ORDINANCE NO. 428

 

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A CITY TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION PURSUANT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF AURORA; PROVIDING FOR RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE COMMISSION; PRESCRIBING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION; DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 380

 

SECTION 1 – MEMBERSHIP

 

A.     The Traffic Safety Commission of the City shall consist of five members and shall be appointed by the City Council.  Commission members shall receive no compensation, but shall be reimbursed for duly authorized expenses.  One of the five members may reside outside the city limits but within the Urban Growth Boundary. 

 

SECTION 2 – TERM OF OFFICE

 

A.                 Each position on the Traffic Safety Commission shall be for the term of four years.  Any vacancy in a position shall be filled by the City Council for a term of four years.

 

SECTION 3 – ELECTIONS

 

A.                 The chairperson and vice-chairperson shall be elected at the first meeting of the calendar year for a term of one calendar year, and shall serve until their successors are elected.  The term shall start upon election.

 

B.                 If the office of the chairman becomes vacant, the vice-chairperson shall succeed as the chairperson for the remainder of the year.  A vice-chairperson shall then be elected from the membership who shall serve the unexpired term of vice-chairperson.

 

C.                 Nominations shall be by oral motion.  At the close of nominations, the commission shall vote by voice vote upon the names nominated for the office.  If requested by any commissioners, written ballots shall be used for voting purposes.

 

SECTION 4 – DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS

 

A.            Chairperson            except as otherwise provided, the chairperson shall have the duties and powers to:

1.      Preside over all deliberations and meetings of the commission;

2.      Make motions, second motions and vote on all questions before the commission;

3.      Call special meetings of the commission in accordance with this ordinance.

4.      Sign all documents pertaining to commission action promptly after approval by the commission.  The power to sign documents may be delegated in writing, to the vice-chairperson.

5.      Authorize expenditures within the current approved Traffic Safety Commission budget.

 

B.         Vice Chairperson            During the absence, disability, or disqualification of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson shall exercise or perform all of the duties and be subject to all the responsibilities of the chairperson.

 

C.            Secretary         The secretary shall;

1.      maintain an accurate, permanent, and complete record of all proceedings conducted before the Commission;

2.      Prepare the agenda and minutes for all commission meetings;

3.      give all notices required by law;

4.      Inform the commission of correspondence relating to the commission business and conduct all correspondence of the commission;

5.      Attend all meetings and hearings of the commissions or send a designee;

6.      Compile all required records and maintain the necessary files, indexes, maps and plans.

7.      Perform such other duties for the commission as are customary in that role or as may, from time to time, be required by the commission.

8.      Notify commission of expenditures from the commission’s fiscal budgeted amount.

 

D.        Chief of Police   The Chief of Police shall:

1.                  Shall be an ex-officio non-voting member of the commission;

2.                  Act as the liaison to the alliance for Community Traffic Safety (ACTS) for the Traffic Safety Commission, announcing programs and safety grants available to the commission;

3.                  Prepare responses to Traffic Safety Commission questions, correspondence to citizen inquirers, and other documents as may be required by the commission from time to time;

4.                  Attend all meetings and hearings of the commission.

 

E.         Fire Chief    The Fire Chief shall:

1.                   be an ex-officio non-voting member of the commission;

2.                  Attend all meetings and hearings of the commission or send a designee.

3.                  May prepare documents memorializing commission act.

 

SECTION 5 – DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS

A.        Traffic Safety Commissioner Training.  All newly appointed commissioners are strongly recommended to attend a training session by an agency specifically designed for Traffic Safety commissioners within 180 days.

 

B.        Authority.  The Commission shall have the powers and duties that are assigned to it by charter, ordinances, or resolutions to the city.

 

C.        Recommendations.  All recommendations made by the Traffic Safety Commission to the Council or Historic Review Board shall be in writing.

 

SECTION 6 – POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION

 

A.        The commission shall have all powers that are now or hereafter granted to it by ordinances and the resolutions of the City of Aurora or by general laws of the State of Oregon.

 

B.         The commission may make recommendations:

·        To the City Council, public officials and employees, and to individuals regarding street use;

·        Regarding the location of street signage, street marking, parking limits/prohibitions;

·        Regarding any other traffic matter related to the planning and development of the City;

·        Regarding traffic flow and relief of congestion.

 

C.        The Commission may make studies, hold hearings, prepare reports, and recommendations on its own initiative or at the request of the City Council.

 

D.        Prior to submitting recommendation and/or considering any proposal that is located within the Historic district; the Traffic Safety Commission shall first receive comments and recommendations from the Historic Review Board.

 

SECTION 7 – ATTENDANCE, REMOVAL AND VACANCIES

 

A.        If a commissioner is unable to attend a meeting, he or she is expected to notify the chairperson or secretary not later than 4 hours before the meeting.

 

B.         Three consecutive unexcused absences without reasonable cause shall constitute grounds for Council removal of a Commissioner.  The Commission will forward their action to the Mayor, who shall fill the vacant position.

 

C.        A position shall be deemed vacant upon the incumbent’s death or resignation.

 

D.                 A member may be removed from office after a City Council hearing and upon their approval, for incompetence, conviction of a felony, or nonperformance of duty.

 

SECTION 8 – EXPENSES

 

A.        The Traffic Safety Commission has the authority to delegate expenditure of funds that are in the Traffic Safety Commission’s budget and have been approved in the City’s budget.  The Traffic Safety Commission has no authority to make any other expenditure or otherwise obligation the city for payment of any sums of money except as provided within this ordinance.

 

B.        Commission approved expense reimbursement for Commissioner training, mileage, dues, ect. Will be processed through City administration for reimbursement.

 

SECTION 9 – QUORUM

 

A.        At any meeting of the Commission, a quorum shall consist of three commissioners.  No action shall be taken in the absence of a quorum except to adjourn the meeting and continue public hearings to a time and place certain.  For the purpose of forming a quorum, commissioners who have disqualified or excused themselves from participation in any matter shall be counted as present despite their inability to vote.

 

B.         In the event a quorum will not be present at any meeting, the Secretary shall notify the commissioners in advance of that fact if possible.  All items scheduled before the meeting shall be automatically continued to the next regularly scheduled meeting.  The Secretary shall post notice of the continuance on the door of the Council Chambers notifying the public of the continuance and specifying the date and time when the matters will come before the Commission.

 

SECTION 10 – MINUTES

 

A.        The secretary shall prepare written minutes of all open regular and special meetings, which shall be approved by the Traffic Safety Commission and made available for public inspection.  All meetings shall be tape recorded for the benefit of the city in the preparation of the minutes.  Such tapes shall be retained for one year and may then be re-used.

 

B.         Written minutes shall include:

1.      The names of all Commissioners, staff members, and general public present;

2.      All motions, orders and other decisions proposed and their disposition;

3.      The results of votes with the vote of each commissioner by name unless the vote is unanimous;

4.      The brief substance of the discussion of any matter and reference to any documents discussed.

 

C.        The presiding officer and secretary shall sign minutes after adoption.

 

D.        An un-adopted draft of the minutes shall be available to the public, upon request, within one week after a meeting.  Reasonable fees may be charged (per City for schedule) for copies of minutes and other materials relating to Commission matters.

 

E.         Any Commissioner not present at a meeting must abstain from voting on approval of the minutes of that meeting.

 

SECTION 11 – CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

 

A.         Presiding Officer.            The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the commission.  In the absence of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson presides.

 

B.         Absence of Presiding Officer.             In the absence of the chairperson and vice-chairperson, the Commission shall elect a commissioner to serve as presiding officer as its first order of business.  Any commissioner may call a meeting to order for the purpose of electing a presiding officer.

 

C.         Substitution of Presiding Officer.            The presiding officer may appoint a temporary presiding officer to cover his or her temporary absence from the meeting by handling the gavel to the vice-chairperson or in the vice-chairperson’s absence, to any other commissioner.

 

D.        Motion Procedure.            Agenda decision items will be accompanied by verbal or written explanation in packets.  By parliamentary procedure, motions precede debate and discussion.  When a motion is moved and seconded, the presiding officer for debate shall state it.  No commissioner should speak more than once on the question (unless recognized by the presiding officer) to allow every other commissioner an opportunity to do so.

 

E.         Motion to postpone or Table.            A motion to postpone, specifying a time and date when the issue will be considered, may be debated and amended.

 

            A motion to table, without specifying a time and date when the issue will be reconsidered, precludes all amendments or debate of the issue.  If the motion is approved, consideration of the question may be resumed only upon a motion of a commissioner voting with the majority.

 

F.         Continuations.              Any item before the Commission may be continued to a subsequent meeting.  A motion to continue an item shall specify the date or event upon which continuation is to be based.  If a matter which originally required public notices is continued without setting a time and place certain, the public notification must repeat when time and place are made certain.  A list of continued items, showing the date at which an item was continued, or the event upon which continuance is based, shall be recorded and kept by the Secretary and made available to the public.

 

G.        Remands by City Council.            Unless otherwise provided by the City Council upon remand, any item remanded by the City Council for reconsideration by the Commission shall be treated as a new item and proceedings shall be provided for as if the matter were initially before the Commission.

 

H.        Absence of Commissioners during Evidentiary Hearing.            A commissioner absent during the presentation of any evidence in a hearing may not participate in the deliberations or final determination regarding the matter of the hearing, unless he or she has reviewed the evidence received.

 

I.          Point of Order.            Any commissioner may raise a point of order at any time and the presiding officer shall determine all points of order, subject to the right of any commissioner to appeal the decision of the Full Traffic Safety Commission.

 

J.         Motions, points of order or any other procedural process are not subject to audience input, approval or comment.  Audience members are ruled out of order when unrecognized comments or questions arise.

 

K.        Traffic safety Commission meeting packets will be available for review one week prior to the Commission meeting.

 

SECTION 12 – ETHICS CODE

 

Commissioners shall review and be bound by the requirements of the State Ethics Law dealing with use of the public office for private financial gain.  Commissioners shall give public notice of any potential conflict of interest and the notice will be reported in the meeting minutes.  In addition to matters of financial interest, commissioners shall maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct and assure fair and equal treatment of all persons, claims and transactions coming before the Traffic Safety Commission.

 

APPENDIX

 

I.      MEETINGS OF THE COMMISSION

 

A.        Date of Regular Meetings.            Regular meetings of the Traffic Safety Commission will be held on the last Thursday of each month in the Council Chambers. City Hall, 21420 Main Street NE, Aurora, Oregon or at such other places as may be determined by the Commission.  Date and time of regular meetings may be changed by a majority vote of the Traffic Safety Commission at any time.  The Traffic Safety Commission or Secretary may cancel or reschedule regular meetings.

 

B.       Second Meeting per Month if Necessary.            The Traffic Safety Commission may conduct business or continue a public hearing, or schedule a second meeting at the location above, on a date and time determined by a majority vote of the Traffic Safety Commission.

 

C.       Time of Meeting.            Regular meetings convene at 8:00 am.  Public hearings will be adjourned not later than 10:00 am unless extended by consent of each and every commissioner present at that meeting.          

 

D.       Special Meetings or Workshops.            Special meetings or workshops may be called by the chairperson or by three or more commissioners.  The secretary shall give appropriate notification to the remaining commissioners and the public.

 

E.       Notice of Meetings.            In addition to notice requirements for road use hearings, public notice of all Commission meetings shall be given in a manner reasonably calculated to give actual notice to interested persons.  The notice shall consist of the time and place of the meeting and agenda or summary of the subject matter to be considered.

 

1.        Notice shall be posted on the City Hall outdoor bulletin board.  Notice shall be given to the Chief of Police, Fire Chief and other interested persons and organizations as provided by state law.  Notice may also be distributed to persons and organizations known to have special interest    in matters to be considered by the Commission.

2.               Notice shall be given not less than 48 hours in advance of a meeting.  In case of an emergency, ameeting may be held upon such public notice as is appropriate in the circumstances, but still must be given.

3.        Failure to provide notice in this section shall not invalidate any decision or proceeding of the Commission.

 

II.            ORDER OF BUSINESS

 

A.        Regular meetings shall be conducted in the following:

 

1.                  Call to Order.

2.                  Consent agenda (lists correspondence) and Approval of Minutes.

3.                  Citizens wishing to speak on Non-Agenda items.  The purpose of this item is to allow citizens to present information or raise an issue regarding items not on the agenda.  A time limit of five minutes per citizen shall apply.  Citizen comment shall not exceed 30 minutes unless the Commission votes to suspend the rules.

4.                  Public Hearings.

5.                  Old Business.

6.                  New Business.

7.                  Reports.

8.                  Adjournment.

 

B.         Action of the Commission is not limited to the prepared agenda.

 

C.        The Chairperson shall decide if new items should be added to the agenda at the beginning of each meeting.

 

III.            VOTING

 

A.        Requirement.            The concurrence of a majority of those present is required to determine any matter before the Traffic Safety Commission.  Each commissioner present must vote on all questions before the Traffic Safety Commission unless the commissioner has a conflict of interest, which would disqualify the commissioner from voting.  If a commissioner abstains, the reasons for the abstention shall be entered in the record.

 

B.        Votes.            All votes will be voice votes.  All votes, whether positive, or negative, or abstentions, shall be recorded in the minutes.

 

C.        Tie Votes.            In the case of a tie vote on any proposal, the proposal shall automatically be reconsidered and re-voted.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection D, any commissioner may change his or her vote since there was no majority on the original vote.  If the revote also results in a tie, the proposal shall be lost.

 

D.        Changing Vote.            A commissioner may change his or her vote only if the action is taken immediately following the last vote cast and only if the vote originally was with the majority.  A commissioner shall not be allowed to withdraw an abstention.

 

E.         Motion to Reconsider.                  A motion to reconsider any action may be made only at the same meeting where a commissioner on the prevailing side of the question took the action.  Any commissioner may make a motion on the same question at any subsequent meeting.

 

F.        Restating Motion & Results of Vote.            When a matter is called for a vote, the presiding officer shall, before a vote is taken, restate the motion and shall announce the decision of the Commission after such vote.

 

G.        Voting in “Abstentia”.            Voting in “Abstentia” or by proxy is not permitted.

 

 

RECOMMENDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL BY THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF AURORA, OREGON, with quorum in attendance as its regular meeting of, and signed by the chairperson in authentication of its recommendation this 11th day of November, 2003.

 

                                                           

 

                                                                                    ______________________________

                                                                                                            Chairperson

 

 

 

Read for the first time at a regularly scheduled meeting of Aurora City Council on Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Second Reading:  December 9, 2003

 

 

ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL at the second reading during a regularly scheduled meeting on December 9, 2003, and effective 30 days later.

 

 

YEAS_____                NAYS_____              ABSTENTIONS_____

 

 

                                                                                    ______________________________

                                                                                                          Johnathan Gibson

                                                                                                     Mayor

 

ATTEST:

 

 

_____________________________

Laurie Boyce, Acting City Recorder