Rules of Order - Stamford Board of Representatives

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Rules of Order - Approved February 2, 2026

Section 1. Purpose: These Rules of Order shall serve as the bylaws of the Board of Representatives of the City of Stamford (the “Board”) and shall supersede any previous rules of order, standing rules, practices, customs, or rules of parliamentary procedure.

Section 2. Organizational Meeting: In accordance with Section C3-10-11 of the Charter, the Board shall hold its Organizational Meeting with the following agenda:

a. The Mayor shall call the Organizational Meeting of the Board to order and preside over such Meeting until the election of a Temporary Chair.

b. The Mayor shall then, with the assistance of the Board Staff, call the Roll of present members of the Board.

c. The Mayor shall then administer the Oath of Office to the members of the Board.

d. The Mayor shall then appoint two Temporary Tellers, one of each from different political parties, if possible.

e. The Mayor shall hold an election for the Temporary Chair. Upon such election, the Mayor shall vacate the seat of Chair to the Temporary Chair, if they are so present, who shall preside over the Meeting until the election of the President of the Board.

f. The Temporary Chair shall hold an election for the Temporary Clerk.

g. The Temporary Chair shall present, for adoption by the Board, these Rules of Order.

h. The Temporary Chair shall hold an election for President of the Board. Upon such election, the Temporary Chair shall vacate the seat of Chair to the President, if they are so present, who shall preside over the Meeting.

i. The President shall then relieve the Temporary Tellers of their duty and appoint two Tellers and Alternate Tellers, each set of one Teller and one Alternative Teller from different political parties, if possible.

j. The President shall hold an election for the Clerk of the Board. Upon such election, the Temporary Clerk shall vacate the seat of Clerk to the Clerk if they are so present.

k. The President shall announce the identity of the Majority and Minority Leaders, if any, who have been elected by their respective parties.

l. The President shall announce the identity of the Assistant or Deputy Majority Leader(s) and Assistant or Deputy Minority Leader(s) who have been elected by their respective parties, if any.

m. The President shall appoint members of the Board to the Standing Committees and any other Special Committees that may be necessary in the President’s discretion. Any appointments to Standing Committees that are not made at the Organizational Meeting may be made at the next Regular Meeting and shall be the first Order of Business following the calling of the Roll at that Meeting.

n. The President may address any other announcements before calling for a motion to adjourn.

Section 3. Quorum.

a. Pursuant to Section C2-10-6 of the Charter, a majority of the members of the Board of Representatives shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

b. If at a meeting, after the calling of the Roll, a quorum is present, the President shall proceed to the regular Order of Business.

c. In the absence of a quorum, the President shall adjourn the Board to a date within ten days thereafter.

d. With respect to any Committee of the Board, a majority of the voting members appointed to such Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

e. If a Committee lacks a quorum at a meeting, the Chair may (i) adjourn the meeting; or (ii) commence the meeting to discuss agenda items in order to hear from invited experts or officials, however, no votes or other actions shall be taken on any of the agenda items.

Section 4. Action. Any action of the Board or any Committee thereof in each case where a quorum is present, shall require an affirmative vote of the majority of the members of the Board or the Committee, as applicable, there present and voting unless otherwise required by applicable state or federal law, the Charter, or these Rules of Order.

Section 5. Officers. The Board shall have the following officers who shall be elected or designated, as applicable, during the Organizational Meeting of the Board:

a. President

i. The President shall be the Chair of the Board and shall preserve order and decorum and shall make rulings on all points of order.

ii. Whenever the President leaves the Chair temporarily during a meeting for the purpose of taking part in debate or any other reason, the President shall designate a member to perform the duties of Chair during the President’s temporary absence.

iii. In the event the President is absent at the start of a meeting, or has otherwise not designated a Temporary Chair for their absence after a meeting as started, the members may, upon majority vote, elect a Chair for the meeting. The Majority Leader, acting as Temporary Chair, shall convene and preside over the meeting. They shall continue to preside over such meeting until after the calling of the Role and shall then hold an election for Chair for that meeting. In the absence of the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader shall assume the duties of the Majority Leader set forth in this Section. In the absence of the Minority Leader, the Clerk of the Board shall assume the duties of the Minority Leader set forth in this Section. In the absence of all of the foregoing persons, the Board, where there is a quorum, may elect among themselves a Temporary Chair by majority vote. The Temporary Chair elected pursuant to this Section shall preside over the remainder of the meeting and shall have the same rights to vote as any other member.

iv. In the event of the death or resignation of the President, at a Special Meeting called for that purpose, or at the next Regular Meeting as the first Order of Business after the calling of the Roll, the members present shall, by majority vote, elect a new President.

v. Pursuant to Section C2-10-11 of the Charter, the President may be removed from office by a majority vote of the entire Board at a Special Meeting called for that purpose.

vi. In case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct in the meeting room, the President shall have the power to order the meeting room to be cleared. The President may designate one or more members of the Board as Sergeants at Arms to assist in keeping order.

vii. The President shall be the Chair of the Steering Committee.

b. Clerk

i. The Clerk shall be responsible for the keeping of the minutes and records of the Board, for the conducting of the correspondence of the Board, for the publication of all public notices of the Board, for the maintenance of the roll of the members, for the keeping of a list of the Committees, for the keeping of the Committee reports, and for the maintenance of a correct and true copy of these Rules of Order, the Charter, and the Code of Ordinances.

ii. The Clerk shall be responsible for the supervision of any clerical and secretarial assistants, employees or aides of the Board.

iii. In the event of absence or temporary disability of the Clerk, the President shall appoint a Temporary Clerk to perform the duties of the Clerk.

iv. In the event of the resignation or death of the Clerk, at the next Regular Meeting the first Order of Business following the calling of the Roll shall be the election of a new Clerk by a majority vote of the members present.

v. The Clerk may provide that the voting machine be tested on the day of any Regular or Special Meeting of the Board prior to the meeting.

c. Parliamentarian

i. At the President’s discretion, one or more members of the Board may be designated to act as Parliamentarian(s) to advise the President on interpretation of these Rules of Order, Roberts Rules, the Charter, or questions of order.

ii. Any member who is designated as a Parliamentarian does not thereby give up any rights of members of the Board of Representatives and may participate in meetings of the Board or any committees thereof as fully as all other members, including the rights to debate, make motions, raise points of order and vote.

iii. Should a point of order be made in connection with a motion that an individual Parliamentarian has moved, the Parliamentarian that made the original motion may not make an advisement on said point of order for the purpose of avoiding a conflict of interest, unless granted permission by the President (or presiding Chair in the case of committee meetings). However, any additional appointed Parliamentarian may advise on the proper procedure if requested.

Section 6. Committees, generally.

a. The Standing Committees of the Board, and the number of members who sit on said Committee, shall be set forth on Exhibit A attached hereto.

b. The President shall be empowered to instruct the Clerk to amend Exhibit A solely to the extent to modify the number of members who may sit on said Committee. Any such amendment to Exhibit A shall be announced by the President at the next Regular Meeting of the Board.

c. All Committee members and Committee Chairs or Co-Chairs shall be appointed by the President, in consultation with the Majority and Minority leaders, unless otherwise specifically directed by the Board. The President may appoint a member of the Committee as the Vice-Chair.

d. The President shall be empowered to establish or dissolve, in their discretion, Special Committees of the Board of limited subject matter and may appoint any number of members of the Board to such Special Committee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board also retains the powers granted to the President under this Section and may exercise those powers upon majority vote.

i. The Special Committees of the Board shall be set forth on Exhibit B attached hereto, which shall be updated by the Clerk to reflect actions taken pursuant to Section 6.d.

ii. For the avoidance of doubt, no Special Committee shall remain in existence past the term of the Board in which such Special Committee was established.

e. Whenever possible, such Committees shall be composed of members of the major political parties in substantially the ratio in which such parties are represented on the Board. All Board members shall serve on at least one Standing Committee.

f. All members of the Board of Representatives shall be ex-officio members of all Committees to which they have not been appointed, with the right to attend and to participate in any meeting thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, ex-officio members of any Committee shall:

i. Not have the right to make motions, second any motion, or to vote; or

ii. Not speak more than twice on any given question or motion before the Committee unless (i) such member is the submitter, author, or co-author of the item currently before the Committee, or (ii) with leave of the Chair of the Committee in their reasonable discretion.

g. The Chair of a Committee shall be empowered to prioritize the speaking order of members of the Committee over the ex-officio members of the Committee.

h. The President, the Majority and Minority Leaders, and the Chairpersons of Committees are entitled to written legal opinions from Corporation Counsel upon written request. Any such request made by such persons, unless privileged in the opinion of Corporation Counsel, shall be noted on the Board of Representatives’ official website. Formal opinions, unless privileged, shall be published on the official Board of Representatives website and noted in the weekly communications.

i. Responsibilities.

i. Any matter on the Agenda for any Board meeting, which is not reported out at said meeting by the Committee to which it was referred, may be removed from such Committee’s hands by a majority vote of the full Board, and the Board may then act upon said matter at that meeting.

ii. It shall be the duty of the Chair of each committee to call a meeting of such committee if any matter has been referred to it by the Steering Committee.

iii. An item referred to a Committee and placed on the Agenda for any meeting of the Board shall be fully investigated and reported to the full Board at said meeting. The Chair or their appointee shall make the majority report of the committee; any member may make a minority report. An item placed in Committee but not on the Agenda shall be investigated fully and its findings made to the proper party directly.

iv. There shall be no Committee meetings on the day of any Regular or Special Meeting of the Board regarding an item on the Board’s Agenda unless a Committee meeting to consider said matter has been scheduled prior to the day of the Board meeting or unless a Special Meeting has been called to consider an emergency or time-sensitive matter and a committee meeting cannot reasonably be scheduled for another day. In such cases, the Committee shall complete its business before the time the meeting is scheduled to begin to eliminate unnecessary delays of the full Board.

v. The silencing of all personal electronic devices is required at all Committee meetings.

j. Regular Business.

i. The text of any ordinance, resolution, or contract related to an existing item on a Committees Agenda must be submitted to the Board office by the earlier of (i) thirty-six (36) hours prior to the start of such Committee's meeting, or (ii) 4:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding such Committee's meeting if such Committee meeting is on a Monday, or (iii) 4:00 p.m. on the last day on which the Board office is open for business, if such Committee meeting follows a holiday on which the Board office is closed. The foregoing shall apply to all such items regardless of whom has submitted it.

Any ordinance, resolution, or contract (or revised version thereof) submitted after such deadline shall be automatically removed from the Committee’s Agenda and placed on the agenda of the Steering Committee's next regular meeting, unless a motion is made and seconded to consider such ordinance, resolution, or contract and such a motion is approved by a majority of the present Committee members.

k. Conflicts of Interest.

i. No member shall serve on any Committee while considering any question involving such member’s private right, distinct from the public interest. If such a conflict of interest arises, the member shall temporarily be suspended as a member of such Committee until the question which has given rise to the conflict of interest is no longer before the Committee.

ii. If a member of the Board of Representatives testifies at a Committee public hearing, said member may not participate in the discussion of the item which was the subject of the public hearing. Members who testify at a City of Stamford Board, Committee or Commission public hearing external to the Board of Representatives must notify the Clerk of the Board of Representatives of their testimony prior to the next Regular Board Meeting following the date of their testimony.

l. External Communications. All press releases of any Committee shall be made or authorized by the Chair or Co-Chairs only.

Section 7. Steering Committee.

a. Organization.

i. The Steering Committee shall prepare the Agenda for all Regular Meetings of the Board in accordance with these Rules of Order.

ii. The Steering Committee shall be composed of (i) the President, (ii) the Clerk, (iii) the Majority Leader, (iv) the Minority Leader (if any), (v) each of the Chairs and Co-Chairs of each of the Standing Committees, and (vi) those additional members as may be appointed by the President in their sole discretion.

iii. In the event of the absence of the President, the Majority Leader shall act as Chair of the Steering Committee. In the event of the absence of both the President and the Majority Leader, where a quorum is present (as set forth below), members of the Steering Committee will elect a Temporary Chair.

iv. In the absence of the Chair of any Standing Committee at a meeting of the Steering Committee, such Standing Committee’s Vice Chair, if any and present, shall assume the rights and duties of the absent Chair.

v. Each member of the Standing Committee shall be entitled to one vote except as set forth below:

Co-Chairs of Standing Committees shall each be entitled to one-half (½) vote on matters before the Steering Committee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the absence of one of the Co-Chairs of such Standing Committee, the present Co-Chair shall be entitled to one vote;

2. Those appointed to the Steering Committee by the President pursuant to Section 7.a.ii clause (vi), shall be entitled to either one-half (½) vote or one vote as identified by the President at the time of their appointment.

3. Under no circumstances shall one person be entitled to more than one vote.

vi. Those appointed to the Steering Committee by the President pursuant to Section 7.a.ii clause (vi), may be removed by the President in their sole discretion.

vii. Notwithstanding Section 3.d, a quorum of the Steering Committee shall consist of sufficient members such that a majority of the total voting power of the Steering Committee is present.

b. Procedure.

i. The President, with the assistance of the Clerk, shall screen communications addressed to the Board, channeling such communications not properly the responsibility of the Board to the proper persons or bodies, and placing appropriate items on the agenda for consideration by the Steering Committee.

ii. Except as otherwise set forth in the Charter, the Code of the City of Stamford, applicable state or federal law, items may be submitted to the Board for placement on the Board Meeting Agenda only by the following persons:

a member of the Board of Representatives;
the Mayor;
a member of the Mayor’s Cabinet;
a Director, Bureau Chief, or head of a City Department;
a member of the Law Department;
the Community Development Officer (or similar title as reasonably determined by the Mayor); or
an elective or appointive Board, Commission or Authority.

Any person or organization other than as enumerated above shall submit an item for placement on the agenda through the Mayor or a member of the Board of Representatives.

iii. The President shall establish a deadline for submission of items for the Steering Committee not more than five calendar days before the Steering Committee meeting.

Items submitted after the deadline for consideration before the Board shall require a vote of two-thirds of those present and voting at the Steering Committee meeting to be considered.

iv. The Steering Committee may refer to the appropriate Committee(s) all matters which it has placed upon the Board Meeting Agenda. The Steering Committee may also refer any matter to a Committee without placing said matter on the Board Meeting Agenda.

v. Items considered by the Steering Committee shall require a majority vote of the members present and voting to be placed on the Board Meeting Agenda or any Committee Agenda.

vi. Items considered by the Steering Committee but not placed on the Board Meeting Agenda or referred to a Committee shall be placed on the “Pending Agenda”.

Each quarter, the Steering Committee shall review the items on the Pending Agenda for placement on the Board Meeting Agenda or any Committee Agenda.

vii. The Steering Committee shall have discretion to assign an item on the Agenda to a secondary committee if an item of consideration by the Steering Committee falls under the responsibility of more than one Committee. The members of the secondary committee should attend the meeting of the primary committee at which the item is discussed and may discuss and vote on the item during the regular meeting of the secondary committee. If the meeting of the primary committee occurs after the meeting of the secondary committee, the secondary committee may discuss and vote on the item only after consideration of the item at the meeting of the primary committee. A secondary committee should report on any item on which it is secondary at the regular meeting of the full Board during the report of the primary committee.

viii. All requests for appropriations, additional or otherwise, shall be referred to the Fiscal Committee or reserved to the Pending Agenda. Upon the request at the Steering Meeting of the either the President, Clerk, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, or the relevant committees’ Chair, Co-Chair, or Vice-Chair, appropriations in excess of $25,000.00 shall be referred to a second committee of subject interest, unless the Fiscal Committee is the most appropriate committee of interest.

Upon a majority vote of the Steering Committee, appropriations less than $25,000 shall be referred to a second committee of subject interest.

ix. Any petition or other communication which, in the opinion of the President or Clerk, is properly the business of a Standing Committee of the Board, or of a duly constituted or administrative authority of Stamford, may be referred by the President or Clerk directly upon receipt to the proper committee or authority. Notification of the nature of each such petition or communication and its disposition shall be made to all members in written form or a report of same may be made to the Board or to the Steering Committee, whichever meets next, at its next meeting.

x. Vacancy in Elected Office.

Whenever the Board is required to elect a successor to fill a vacancy in any elective office, the President or Clerk shall notify all members as soon as possible and submit an item to the Steering Committee shortly thereafter.
The Steering Committee shall at its next regular meeting place filling the vacancy as an item on the agenda of the Appointments Committee, which shall interview all individuals nominated as set forth below to fill any such vacancy.
Nominations to fill any such vacancy shall be submitted to the Board office, to be referred to the Appointments Committee, not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting of the Appointments Committee.
Any nomination submitted subsequent to the 72-hour period may only be considered by the Appointments Committee upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote. Nominations shall only be accepted from current members of the Board of Representatives. Each member of the Board may submit no more than one (1) active nominee per vacant position. If any nominee withdraws their name from consideration, that nominee shall no longer be considered an active nominee. No nominee may be considered by the full Board for the filling of any vacancy unless said nominee’s name has been submitted to the Appointments Committee as set forth herein and said nominee has been interviewed by the Appointments Committee.
All standard documentation, as established by the Clerk of the Board, for nominee(s) to be interviewed by the Appointments Committee shall be completed by each nominee and submitted to the Board office to be forwarded to the Appointments Committee no later than 72-hours prior to the meeting of the Appointments Committee in which said nominee(s) is scheduled to be interviewed. Failure to have this completed documentation by the deadline above, as determined by the Clerk of the Board, shall result in an automatic postponement of any said nominee’s interview, and consideration of said nominee(s) shall be placed on the agenda for the Appointments Committee’s next regular meeting, unless the Committee votes by two thirds (2/3) majority to consider any said nominee(s) at the monthly meeting or votes to adjourn the meeting to a later date to consider any said nominee(s).

Section 8. Order of Business

a. Regular Meetings. The following shall be the Order of Business for Regular Meetings of the Board:

i. Invocation & Pledge of Allegiance

ii. Call of the Roll

iii. Moment of Silence

iv. Communications and Announcements

v. Acceptance of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

vi. Honorary Resolutions

vii. Time for Public Comment

viii. Committee Reports and Items Related to Committees

ix. Old Business

x. New Business

xi. Adjournment

b. Special Meetings. The following shall be the Order of Business for Special Meetings of the Board:

i. Invocation & Pledge of Allegiance

ii. Call of the Roll

iii. Communications and Announcements

iv. Business Pertaining to the Call of the Meeting

v. Adjournment

c. No business other than what appears on the Agenda at a Regular Meeting shall be transacted except by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting.

d. No business other than what pertains to the Call of a Special Meeting shall be transacted at a Special Meeting.

Section 9. Honorary Resolutions.

a. Honorary Resolutions submitted to the Steering Committee shall, if approved unanimously, be placed on the Board Meeting Agenda to be moved as consent agenda items. An Honorary Resolution may be removed from the consent agenda to permit debate. No Honorary Resolution shall be approved at a Board Meeting if more than one member votes in opposition to the approval of such resolution. An abstention shall not be considered a negative vote.

b. Honorary Resolutions not on the Board Meeting Agenda but submitted to the Clerk of the Board in writing at least three days prior to the Board meeting may be taken up under Honorary Resolutions at the discretion of the President

Section 10. Public Comment.

a. As set forth in Section 8.a.vii, there shall be a period for public comment, subject to the procedures set forth in this Section.

b. The public comment period shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes. However, any member may make a motion to extend the public comment period, provided the total does not exceed 50 minutes. The motion must be made before the public comment period starts and must pass by a simple majority vote of members present and voting.

c. The President shall establish the amount of time allocated per speaker, which shall neither exceed three (3) minutes nor be less than one and one half (1½) minutes per speaker. Given the time limits set forth in Section 10.b, there is no guarantee that all members of the public who have signed up to speak will have the opportunity to do so. In the event that the public comment period is extended beyond thirty (30) minutes, the time allocated per speaker shall be no more than two (2) minutes.

d. Speakers shall indicate their wish to speak during the public comment period by notifying the Board Office no later than 6:00 PM prior to the start of the meeting, indicating their name, and may also provide City or Town of residence, and Board district if known. The Board Office shall construct a speakers’ list of people who have signed up, with the order of the list following the order in which people signed up.

e. Speakers may address any topic which has not been subject to a prior public hearing of either the Board or a Board committee.

f. If time remains in the public comment period, and the event that, in the President’s sole discretion, the President concludes that an individual that wishes to address the Board was either unaware of or and could not meet the sign-up requirement, the President may invite the individual to speak, subject to all other rules regarding the public comment period.

g. The President may keep good order and decorum in any manner authorized by Roberts Rules of Order, and, for the avoidance of doubt, may shorten or cancel the speaking time of any speaker during the public comment period if deemed in the President's sole discretion to be disruptive or unruly.

Section 11. Committee Reports.

a. Steering Committee. The Agenda of each Board Meeting shall be incorporated by reference as the report from the Steering Committee, which shall be made a part of the Minutes thereof.

b. Committees, generally.

i. All ordinances and resolutions, and amendments thereto, emanating from Committees shall be presented in writing to the full membership of the Board by the Chair or Co-chairs of the Committee prior to the Regular Meeting of the Board.

ii. The President shall call on the Chair, or Co-Chair, of each Committee to address the Board and provide a report and/or Committee recommendation regarding all items on the Agenda pertaining to that Committee. Motions recommended by a Committee shall not require a second to be considered by the Board.

iii. If, during the report of the Chair and prior to discussion, an item is reported out as non-controversial and there is no objection from any member of the Board, the Chair shall remove that item to the Consent Agenda of the respective Committee. The Consent Agenda shall be affirmatively moved by the Chair at the end of the committee report and shall be voted upon with no discussion. All other items shall be debated and acted upon in accordance with these Rules of Order.

iv. An appropriation request will not properly be before the Board of Representatives unless reported out by the Fiscal Committee and such other Committee to which it has been referred. The report of the Committee other than Fiscal may be waived by a majority vote of those present and voting.

Section 12. Ordinances. Pursuant to C2-10-12 of the Charter, all ordinances approved in Committee shall be first published in an official newspaper prior to passage by the Board. The foregoing requirement may be waived by a two-thirds vote of the entire Board. Final adoption of an ordinance shall require the affirmative vote of the majority of the entire membership of the Board of Representatives.

Section 13. Minutes. Minutes of any prior meeting of the Board shall be made available to all members of the Board at least three (3) days before the Board may approve them.

Section 14. Rules of Procedure.

a. The Rules of Parliamentary Procedure as contained in ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER, Newly Revised (the then current edition) (“Robert’s Rules”) shall govern the Board in all cases to which they are applicable and are not inconsistent with these Rules of Order.

b. Except as additionally set forth herein, the following procedures shall govern regardless of their conflict with Roberts Rules:

i. All ordinances and resolutions considered and approved by the Board of Representatives shall use only non-gendered language from this point forward.

ii. All parties submitted resolutions or ordinances to the Board of Representatives shall endeavor to use non-gendered language in their submissions.

iii. Debate. The following provisions related to debate shall apply solely to meetings of the full Board. During meetings of any Committee of the Board, the Committee Chair or Co-Chair presiding over such Committee shall be responsible for maintaining decorum, managing recognition, and ensuring that all debate remains germane to the specific agenda item under discussion as set forth in these Rules of Order.

A member, in their first recognition with respect to a question, motion, or matter before the Board, shall be limited to five (5) minutes for their initial remarks.
A member, in their second recognition with respect to a question, motion, or matter before the Board, shall be limited to three (3) minutes for their subsequent remarks.
No member shall speak more than twice on the same question, motion, or matter before the Board, without permission of the President.
The President, with the assistance of the Clerk, shall enforce these time limitations and may alert members when their remaining time is limited.
The President may, at their discretion, allow additional time for clarification, responses to remarks directed at another member through the President, or matters requiring further explanation.
If a motion to amend the item under consideration is made and seconded, the time limitations set forth in this Section 14.b.iii shall reset, such that each member shall again be entitled to speak for up to five (5) minutes for their first speech and up to three (3) minutes for a second speech on the amendment only to the extent such amendment materially modifies the original motion in the President’s discretion.
Debate time allocated to any member under this Section 14.b.iii is personal to that member and may not be transferred, yielded, or otherwise reassigned to another member or speaker.
The assembly may, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those Representatives present and voting, suspend the rules set forth in this Section 14.b.iii, for a single, specific agenda item. A motion under this subsection shall not be debatable and must clearly identify the agenda item to which the suspension applies. During the period of suspension, all other provisions of Robert’s Rules shall remain in full force. Upon the completion of debate and final disposition of the identified item, the debate limitations established in this Section 14.b.iii, shall automatically resume.
No member who has already addressed the Board on the question before the Board is entitled to address the Board a second time on the same matter as long as any member who has not spoken on that matter desires to address the Board.

iv. Voting.

The President may vote on any matter they would otherwise be entitled to vote upon as a member of the Board.
When a vote is taken, the President shall determine whether the vote will be taken by voice vote, by machine, or, if the machine is not in working order, by Roll Call. If a voice vote is not unanimous, the President shall then call for a vote by either machine or Roll Call.
When the voting machine is used, each member shall be responsible for the verification of their own vote as it appears on the light panel and shall inform the Chair if a discrepancy is noted. Members shall be required to vote from their own positions except that a temporary President or temporary Clerk may vote from the President’s or Clerk’s position and vice-versa. In such cases, the Clerk shall properly record the votes of the members not voting in their usually assigned positions. If there is a discrepancy between the vote as it appears on the light panel and the vote recorded by the machine, the vote on the light panel shall take precedence. The President, or at least five of the members present, may call for a new machine vote if the machine vote is doubted.
On all questions to fill a vacancy for any elected office or to approve an appointment to any Board or position submitted by the Mayor, the voting shall be by Roll Call. In all elections or appointments by the Board, if more than one candidate or more than one slate of candidates is nominated for any position, the voting shall be by Roll Call vote. In all elections, the candidates receiving the most votes shall be elected. If there is a tie, the vote shall be declared no election, and the Board shall proceed to vote again. If there is only one candidate nominated, the vote shall be by unanimous consent without balloting; however individual members may note their abstention.
The vote of each member of the Board of Representatives upon any item on the Agenda, or any item made a part thereof by virtue of Suspension of the Rules, at its Regular Meeting or at a Special Meeting, shall be recorded in writing in accordance with Public Act No. 75-342 as it now stands, or as it may be amended.

c. Teleconference Meetings.

i. Each Regular or Special Meeting of the Board of Representatives or its Committees shall permit, and provide for a method for, members of the Board or members of the public to attend, and participate in (as permitted by these Rules of Order), any such meeting by telephone or video conference, although members of the public will be excluded from any executive session either by telephone or videoconference.

ii. The meeting shall be conducted in such a manner that all participating members can hear each other debate and vote.

iii. Members of the Board of Representatives must be present at said meeting to vote. No member shall be permitted to vote by email, text or telephone call to any other member, provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit a member from assisting another member in making their voice heard (e.g., by means of putting such member on speaker-phone or conference line).

d. Miscellaneous.

i. Persons other than members of the Board shall not converse with members of the Board on the floor of the Board or any Committee while the Board or such Committee, as applicable, is in session.

ii. Members that join the meeting after the call of the Roll, or leave the meeting prior to adjournment, shall notify the Clerk so that the Clerk can keep track of the number of members present. Members who fail to notify the Clerk will not be considered present.

iii. The silencing of all personal electronic devices is required at all Board or Committee meetings.

Section 15. Mailing Allowance.

a. To provide members of the Board the opportunity to communicate with their constituency, a quarterly dollar mailing allowance shall be established for each district based on the cost of mailing a 6x11 inch card, 2-sided color, printed, at bulk-rate up to 4 times per year. All mailings shall be sent to every address in the district. The Representatives of the district shall share the allowance equally.

b. The Board office will work with the Purchasing Office to competitively procure mailing and printing services. This service would include design of a single, uniform template, which members of the Board would use for the mailing.

c. The President shall prepare a budget request to fund the mailing allowance, which shall be prorated based on actual budgeted funds. Unused allowances do not carry forward from budget year to budget year.

d. The allowance is limited to City and District related concerns and community events, and cannot be used for election campaigning. The mailing shall not name or include any information about any other elected official, or appointed Board or Commission member. The Board office will not accept any mailings under this allowance between May 15^th and Election Day for any Representative standing for election or reelection.

e. Representatives availing themselves of the mailing allowance shall submit content and layout to the Board office for distribution to the outside vendor and to facilitate budget tracking. Each Representative shall be responsible for proofreading their content prior to submission to the Board office.

Section 16. Amendments. An affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members present shall be required to amend these Rules of Order. However, these Rules of Order may be amended by a majority vote of the full Board (21 votes) at the first three regular Board meetings following the Organizational Meeting of the Board.

As amended by the 32^nd Board of Representative as of February 2, 2026.

EXHIBIT A

STANDING COMMITTEES

As of February 2, 2026

Name of Committee	Number of Members
Steering	No more than 21 members
Appointments	7 to 11 members
Fiscal	9 to 11 members
Legislative and Rules	9 to 11 members
Personnel	7 to 11 members
Land Use/Urban Redevelopment	7 to 11 members
Operations, Parks, and Recreation	7 to 11 members
Public Safety & Health	7 to 11 members
Transportation	5 to 9 members
Housing, Education, and Commerce	5 to 9 members

EXHIBIT B

SPECIAL COMMITTEES

As of February 2, 2026

Name of Committee	Number of Members
None.	N/A