Rule 1. Common Council Meeting Date/Time - The regular meeting of the Common Council shall be held on the first and third Wednesday of each month at seven o’clock p.m. Special meetings shall be called in accordance with the General Charter.

Rule 2. Call to Order - The presiding officer shall call the meeting to order. The Council members will indicate their attendance by pressing the attendance button on their control console. If a quorum is present (Wisconsin Statutes quorum is two-thirds of Council membership) the Council shall proceed to business, and if there is no quorum present the members present may compel the attendance of absent members or adjourn.

Rule 3. Order of Business.

a. Invocation

b. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

c. Roll Call of Alderpersons

d. Roll Call of Officers and Department Heads

e. Public Participation.  

Fifteen (15) minute period be provided for public participation. Further, that each person addressing the Council shall speak no longer than three (3) minutes and shall be limited in subject matter to issues on the Agenda. If more than five (5) persons, the fifteen (15) minutes shall be divided evenly among those persons who signed the Registration List. The City Clerk shall be the official time keeper. Persons requesting to address the Common Council shall sign the Registration List of Speakers prior to 7:00 P.M. on the night of the Common Council Meeting. The City Clerk shall present the Registration List of Speakers to the Common Council.

f. Approval of previous Council meeting minutes

g. Business presented by the Mayor

h. Public hearings, elections, appointments

i. Special resolutions

j. Establish Order of the Day.

The presiding officer will call for the order of the day.  To establish the order, an Alderperson may make one request to change the order of the day, not multiple requests, when recognized by the Chair. Should an Alderperson have another request, this is allowed when the alderperson is again recognized by the Chair.  The Common Council will agree upon any other process to request a change to the order of the day.  If possible, refer backs by Alderpersons should take place during the "Establish Order of the Day" portion of the meeting.  If there are any objections, a vote of support to the chair’s ruling can be asked for and approved by a simple majority.

k. Reports of Standing and Special Committees

1. Board of Public Works

2. Municipal Services Committee

3. City Plan Commission

4. Utilities Committee

5. Safety and Licensing Committee

6. Fox Cities Transit Commission

7. Board of Health

8. Community Development Committee

9. Parks and Recreation Committee

10. Administrative Services Committee

l. Presentation of:

• License applications
• Letters
• Remonstrances
• Memorials
• Accounts
• Miscellaneous

m. Presentation of Resolutions

n. Other Business

o. Adjournment

Rule 4. Resolutions/Reports - All resolutions and reports before the Council shall be in writing and all reports of Committees shall be signed by the Chair, Vice Chair or Secretary.

Rule 5. Recognition/Time Limits - When a member desires to be heard he/she shall indicate by pressing the call in button on the control console. The Chair will recognize the speakers in the order they have pressed their call-in button. When he/she is recognized by the Chair he/she shall rise and address the Chair by proper title expressing his/her desire to speak on any question.  No member shall speak more than ten (10) minutes on any question without permission from the Chair.  A non-member of the Common Council shall be permitted to address the same, except by a majority consent of this Common Council. This rule shall not apply to any public hearing.

Rule 6. Motion(s) - When a motion is made, it shall be stated by the Chair or in writing, it shall be read by the City Clerk. Any motion (except to adjourn, to postpone, or commit) shall be reduced to writing if required by the Chair or any member of the Common Council.

Rule 7. Roll Call Vote - The ayes and nays shall be ordered upon any question at the request of any member, and the roll call vote will be cast.

Rule 8. Voting/Conflicts of Interest - Every member present, when a question is put, shall vote aye or nay, or abstain from voting. An Alderperson who either has a conflict of interest that plans to abstain from a vote or plans to abstain for any other reason, shall refrain from debating such issue.

Rule 9. Majority Rules - Any resolution, ordinance or action item on a report of a standing committee, commission or board shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Common Council for passage unless a super majority is required by the State Statutes or Municipal Code. (Majority of members = 9.  Two-thirds of members = 11. Three-quarters of members - 12. Four-fifths of members = 13)

Rule 10. Reconsideration - No motion to reconsider shall be made except by a member who voted on the prevailing side, or a member who had an excused absence from the previous Common Council meeting. A motion to reconsider shall be made at the same or next meeting of the Common Council.  If the reconsideration of an item occurs and the item is not listed on the Common Council agenda, the item will be automatically referred back to the committee of jurisdiction.

Rule 11.  Suspension of Rules - No rule shall be suspended, rescinded or amended without the vote of two-thirds of the Common Council members present.

Rule 12.  Separate Vote - Any member of the Common Council, requesting a separate vote, shall be granted that request by the Chair.

Rule 13.  Call the Question - The motion to "call the previous question" will be allowed during deliberations of the Committee of the Whole.  The motion to call the question cannot be used when the speaker yields to another and then regains the floor.  No member can call the question while speaking to the issue.

Rule 14.  Referrals - A request by an Alderperson to refer an item back to committee shall be automatic. A subsequent request to refer back shall be by a motion and carried by a simple majority vote of the members of the Common Council present. The Alderperson using the automatic refer-back may present his/her rationale for taking the action. The Alderperson shall appear at the next meeting of the committee of jurisdiction. If the Alderperson is unable to attend the committee meeting, he/she shall communicate to the Committee Chair or the Committee contact person via telephone or in writing of his/her intent. If the individual that refers the item back to committee does not appear at the committee meeting or call the Chair, the item may be reaffirmed without discussion back to Council.

Rule 15. One (1) Year Rule - Once an item has been acted upon by the Common Council, the item may not be acted on for 12 months from the date of action, unless the item has been substantially changed.

Rule 16. Special Item(s) - When an item advances through the committees on more than one agenda, the recommendations should be consolidated into a special item on the Common Council agenda under Other Business. When the subject of a Special Resolution deals with a committee agenda item, the Special Resolution shall be considered under Other Business with the agenda item(s).

Rule 17. Amendment(s) - Any motion for an amendment on an action item on the Council Agenda requires two votes: 1) to get the substitute amendment or amendment accepted or declined; 2) if accepted, action to be taken on the motion as amended.

Rule 18. Parliamentary Rules - Meetings of the Common Council shall be conducted according to Roberts Parliamentary Rules of Order, 10^th Edition, except as specifically amended or altered by the preceding Rules of Common Council or State Statutes. The City Attorney or his/her designee shall serve as parliamentarian and legal advisor.

Rule 19. Documents (Either electronically distributed or in print) - which shall be referred to during, or will be necessary for, the discussion of an item on the Common Council’s agenda shall be sent to Alderpersons prior to the day of Council meetings, unless the Mayor decides, based on the need for confidentiality, it is necessary to withhold documents until the day of a Council meeting. This rule does not apply to any proposed motion, amendment, resolution, or committee report.

Rule 20. Petitions/Resolutions - All Petitions and Resolutions shall be read to the Common Council by the Clerk and referred to one of the Standing Committees, Commissions, Boards of Jurisdiction or an elected official. If a dual jurisdictional item arises, a joint committee of standing committees, commissions or boards may be established by the Mayor to deal with the subject in a timely manner. Additional input may be requested by the Chair of the Committee, Commission or Board of Jurisdiction from another Committee or Board. No City business shall be referred to a sub-committee except by the committee of jurisdiction or unless requested otherwise by the author of the resolution.

Rule 21. Department Head Absence/Participation - All department heads, excluding the City Attorney and City Clerk, that do not have action items on the agenda, are not required to attend Common Council meetings. Department Heads or their designees shall respond to specific requests asked of them upon recognition by the Chair. The Chief of Police or his/her designee shall be the Sergeant at Arms.

Rule 22. Labor Negotiator - The Director of Human Resources shall be the Labor Negotiator for all City labor contracts. The City Attorney and the Department Heads shall be available on a call basis during negotiations.

Rule 23. Standing Committees - The standing committees shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council, as follows:

Committee Members

Community Development Committee................................................................................5 

Administrative Services Committee................................................................................5

Parks and Recreation Committee................................................................................5 

Safety & Licensing Committee................................................................................5 

Municipal Services Committee................................................................................5 

Utilities Committee................................................................................5