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Chapter 3 - Council Meetings and Ordinances
Division 1 - General Provisions

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SEC. 3.1-1 MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

  1. Regular Meetings: The Town Council shall hold its regular meetings on the first and third Monday of each month at seven o'clock (7:00) p.m., provided however if the meeting date shall fall on a legal holiday or on the day of a Municipal Election in the Town, the Council shall meet on the day following at seven o'clock (7:00) p.m. Regular meetings of the Council shall be held in the Normal City Hall Building or in such other location as provided by the Town Council.

  2. Special Meetings: Special meetings may be called by the President or any three Trustees upon at least twenty-four (24) hours notice, in writing, to all members of the Council or by an announcement of the time and place of the special meeting at a regular, special or adjourned meeting.

  3. Workshop or Study Meetings: Workshop or study meetings at which no final action of the corporate authority can be taken may be called by the President or any three Trustees by an announcement of the time and place of such workshop or study meeting made at any regular, special or adjourned regular or special meeting of the Council, or by at least twenty-four (24) hours notice in writing to all members of the Council.

  4. Meetings Open to the Public: All regular, special, adjourned, study or workshop meetings of the Town Council shall be open to the public, except in those instances where closed or executive sessions may be lawfully held.

  5. Public Notice: Public notice of all meetings of the Town Council shall be made as provided by law.

(Entire SEC. 3.1-1 amended 1/6/86)

SEC. 3.1-2 RULES OF PROCEDURE: Except as otherwise provided in this Division, all meetings of the President and Board of Trustees of the Town of Normal shall hereafter be conducted pursuant to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 9th, 1990 Edition, published by Scott, Foresman and Company, copies of which have been and remain on file in the office of the Town Clerk. (Amended 12/1/75)(Amended 11/17/97 by Ord. No. 4481)

SEC. 3.1-3 QUORUM: A majority of the Trustees authorized to hold office or three Trustees and the Town President shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business. (Amended 12/1/75)

SEC. 3.1-4 AGENDA:

  1. Material to be Considered: No item shall be added to the agenda of a regularly scheduled Council meeting less than one (1) week before the meeting date. No documents will be considered in connection with any item appearing on the agenda unless those documents are given to the City Manager at least one week immediately preceding such meeting. The Council, by majority vote of those present at any meeting may waive this requirement and consider items not on the agenda or may receive materials not previously made available.

  2. Order of Agenda: The order in which business is presented to the Council at Regular, Special or Adjourned Regular or Special Meetings is as follows:

    1. Call to Order
    2. Roll Call
    3. Pledge of Allegiance
    4. Omnibus Vote Agenda
    5. Items Removed from Omnibus Vote Agenda
    6. General Orders
    7. New Business
    8. Concerns
    9. Adjournment
    (Amended 12/1/75)(Amended 4/5/76)(Amended 5/2/88)

  3. Omnibus Vote Agenda: The City Manager of the Town of Normal, in preparing the Agenda for Council Meetings may include regular, recurring or routine matters under the heading "Omnibus Vote Agenda." No item requiring more than a simple majority vote shall be placed on an omnibus vote agenda. In the City Manager's Report distributed with the Agenda, the Manager shall recommend a specific action with respect to each item on the omnibus vote agenda. The President or any member of the Board of Trustees may remove any number of items from the omnibus vote agenda by making such a request to the Chair. Upon such a request, the item shall be removed from the omnibus vote agenda and shall be considered, debated and voted upon prior to consideration of items listed as General Orders. The action recommended by the Manager with respect to all items remaining on the omnibus vote agenda may be taken by a single motion made, seconded and unanimously adopted by roll call vote of those members present. In the minutes of the meeting, the Clerk shall record the action taken for each item acted upon as part of the omnibus vote agenda, and enter the words "omnibus vote" in lieu of entering the names of the members of the Board of Trustees voting "yea" and of those voting "nay." The taking of such single or omnibus vote and such entries of the words "omnibus vote" in the minutes shall in all intents and purposes and with the like effect be as if the vote in each case had been taken separately by yeas and nays and separately recorded in the journal. (Amended 4/5/76)(Amended 5/2/88)

SEC. 3.1-5 PRESIDING OFFICER: In the absence of the President, the President pro tem, if one has been appointed, shall be the presiding officer. In the absence of the President and the President pro tem, the members of the Board of Trustees present having the longest continuous prior service as Trustee immediately preceding the meeting at which the President and President pro tem are absent shall be the presiding officer. (Amended 12/1/75)

SEC. 3.1-6 PROCEDURAL RULES:

  1. Regular, Special or Adjourned Meetings:
  1. Reading of Items: It shall not be necessary to read any item of business, including but not limited to minutes, bills, resolutions or ordinances before action by the corporate authority, if such items of business have been distributed in written or printed form to the members voting on the item before the vote thereon is taken. The reading of items not so distributed may be waived by a majority vote of those present. A vote on an item shall be prima facia proof that the provisions of this Section have been complied with fully and completely.

  2. Role of the Presiding Officer: The presiding officer shall chair all meetings of the Council and shall be entitled to vote last on all ordinances, resolutions or motions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the presiding officer shall be entitled to take part in discussions of matters pending and unresolved before the Council.

  3. Parliamentarian: The Corporation Counsel, or in the absence of the Corporation Counsel, the presiding officer, shall be the parliamentarian. The President or any Trustee may appeal a ruling of the presiding officer to the parliamentarian. The President or any Trustee may appeal the ruling of the parliamentarian to the entire Council, as an appeal of a ruling of the Chair.

  4. Votes: Every member present when a question is put shall vote either "aye" or "nay" unless a member has an interest in the matter under consideration which would constitute a conflict of interest. In such a case, the member may request to be excused from voting. Such a request shall be made prior to any discussion on the item for which the request is made. Any person excused from voting shall not take part in the discussion of the item before the Council. Passed votes, abstentions or similar actions or silence of a member present and not excused shall be counted with the majority of those votes cast.

  5. Workshop or Study Meetings: Workshop or study meetings are intended to be informal information gathering sessions. For that reason, no formal rules of procedure are established. However, at any point in a workshop or study meeting, a majority of those members of the Council present may request that the rules of order for regular or special meetings, to the extent that they are applicable to a meeting at which no final action of the corporate authority can be taken, shall be in effect. (Amended 12/1/75)