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II. Bylaws and rules of order Minn. Stat. § 412.191, subd.2. A statutory city council has the power to regulate its own meeting procedures. Home rule charter cities may have similar provisions in their charters. Councils often regulate their procedures through bylaws and rules of order. Rules of See Appendix A: Minnesota order are also commonly referred to as parliamentary rules of procedure, Mayors Association City Council Bylaws. parliamentary procedure, rules of procedure or procedural rules. Councils are not required to adopt bylaws or rules of order for meeting management, but they are highly recommended for the following reasons: • They set common values and expectations for interactions among council members. • They can provide structure to a meeting, promoting timeliness and efficiency. • They can help resolve conflicts in a positive way that promotes the best interests of the city, rather than allowing conflicts to grow, potentially disrupting city operations and slowing vital council decisions. Within or separate from bylaws, city councils often have meeting rules of order. Many cities have formally adopted or informally observe some version of Robert's Rules of Order as rules of order. There are, however, disadvantages to adopting Robert's Rules to govern procedure at council meetings. Some of the disadvantages of using Robert's Rules are: • They were not crafted with Minnesota law in mind and sometimes diverge from legal requirements for Minnesota cities. • They were crafted to govern large bodies of assembly (such as a parliament) and are sometimes unwieldy for smaller bodies. • While shorter condensed versions of Robert's Rules exist, typical volumes of the rules are 200 pages or longer. This can be difficult for new members to learn. Council members who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of Robert's Rules may feel silenced by their unfamiliarity with technical points or outmaneuvered by council members who are more familiar with the rules. See Appendix D: Minnesota For these reasons, city councils may prefer to adopt more simplified rules of Mayors Association Sample Rules of order for city order. Several other models exist, or the council can draft its own policy to fit Councils. the organization and desired level of formality. Sample simplified rules of order (complete with a 2-page cheat sheet!) are in the appendices of this handbook. It's very important to adopt written rules of order before there is a problem that rules of order could solve. If a meeting becomes contentious for whatever reason, it may be impossible to get back on track if there isn't already agreement on how the meeting should proceed. Minnesota Mayors Association Chapter 1-17