Source: https://www.ecode360.com/10686743
Timestamp: 2020-08-07 19:01:33
Document Index: 194039742

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15']

Borough of Catasauqua, PA Borough Council
Ch 15 Art I General Provisions
§ 15-1 Regular meetings.
§ 15-2 Special meetings.
§ 15-3 Adjourned meetings.
§ 15-4 President and Vice President of Council.
§ 15-5 Committees of Council.
§ 15-6 Standing committees.
§ 15-7 Special committees.
§ 15-8 Order of business.
§ 15-9 Passage of ordinances and resolutions.
§ 15-10 Rules of order.
§ 15-11 Modification, suspension or repeal of bylaws.
Ch 15 Art II Use of Conference Calls for Participation and Voting at Meetings
§ 15-12 Conditions for use of conference calls.
§ 15-13 Quorum.
§ 15-14 Acceptable reasons for physical absence.
Chapter 15 Borough Council
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Catasauqua as indicated article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Manager — See Ch. 50.
Article II Use of Conference Calls for Participation and Voting at Meetings
[Adopted 5-7-1962 (Ch. I, Secs. 11 to 21, of the 1962 Code)]
Regular meetings of the Council of the Borough of Catasauqua shall be held in the Municipal Building, on the first Monday of each month, at 7:30 p.m. Provided, such time shall be Eastern Standard Time or Eastern Daylight Saving Time, as the case may be, depending upon the standard of time generally observed in the Borough at the time. Provided further, in any month when a legal holiday shall fall on the first Monday, the regular meeting of the Council shall be held on the first Tuesday of such month, at the time and place herein prescribed.
Special meetings of the Council may be called by the President of the Council at his discretion and shall be called by him at the written request of any two or more members of the Council. All members of the Council shall have at least 20 hours' notice of any special meetings which may be given verbally or in writing. The notice of such meeting is to state whether the meeting is to be for general or special purposes, and, if the meeting is to be for special purposes, the notice shall contain a general statement of the nature of the business to be transacted. The presence of any member at a special meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice.
The Council may adjourn a meeting to any time agreed upon by a majority of the members present at such meeting, and, a quorum being present thereat, the said adjourned meeting may proceed to consider any general business in the case of an adjourned regular meeting, or special business for which the meeting was called, in the case of an adjourned special meeting.
At the biennial organization meeting of Council, the Council shall, as provided by law, elect a President of Council and a Vice President of Council. In case of the absence of the President of Council from any meeting thereof, the Vice President may preside over such meeting, and, in case of the absence of the President of Council from the Borough, or his incapacity, the Vice President may, in any situation that he deems necessitates the same, call a special meeting of the Council.
[Amended 11-2-1981]
Within 15 days after the biennial organization of Council, the President shall announce his appointments of members of the standing committees of Council. Such members shall, so long as they remain members of Council, retain such committee appointments until successors thereto shall have been appointed following the succeeding biennial meeting of Council, except that, in any case, the President of Council, at any time, in his discretion, may remove any member from any committee or make changes in committee appointments.
All bills for material furnished or for labor done which are less than $100 shall be signed by the Manager and all bills over $100 shall be signed by the Central Government Committee. All petitions, resolutions and other communications presented to the Council shall be referred to the proper committee for consideration, unless otherwise ordered by a 2/3 vote of the members present.
[Amended by 12-6-1965; 1-9-1978 by Res. No. 1-78; 1-5-1982 by Res. No. 1-82; 1-7-2002 by Res. No. 3-02]
Every standing committee shall consist of three members, the first named thereto to act as chairman and the second as vice chairman, the latter to serve as chairman in the absence or inability of the chairman to act. The standing committees shall be as follows: General Government Committee, Public Safety Committee, Public Utilities Committee (formerly the Public Works Committee), Planning and Zoning Committee, Recreation, and Public Works Committee (formerly Streets/Mechanical Committee).
Special committees may be appointed as occasion may require, by the President of Council, or otherwise if so directed by Council.
The order of business at the meetings of the Council shall be as follows, except that, at any meeting, the Council, on motion, may agree to such changes and modifications of such order of business for such meeting as the situation may warrant:
Reading of the minutes of the last preceding regular and special meetings. (The name of the presiding officer and of each member of the Council present shall appear upon the minutes.)
Reports of the Mayor, Treasurer and any other officers of the Borough.
Reports of standing committees, in the order of their appointment.
Reports of special committees, in the order of their appointment.
Presentation of petitions, memorials or remonstrances.
Business left unfinished at previous meetings.
Any ordinance or resolution may be passed finally at the meeting at which it is first introduced, with the exception of those ordinances which, by law, must be considered at more than one meeting, or which must be introduced at one meeting and passed finally at a subsequent meeting.
In the conduct of the meetings of the Council, the following rules of order shall apply:
Every member, when speaking, shall respectfully address the chair, and when called to order by him or by any member of the Council shall take his seat until such point of order shall have been decided.
No member shall speak more than twice upon any question open for discussion, without the unanimous consent of the Council.
The President of Council may, on his own motion, enter into the discussion of any question, after appointing the Vice President of Council, or another member thereof in the absence of the Vice President, to preside during the pendency of the question.
In the vote on any question before the Council, the yeas and nays may be demanded by any member or ordered by the presiding officer, in which case the names of the members shall be called alphabetically.
When a motion shall have been made and seconded, it shall be reduced to writing, if desired by the presiding officer or any member, and then read by the Secretary before being debated.
No member shall leave his seat during the session without the consent of the presiding officer, nor shall any member engage in conversation with another member during the transaction of business.
When a question has been voted upon and decided, it shall be in order for any two members of the majority, or, when Council has been divided equally, for any two members upon either side of the question, to move for a reconsideration of the question, but such reconsideration shall not be in order unless moved at the same or the next regular meeting of the Council.
The rules of parliamentary procedure comprised in Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the meetings of the Borough Council in all situations in which such rules are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the law or anything in these bylaws.
These bylaws or any provision thereof may be amended, modified, added to or repealed by a majority vote of the members of Council present at any regular meeting of the Council or at any special meeting called for the purpose. Provided, no such change shall be effective until the following regular meeting of the Council. Provided further, no rule shall be suspended except with the consent of 2/3 of the members present.
[Adopted 7-8-2013 by Res. No. 12-13]
The Borough Council hereby authorizes the use of a telecommunication conference call for attendance of Council members at a public meeting under the following conditions:
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) must be able to speak and hear comments and votes of members of Council who are physically present or also using a telecommunication device;
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) must be able to hear public comments;
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) must be able to hear the comments and votes of Council members who are not physically present at the meeting;
The telecommunication device must allow the transmission and receipt of sound just as though the absent Councilperson were present at the meeting; and
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) during an executive session must follow all rules and regulations that would apply if such person (or persons) were physically present at the meeting. (The absent Councilperson must assure that the executive session is private and not overheard by third parties.)
At the start of each regular or special meeting, a Councilperson who is present by telecommunication device, as set forth in § 15-12 above, shall not count towards the establishment of a quorum. If a quorum of members is physically present at the beginning of the meeting and is thereafter lost for whatever reason, the person participating by telecommunication device shall thereafter count in determination of a quorum.
Council hereby authorizes participation by telecommunication devices for one or more of the following reasons for physical absence:
Care of or the birth of a newborn in the member's immediate family;