2005, October
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Monroe County
Board of County Commissioners
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
REVISED OCTOBER 2005
MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
SECTION I
Section 1.01 - Introductory Items.
a) Except as may be provided by these Rules and By-Laws, questions
of order, the methods of organization and the conduct of business of the
Commission shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 1990
Edition, which is hereby adopted by the Commission.
b) The Mayor: In Chapter 65-1931, Laws of Florida, the Chairperson
of the Board of County Commissioners was designated the Mayor and the Vice
Chairperson the Mayor Pro-Tem. Therefore, in these administrative procedures,
the terms Mayor and Chairperson, and Mayor Pro-Tem and Vice Chairperson,
refer to identical officers and are used interchangeably.
Section 1.02 - Meeting.
a) Regular Meetings: The County Commission shall hold regular
meetings, usually on a Wednesday and the immediately following Thursday of
each month, in a week at the time(s) determined by motion of the County
Commission. Other times and dates may also be established by a motion of the
County Commission. No regular meeting may be scheduled when the day fixed
for a regular meeting falls on a designated holiday. The locations for regularly
scheduled meetings of the County Commission shall be established by motion of
the County Commission but the monthly location for the regularly scheduled
meetings must rotate among the Lower, Middle and Upper keys. All meeting
sites must be in compliance with the American Disabilities Act and any other
applicable civil rights statutes. In an extenuating situation (e.g., a hurricane or
other disaster), and with the notice reasonably provided in light of the situation,
the Mayor or County Administrator may designate another location and time for
a regularly scheduled meeting of the County Commission.
The County Commission shall not schedule any particular time of the year
as a vacation period but shall individually stagger their vacation times so that the
County Commission may continue to function throughout the year.
b) Special Meetings: A special meeting of the County Commission
may be called by the Mayor, or in his/her absence the Mayor Pro Tem whenever,
in his/her opinion, the public's business requires it. A special meeting may also
be called by three members of the County Commission. All requests for a special
meeting must state the purpose of the meeting and a proposed time and
location.
When a special meeting is called by the Mayor, then a written request for
the meeting must be delivered to the Clerk. When a County Commissioner
(other than the Mayor) wishes to call a special meeting, he or she must send the
written request to the Clerk and, at the same time, send the request to all other
members of the County Commission, and the County Administrator. If, within
two business days, two other County Commissioners send to the Clerk written
approval of the requested special meeting, then the special meeting will be
considered called. The County Commissioners who send the Clerk written
approval of the requested special meeting must also, at the same time, send
copies to the County Administrator. If the Clerk determines that the special
meeting was properly called, then the Clerk must promptly provide verbal or
written notice, unless specifically waived, to the County Commission members,
the County Administrator and the County Attorney, stating the date, hour and
place of the meeting and the purpose of the meeting. The Clerk must also send
written notice of the special meeting to the local media outlets.
Only the business stated in the notice of the special meeting may be
considered at the meeting unless the Mayor or the County Administrator
determines that the public's best interest would be served if additional items
were considered and an amended written agenda is delivered by the County
Administrator to all County Commissioners, the County Attorney, and the local
media outlets a minimum of one business day in advance of the special meeting
date. Alternatively, a majority of the County Commissioners present at the
special meeting may agree to add additional items to the special meeting
agenda.
When the Clerk has received a request for a special meeting that complies
with this subsection 1.02(b), he or she must make sure that there are at least
four hours between the call for the meeting and the date and hour of the
meeting unless an extenuating circumstance (e.g., an impending hurricane)
prevents that. If, after reasonable diligence, it was impractical to give notice to
each County Commissioner then that failure will not affect the legality of the
special meeting if a quorum is present. The minutes of each special meeting
must show the manner and method by which notice of the special meeting was
given to each member of the County Commissioners or the waiver of the notice.
c)
addition to,
general law.
The notice requirements set forth in this Section 1.02 are in
and not the replacement for, notice requirements mandated by
d) All County Commission meetings are open to the public unless a
specific exemption is provided by general law.
e) The Clerk must record, and is the custodian of, all County
Commission minutes.
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Section 1.03 - Agenda:
a) Regular Meeting Agenda: Matters for action - proposals and
discussion items - may be placed on the regular meeting agenda only by a
Commissioner, the County Attorney, County Clerk and County Administrator.
1. An agenda will be prepared by the County Administrator's
office for every regular meeting or special meeting of the Commission.
The Commission shall not take action on any matter, proposal, or report of
item of business which is not listed in the official agenda, unless there is a
super majority vote or, if all 5 Commissioners are not in attendance, by a
unanimous vote of the members present, agreeing to the addition of other
items to the agenda for consideration and action.
2. All regular meeting agenda items must be delivered to the
County Administrator's office no later than 5 PM on the 15th day prior to
the scheduled meeting date. The agenda must be prepared and
distributed so as to be received by the County Commissioners no later
than 9 AM seven days prior to the scheduled meeting.
3. Items that are placed on the agenda prepared by the County
Administrator's office shall have back-up materials submitted to the
individual Commissioners, the appropriate administration staff, and the
County Attorney by not later than 4 PM on the Monday preceding the
meeting. No agenda items shall be considered by the County Commission
without the appropriate back-up materials unless there is to be no action
taken and/or the topic is for discussion or information only.
4. Items added to the agenda by vote of the County
Commissioners shall (1) contain back-up documentation showing that
review by County Administrator, appropriate staff, and County Attorney
has occurred with the respective recommendations for action, or (2) the
Commissioner, the Administrator, the County Clerk, or the County
Attorney requesting placement of the item on the agenda has a significant
reason for placement on the agenda and the following criteria are met: (i)
a showing that time is of the essence and that delay to alter BOCC agenda
will have a high probability of a negative impact on the County, and (ii)
appropriate staff is present to make comment on the item,
notwithstanding the impromptu nature of their input.
5. All items which require approval by the County Attorney for
legal sufficiency and form shall be signed by the County Attorney or
Assistant County Attorney before placement on the agenda.
Unless mandated otherwise by a general law, all scheduled times on the
County Commission agenda are approximate even if denominated as "time
certain." The Mayor should however, conduct the meetings in such a
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manner that the agenda schedule is followed as closely as circumstances
allow.
Invocation will be a moment of silent contemplation.
b) Sounding Board: A separate section of the regular meeting
agenda will be reserved for Sounding Board. Sounding Board must be scheduled
for a time approximate for public convenience. The purpose of the Sounding
Board is to allow individuals to address the County Commission on a matter
pertaining to County government, excluding matters in litigation and complaints
against specific personnel. The initial speaker on an item - whether representing
him or herself, or a non-profit organization - may address the County
Commission for a period up to ten minutes. Subsequent speakers who are
speaking for themselves on the same item may speak for three minutes. A
subsequent speaker on the same item may address the County Commission on
behalf of another nonprofit organization for five minutes. Individuals who wish
to utilize Sounding Board must contact the County Administrator's Office in
writing in order to be scheduled on the agenda, must specify the subject matter
of the presentation, and must comply with the agenda deadlines established in
this Section 1.03. No action may be taken by the County Commission on an item
on the Sounding Board agenda.
c) Presentations May not be promotional for products and services
and will be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes. Presentations must be
sponsored by the County Administrator or a County Commissioner.
d) Appeals of the Planning Commission decisions before the County
Commission shall be limited to 20 minutes of oral argument for each party and
the appellant may reserve 5 minutes for rebuttal.
e) When necessary, the Board of County Commissioners shall convene
as the Board of Appeals to consider such appeals as may be required. Such
hearings shall be scheduled for a time certain on the day it is advertised by the
County Attorney. Such appeal shall be scheduled on the agenda. The Board
shall consider the appeal and by motion adopt a resolution affirming or denying
said appeal and all such motions shall include authorization for the Chairperson
of the Board to execute said resolution when prepared.
f) Tabled items: An agenda item under consideration by the County
Commission may be removed from the table (tabled) by a majority vote of those
Commissioners present. A motion to table any item that has received a second
shall be voted upon without discussion. The effect of such a vote is to remove
the item from consideration by the Commission. The item may be placed back
on the table and considered by the Commission by a majority vote of the
Commission but only if such vote takes place during the course of the meeting of
the County Commission for which the item was on the agenda. Once that
County Commission meeting is adjourned, either on the second day of a
regularly scheduled meeting or at the conclusion of a special meeting, then the
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item may not be recalled from the table but must be placed on a subsequent
County Commission meeting agenda by a person authorized to do so by these
rules of procedure. Items that are required by general law or ordinance to be
heard at a time certain public hearing may not be tabled but may be continued
by a majority vote of the County Commission present to a time and a place
certain but only if such a continuance is not contrary to general law or
ordinance.
g) Continuances: Unless contrary to general law or ordinance, any
item on the County Commission meeting agenda may be continued by a majority
vote of those County Commissioners present. The continuation must be to a
time and place certain which may be later during the course of the same County
Commission meeting or to a subsequent meeting.
h) Reconsideration: During the course of a meeting and after a
vote has been concluded on an agenda item, any Commissioner who voted with
the majority may move for reconsideration of that item. If the motion is
approved by a majority of those Commissioners present, then the Commission
may ratify, rescind, or amend the decision made by their initial vote. Provided,
however, in the case of any agenda item where a statute or a County ordinance
requires published notice and a public hearing, then the approval of a motion for
reconsideration will operate to stay the effect of the initial vote until the notice
can be republished and a subsequent public hearing held. Upon conclusion of the
subsequent public hearing, the Commission may ratify, rescind or amend the
decision made by the Commission's initial vote.
At the next regular County Commission meeting, any Commissioner may
move to rescind or amend the decision on an agenda item that was the subject
of a vote at the previous regular or special County Commission meeting. If the
motion is approved by a majority of those Commissioners present, then the
Commission may ratify, rescind, or amend the decision made by their initial
vote. Provided, however, in the case of any agenda where a statute or County
ordinance requires a published notice and public hearing, then the approval of a
motion for reconsideration will operate to stay the effect of the initial vote until
the notice can be republished and a subsequent public hearing held. Upon
conclusion of the subsequent public hearing, the Commission may ratify, rescind,
or amend the decision made by the initial vote.
No previously voted upon agenda item may be the subject of a motion for
reconsideration after the adjournment of the regular County Commission
meeting that immediately follows the meeting at which the initial vote was taken.
i) A County Commissioner may not engage in a discussion about a
quasi judicial agenda item outside the confines of the County Commission
meeting with any party having an interest in the item. If a County Commissioner
is in doubt as to whether an agenda item is quasi judicial, then he or she should
contact the County Attorney (or an assistant) before engaging in a conversation
with an interested party.
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Section 1.04 - Presiding Officer, Election, Duties:
a) Chairperson: The Presiding Officer of the County Commission is
the Chairperson/Mayor, who shall be elected by a majority vote of the members
present at the regular meeting of the BOCC in November. The November
meeting in election years must be on the date newly elected commissioners
assume office as provided by law.
Selection of the Chairperson/Mayor shall be by nomination from the floor,
with no second required, followed by alphabetical roll call vote of Commissioners
on each nomination, in order of the nominations made. Selection of the Vice
Chairperson/Mayor Pro Tem shall be in an identical manner.
b) Vice Chairperson: If, for any reason, the Chairperson is absent or
unable to perform his/her duties, the Vice Chairperson, who will have been
elected under the same circumstances as the Chairperson, shall succeed him. If
the Commission determines that the disability or absence is expected to extend
for a period of time in excess of the length of the meeting at which this is
determined, a new Vice Chairperson shall be elected by a majority of the
members present at the meeting.
Section 1.05 - Parliamentarian:
The County Attorney or his/her designee shall act as parliamentarian and
shall advise and assist the Presiding Officer in matters of parliamentary law.
Section 1.06 - Attorney:
The County Attorney, or designee, in his/her absence, shall be available to
the Commission at all meetings unless excused by the Mayor or Administrator.
He shall draw ordinances and resolutions for any member of the Commission
when and as directed.
Section 1.07 - Call to Order:
The Chairperson shall take the chair at the hour appointed for the meeting
and shall immediately call the Commission to order. In the absence of the
Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson, the Clerk shall then determine whether a
quorum is present and in that event shall call for the election of temporary
Chairperson. Upon the arrival of the Chairperson or the Vice Chairperson, the
temporary Chairperson shall relinquish the chair upon the conclusion of the
business immediately before the Commission.
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Section 1.08 - Roll Call:
Before proceeding with the business of the Commission, the Clerk or
his/her designee shall call the roll of the members in alphabetical order unless
the Chairperson stipulates all are present and the names of those present shall
be entered in the minutes.
Section 1.09 - Quorum:
A majority of the whole number of members of the Commission shall
constitute a quorum. No ordinance, resolution or motion shall be adopted by the
Commission without the affirmative vote of the majority of all members present.
Should no quorum attend within thirty (30) minutes after the hour appointed for
the meeting of the Commission, the Chairperson, or the Vice-Chairperson, or in
their absence, the Clerk or his/her designee, may adjourn the meeting until the
next day.
Section 1.10 - Order of Business:
All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public. Promptly at
the hour set forth for each meeting, the members of the Commission, the County
Attorney, the County Administrator and the Clerk shall take their regular stations
in the Commission Chamber, and the business of the Commission shall be taken
up for consideration and disposition in accordance with the agenda for the
meeting. The agenda shall constitute the order of business, unless otherwise
determined by the Mayor.
Section 1.11 - Rules of Debate:
a) Each meeting agenda must state: "Any person who wishes to be
heard shall, prior to the item being called, provide the Clerk with his/her name
and residence, and the agenda item on which he or she wishes to be heard. An
individual has three minutes. However, the first person representing an
organization has five minutes to address the Commission. Subsequent speakers
for the same organization have three minutes to address the Commission. For
land use items, the time statement will be: "The petitioner and, if the owner is
different than the petitioner, then the owner of the property that is the subject of
the land use item, will be allowed 20 minutes to address the Commission. Other
persons are allowed five minutes to address the Commission."
b) Questions under Consideration: When an item of business has
been announced by the Clerk, the Clerk shall notify the Chairperson of any
persons who wish to be heard on that item. Upon conclusion of audience
participation, the Board shall then consider the item.
After the Commission has begun its discussion of the item, no further
audience participation is permitted, unless the Mayor (or other Presiding Officer)
permits a member of the audience to respond to questions from the
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Commissioners. A motion must be made and properly seconded in order for
official action to be taken by the Board. The presenter/mover shall be allowed to
address the Commission on the motion initially, whereupon each of the other
Commissioners shall be allowed to address the Commission on the motion before
the Board on any matter in alphabetical order as is done on regular roll call
except the presenter/mover shall have the right to address the Board initially
and to close the debate on the matter under consideration.
c) As to the Chairperson: The Chairperson or such other member of
the Commission as may be presiding may move, second, and debate from the
chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as they are by those rules
imposed upon all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and
privileges of a Commissioner by reason of his/her being the Presiding Officer.
d) Obtaining the Floor, Improper References to be Avoided: Every
member desiring to speak for any purpose shall address the Presiding Officer,
and upon recognition, shall confine himself to the question under debate,
avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
e) Interruption: A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted
when speaking unless it be to call him or her to order or as herein otherwise
provided. If a member, while speaking, be called to order, he/she shall cease
speaking until the questions of order be determined by the Presiding Officer, and
if in order, he/she shall be permitted to proceed. Any member may appeal to
the Commission from the decision of the Chairperson upon a question of order
when without debate the Chairperson shall submit to the Commission the
question, "Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?" and the Commission
shall decide by a majority vote.
f) Roll Call Vote: No member of any state, county or municipal
governmental board, commission, or agency who is present at any meeting of
any such body at which an official decision, ruling, or other official act is to be
taken or adopted may abstain from voting in regard to any such decision, ruling
or other official act, and a vote shall be recorded or counted for each member
present, except when, with respect to any such matter, there is, or appears to
be, a pOSSible conflict of interest under the provision of Florida Statutes Sections
112.311, 112.313, or 112.3143. In such cases said member shall comply with
the disclosure requirements of Florida Statutes Section 112.3143.
Section 1.12 - Reading Minutes:
Unless a reading of the minutes of a meeting is requested by a majority
of the Commission, such minutes shall be considered approved without reading;
provided that the Clerk delivers a copy thereof to each member of the
Commission, the County Attorney and the County Administrator at least one full
working day preceding the meeting at which the minutes will be approved. The
minutes of prior meeting may be approved by a majority of the members
present, and upon such approval shall become the official minutes.
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Section 1.13 - Votes by Roll Call:
The vote upon every resolution or ordinance may be taken by roll call in
alphabetical order except the Chairperson shall be the last member called, and
the vote shall be entered upon the minutes. Resolutions and ordinances shall be
signed by the Presiding Officer at such meetings and by the Clerk before they are
entered upon the minutes.
Each resolution and ordinance shall contain, at the conclusion of the
'Passed and Adopted' clause, a list of the members of the Commission and the
vote cast by each ('Yes', 'No', 'Abstention: or 'Not Present').
Section 1.14 - Decorum:
Any person making impertinent or slanderous remarks or who becomes
boisterous while addressing the Commission shall be barred from further
audience before the Commission by the Presiding Officer, unless permission to
continue or again address the Commission be granted by the majority vote of the
Commission.
Section 1.15 - Sergeant-at-Arms:
The County Sheriff, or his/her designated deputy, shall be the sergeant-
at-arms at the Commission meetings and will carry out all legal orders of the
Chairperson for purposes of maintaining order and decorum in accordance with
these rules and Florida Statutes.
Section 1.16 - Ordinances, Resolutions, Motions, Contracts and Other
Documents
a) Preparation of ordinances and resolutions: The County Attorney,
when requested, shall prepare ordinances and resolutions, a copy of which shall
be delivered to the County Administrator, whereupon the Administrator shall
forthwith furnish a copy to each Commissioner. The original of the ordinance or
resolution shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the time said
ordinance or resolution is submitted to the Board for action.
There shall be a public hearing on all ordinances other than emergency
ordinances. The procedures as set forth in the Florida Statutes for adoption of
ordinances shall be followed.
b) Approval of Ordinances by County Attorney: All ordinances,
resolutions and contract documents before presentation to the Commission shall
have been reduced in writing and shall have been approved as to form and
legality by the County Attorney. When so referred, the County Attorney shall
affix his/her signature on the document certifying to the legal sufficiency and
shall append his/her recommendations as appropriate.
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c) Introducing for Passage or Approval: Ordinances, resolutions
and other matters and subjects requiring action by the Commission must be
introduced and sponsored by a member of the Commission, except that the
County Attorney and County Administrator may present ordinances, resolutions
and other matters or subjects to the Commission for consideration, and any
Commissioner may assure sponsorship thereof by moving such ordinance,
resolution, matter or subject be adopted in accordance with law; otherwise they
shall not be considered. Any ordinance or resolution prepared at the request of a
Commissioner, Administrator, Division or Department Director shall bear the
name of the person on the document.
Prior to placement on the Agenda of contracts or other similar matters to
be approved by the Board as official actions, such document shall have been
completely processed according to Administrative Orders issued by the County
Administrator.
d) All ordinances, resolutions, contracts and other documents approved
by the County Commission must be signed by the Mayor, or Mayor Pro Tem in
the absence of the Mayor, as promptly as possible.
Section 1.17 - Adjournment:
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and decided without debate.
Section 1.18 - Clerk, Minutes, Correspondence:
a) The Clerk of the Circuit Court, or his/her designated deputy, shall
act as Clerk ex officio to the County Commission. The Clerk shall prepare the
minutes and attest to all resolutions and ordinances.
b) The official minutes as prepared by the Clerk shall be as brief as
pOSSible and reflect on the very essential elements or actions. Those items
specifically requested by the Board shall appear in the minutes in the manner as
directed.
c) The Clerk shall be custodian of the County Seal, affixing the seal to
documents as appropriate and attest to the signature of the Presiding Officer on
all ordinances, resolutions and other documents.
Section 1.19 - Committees.
a) Committees shall be established by Board of County Commissioner
resolution and shall be for a specific time duration and purpose.
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b) Function.
1. The Committee will only function in an advisory or
investigative manner, as specified by the establishing resolution, and will
have no legislative, directive or enforcement authority.
2. Any item requiring formal action shall be referred to the
Board of County Commissioners for action at a regular meeting for
consideration.
3. Committee meetings shall be properly noticed according to
requirements of statute. All committee meetings must be held in the
sunshine as mandated by Sec. 286.0105, Fla. Stat.
4. Committee reports to the Commission may contain
recommendations of action but must contain all data and views concerning
the matter so as to inform the Commission of all available information
prior to their decision, and not simply consensus views.
5. The County Administrator shall provide the committee with a
County employee to take written minutes of all Committee meetings. The
County Administrator's Office shall also be the custodian of those minutes.
c) Composition.
1. Committees may be composed of any number considered to
be beneficial but appointments must be equally distributed among
Commissioners, so as to reflect county-wide composition.
2. Committees shall elect their own respective chairperson.
d) Committees shall adhere to the rules adopted by the Board of
County Commissioners as Governing Rules Section 1.01 of these procedures.
e) Committees shall provide the Board of County Commissioners with
a written or oral report on a schedule to be determined by motion of the Board.
Section 1.20 - County Commission Appointments
Notwithstanding Robert's Rules of Order, appointments by the County
Commission to committees, advisory boards, councils, commissions and similar
bodies established by resolution, ordinance or Florida statute shall be by
affirmative vote of not less than three of the five members of the County
Commission, unless otherwise stated in the enabling resolution, ordinance or
statute creating the committee, board, council, commission or body.
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