The Sedona City Council has been operating under new rules of procedure since March 11, when members approved an ordinance updating the council rules and relevant sections of City Code as a consent item.

Most of the changes were simple housekeeping, but other changes gave the council authority to pass multi-subject ordinances, lowered the bar for suspending the rules of procedure, increased the number of council members required to get items on a future council agendas and will now allow council members to serve as voting members of other city bodies simultaneously with sitting on council.

The changes were initially discussed on Feb. 12, in conjunction with the council reconsidering its policy priorities for the coming year.

As part of the update, the council amended City Code Section 2.20.090 to add a paragraph providing that the council can adopt by motion its own set of rules of procedure, “with the current version prevailing over any prior version.”

The amendment to this section further replaced old language stating that Robert’s Rules of Order would pertain to council procedures; the new language specifies that Robert’s Rules will be deprecated “when in conflict with city council rules of procedure and policies.” Confusion had arisen on the dais earlier in the year as to whether and to what extent Robert’s Rules still applied to the council.

Section 2.20.100 was also amended to allow the suspension of rules of procedure during discussion by a simple majority rather than a three-quarters majority of the council, which would formerly have required the consent of six of seven members.

The March 11 council packet stated that the changes “are intended to update the code to council practice that has been in place since 2003.”

The following rules of procedure were also modified in conjunction with the code changes:

• Rule 1.A.1: Amended to specify that an amendment to the rules must be by a “majority vote of all members of the council.”
• Rule 2.D.9: Amended to specify that attendees of public meetings will be asked to mute, rather than turn off, their cellphones.
• Rule 3.A.5.b: Added language providing for the presentation of an executive session report at the following meeting whenever council takes action in executive session.
• Rule 3.B.1.b: Removed language pertaining to the mayor’s ability to “entertain and rule on objections from other members” of council who may object to public speakers being insufficiently courteous.
• Rule 3.B.2: Added language to clarify that a motion appealing the mayor’s procedural decisions must be seconded, may be debated and amended and must be passed by a majority.
• Rule 3.D.1: Added language to clarify that any member not making a motion may second it, including the mayor.
• Rule 3.E.11.e: Clarified that council must vote anew each time a motion for reconsideration is made and seconded.
• Rule 3.L: Amended to clarify the definitions of ordinance, resolution and emergency ordinance, and to remove the provision that an ordinance must be confined to one subject stated in its title.
• Rule 3.Q: Amended to clarify that members of the public have three minutes per agenda item to speak, rather than three minutes total, as well as three minutes to speak on non-agendized items at regular meetings.
• Rule 3.R.1: Amended to increase the number of council members whose support is needed to have an item placed on the agenda from two to three and to eliminate the previous provision allowing proposed items with only two members in support to be agendized for an introductory discussion. Also eliminated the “agenda team” composed of the mayor and vice mayor, city manager, city clerk and city attorney that was previously empowered to decide agenda item placement. City Attorney Kurt Christianson said on March 11 that this would in future be determined by the city manager or city clerk.
• Rule 4.A: Amended to remove language pertaining to the powers and duties of the mayor and replace it with a reference to City Code.
• Rule 5.G: Amended to permit members of council to serve as regular rather than nonvoting members of city committees, task forces and work groups not subject to open meeting laws.
• Rule 6.B.3: Expanded the definition of disorderly conduct that can be used as cause for ejecting a member of the public from a meeting to include “refuses to obey a lawful order to disperse issued to maintain public safety in dangerous proximity to a fire, a hazard or any other emergency.”

In addition to changes to council rules of procedure, the council also amended city Policy B, paragraph A, to specify that council members who communicate with each other via email must do so “in compliance with the open meeting and public records laws.”

The council approved the ordinance and rule updates unanimously.