Rules of Procedures 2020
CITY OF DELRAY BEACH
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561/243-7000
HXl N.W 1" AVENUE DELRAY BEACH. FLORIDA 33444
1993•J001•2017
RULES OF PROCEDURE - DELRAY BEACH CITY COMMISSION
These rules, when adopted, shall supersede any other general rules or local rules which are
inconsistent herewith, to the extent of such inconsistency.
I.
GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY RULES.
The general parliamentary procedure to be followed by the City Commission of the City of
as
Delray Beach, Florida, except as otherwise modified by the City Commission or
modified or amended herein, shall be in accordance with the rules of parliamentary
procedures entitled "Robert's Rules of Order", being the reprint of the 1907 edition.
II.
LOCAL RULES.
A. The following Local Rules of Procedure shall be applicable to the organization and
conduct of business, as well as preparation and publication of agendas, of the City
Commission of the City of Delray Beach, Florida. To the extent these Local Rules
shall modify or conflict with the standard "Robert's Rules of Order" as adopted above,
these Local Rules shall prevail to the extent of their conflict or inconsistency with
"Robert's Rules of Order". In addition to these local rules, rules for quasi-judicial
proceedings shall apply to proceedings which require quasi-judicial hearings.
1. Regular meetings of the City Commission shall be held on the first and third
Tuesdays of each month, with the exception of the month of December and the
date on which any Delray Beach election, vote, or referendum is held or occurs;
unless otherwise agreed to by tl;ie City Commission. During the month of
December only, the regular City Commission meetings shall occur on the first and
second Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall. There shall be no regular City
Commission meeting on the date of any Delray Beach election, vote, or
referendum. Any meeting required by law that would otherwise have been
scheduled for such date shall be rescheduled on the Thursday immediately
following the election at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall. The second regular meeting during
the month of March shall take place immediately after the annual organizational
meeting and the swearing in of the new Commission.
2. All regular City Commission meetings shall be held in the City Commission
Chambers at City Hall, unless otherwise designated by the City Commission or
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required by events. All meetings of the City Commission shall end by 11:00 p.m.
unless extended beyond 11:00 p.m. by a vote of the City Commission. If the
meeting is adjourned, any unfinished business shall be considered at a time and
place set by the City Commission.
3. Although appropriate members of the City Attorney's Office and City Administration
may place items on either workshop or regular agendas, all regular agendas shall
be subject to review in advance by the Mayor prior to their publication, except that
a majority of the members of the City Commission may request that the City
Manager place or remove an item on such regular agendas, and that all such
regular agendas shall be further subject to the approval of the City Commission
preceding the conduct of business at each such meeting.
If the Commission or any of its members wish to place an item on or remove an
item from an agenda, or if any member of the Commission has a question or
concern about an item, any such request or inquiry shall be directed to the City
Manager for disposition as opposed to any Commission member contacting any
City officer or employee who is subject to the direction and supervision of the City
Manager.
4. With regard to the agenda for regular City Commission meetings, the following
shall apply:
a. To the extent possible, the City Administration shall group all matters by
subject area, and shall place as many as possible on the consent portion of the
agenda.
b. The agenda format shall be established by the City Manager.
c. Any items received during the public comment portion of the regular agenda
may, at the discretion of the Commission, be discussed by the City
Commission at the time of such presentation, may be directed by the
Commission to the City Manager for action or resolution, or may be added to a
subsequent agenda if a majority of the City Commission so directs, either by
consensus or by vote.
d. Votes taken on ordinances, resolutions, and motions shall be by roll call and
shall be recorded by the City Clerk. The roll call shall be on a rotating basis
and according to the numbered Commission seats, i.e.:
Motion A - Order of rotation: Seat 1, Seat 2, Seat 3, Seat 4, Seat 5
Motion B - Order of rotation: Seat 2, Seat 3, Seat 4, Seat 5, Seat 1
Motion C - Order of rotation: Seat 3, Seat 4, Seat 5, Seat 1, Seat 2, etc.
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e. All public comment on agendaed or non-agendaed items shall be limited to not
more than three (3) minutes, in total, per person at regular Commission
meetings. Public comment on quasi-judicial items and items that have been
set for a formal public hearing shall only be allowed when those items are
specifically heard by the Commission. All public comments must be addressed
to the Commission as a body and not to individuals Commissioners or staff.
Personal verbal attacks upon Commissioners and/or staff will not be tolerated.
Any person making impertinent.,_ obscene, personally insulting, defamatory, or
slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous, unruly, or disruptive shall be
barred by the presiding officer from speaking further, unless permission to
continue or again address the Commission is granted by a vote of the
Commission members pursuant to Section 3.12 of the City's Charter.
f. The Mayor shall have the authority to limit immaterial, unnecessary, or
redundant presentations or requests. The Mayor shall also have the authority
to direct the removal of any member of the public who violates the rules of
decorum as set forth herein.
5. The City Commission of the City of Delray Beach is committed to maintaining
civility in public and political discourse and expects the public to do the same. All
comments by members of the Commission, advisory board members, and/or the
public shall:
a. Respect the right of all citizens in our community to hold different opinions;
b. Avoid rhetoric intended to humiliate or question the wisdom of those whose
opinions are different from ours;
c. Strive to understand differing perspectives;
d. Be truthful, not accusatory and avoid distortion; and
e. Avoid violence, prejudice and incivility towards citizens, employees, and
officials of the City of Delray Beach.
Ill.
CITY BOARD, COMMITTEE, COMMISSION AND AGENDA APPOINTMENTS.
A. All appointments to city boards, commissions and committees whose members are
not subject to appointment by other entities, and in accordance with any applicable
restrictions by State Statute, shall be made in accordance with the following
procedures:
1. All vacancies subject to appointment to such city boards, commIssIons and
committees shall be made on a nomination basis by each of the members of the
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City Commission. This nomination shall be construed to be a Motion to Appoint.
The Commission shall follow the voting requirements pursuant to Section 3.12 of
the City's Charter. A Commissioner may defer his or her nomination for an
appointment to the next scheduled regular City Commission meeting. If a
Commissioner is not ready to make his or her nomination for an appointment at
the next scheduled regular meeting, regardless of whether the Commissioner is
present or absent at the meeting, the nomination shall rotate to the next
appropriate Commissioner. Under no circumstances may a Commissioner
nomination for an appointment be delayed for more than two consecutive regular
City Commission meetings.
2. The rotation system shall be by numbered Commission seat and insofar as
possible, each Commission seat shall be assigned an equal number of initial
appointments from the date of adoption of these rules, i.e.:
Board A - Order of Rotation: Seat 1, Seat 2, Seat 3, Seat 4, Seat 5
Board B - Order of Rotation: Seat 2, Seat 3, Seat 4, Seat 5, Seat 1
Board C - Order of Rotation: Seat 3, Seat 4, Seat 5, Seat 1, Seat 2
3. A separate rotation list shall be established by the City Clerk's office for each such
City board, commission, or committee, and the City Clerk's office shall maintain
records of the rotation list, the status of same, and the nominations made by each
Commissioner.
4. In the event that an individual, duly nominated and appointed to a board,
commission or committee by a Commissioner at a City Commission meeting, is
unable to accept or declines the appointment, for whatever reason, then the
Commissioner who appointed the individual unable to serve shall have the
opportunity to nominate a replacement appointee to fill the vacancy before the
nomination ability passes to the next Commissioner on the rotation system. Such
replacement nomination by the Commissioner shall be made no later than the
second consecutive regular meeting subsequent to the meeting at which the
declined appointment was made. If the replacement nomination is not made
within this time frame, then the nomination ability shall pass to the next
Commissioner on the rotation system.
5. Appointments for vacancies occurring on a board wherein the particular member
has, for whatever reason, not fulfilled their entire term of membership on that
particular board, commission or committee, shall be able to complete the
unexpired term only, unless the unexpired term is for a period of time less
than six (6) months.
In that event, the appointed member shall then be allowed
following full regular term without reappointment.
to serve the
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IV. CITY MANAGER/CITY ATTORNEY/INTERNAL AUDITOR ANNUAL REVIEW.
Annually, on or before the anniversary date of the appointment of the City Manager, City
Attorney and Internal Auditor, the Mayor and each City Commissioner shall conduct private
performance evaluations of each employee. A review of each employee's compensation shall
be conducted at the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting following the anniversary
date of each appointment. The City's Human Resources Department shall be tasked with
coordinating and facilitating each evaluation as well as placing the review of each Employee's
compensation on the agenda for consideration by the City Commission.
Approved and adopted by the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, at
the Annual Organizational Meeting held on March 28, 2019.
ATTEST:
City Clerk
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