The Board of Trustees of Miami Township, Clermont County, Ohio met in regular session at the Miami Township Civic Building on November 14, 2006 with the following members present: Edwin H. Humphrey, Mary Makley Wolff and Ken Tracy.
MR. TRACY made a motion to adopt the following Resolution:
RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE CONDUCT OF MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF MIAMI TOWNSHIP, DISPENSING WITH THE SECOND READING
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Miami Township is empowered pursuant to Section 121.22 to enact Rules and Regulations for the conduct of its meetings; and
WHEREAS, the Board finds it necessary to establish Rules and Regulations to ensure that orderly hearings will be conducted and proper results reached.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Trustees of Miami Township, Clermont County, Ohio, as follows:
SECTION 1: That the following Rules and Regulations are hereby adopted:
1. MEETINGS
Regular meetings of the Board of Trustees of Miami Township shall occur on the first and Third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Miami Township Civic Building, 6101 Meijer Drive, Milford, Ohio 45150 unless modified by the Board at the previous month's regular meeting. Special meetings of the Board may be held at the call of the Chairperson or at the call of two-thirds (2/3) of the Board members.
Notice of special meetings shall be provided by the Trustees at the regular meetings or if on call of the Chairperson by telephone call to the telephone numbers provided by each Board member to the Township Fiscal Officer and/or Township Administrator. Notice shall either be announced at a regular meeting of the Board or if the meeting is called by the Chairperson, notice shall be given by the Township Fiscal Officer and/or the Township Administrator. The rule shall provide that any person, upon request and payment of a reasonable fee, may obtain reasonable advance notification of all meetings at which any specific type of public business is to be discussed. Provisions for advance notification may include, but are not limited to, mailing the agenda of meetings to all subscribers on a mailing list or mailing notices in self-addressed, stamped envelopes provided by the person.
The Fiscal Officer is instructed to establish a list of the newspapers requesting said notice. Emergency meetings of the Board may be held at the call of the Chairperson or at the call of two-thirds (2/3) of the Board members.
Notice of emergency meetings shall be provided by the Trustees at the regular meetings or if on call of the Chairperson by telephone call to the telephone numbers provided by each Board member to the Township Fiscal Officer and/or Township Administrator. Notice shall either be announced at a regular meeting of the Board or if the meeting is called by the Chairperson, notice shall be given by the Township Fiscal Officer and/or the Township Administrator. The Board of Trustees shall not hold a special meeting unless it gives at least twenty-four hours' advance notice to the news media that have requested notification, except in the event of an emergency requiring immediate official action. In the event of an emergency, the member or members calling the meeting shall notify the news media that have requested notification immediately of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
Regular, special or emergency meetings of the Board may be continued in progress by the Chairman or two-thirds of the Board, if the Chairman or two-thirds (2/3) of the Board determines that the Board will be unable to complete a hearing in the time allotted at the regular, special, or emergency meeting. Continuances may be for any period of time as the Chairman or the Board by a two-thirds (2/3) or better vote determines necessary to complete the business of the Board. Notice of continuances of regular, special or emergency meetings shall be announced at the regular, special or emergency meeting and no further notices need be given.
The Board may not conduct a meeting in the absence of a Quorum. A Quorum is defined as two-thirds (2/3) of the Board. All meetings of the Board shall be conducted in accordance with Section 121.22 of the Revised Code.
2. MINUTES
The Township Fiscal Officer shall keep minutes of the meetings of the Board. These minutes shall reflect the business to come before the Board; a general and brief synopsis of the items discussed at the meeting; the decision of the Board on any issues decided; and the vote of each member of the Board on all motions or resolution. Should a Board member be absent or abstain from voting the minutes shall reflect that fact. The minutes shall be transcribed out of the presence of the Board and a copy will be provided to each Board member before the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting. At the next regularly scheduled meeting the Board will approve the minutes of the previous meeting or make corrections. The minutes will be filed with the Township Fiscal Officer after approval and become a public record. Copies of all approved minutes will be available to the general public.
3. AGENDA
The Township Administrator shall prepare an agenda for each meeting. Order of business shall be as follows:
1. Call to Order
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Invocation
4. Roll Call
5. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting(s)
6. Correspondence
7. Proclamations and Special Presentations
8. Old Business
9. New Business
10. Public Comment
11. Executive Session (if required)
12. Adjournment
13. CONDUCT OF MEETINGS
The Chairperson or Acting Chairperson of the Board is responsible for the orderly conduct of the meetings and as such is empowered to administer oaths and sign subpoenas on behalf of the Board to compel attendance of any persons called as witnesses. The Chairperson or Acting Chairperson shall call all meetings to order and control the meeting. The Chairperson or Acting Chairperson may limit the testimony of witnesses and may exclude individuals should he/she determine that their conduct disrupts the orderly business of the Board. In addition, during public comment the Chairperson may limit the statements made by individuals including the time allotted to each individual to speak.
The Township Fiscal Officer shall prepare an attendance sheet for each meeting which sheet may be signed by individuals attending the meeting. The sheet shall then become part of the public record.
14. PROCEDURE - ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS
At regular, special or emergency meetings where the Board is conducting a public hearing on a zone change the following procedure will apply:
The Board shall open the meeting and the Fiscal Officer or acting Fiscal Officer shall read the notice of hearing. The fiscal officer or acting fiscal officer shall then read the recommendation of the Clermont County Planning Commission and the Miami Township Rural Zoning Commission. Any or all of these readings may be dispensed with on motion of the Board or on action of the Chairman.
The Community Development Director shall summarize the application.
The fiscal officer shall read any correspondence the fiscal officer has received relative to the application.
The Board shall then accept comments from the proponent of the zone change.
The Board shall the accept comments from adjacent property owners.
The Board shall then accept comments from any other interested persons.
The Community Development Director shall then make a recommendation to the Board.
The open portion of the meeting will then be closed by the Chairperson and the Board shall debate whether to accept the recommendation of the rural zoning commission, reject the recommendation of the rural zoning commission or modify the recommendation of the rural zoning commission. The rejection or modification of the recommendation of the rural zoning commission shall be by unanimous vote.
5.1 DEBATE - ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS
After completion of the presentation of statements and materials and close of
public hearing, the Board shall debate the statements and materials presented
and vote. The debate shall be conducted in the open meeting. No public comment
from the applicant other interested party or member of the general public may
occur during debate. The Board may accept comments from the Community
Development Director. The Board may also by two-thirds (2/3) vote, suspend
debate for purposed of reopening the hearing to take additional statements or
materials. If debate is suspended, additional statements will be take in
accordance with the aforestated procedures.
5.2 VOTE - ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS
Debate will be terminated by the making of a motion to accept, reject or modify the recommendation of the rural zoning commission. The form of the motion shall be:
Mr./Mrs. Chairperson, I propose that the recommendation of the rural zoning commission be accepted; or.
Mr./Mrs. Chairperson, I propose that the recommendation of the rural zoning commission be rejected; or
Mr./Mrs. Chairperson, I propose that the recommendation of the rural zoning
commission be modified as follows:
_________________________________________________________________.
Any Board member who has heard the statements and reviewed the materials including the tape recordings of prior meetings is eligible to vote on the application provided the member is present at the meeting when the vote occurs and the record reflects that the Board member has reviewed all statements and materials presented on the application.
The vote on the application shall occur within thirty days of the close of the public portion of the meeting.
5.3 DECISION - ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS
Once the Board has voted, it is the duty of the Fiscal Officer to prepare a decision which accurately reflects the vote of the Board. This decision shall be served on the applicant and all parties or their representatives who request in writing a copy of the decision. In cases, where the decision does not accurately reflect the vote of the Board, the vote of the Board as reflected in the minutes control. The decision will be served by certified mail to the applicant and by ordinary mail to all other parties or their representatives at the address listed on the application and upon other interested parties at the address set forth in their request for a copy of the decision. The decision is considered served three (3) days after mailing by the Secretary.
The decision shall reflect the reasons if any given by the Board.
6. PROCEDURE - OTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS
For any other public hearings which do not pertain to zoning matters the Board shall follow this procedure:
The Board shall open the meeting and the Fiscal Officer or acting Fiscal Officer shall read the notice of hearing. This reading may be dispensed with on motion of the Board or on action of the Chairperson.
The Township Administrator or Chairperson shall summarize the application.
The Fiscal Officer shall read any correspondence the Fiscal Officer has received relative to the case.
The Board shall then accept comments from the proponent of the application, if present.
The Board shall the accept comments from adjacent property owners, if present.
The Board shall then accept comments from any other interested persons.
The Township Administrator shall then make a recommendation to the Board.
The open portion of the meeting will then be closed by the Chairperson and the Board shall debate whether to approve or deny the application.
6.1 DEBATE - OTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS
After completion of the presentation of statements and materials and close of public hearing, the Board shall debate the statements and materials presented and vote. The debate shall be conducted in the open meeting. No public comment from the applicant other interested party or member of the general public may occur during debate. The Board may accept comments from the Township Administrator. The Board may also by two-thirds (2/3) vote, suspend debate for purposed of reopening the hearing to take additional statements or materials. If debate is suspended, additional statements will be take in accordance with the aforestated procedures.
6.2 VOTE - OTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS
Debate will be terminated by the making of a motion. The form of the motion shall be:
Mr./Mrs. Chairperson, I move that the (subject matter) be approved or denied.
Any Board member who has heard the statements and reviewed the materials including the tape recordings of prior meetings is eligible to vote on the motion provided the member is present at the meeting when the vote occurs and the record reflects that the Board member has reviewed all statements and materials presented on the motion.
The vote on the application shall occur within thirty days of the close of
the public record.
6.3 DECISION - OTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS
Once the Board has voted, it is the duty of the Fiscal Officer to prepare the record of the meeting which accurately reflects the vote of the Board. The decision shall reflect the reasons if any given by the Board.
7. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Organization of the Board
At the first meeting of each calendar year, the Board shall choose a presiding officer who shall be designated chairperson and a second individual to serve as vice-chairperson. Said chairperson shall preside at all meetings and hearings. If the chairperson is absent or unable to preside, the vice-chairperson shall preside in the absence.
Conduct of Board Members
No member of the Board of Trustees, or its staff, shall represent applicants on matters in which the Board is to make determinations.
No member of the Board of Trustees shall participate in any case in which he has financial or personal interest in the property or action concerned, or will be directly affected by the decision, or has or believes he has any other conflict or interest as defined by applicable law. No member of the staff of the Board or of any agency serving the Board shall prepare or present arguments or reports, or attempt to influence decisions of the Board, in any case in which he has similar interest.
Board members may seek information from counsel to the Board, or staff serving the Board, prior to the public hearing, but no member shall discuss the case with any other parties thereto prior to the public hearing, or express any bias, prejudice, or individual opinion on proper judgment of the case prior to its hearing and determination.
A member may disqualify himself from voting whenever any applicant, or his agency, has sought to influence the vote of the member on his appeal or application, other than in the public hearing.
8. REPEAL AND AMENDMENT
These Rules and Regulations may be amended or repealed by a vote of
two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board. Amendments or repeals shall be
effective the date of the vote.
9. EFFECTIVE DATE
These Rules and Regulations shall become effective immediately upon passage and shall remain in effect unless repealed in whole or in part by majority vote of the Board.
SECTION 2: The Board does hereby dispense with the requirement that this Resolution be read on two separate days, pursuant to Section 504.10 of the Ohio Revised Code, and authorizes the adoption of this Resolution upon its first reading.
SECTION 3: That this Board hereby finds and determines that all formal
actions relative to the passage of this Resolution were taken in an open meeting
of this Board, and that all deliberations of this Board and of its Committees,
if any, which resulted in formal action, were taken in meetings open to the
public, in full compliance with applicable legal requirements, including Section
121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
SECTION 4: This Resolution shall take effect at the earliest period allowed by law.
First Reading: November 14, 2006
Second Reading: dispensed with
Effective: December 14, 2006
MRS. WOLFF seconded the motion to adopt the Resolution. On the roll call being called the vote resulted as follows:
Mr. Humphrey AYE
Mr. Tracy AYE
Mrs. Wolff AYE
Resolution 2006-61 adopted November 14, 2006.