only shall include more persons, parties or things of the same kind than one and females as well as males and the converse. 68. This By-law shall take effect from the date of its passing. 69. By-law Number 3714 be and the same is hereby repealed. By-law read a first, second and third time and PASSED this day of , 1979. Mayor Clerk