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RULES GOVERNING THE CITY COUNCIL 1 Updated 05/06/2025 Sec. 1 Definitions As used in these Rules, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms have the following meanings: Immediate family includes spouse or domestic partner, children, siblings, and parents, including step, half and in-law relations Member refers to an official elected to the City Council Presiding Officer means the Mayor or, in the Mayor's absence, the Council President or, in the absence of both, the temporarily elected Chair pursuant to Section 2 Sec. 2 Meetings 2.1 Call to Order The Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor, the Council President, shall call meetings to order. In the absence of the Mayor and Council President, the City Clerk shall call the Council to order, whereupon a temporary presiding officer shall be elected by the members of the Council present. 2.2 Parliamentary Procedure 2.2.1 “ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER" shall be the authority for parliamentary procedure in conduct of its meetings, except as otherwise provided herein or by Charter. 2.2.2 Reconsideration of Items – A motion to reconsider any item voted on by the Council is in order only during the meeting in which the item was voted or the immediately succeeding meeting and only when made by a member who voted on the prevailing side or was not present for the original vote. In instances where a majority of those present pass or reject a motion but there are fewer than four votes in the majority, the prevailing side shall be those who voted against the item. An item approved for reconsideration may not be taken up unless it appears on the agenda for that meeting or unless five members consent to such reconsideration. 2.2.3 Actions of the Council shall be determined by roll call vote in order of wards. The initial vote on all agenda items at a meeting shall rotate through the wards. 2.2.4 The Mayor shall vote only when permitted by Section 2.03 of the City Charter. 2.3 Rules of Decorum 2.3.1 Council Conduct The City Council will practice civility and decorum in discussion and debate. Each member shall cooperate with the Presiding Officer in preserving order and no member shall delay or interrupt the proceedings of the Council, disturb any member while speaking, or fail to abide by the orders of the Presiding Officer, except as specifically permitted by these Rules or Roberts Rules of Order. ---PAGE BREAK--- RULES GOVERNING THE CITY COUNCIL 2 Updated 05/06/2025 Subject to being overruled by a majority vote of the members, which vote shall be taken without debate or comment, the Presiding Officer shall maintain order and preserve the decorum of the meeting. A Councilor may speak only after being recognized by the Presiding Officer, shall confine remarks to the question under debate, direct comments to the Presiding Officer unless otherwise granted permission, and avoid all indecorous language or reference to personalities. Once granted the floor, a Councilor shall not be interrupted unless called to order by another member. Upon being called to order, the speaker shall be silent until the question of order is resolved. When two or more members request the floor at the same time, the Presiding Officer shall name the one entitled to the floor. After receiving permission from the Presiding Officer, any member may address a question to any other member. Members and city staff shall always be addressed by title and name or title. All Members shall be given the opportunity to speak, but no Member shall speak twice on a given subject until all other Members have been given the opportunity to speak. No member shall engage in private conversation in such a manner as to interrupt the proceedings of the Council. Members may use electronic devices to review documents that have previously been submitted for review and are available to the public or look up information pertinent to an item under discussion. Members’ electronic devices shall be silenced during City Council meetings unless prior approval has been granted by the Presiding Officer. Members shall maintain a professional and business-like decorum during meetings. If considered necessary because of grave disorder, the Presiding Officer may adjourn or suspend the meeting for a specified time. Such an action may be overruled by a minimum of five votes of the council. 2.3.2 Public Conduct Speakers must use the podium and must preface their comments by giving their full name and residence. City Council meetings are conducted to carry on the official business of the City of Lewiston. The public is cordially invited to attend all City Council meetings (except Executive Sessions), and to participate in them consistent with the provisions of these rules. Comments related to the following will be ruled out of order by the Presiding Officer: ---PAGE BREAK--- RULES GOVERNING THE CITY COUNCIL 3 Updated 05/06/2025 • Specific situations that are in litigation, including those in which the City is a party • Comments unrelated to City business or Lewiston government • Comments about individual employees • Matters for which complaint or grievance procedures are in place; • Personal disputes between the speaker and other private residents not germane to City business; or • Support for or opposition to any candidate for political office. Individuals will be restricted to speaking once during each comment period unless requested by the Presiding Officer to offer additional comments. Speakers addressing the Council shall direct their remarks exclusively to the Presiding Officer. No one other than the members of the Council and the speaker shall engage in discussion. Public comment periods being a limited designated public forum, the City Council does not have the right to prohibit disparaging, rude, and other remarks of a personal nature. But because of the potential implications, including personal liability of the speakers, speakers are encouraged to strive for accuracy in their statements and to refrain from personal, rude, or provocative remarks. All statements should respect the dignity and seriousness of the proceeding. The public may not interrupt, applaud, or otherwise express approval or disapproval of any statements made or actions taken at such meeting, except for those instances that are listed on the Council Agenda under Public Recognition an individual or group is being formally recognized for their accomplishments. 2.3.3 General Public Comments At least one public comment period shall be conducted during each regular City Council meeting, at which time Lewiston residents or taxpayers may speak on matters directly relating to City business that are not included on the agenda. Each speaker may address the Council only once for a maximum of three minutes. The initial public comment period shall end at the conclusion of the remarks during which eighteen (18) minutes has elapsed since the start of the initial comment period. Should additional speakers wish to comment, a fifteen (15) minute period will be provided toward the end of the meeting. The duration of this comment period may be extended by vote of the Council. The Council will not engage in dialogue with the public during these periods. Individuals requesting further information may leave their contact information with the City Administrator. General public comment periods will not be conducted at executive sessions, workshops, or special meetings unless the Council authorizes otherwise. ---PAGE BREAK--- RULES GOVERNING THE CITY COUNCIL 4 Updated 05/06/2025 2.3.4 Specific Public Comments Public comments relating directly and specifically to the item under consideration will be invited for items requiring a public hearing and for other appropriate agenda items. Comments relating to an agenda item are limited to three minutes per speaker unless the Council approves otherwise. Public comments will not be heard during workshops unless a request is made to the Presiding Officer by an individual Councilor, the City Administrator, or a Department Director. 2.4 Regular Meetings The City Council shall hold regular meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Building unless otherwise posted. No Council-initiated agenda items will be accepted after 12:00 noon on Wednesday before a regular meeting unless an emergency exists. An emergency means any business which will cause irreparable harm to the city if not addressed immediately. In the event Wednesday or Thursday is a holiday, the deadline is moved back to noon on Tuesday. A consent agenda may be prepared for any regular meeting of the City Council for adoption. Any item may be removed from the consent agenda upon the request of a Council member or a citizen. • Items shall appear on the agenda in the following order: • Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag • Moment of Silence - to be held at the discretion of the Presiding Officer • Ceremonial Presentations and Recognitions • Acceptance of meeting minutes • Public Comment for a total of no more than 18 minutes • City Administrator’s Report • Consent Agenda • Public Hearings (licenses, ordinance adoptions or amendments, other) • Policy Manual adoptions or amendments • Items requiring adoption or approval • Discussion items (no action required) • Public Comment (if needed) • Reports and Updates • Any other city business Councilors or staff may have relating to Lewiston City Government The Presiding Officer is authorized to adjust the order of business to accommodate members of the public or City staff attending the meeting for a particular item or items. ---PAGE BREAK--- RULES GOVERNING THE CITY COUNCIL 5 Updated 05/06/2025 2.5 Special Meetings All special meetings shall be called in accordance with Section 2.11 of the City Charter. 2.6 Workshops Council workshop meetings shall be held on the second Tuesday of each month and at other times as needed. Council workshop meetings focus on the Council's formulation of policy based upon discussions pertaining to current issues or specific projects. The Council may not take any formal action at a workshop. Any Council action resulting from the workshop must be taken at a subsequent regular or special meeting. Citizens are encouraged to attend Council workshops, which are primarily designed for members to discuss and explore items with each other, staff, and consultants, but there will be no opportunity for public comment. When a workshop item involves the work of or a recommendation from a City Board, Commission, or Committee, representatives of those groups will be allowed to participate freely. Public workshops may be called by the Council to encourage citizen discussion around a particular topic such as violence, food insecurity, public safety, or other matters of general community interest. At such public workshops, comments are encouraged in accordance with Section 2.3.3 of these rules except that the comment period may extend indefinitely. 2.7 Executive Sessions Matters that are appropriate for executive session are defined in 1 MRSA § 405. Executive sessions which are to be held on evenings of regular City Council meetings shall be included on the agenda and be scheduled either preceding the meeting or immediately following Other Business as the final item on the meeting agenda, except in situations when the City Administrator deems it to be in the best interest of the City to hold the executive session at another time. All executive sessions shall be approved by the Council in public session. Sec. 3 Action on Ordinances All ordinances shall be submitted in accordance with Article II, Section 2.12 of the City Charter. All proposed ordinances shall be read by title only unless any member of the Council requests a full reading of the ordinance. No ordinance, excluding emergency ordinances, shall be passed until it has been read on two separate days. ---PAGE BREAK--- RULES GOVERNING THE CITY COUNCIL 6 Updated 05/06/2025 When passed by the Council, an ordinance shall be attested by the City Clerk; and it shall be immediately filed and thereafter preserved in the office of the City Clerk. [30-A MRSA §3005, 3006] Sec. 4 Suspension of rules Any of the foregoing rules may be suspended by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Council. Sec. 5 Conflict of Interest No member shall participate in deliberation, vote, or otherwise take part in the decision-making process on any agenda item in which the member or an immediate family member has a financial or special interest, other than an interest held by the public generally. Any member who believes that they or any other member may have such financial or special interest shall disclose the nature and extent of such interest, and the City Clerk shall make a record of such disclosure. This disclosure shall be made no later than the meeting at which the item is to be taken up and at which the member is present. Once the issue of conflict has been raised, the remaining members shall review the facts as disclosed to them and shall vote on whether such financial or special interest exists. In accordance with Section 2.03 of the City Charter, the Mayor shall be entitled to vote on the question of conflict of interest. All conflict of interest questions shall be resolved prior to any consideration of the item concerned. All votes of conflict of interest questions shall be recorded, with a majority being determinative Upon determination that a conflict of interest in fact exists, the member concerned shall be excused from participating in discussion and shall leave the dais during discussion of the item. In lieu of the vote required by this section, the City Council, upon motion and by majority vote, may refer the conflict of interest question to the City Attorney for an advisory opinion and/or may table its consideration of the relevant agenda item. Should a majority of the City Council require additional information not immediately available or require confirmation of the information disclosed, consideration of the relevant item shall be postponed to an appropriate time. If the item has not been finally resolved when the conflict of interest is first determined, said individual shall not participate in any subsequent discussion or action on this item until a final resolution has been reached as to the members conflict of interest. Nothing herein shall require an individual member to refrain from acting on a motion to approve a consent agenda on which there is no deliberation, the individual's conflict has been determined by the other members, and the right to abstain from voting on the item has been granted. ---PAGE BREAK--- RULES GOVERNING THE CITY COUNCIL 7 Updated 05/06/2025 Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit any member from representing that member's own personal interest by appearing before the City Council on any such agenda item. Sec. 6 Travel by Council Members Any member who will not be serving an additional term in office shall refrain from out-of-state travel in an official capacity following the November Municipal Election. Sec. 7 Action by Councilors Regarding Legal Services A majority vote of the City Council or approval by the Council President or Mayor is required before an individual Councilor may consult the City Attorney. If the City Attorney is consulted, the Council shall be informed. The Council authorizes the City Administrator to confer with and seek opinion from the City Attorney. City staff may seek an opinion only with the approval of the City Administrator. Any opinions obtained from the City Attorney are protected by attorney-client privilege, are not considered to be public record, and may not be released without authorization of the City Council.