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20 City of Roseville y Commissioner’s Handbook If the motion to reconsider passes, then the original matter is back before the body, and a new original motion is in order. The matter may be discussed and debated as if it were on the floor for the first time. Courtesy and Decorum The rules of order are meant to create an atmosphere where the members of the body and the members of the public can attend to business efficiently, fairly and with full participation. And at the same time, it is up to the chair and the members of the body to maintain common courtesy and decorum. Unless the setting is very informal, it is always best for only one person at a time to have the floor, and it is always best for every speaker to be first recognized by the chair before proceeding to speak. The chair should always ensure that de- bate and discussion of an agenda item fo- cus on the item and the policy in question, not on the personalities of the members of the body. Debate on policy is healthy; debate on personalities is not. The chair has the right to cut off discussion that is too personal, too loud or too crude. Debate and discussion should be focused, but free and open. In the interest of time, the chair may, however, limit the time allotted to speakers, including members of the body. Can a member of the body interrupt the speaker? The general rule is no. There are, however, exceptions. A speaker may be interrupted for the follow- ing reasons: Privilege. The proper interruption would be: “Point of privilege.” The chair would then ask the interrupter to “state your point.” Appropriate points of privilege re- late to anything that would interfere with the normal comfort of the meeting. For example, the room may be too hot or too cold, or a blowing fan might interfere with a person’s ability to hear. Order. The proper interruption would be: “Point of order.” Again, the chair would ask the interrupter to “state your point.” Appro- priate points of order relate to anything that would not be considered appropriate conduct of the meeting; for example, if the chair moved on to a vote on a motion that permits debate without allowing that discussion or debate. Appeal. If the chair makes a ruling that a member of the body disagrees with, that member may appeal the ruling of the chair. If the motion is seconded and after debate, if it passes by a simple major- ity vote, then the ruling of the chair is deemed reversed. Call for orders of the day. This is simply another way of saying, “Let’s return to the agenda.” If a member believes that the body has drifted from the agreedupon agenda, such a call may be made. It does not require a vote, and when the chair dis- covers that the agenda has not been fol- lowed, the chair simply reminds the body to return to the agenda item properly before them. If the chair fails to do so, the chair’s determination may be appealed. Withdraw a motion. During debate and discussion of a motion, the maker of the motion on the floor, at any time, may inter- rupt a speaker to withdraw his or her mo- tion from the floor. The motion is imme- diately deemed withdrawn, although the chair may ask the person who seconded the motion if he or she wishes to make the motion, and any other member may make the motion if properly recognized. Special Notes About Public Input The rules outlined here help make meet- ings very public-friendly. But in addition, and particularly for the chair, it is wise to remember three special rules that apply to each agenda item: Rule One: Tell the public what the body will be doing. Rule Two: Keep the public informed while the body is doing it. Rule Three: When the body has acted, tell the public what the body did. Public input is essential to a healthy de- mocracy, and community participation in public meetings is an important element of that input. The challenge for anyone chairing a public meeting is to accommo- date public input in a timely and time- sensitive way, while maintaining steady progress through the agenda items. The rules presented here for conducting a meeting are offered as tools for effective leadership and as a means of developing sound public policy.