RULES OF PROCEDURE
FOR THE URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY FOR THE CITY OF SALEM
(Adopted by Resolution No. 03-1 URA)
Table of Contents
Rule 1: Robert's Rules to Govern
Rule 2: Presiding Officer; Executive Director
Rule 3: Clerk of the Agency
Rule 4: Executive Director
Rule 5: Regular Meetings
Rule 6: Special Meetings
Rule 7: Quorum
Rule 8: Rules of Debate
Rule 9: Duty to Vote
Rule 10: Substitute Motions
Rule 11:Decorum
Rule 12: Order of Business
Rule 13: Agenda
Rule 14: Consent Calendar
Rule 15: Resolutions
Rule 16: Public Comment
Rule 17: New Business
Rule 18: Public Hearings
Rule 19: Committees
Rule 20: Disqualification of Board Members
Rule 21: Resolutions, Motions and Contracts
Rule 22: Designation of "Guest Board Member"
Rule 23: Suspension and Amendment of Rules
Rule 1:Robert's Rules to Govern
In all cases not provided for by these rules or the provisions of ORS Chapter 192 and ORS Chapter 457, the proceedings of the Board of the Urban Renewal Agency for the City of Salem shall be governed by "Robert's Rules of Order,"10
TH ed.
Rule 2:Presiding Officer; Executive Director
(a) The Mayor of the Salem City Council shall be the Chair of the Board, and the Council President shall be the Chair pro tempore for the Board.
(b) The Chair shall preserve order and decorum at all meetings of the Board, shall confine members in debate to the question under discussion, shall state every question coming before the Board, announce the decision of the Board on all subjects and decide all questions of order, subject, however, to an appeal to the Board, in which event a majority vote of the Board shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order.
(c) The member of the Board presiding, whether he or she be the Chair, the Chair pro tempore or a member of the Board elected to temporarily preside over the meeting. shall vote on all questions before the Board during the time he or she is presiding, with his or her name being called last.
(d) The Chair shall sign all resolutions adopted by the Board during his or her presence.In the event of the absence of the Chair, the Clerk shall sign resolutions as then adopted.
(e) During the absence of the Chair, the Chair pro tempore shall discharge the duties and exercise the powers and authority of the Chair.In the absence of the Chair or the Chair pro tempore, the City Attorney, or the City Attorney's designee, shall call the Board to order, whereupon a temporary Chair shall be elected by the members then present.The Board member so chosen shall discharge the duties and exercise the powers and authority of the Chair. Upon the arrival of the Chair or Chair pro tempore, the temporary Chair shall immediately relinquish the position of presiding officer upon the conclusion of the business immediately before the Board.
(f) The City Manager of the City of Salem shall be the "Executive Director" for the Board, and is the duly authorized administrative officer of the Board.
(Amendment by Resolution 03-13 URA)
Rule 3: Clerk of the Agency
The City Recorder shall be the Clerk for the Agency.The Clerk shall attend all meetings of the Board and maintain minutes thereof, shall keep the official records of the Agency, and such other duties as may be required by these rules, or as the clerk of a public body.
Rule 4: Executive Director
The City Manager shall serve as the Executive Director ex-officio of the Agency.
Rule 5:Regular Meetings
(a) All regular meetings of the Board shall be open to the public, except for executive sessions permitted under ORS Chapter 192.
(b) The Board shall hold regular meetings on the first Monday of each month, immediately following the regular meeting of the City of Salem City Council, and on the third Monday evening of each month commencing at 6:30 p.m.Any meeting of the Board may be adjourned to a later date and time, provided that no adjournment shall be for a longer period than the next regular meeting of the Board.
(c) All regular meetings of the Board shall be held in the Council Chambers of the City of Salem.
(Amendment by Resolution 03-13 URA)
Rule 6:Special Meetings
The Chair, a majority of the members of the Board, or the City Manager may call special meetings whenever the business of the Urban Renewal Agency so requires.Written notice of the time and purpose of the meeting shall be given to each member of the Board at least 24 hours prior to the meeting; provided, however, that in the case of an actual emergency, a meeting may be called upon such notice as is appropriate under the circumstances, but the minutes of such meeting shall describe the emergency justifying less than 24 hour notice.
A majority of members the Board shall constitute a quorum. Should no quorum be present, the members in attendance shall adjourn to the next regular meeting or an earlier time.
Rule 8:Rules of Debate
(a) The Presiding Officer may move, second and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Board member by reason of acting as the presiding officer.
(b) Every member desiring to speak shall address the Presiding Officer, and, upon recognition by the Presiding Officer, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
(c) A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to be called to order, or as herein otherwise provided.If a member, while speaking, be called to order, he or she shall cease speaking until the question of order be determined, and, if in order, he or she shall be permitted to proceed.
(d) A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Board may be made no later than the close of the next following regular meeting of the Agency.Such motion must be made by one voting on the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member, and may be made at anytime.
Rule 9: Duty to Vote
(a) Each Board member shall vote on each question before the Board, unless a majority of the Board excuses the member, for reasons specifically stated on the record; provided however, no member shall be permitted to vote on any subject in which he or she has a conflict of interest.
(b) Unless a Board member states that he or she is not voting, silence in failing to respond to a call to vote shall be recorded as an affirmative vote.
Rule 10: Substitute Motions
For the purposes of these Rules, a substitute motion is a form of a motion to amend, whereby a main motion is replaced in its entirety by substitution.A majority vote to adopt a substitute motion shall operate as a vote on a main motion, but shall not be construed as a vote on the original motion upon which the substitute motion was proposed.
(a) Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Board shall be forthwith, by the Presiding Officer, barred from further audience before the Board, unless permission to continue be granted by a majority vote of the Board.
(b) The City of Salem Chief of Police, or such member or members of the Salem Police Department as the Chief of Police may designate, shall be Sergeant-at-Arms of the Agency meetings. The Chief or the Chief's designee shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the Presiding Officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the meeting.
Rule 12: Order of Business
The order of business for each regular meeting shall be as follows:
(1) Roll Call
(2) Approval of Minutes
(3) Reports of Committees
(4) Public Comment
(5) Consent Calendar
(a) Action Items
(b) Information Reports
(c) Communications
(6) Public Hearings and Deliberations (night meetings only)
(7) Further Consideration of Items from Consent Calendar
(8) New Business
(9) Adjourn.
(Amendment by Resolution No. 03-13 URA)
The Clerk shall prepare an agenda for each regular meeting, which shall show all matters which have been placed on the agenda as of noon on the Wednesday preceding the regular meeting. In addition, the Clerk shall keep a record of each resolution, or other matter brought before the Agency, with the status thereof; and shall note on each agenda the status of each such resolution or other matter.Agenda items not received by the Clerk by noon on Wednesday may be included as "Additions to the Agenda" with the consent of the Executive Director. Matters not on the agenda, or additions to the agenda shall not be considered by the Board, except by general consent, or by vote of a majority of the Board.
Rule 14: Consent Calendar
All items on Consent Calendar will be approved by a single motion, unless the item is pulled for further consideration.Any item may be pulled for further consideration upon request by a Board Member.For the purposes of this rule, further consideration means any proposal to adopt a different course of action than that recommended in the staff report, or a determination that debate on a proposed course of action is deemed desirable. (Amendment by Resolution No. 03-13 URA)
All resolutions shall be in writing and shall be numbered consecutively for each calendar year in the order in which the resolution was introduced. Each number shall be preceded with the last two digits of the year in which the resolution is introduced. All resolutions shall be placed on the Consent Calendar by title only and may be adopted as a group; provided, however, any member of the Board may remove the resolution from the Consent Calendar, and have the matter placed under Further Consideration of Items from the Consent Calendar.
Rule 16: Public Comment
Up to thirty minutes is available for members of the public to comment on agenda items, other than public hearings, and on matters of general interest to the Urban Renewal Agency.Each person's comments will be limited to three minutes.If the number of citizens who have signed up for public comment indicates that the time for comments would require more than thirty minutes, additional time may be provided upon majority vote by the Board.
The agenda shall provide a time when any Board member may bring before the Board any new business that the Board member feels should be deliberated upon by the Board.These matters need not be specifically listed on the agenda, but formal action on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent Agency meeting, except that immediate action may be taken upon a vote of two-thirds of all members of the Board.
Rule 18: Public Hearings
(a) All public hearings on any matter before the Agency Shall be held at evening meetings only.
(b) The Presiding Officer shall announce at the commencement of any public hearing the subject of the hearing as it is set forth on the agenda. The Presiding Officer shall then declare the hearing open and invite any member of the general public to address the Board.
(c) Each person addressing the Board shall have three minutes to present testimony. The person shall, prior to giving testimony, state his or her name and address. All remarks shall be addressed to the Board as a body and not to any member thereof.
(d) No person other than the Board and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Board, without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No question may be asked of a Board member except through the Presiding Officer.
(e) Upon being recognized by the Presiding Officer, any member of the Board may question any person who testifies.
(f) The Presiding Officer may exclude or limit cumulative, repetitious, or immaterial matter.The Presiding Officer may order the testimony, alternating those speaking in favor and those in opposition, or having all speaking in favor testifying, followed by all those in opposition.The Presiding Officer, with the approval of Board, may further limit the time and/or number of speakers at any public hearing; provided that the Presiding Officer shall state any such restrictions prior to the commencement of the testimony.In the event large numbers of interested persons appear to testify, the Presiding Officer, to expedite the hearing, may in lieu of testimony call for those in favor of the pending proposal or those in opposition to rise and direct the clerk to note the numbers in the minutes of the Agency.
(g) Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the Board shall be removed from the meeting upon direction of the Presiding Officer, and shall be barred from further participation in the hearing unless permission is granted by majority vote of the Board.
(Amendment by Resolution No. 03-13 URA)
The Board may, by resolution, create committees to assist in the conduct of the affairs of the Urban Renewal Agency, with such powers and duties as the Board may specify which are not inconsistent with ORS Chapter 457.Members of the committee shall be appointed by the Board.Any committee so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the purpose for which it was created, or when abolished by a majority vote of the Board.No committee so appointed shall have powers other than advisory to the Board except as otherwise specified by resolution creating the committee.
Rule 20: Disqualification of Board Members
(a) A member of the Board shall not participate in discussion of any matter before the Board, and shall refrain from voting on the matter same when:
(1) Any of the following has a direct or substantial financial interest in the matter before the Board: the Board member or his or her spouse, brother, sister, child, parent, father‑in‑law, mother‑in‑law, any business in which he or she is then serving or has served within the previous two years, or any business with which he or she is negotiating for, or has an arrangement or understanding concerning prospective partnership or employment; or
(2) The Board member owns property within an area affected by a proposal before the Board, unless the ownership would qualify for a "class exemption" under SRC 12.015 and the result of the action will not result in a conflict of interest under SRC 12.015; or
(3) The Board member has a direct or indirect personal interest in the proposal before the Board; or
(4) Participation would constitute a conflict of interest as defined in SRC 12.050; or
(5) The Board member was not present during the public hearing on the proposal before the Board; provided, however, if the Board member has reviewed the record from the hearing, including tape recordings of the proceedings, and declares as such for the record, the Board member may participate in discussion and vote on the matter.
(b) Board members shall reveal any ex parte contacts with regard to any matter at the commencement of the public hearing on the matter. If such contacts have impaired the Board member's impartiality or ability to vote on the matter, he or she shall so state and shall abstain from participating in the hearing and voting on the matter.
Rule 21: Resolutions, Motions and Contracts
(a) Resolutions, and other matters or subjects requiring action by the Board must be introduced and sponsored by a member of the Board, except that the Executive Director or City Attorney may present resolutions and other matters or subjects to the Board.
(b) The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all resolutions and motions and entered upon the official record of the Agency.
(c) An affirmative vote of at least a majority of a quorum of the Board shall be necessary to pass a resolution or motion.In the event of a tie in votes on any motion, the motion shall be considered lost.
(d) When passed by the Board, a resolution shall be attested by the Clerk; and it shall be immediately filed and thereafter preserved in the office of the Clerk.
(e) Any member of the Board may request written legal opinions, relating to Agency business, from the City Manager.Upon receiving requests for a written legal opinion, the City Manager shall request same from the City Attorney; and upon return receipt thereof, the City Manager shall distribute the written legal opinion to all members of the Board.
(f) Any member of the Board may, for purposes of inquiry, request verbal opinion or advice on Agency legal matters directly from the City Attorney.
Rule 22: Designation of "Guest Board Member"
(a) Each Board member shall be allowed to designate a person as "Guest Board Member" to fill the seat of the Board member at a regular meeting in the event of his or her absence.The person so designated can serve in this capacity only once each year.Employees of the City of Salem and the spouses and immediate family members of city employees are not eligible for designation as Guest Board Members.
(b) A Board member shall make such designation by giving notice of the name and address of the person so designated to the Chair and the City Manager.Upon receiving such notification, the City Manager shall cause to have delivered to the person the agenda packet for such Agency meeting.
(c) No person filling the seat of a Board member pursuant to this rule may make or second any motion or vote on any matter coming before the Board.Guest Board Members shall not attend executive sessions of the Agency. At any regular meeting where a Guest Board Member is filling the seat of a Board member, the Chair shall, at the beginning of the meeting, introduce the person to the other Board members and to the public.At any one regular meeting, no more than two Guest Board Members may attend.
Rule 23: Suspension and Amendment of Rules
(a) Any provision of these rules may be temporarily suspended by a vote of two-thirds of the Board members present.The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered upon the record.
(b) These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted, by a majority vote of all members of the Board, provided that the proposed amendments or new rules have been introduced into the record at a prior Agency meeting.