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VILLAGE OF YOUNGSTOWN
IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA
BYLAW 25-732
PROCEDURE BYLAW
A BYLAW OF THE VILLAGE OF YOUNGSTOWN IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA REGULATING THE PROCEDURES OF REGULAR AND SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS.
WHEREAS pursuant to the provisions of Section 145 of the Municipal Government Act, Chapter M-26, Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000, and any amendments thereto, council may, by bylaw, establish the procedures and functions to be followed by council, and establish council committees and their functions.
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Village of Youngstown, in the Province of Alberta, duly assembled, enacts as follows:
TITLE
This Bylaw may be cited as the "Procedure" Bylaw.
DEFINITIONS:
"Act" means the Municipal Government Act, R.S.A. 2000, Chapter M-26 and any amendments thereto;
"Chief Administrative Officer" is the person appointed by Council pursuant to the MGA and may be referred to as "CAO".
"Closed Session" means a part of the meeting that is closed to the public at which no resolution or bylaw may be passed, except a resolution to revert to the public meeting.
"Council" means the municipal council of the Village of Youngstown.
"Electronic Means" means an electronic or telephonic communication method that enables all persons attending the meeting to hear and communicate with each other during the course of the meeting.
"Minutes" are the official record of proceedings of a Council, Special Meeting, or Public Hearing recorded in English without note of comment.
"Organization Meeting" means the meeting held as described in Section 192 of the Municipal Government Act;
"Pecuniary Interest" means when a member of council in any matter could monetarily affect the councilor or an employer of the councilor or the councilors immediate family.
"Public Hearing" means a meeting of council convened to hear matters pursuant to the Act.
"Quorum" is the majority of the valid and subsisting members of council or in case of a committee meeting, the majority of the members thereto, including members at large;
"Village" means the Village of Youngstown.
APPLICATION
This Bylaw shall apply to all meetings of council and committee of the whole.
Council may make this bylaw applicable to other council committees either in whole or in part.
To the extent that a matter is not dealt in the Act or this bylaw, council shall have regard to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.
The precedence of the rules governing the procedure of council is:
The Municipal Government Act;
Other provincial legislation;
This bylaw, and,
The current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.
In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Bylaw and Robert's Rules of Order, the provisions of this Bylaw shall apply.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS
Council shall hold an annual organizational meeting each year not later than two weeks after the third Monday in October.
The CAO shall set the time and place for the organizational meeting, with the business of the meeting being limited to:
Elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the upcoming year;
Every member must take the oath of office;
Establish dates and times of regular scheduled council meetings;
Appoint members to boards and committees;
Any other business required by the Act, or which council or the CAO may direct;
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised will be used by council.
3) Appointments of members to committees shall be for a term of one year, unless otherwise specified.
REGULAR MEETINGS
Notice of regularly scheduled meetings need not be given.
For all meetings requiring notice, the notice must be:
Issued a minimum of 24 hours prior to the meeting date;
An e-mail or text to each member or committee member of the time, date, location and purpose of the meeting.
Posted on social media, and/or at the Village Office and/or at the Post Office, and;
Given any other notification as requested by council or the committee.
Despite Section 5.2, the Mayor may call a special meeting of council, on shorter notice without giving notice to the public, provided majority vote of the whole council give written consent to holding the meeting before the meeting begins.
Regular meetings of council shall be held in the Village Office at 218 Main Street, unless notice is given in accordance with the Act and this Bylaw that the regular meeting will be held elsewhere in the community.
Regular meetings of council shall be held on the first Tuesday of every month.
A regular meeting of council shall commence at 4:00 p.m. and shall adjourn by 6:00 pm, unless council passes a motion to extend the meeting by a majority vote.
Special meetings may be called, and notice of such special meetings shall be given in accordance with the provisions of the Act and this Bylaw.
A member who has a pecuniary interest in a matter before council shall disclose the general nature of the pecuniary interest, and abstain from discussing the matter or voting on the matter, and leave the room until discussion and voting on the matter are concluded, as prescribed in the Act.
Except as provided in Section 5.10, all meetings shall be held in public.
Closed Session:
No item shall be considered "closed" unless one of the exceptions to disclosure in Division 2, Part 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies.
The Mayor will verbalize to members of the public that Council plan to go into closed session, and will provide instruction to the public regarding the process of the closed session.
The minutes of the Council Meeting must record the resolution providing the specific matter to be heard by Council and names of those persons and the reason for their attendance.
Members of the public attending the meeting, but not allowed to attend the closed session will be asked to leave the council chambers for the duration of the closed session. Once the meeting reverts to an open meeting, members of the public will be allowed to be present for the remainder of the meeting.
SPECIAL MEETING
The Mayor may call a special meeting.
A special council meeting may be held with less than 24 hours notice to the public, if at least 2/3 of council agrees to this in writing before the meeting.
The special meeting must state the time, date, place and the purpose of the meeting.
The Agenda for the meeting shall be restricted to the business stated in the notice unless all councilors are present and a motion is passed to deal with the matter.
MEETINGS AND HEARINGS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
Electronic communication may be used to hold Council Meetings and Public Hearings.
The following types of electronic communication are authorized for use to hold meetings and hearings
Telephone or speakerphone with or without internet support
Video-conferencing platform
Electronic meetings shall be subject to all procedures in this bylaw as well as the following regarding electronic participation.
Members shall announce themselves at the first opportunity after joining the telephone call or identify themselves as required for the videoconferencing platform.
Each member is responsible for their telephone, audio and internet connections. No action shall be invalidated on the grounds that the loss of, or poor quality of, a member's individual connection prevented participation in the meeting.
The Chair may cause or direct the disconnection or muting of a member's connection if it is causing undue interference with the meeting. The Chair's decision to do so shall be announced during the meeting and recorded in the minutes.
ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS
Councilors are expected to participate in meetings in-person unless there is a clear need to participate electronically. Members may participate in an in-person meeting electronically in accordance with this bylaw.
Any member, except for the Chair presiding over the meeting, may participate in a meeting electronically for personal or family reasons so long as they participate in a location that is free of distractions, secure, and appropriate for participation in the meeting.
The Chair cannot electronically preside over in-person meetings and must vacate the position for that meeting if they wish to participate electronically.
Members must notify the Chair and CAO as soon as they are aware of their need to participate in the meeting electronically.
Members participating to a meeting electronically must have their cameras activated and be visible to the other members of the meeting to be considered present, unless otherwise permitted by the Chair. Unless otherwise already permitted by the Chair, members will be considered absent from the meeting if their cameras are not activated or if they are not visible during the meeting.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Public Hearing Meetings will be advertised on the Village of Youngstown website.
Council must conduct the public hearing during a regular or special council meeting.
"Adjourn" used in relation to a public hearing, means to take a break in the public hearing with the intent of returning to the public hearing at another meeting.
"Close" used in relation to a public hearing, means to terminate the public hearing.
At the commencement of a public hearing, the Presiding Officer shall:
(a) State the matter to be considered at the hearing;
(b) Ask the CAO if the public hearing has been advertised in accordance with the Municipal Government Act;
Any person or group who claims to be affected by the subject matter of the public hearing shall be afforded an opportunity to speak in the following order:
(a) The Presiding Officer will call those who have indicated on the sign-in sheet that they wish to speak to the proposed bylaw;
(b) The Presiding Officer will allow an opportunity to all persons to respond to any new information that has arisen.
No person representing an individual shall address council for more than five (5) minutes, exclusive of the time required to answer questions put to them by a member of council, unless granted a time extension by the majority of council.
No person representing a group shall address council for more than ten (10) minutes, exclusive of the time required to answer questions put to them by a member of council, unless granted a time extension by the majority of council.
If there is more than one public hearing on the Agenda, the Mayor shall adjourn or close one public hearing before opening another public hearing.
The public hearing must be closed before council votes on the bylaw.
The meeting minutes shall record the names of all persons who:
(a)Spoke for or against; and
(b)Provided written submissions in response of the Notice of Public Hearing for or against the proposed bylaw.
QUORUM
A quorum of council is a majority of members of council.
If a quorum is not constituted within fifteen minutes from the time set for commencement of a council meeting, the CAO shall record the names of all the members present and the meeting will be adjourned and rescheduled.
The agenda delivered for that meeting shall be considered at the next regular meeting of council, prior to the consideration of the agenda for the subsequent meeting, or it shall be the agenda for a special meeting called for that purpose.
If at any time during a meeting the quorum is lost, the meeting shall be recessed and if the quorum is not achieved again within 15 minutes, the meeting shall be deemed to be adjourned.
CANCELLATION OF MEETINGS
Council, by resolution, may change the frequency, time, date or location of any meeting.
Notification of a change in time, date or location, or cancellation of any meeting of Council, or the establishment of a special meeting of Council will be provided to the public by:
(a) Posting a notice on social media, and/or at the Village Office, and/ or at the Post Office.
DUTIES OF THE MAYOR
The Mayor shall, when present:
(a)Open and adjourn council meetings;
(b)Chair all meetings of council and Committee of the Whole meetings;
(c)Preserve order and decorum in council meeting;
(d)Rule on all questions of procedure;
(e)Ensure each member of council who wishes to speak on a debatable motion is granted the opportunity to do so;
(f)Decide who, aside from members of council, may address council.
DUTIES OF THE DEPUTY MAYOR
Council shall appoint a Deputy Mayor for a one-year period at the organization meeting.
The Deputy Mayor shall chair council meetings when the Mayor is absent or unable to act as Mayor and shall have all the powers and responsibilities of the Mayor under this bylaw during the absence or incapacity of the Mayor.
DUTIES OF THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER (C.A.O.)
The CAO shall be subject to the M.G.A. and the Chief Administrative Officer Bylaw.
AGENDA
The CAO shall ensure copies of the draft agenda are:
Available to members of council no later than 4:00 pm. on the day prior to the meeting being held, via e-mail.
All submissions for the agenda of all public hearings and regular meetings of council shall be received by the CAO no later than 12:00 p.m. on the day of the council meeting.
Only material which has been received in accordance with Subsection 15.2 of this bylaw shall be considered at the meeting for which the agenda is prepared.
If an emergent matter needs to be brought before council at any meeting the item shall:
(a) Be accompanied by a brief explanation from the CAO or member of council indicating the reasons for, and the degree of urgency of the item; and
(b)Be considered as an addendum to the Agenda.
The Agenda shall list the items and order of business for the meeting set out as follows:
Call to Order
Adoption of the Agenda
Adoption of Previous Minutes
Adoption of the Financial Statement
Public Hearing (if applicable)
Call to Order
Introduction
Presentations/submissions
Close Public Hearing
Business arising from the hearing
Councilor Reports
Village Foreman & CAO Reports
Old Business
Financial Reports
Correspondence
New Business
Bylaws
In Camera (if applicable)
Adjournment
The normal order of business for the regular meeting of council shall be as set out as per Section 15.5 except:
(a) When a previous meeting has been adjourned for lack of a quorum and no special meeting has been called to deal with the business of the adjourned meeting, the agenda items from the adjourned meeting must be dealt with before any items on the current agenda; or
(b) When council alters the order of business by a majority vote.
DELEGATIONS
A member of the public may request to be included on an agenda as a delegation. The request shall include:
A verbal or legible written summary of the information that will be presented to council;
Be submitted to the CAO no later than 12:00 p.m. on the day council meeting is being held, with the CAO having discretion to bring forward items submitted late that may be of an emergent nature.
No person(s) representing an individual or group shall address council for more than ten (10) minutes, exclusive of the time required to answer questions put to them by a member of council, unless granted a time extension by the majority of council.
COUNCILOR REPORTS
Each member will be provided a maximum of five (5) minutes for the purpose of providing a verbal update on committees or community events in which municipal participation has been approved by council.
Any action required as a result of a councilor report may be dealt with at the current meeting if all the relevant information is presented. If more information is required, it will be brought forward as a separate business item or as a notice of motion.
COMMITTEES
Council shall appoint council representatives to such committees, boards and commissions as required by legislation, agreement or bylaw as they deem necessary. Unless an immediate appointment is required mid-term, these appointments shall be made on an annual basis at the Organization Meeting.
Council may make appointments to a committee at any time.
Appointed members shall keep the rest of the council informed on the actions of committees or boards to which they are appointed by council, by providing regular updates through their councilor reports at regular meetings.
MINUTES OF COUNCIL
The CAO shall ensure minutes of a council meeting are prepared and that a copy is distributed to each member prior to the next Council Meeting.
BYLAWS
The CAO should follow a consistent format for all new bylaws.
Each proposed bylaw must include the bylaw number and a concise title indicating the purpose of the bylaw.
The CAO shall copy the bylaw in full and forward it with the Agenda.
Every bylaw shall have three readings. Only the title or identifying number must be read at each reading.
A bylaw shall not be given more than two readings at one meeting unless the members present unanimously agree that the bylaw may be presented to council for third reading.
A bylaw shall be passed when a majority of the members voting on third reading vote in favor.
A bylaw is effective from the date of the third reading unless the bylaw provides for another effective date.
In conformance with the Act:
If a bylaw does not receive third reading within two years from the date of first reading, the previous readings are deemed to have been rescinded; and
If a bylaw is defeated on second or third reading the previous readings are deemed to have been rescinded.
A bylaw is deemed to be passed when it received third reading and is signed and sealed by the Mayor and CAO.
Required bylaws will be published on the Village of Youngstown website.
ADJOURNMENT
A council regular meeting shall adjourn no later than 6:00 p.m., unless:
Council, by resolution of a majority vote, agrees to an extension of the meeting.
SEVERABILITY
If any section of this bylaw or any part or parts of this bylaw are found in any court of law to be illegal or invalid, that section or sections or part or parts, shall be deemed to be severable, and all other sections or parts of this bylaw, are separate and independent there from and enacted as such.
REPEAL
That Bylaw 94-648 and all amendments thereto be hereby repealed.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Bylaw shall come into full force and effect, on the date of third and final reading.
READ a first time in Council this 8th day of July, 2025.
READ a second time in Council this 8th day of July, 2025.
READ a third time in Council and finally passed unanimously this 8th day of July, 2025.
_____________________________________________________
Robert BlagenEmma Garlock
MayorMunicipal Administrator