From Chapter 7 of the BCCSD Policy Manual:

1.                BOARD MEETINGS AND BROWN ACT PROCEDURES

1.1             Rules of Order for Board Meetings

1.1.1        General

In accordance with this policy, action items shall be brought before and considered by the Board by motion. These rules of order are intended to be followed to ensure the effective discussion, debate, and decision making of all items before the Board.

If a Boardmember believes that the rules of order are not being maintained or procedures are not adequate, then the Boardmember should raise a point of order - not requiring a second - to the President. If the ruling of the President is not satisfactory to the Boardmember, then it may be appealed to the Board for consideration. A majority of the Board will govern and determine the point of order.

1.1.2        Obtaining the Floor

Any Boardmember desiring to speak should address the President and, upon recognition by the President, may address the subject under discussion.

1.1.3        Motions

Any Boardmember, including the President, may make or second a motion. A Boardmember should not make a motion until the public in attendance has had an opportunity to comment on the agenda item being considered. A motion shall be introduced and considered as follows:

A Boardmember makes a motion; another Boardmember seconds the motion; and the President states the motion.

Once the motion has been stated by the President, it is open to discussion and debate. After the [motion] has been fully debated, and after the public in attendance has had an opportunity to comment [on the main motion], the President will call for the vote.

Any Boardmember may move to immediately bring the question being debated to a vote, suspending any further debate, as long as the public in attendance has had an opportunity to comment on the proposed action. The motion must be made, seconded, and approved by a majority vote of the Board.

Secondary Motions. Generally, only one motion can be considered at a time and a motion must be disposed of before any other motions or business are considered. In a few exceptions, a secondary motion concerning the main motion may be made and considered before voting on the main motion.

Motion to Amend – A main motion may be amended before it is voted on, either by the consent of the Directors who moved and seconded, or by a new motion and second.

Motion to Table – A main motion may be indefinitely tabled before it is voted on by a motion made to table, which is then seconded and approved by a majority vote of the Board.

Motion to Postpone – A main motion may be postponed to a certain time by a motion to postpone, which is then seconded and approved by a majority vote of the Board.

Motion to Refer to Committee – A main motion may be referred to a Board committee for further study and recommendation by a motion to refer to committee, which is then seconded and approved by a majority vote of the Board.

Motion to Close Debate and Vote Immediately – As provided above, any Boardmember may move to close debate and immediately vote on a main motion.

Motion to Adjourn – A meeting may be adjourned by motion made, seconded, and approved by a majority vote of the Board before voting on a main motion.

1.1.4        Order of Business

The established order for conduct of the official business of the Board of Directors is as follows. The Board, at any time, by simple majority of those present, vote to consider items in a different order. This section summarizes each meeting component.

1.      Call to Order / Roll Call

2.      Public Comments and Suggestions – This time is provided for people to address the Board or submit written communications on matters not on the agenda. At the conclusion of all oral communications, the Board may respond to statements. Any request that requires Board action will be set for a future agenda or referred to staff. Speakers addressing the Board may be limited to three minutes, with a maximum of five minutes, with total time allotted not to exceed 45 minutes unless the presiding officer extends.  No resident shall be denied the right, personally or through counsel, to present grievances at any regular meeting of the Board, or offer suggestions for the betterment of District affairs.

3.      New Business

4.      Board of Directors and General Manager Communications/Committee Reports/Report on Meetings - All reports shall be specifically limited to items relating to District business. Boardmembers shall govern themselves as to the length of their comments, but shall, generally, not exceed 10 minutes.

5.      Closed Session: Litigation and/or Personnel and /or Real Estate consideration

6.      Adjournment

1.1.5        Decorum

The President shall take whatever actions are necessary and appropriate to preserve order and decorum during Board meetings, including public hearings. The President may eject any person or persons making statements that are not germane to items under the subject jurisdiction of the District, refusing to abide by a request from the President, or otherwise disrupting the meeting or hearing.

The President may also declare a short recess during any meeting.

1.1.6        Parliamentary Procedures; Amendment of Rules of Order

Parliamentary procedures set the agreed-upon standard for conducting business. For general guidance, the Board of Directors will follow Roberts’ Rules of Order and Rosenberg’s Rules of Order, which are an abbreviated version of Roberts’. Certain processes are subject to state code and must be complied with. The Board will accept direction from the General Manager and General Legal Counsel on the code. When necessary to resolve issues that may arise over the process, the presiding officer will refer to the General Legal Counsel who will act as the parliamentarian. Upon such advice, the Board will vote and follow the decision of the majority. However, no ordinance, resolution, or any other action of the Board shall be invalidated or the legality thereof otherwise affected by the failure or omission of the Board to observe any such rules.

By motion made, seconded and approved by a majority vote, the Board may, at its discretion and at any meeting:

·        temporarily suspend these rules in whole or in part;

·        amend these rules in whole or part; or

·        both.

1.2             Minutes of District Proceedings

The General Manager of the Board shall keep minutes of all regular and special meetings of the Board of Directors.

The minutes of the Board shall include:

The Secretary shall distribute draft copies of the minutes to members of the board at the same time that they distribute the Agenda for the next Regular Meeting.

All resolutions and ordinances adopted by the Board shall be numbered like so: (Fiscal Year)-(Consecutive numbering, beginning with 01) – E.g: 23-01

1.3             Board of Directors Meeting Agenda

The General Manager, in collaboration with the Board President, shall prepare an agenda for each regular and special meeting of the Board of Directors. Any Boardmember may contact the General Manager and request that an item be placed on the agenda no later than 96 hours prior to the meeting time.

At least 72 hours prior to the time of all regular meetings, and 24 hours prior to the time of a special meeting, an agenda, which includes but is not limited to all matters on which there may be discussion and/or action by the Board, shall be posted conspicuously for public review at the site of the meeting and on the District’s bulletin boards.

1.4             Special Meetings

The Presiding Officer or a majority of the Board may, when they deem it necessary, call a special meeting of the Legislative Body for the purpose of transacting the business designated in the call.

1.5             Board Actions and Decisions

The Board shall act only by ordinance, resolution, or motion.

Action can only be taken by the vote of the majority of the board of directors. A majority of the current number of directors holding office constitutes a quorum for the conduct of business. For example, if there are four seats filled and one vacant, three votes are required to take action and three directors constitute a quorum.  Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, a majority vote of the total membership of the Board of Directors is required for the Board of Directors to take action.

Some actions of the Board require a 2/3-majority vote of the Board and are specified by Code, Statute, and/or District Policy.

1.6             Tie Votes

Tie Votes shall be lost motions unless an additional motion is made which obtains a majority vote to break the tie. When all Legislative Body members are present, a tie vote on whether to grant an appeal from official action shall be considered a denial of such appeal. In such case the findings in support of the decision shall be those of the lower body. If a tie vote results at a time when less than all members of the Legislative Body are present, the matter shall automatically be continued to the agenda of the next regular meeting of the Legislative Body, unless otherwise ordered by the Legislative Body.

1.7             Board Vacancy Policy

1.7.1        Vacancies

Vacancies shall be deemed to exist as provided in Government Code § 1770.

Directors intending to vacate their seat should notify the General Manager with a formal written letter of resignation.

Once a vacancy exists, the District has a total of sixty (60) days in which to take action. If the Board fails to take action within sixty (60) days or if there is a lack of a quorum to take action, Government Code §1780 provides that the Ventura County Board of Supervisors may appoint a successor to fill the vacancy.

The General Manager shall publish the notice of vacancy within three (3) business days from the time they receive the written letter of resignation. The Board will then appoint a new director no sooner than fifteen (15) days after the vacancy has been published. The notice shall appear on the District’s website, social media, and the local paper. It shall outline the appointment process, due date, and require a résumé detailing qualifications and experience from all candidates seeking appointment.

1.7.2        Appointments

All applications for the vacant Board position shall be included in the agenda packet for the regular meeting of the Board of Directors taking place at least fifteen (15) days after the posting, and all candidates shall be encouraged to attend. The Board may hear candidate statements and shall vote to select the new Boardmember.

A Boardmember appointed to fill a vacancy that occurs in the first half of a term of office and at least 130 days prior to the next general district election shall serve until the next scheduled election that takes place. The winner of the election then serves the remainder of the term.

A Boardmember appointed to fill a vacancy that occurs during the first half of a term of office but less than 130 days prior to the next general district election, or that occurs during the second half of a term of office, shall serve until the expiration of the vacated term of office.

The General Manager shall notify the Ventura County Elections Official within fifteen (15) days of the appointment.

1.8             Public Comments

At the beginning of any Board of Directors meeting the public shall be afforded the right to comment on any and all issues not on the agenda within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Board. Such general public comment on non-agendized issues shall be taken at the beginning of the meeting under a “General Public Comment” heading. With regard to matters not on the agenda, the Board may ask questions of persons who raise new matters during the General Public Comment period or otherwise, and the Presiding Officer should handle such matters. However, all Board questions must be limited to facts-only informational inquiries, and the Board may not discuss the merits, express any opinions or ask questions that convey opinions or thought processes with respect to any non-agendized issue. The public shall also be afforded the right to comment on every item appearing on the agenda prior to the Board’s consideration of that item.

1.8.1        Time Limitations

The Presiding Officer has the full prerogative to maintain meeting order and decorum, and so long as public speakers are provided reasonable and fair opportunities to speak, public speakers are to be given three to five minutes for public comment, however, at the prerogative of the Presiding Officer, time limits may be shortened to accommodate a lengthy agenda or lengthened to allow additional time for discussion on a complicated matter.

1.8.2        Speaker Cards and Procedures

Any member of the public upon being recognized, must identify the subject or subjects (whether agendized or not) upon which they intend to speak, and state their name unless the speaker desires comments to be anonymous. Speakers shall not be required to give any other information as a condition of speaking. All remarks and questions shall be addressed to the Board and not to any individual Boardmember, the audience, staff member or other person.

At the close of the speaker’s comments, or the close of the period for public comment members of the Board may ask staff to respond to the speaker's comments. Thereafter, members of the Board may refer the matter to staff for investigation and/or response; or request that the matter be placed on an agenda for a subsequent meeting for action by the Legislative Body.

1.8.3        Additional Procedures for Public Comment on Agenda Items

Members of the public shall have the opportunity to address the Board of Directors on each and every item listed on the agenda. Public comments on an agenda item may be heard either in combination with the General Public Comment period at the start of the meeting, or at the time the Board opens the item, or both, as determined by the Board and set forth in the agenda.

The purpose of the public comment period is to receive input from the public, not to create a debate between the members of the Board and the public. Members of the Board should generally refrain from debating members of the public during the period for public comment, but if members of the Board desire to clarify comments by members of the public, they may ask factual questions, and if necessary, should do so during the public comment period.

The Presiding Officer should clearly open and close the public comment period.

No signs of partiality, prejudice or disrespect should be evident on the part of individual Public Officials toward an individual participating in a public forum. Every effort should be made to be fair and impartial in listening to public testimony.

The Presiding Officer shall be fair and equitable in allocating public hearing time to individual speakers. The Presiding Officer will determine and announce limits on speakers at the start of the public comment period. After the close of the public hearing, no more public testimony will be accepted unless the Presiding Officer reopens the public hearing.

The Presiding Officer/Legislative Body should engage in active listening. The members of the Board of Directors should be aware that their body language and tone of voice, as well as the words they use, can appear to be intimidating or aggressive.