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 El Paso
 Code of Ordinances
 CHARTER
 Article III. THE CITY COUNCIL

  § 3.5. CITY COUNCIL PROCEDURES AND RULES.  

Latest version.

  • A.

    Meetings. Regular meetings of the Council shall be held in Council chambers no less than once every other week at such times as may be prescribed by resolution. Special meetings and informal work sessions of the Council shall be called by the Mayor or a majority of the entire Council by giving written notice to the City Clerk. All meetings of the Council and of any committees thereof shall be held as permitted by the Texas Open Meetings Act.

    B.

    Parliamentary Procedure. At the beginning of each term the Council shall adopt rules of order, and should the Council fail to do this, then Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, shall control until such time as the Council adopts some other rules of order. In any event, copies of rules of order employed by the Council shall be available, in the office of the City Clerk, for examination by interested persons. The Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Representatives, shall designate a Municipal Parliamentarian and Alternate Municipal Parliamentarians, but no members of the Council may hold those offices. The Council must keep minutes of its open proceedings, and these shall be a public record. It shall also have power to compel the attendance of absent members and, by the favorable vote of a majority of the entire Council, may expel a member from a Council meeting for disorderly conduct or serious violation of its rules and may order that member to be physically removed from the meeting.

    C.

    Quorum. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, a quorum to do business shall consist in more than one-half of the number of members of the Council, including the Mayor; provided, however, that a lesser number may adjourn until a specific time and compel the attendance of absent members, in the manner prescribed by ordinance.

    D.

    Voting. No action of the Council, except as otherwise provided in this Charter, shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members present and voting. Ordinances or resolutions that impose taxes, grant franchises or leases, or authorize conveyances shall not be valid unless adopted by a majority of the entire Council.

    E.

    Veto. Ordinances and resolutions finally adopted by the Council shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk and signed by the Mayor before they take effect. If the Mayor vetoes the ordinance or resolution, reasons shall be set forth by the Mayor in writing, and the ordinance or resolution with those reasons shall be returned to the Council. However, the Mayor shall not have any veto power over any City Council action which removes the City Manager or the City Attorney. To override the Mayor's veto, three fourths of all of the Representatives must vote in favor of the returned ordinance or resolution, in which event the adopted ordinance or resolution shall become law. If the Mayor shall either fail to approve or object in writing to any adopted ordinance or resolution within five days after it has been filed with the City Clerk, exclusive of the day of filing, it shall become law.

(Ord. No. 18401 , Amds. Nos. 3, 4, 5, 8-11-2015, Election of 11-3-2015)