10877-22 An Ordinance Replacing & Amending Ch.2, Article 1, Sect 2-1 - & Including 2-9 of the SB Municipal Code (SUBSTITUTE BILL)

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Sec. 2-8. Decorum and debate regulating Common Council. (a) The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum at all Council meetings. When necessary, the presiding officer may seek the assistance of the Sergeant -at -Arms in the enforcement of this provision. (b) Each member of the Common Council shall be present within the Council Chamber during the sessions of the Council and shall vote on each question put unless excused from voting by a majority of the members present. Any Council Member not present shall be noted in the minutes as absent. (c) A Council Member shall not vote or take any other discretionary action in the Member's official capacity, except in the exercise of the Member's own independent judgment, reached after due regard for the collective interests of the Member's constituency as a whole, and of the citizens and the community of the City of South Bend. The prohibition in this subsection extends to any agreement to take action in violation of this subsection and to any effort to induce other Council Members to violate it. (d) Whenever a Council Member has or is likely to have a substantial conflict of interest in connection with a matter pending before the Council in which the Member's action may be influenced by possible economic benefits or material personal gain, the Member shall disclose fully the nature of the potential conflict of interest, in which event the Member may continue to participate in the deliberations and vote on the matter if it is determined by a majority of the Council present that it is not a substantial conflict of interest. (e) Whenever a Council Member has or is likely to have a substantial conflict of interest in connection with any official matter other than one pending before the Council, the Member shall either: (1) Disqualify himself or herself from further participation in the proceeding; or (2) Conduct himself or herself in accordance with an advisory opinion from the Council Rules Committee. (f) Council Members shall not derive or attempt to derive any unjustified enrichment from their office. This subsection forbids: (1) The solicitation or acceptance of any bribe, or any gift, or other material, economic or personal benefit, or of any promise of similar benefit, which the Member believes or reasonably should believe was intended to influence the Member's vote or other action to be taken in the Member's official capacity; or (2) The solicitation or acceptance of any gift or other economic or personal benefit conferred because of any vote or other action in the Member's official capacity already taken by the Member; or (3) The acquisition or use for personal purposes of any property, services or funds of the City, unless authorized by law; or (4) The use for personal gain of information pertaining to the City of South Bend, which is not a matter of public record, at a time when it is treated as confidential by the officials of the City. (g) When any Council Member is about to speak or deliver any matter to the Council, he or she shall respectfully address himself or herself to the presiding officer, and upon being recognized, confine himself or herself to the question in debate, and avoid personality, the presiding officer shall not recognize any Council Member as in order, unless he or she is in his or her proper seat. (h) When two (2) or more Members seek recognition at once, the presiding officer shall name the Member entitled to speak. (i) No member shall speak more than twice nor for more than five (5) minutes on the second occasion, upon any one (1) question or issue in debate during the same meeting. A member shall only be granted the right to speak a second time on the same question or issue after each member has had an opportunity to speak on said issue or question. (j) While the presiding officer is putting the question or addressing the Council, no Member shall walk out of or across the Council Chamber or engage in private discourse. (k) No Member shall impugn the motive of another.