Procedural Rules

Each Arkansas city is unique. Your city and the residents you represent are no exception. The city council rules of procedure should be agreed to and officially adopted by the majority of city council members. Rules of procedure are guides to the generally accepted way that things get done. Topics that are usually covered in procedural rules include:

• Meetings: the usual date, time and place for regularly scheduled meetings; and setting the procedure for calling a special meeting by ordinance.
• Order of Business: the usual format to be followed, including who's responsible for preparing the agenda according to that format, and special provisions for agenda items such as developing a con-sent agenda.
• General Meeting Procedures: time limits for debate, if any, and who may speak at what point.
• Public Hearings: procedure and time limits.
• New Business: a process for allowing new items to be added to the agenda.
• Exceptions: specific provisions for when and how the rules can be suspended.
• Parliamentary Process: rules of debate governing motions, the order of issues to be discussed, and other elements that control discussion at meetings. The Procedural Rules for Municipal Officials booklet is commonly used by many Arkansas cities. Copies of Procedural Rules are available by calling the Arkansas Municipal League at 501-374-3484. You may order online at www.arml.org.

Rules of procedure and public debate are to facilitate the transaction of public business in an orderly way. At first it may not seem orderly to you. It is not unusual for newly elected council members to take up to six (6) months before they feel comfortable with the procedures. Don't be intimidated into not asking questions if you are not sure about the consequences of your vote. For example, you may want to ask, "If I vote 'no' on the amendment, what happens to the main motion?" That is not an unreasonable request for information.

Different Types of Meetings Newly elected officials should quickly learn that there are five (5) kinds of meetings.

• Regular Council Meetings: These meetings handle general and routine business, and it is during these meetings that ordinances are enacted.
• Special Meetings: Business that cannot be postponed, or issues that affect a limited number of citi-zens, are dealt with at a specially scheduled meeting. These meetings usually have a more limited agenda than regular meetings but, like regular meetings, they are open to the public. It is important that the time and place of meetings of this sort are announced to the media and to the general pub-lic. Media that have requested notice must be given at least two hours advance notification [Hdbk. 25-19-106(b)].
• Public Hearings: Hearings are a forum for residents to express opinions and for council members to explain their positions to the public. Hearings are most effective when they target only one item per hearing, for example, budget or zoning, not budget and zoning.
• Executive Session: These closed meetings are permitted only for the purpose of considering employ-ment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplinary action or resignation of any public officer or employee. This may not include general discussion about making policies related to these sub-jects. This must be done in open session (Hdbk. 25-19-106). (Additional information on the Freedom of Information Act is discussed in Chapter VI.)
• Work Session: An informal meeting, generally called for the purpose of conducting an in-depth study on a limited number of topics. Work session meetings encourage exploration of subjects in more detail than is possible in regular meetings because of the time constraints and the pressure of other business that occur in regular council session. These sessions must be open to the public.
  Each of these meetings that have been discussed should be looked on as a way to achieve certain goals. An incorrect choice of meeting type can disrupt your city government from effectively doing its job.