13 substituteItem No. 13
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ORDINANCE NO. __________________ 1
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An Ordinance amending the City of South Miami Code of Ordinances, 3
Chapter 2, Section 2-2.1 (J) and (O) to provides additional 4
administrative procedure for public comments and quasi-judicial 5
proceedings. 6
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WHEREAS, section 2-2.1 of the City’s code of ordinances allows for a filibuster; 8
and 9
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WHEREAS, if 30 people attend a meeting and each speaks for 5 minutes with a 11
minute between speakers, public comments could conceivably take 3 hours; and 12
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WHEREAS, typically, public remarks does not begin before 7:30 and if there is a 14
large number of people who wish to speak at public comments there can be very little 15
time to conduct public business, even if the meeting is extended until midnight; and 16
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WHEREAS, the City Commission should not be rushed or fatigued when make 18
important decisions and should adopt an environment that fosters greater deliberation of 19
the important issues that are before it; and 20
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WHEREAS, each member of the City Commission has taken an oath to do the 22
best job possible to serve the City and to manage an approximately 20 million budget; 23
and 24
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY 26
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA: 27
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Section 1. Chapter 2, Article I, Section 2-2.1 (J) and (O) of the Code of 29
Ordinances, City of South Miami, Florida, are hereby amended and shall read as follows: 30
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(J) MANNER OF ADDRESSING COMMISSION; TIME LIMIT. 33
(1) Commission: Each Commission member shall have eight (8) minutes to 34
address the Commission and the public at large and the total time shall not 35
exceed forty (40) minutes. A member may transfer all or any portion of 36
his or her time to another member. 37
(2) No person shall address the commission from the audience. 38
(3) Each person, before addressing the commission, shall: 39
(a) first legibly print their full name and their residential address and sign 40
in the space provided on the speaker list;, 41
(b) step up to the podium;, 42
(c) speak into the microphone;, and 43
(d) state the person's name and city of residence and, if not a resident of 44
the City of South Miami, state whether the person has a business 45
interest in the city and its address. 46
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(4) The person shall speak in an audible tone of voice for the public record, 1
and unless further time is granted by the commission, shall limit his or her address to five 2
(5) minutes, or less for public comments and two minutes and thirty seconds (2-1/2) 3
minutes to address a matter during a public hearing. The amount of time allowed may be 4
shortened due to the number of speakers according to the formula set forth below, or 5
until when statements appear to be repetitive or obstructive as determined by the 6
presiding officer. 7
(5) All remarks shall be addressed to the commission as a body and not to any 8
member. 9
(6) No person addressing the commission shall be permitted to ask questions 10
of or to enter into any discussion with any member of the commission, or any city officer, 11
while they are seated on or beside the dais and while a commission meeting is in 12
progress, either directly or through a member of the commission, without the permission 13
of the presiding officer. 14
(7) No person who wishes to speak about an item that is subject to a quasi-15
judicial procedure shall speak during the time set aside for public comments and shall 16
only address the City Commission on such item or subject matter after the applicant has 17
made his/her presentation and after the applicant has presented all of his/her witnesses 18
and evidence. 19
(8) The time set aside for public comments at the beginning of the 20
Commission meeting shall be limited to City taxpayers and commercial tenants and 21
residents of the City. All others wishing to make public comments shall be allowed to 22
speak but only after all City business has been concluded and provide there is sufficient 23
time before 11:00 p.m. for them to speak and provided time limit for all public comments 24
is not exceeded. 25
(9) The extension of the time for the meeting after 11:00 p.m. shall only be for 26
City business. 27
(10) The total time for public comments for residents, taxpayers, commercial 28
tenants and non-residents is limited to 90 50 60 minutes and this includes the time 29
allowed at the beginning of the meeting which is limited to 50 minutes and at the end of 30
the meeting which is limited to 40 minutes. Both Tthe City Clerk orand the Mayor shall 31
keep a timer to keep track of the total time to ensure that ample time is allotted for City 32
business. The mayor, or another person designated by the mayor, will keep track of time 33
for individual speakers and notify the speaker when his or her time has elapsed. No one 34
shall speak more than once at public remarks. Public comments shall end after a 35
maximum of 50 minutes, or sooner if there are no more speakers. The mayor or 36
designated time keeper for individual public comments will adhere to the below schedule: 37
(a) up to 10 speakers, 5 minutes each (allows for a total of 10 minutes 38
between speakers) 39
(b) up to 12 speakers, 4 minutes each (allows for a total of 12 minutes 40
between speakers) 41
(c) up to 16 speakers, 3 minutes each (allows for a total of 12 minutes 42
between speakers) 43
(d) up to 24 speakers, 2 minutes each (allows for a total of 12 minutes 44
between speakers) 45
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The above schedule is based on a first come first serve basis as determined by 1
the Mayor at the beginning of the meeting. 2
If the meeting is run efficiently and if speakers do not use their total allowed 3
time, additional new speakers may speak so as the total time does not exceed 60 minutes 4
and the speaker's individual time does not exceed the individual time allotted for the 5
previous speakers. The meeting can be run more efficiently by starting the clock 5 6
seconds immediately after the previous speak concludes comments and having speakers 7
queue up in the first row of seats. It is also recommended that the Mayor provides a 8
visual reminder to the speakers when 30 seconds is remaining. 9
(11) The time for individual speakers shall commence running upon the 10
speaker being called to the podium and no extra time shall be allowed for the speaker to 11
make his or her way to the podium. 12
No speaker who has not signed the list of speakers by 6:55 p.m. shall be 13
allowed to speak unless otherwise provided in this section. 14
Anyone who signs the speaker list thereafter may be allowed to speak at the 15
end of city business, if time is available. 16
(12) The amount of time for each speaker shall be prorated among the 17
number of speakers who have signed the speaker list, i.e., if there are 10 speakers, 5 18
minutes will be allotted to each. If speakers speak for less than their allowable time, or if 19
the public remarks is run efficiently, additional time remaining will be allocated to hear 20
residents/taxpayers that signed the speaker list after 6:55p.m. but in no event shall it 21
exceed the 50 minute maximum time allotted for public comments and the same 22
maximum allotted time per speaker for the previous speakers will still apply. The mayor 23
has the discretion to allow for additional time to an individual speaker unless it will 24
exceed the total maximum time allowed for all the speakers. No speaker shall be allowed 25
to transfer any of his or her time to another speaker. Speakers that exceed their time by 26
more than 5 seconds, or that are out of order as determined by the presiding officer 27
mayor, will not be allowed to speak during public comments at the following meeting. 28
They can submit their comments via email. 29
(13) The Commission, at a meeting, may change any of these requirement by 30
a motion, duly seconded and approved by four (4) affirmative votes. None of the above 31
may be changed at a meeting without a four votes. 32
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(O) QUASI-JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS. 35
(1) Duration of Presentations: 36
(a) Time for Hearing: Each Quasi-judicial proceeding shall be given 37
30 minutes for presentation of the case and the opposition to the application. 38
(b) Applicant: The applicant shall have ten (10) minutes to make his/her 39
presentation and each of the applicant’s witnesses shall have two minutes and thirty 40
seconds to present their evidence. The applicant shall have five minutes to rebut any 41
evidence in opposition to the application and to present a closing statement. 42
(c) Opposition: Each taxpayer, commercial tenant and each City resident 43
shall have two minutes and thirty seconds to present their evidence. After reserving five 44
minutes for the rebuttal by the applicant, if there is time remaining, non- taxpayers and 45
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non-residents of the City shall have the remaining time to testify and present evidence. 1
No speaker shall be allowed to transfer any of his or her time to another speaker. 2
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(d) Extension of time: A super majority of four (4) votes of the City 4
Commission may authorize the granting of extra time to the applicant and his/her 5
witnesses and to taxpayers and commercial tenants and City residents. 6
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(O2) EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS WITH LOCAL PUBLIC OFFICIAL. 8
Communications with local public officials regarding quasi-judicial matters, including 9
the adjudication of the rights of persons and the application of a general rule or policy to 10
a specific individual, property, interest or activity shall be governed by the following 11
procedure: 12
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Section 2. Codification. The provisions of this ordinance shall become and 16
be made a part of the Code of Ordinances of the City of South Miami as amended. 17
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Section 3. Severability. If any section, clause, sentence, or phrase of this 19
ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent 20
jurisdiction, this holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this 21
ordinance. 22
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Section 4. Ordinances in Conflict. All ordinances or parts of ordinances and 24
all sections and parts of sections of ordinances in direct conflict herewith are hereby 25
repealed. 26
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Section 5. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective upon 28
enactment. 29
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PASSED AND ENACTED this ____ day of _____________, 20___. 31
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ATTEST: APPROVED: 33
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________________________ ________________________ 35
CITY CLERK MAYOR 36
1st Reading 37
2nd Reading 38
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READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM: COMMISSION VOTE: 40
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND Mayor Stoddard: 41
EXECUTION THEREOF Vice Mayor Welsh: 42
Commissioner Liebman: 43
Commissioner Edmond: 44
________________________ Commissioner Harris: 45
CITY ATTORNEY 46 47