Approved 8/16/2021 VOTE: 3-1 Konecny voted “No”. Jackson abstained.
VILLAGE OF ENDICOTT, NY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES -- MEETING PROCEDURES AND AGENDA FORMAT
Upon approval of these Meeting Procedures and Agenda format (attached as “ADDENDUM A”), all previous Meeting Procedures and Agenda formats are thereby rescinded.
By majority vote, the Village of Endicott Board of Trustees may approve these Meeting Procedures which shall become effective immediately and all prior Meeting Procedures approved by the Board shall be thereby rescinded immediately. This action shall not necessitate a local law to be valid.
Changes to these Meeting Procedures or to the “AGENDA” attached herein as “Addendum A” may only be made by a majority vote of the Village of Endicott Board of Trustees. Any approval of such changes shall be effective immediately unless otherwise stated. This action shall not necessitate a local law to be valid.
These Meeting Procedures shall be placed on the Village website and labeled “Meeting Procedures” by the Village Manager within three (3) business days after Board approval and shall remain permanently and conspicuously on the website (by one click maximum) at the beginning of its “Board Meetings” page. They shall be updated on the website within three (3) business days after any future change(s) are approved by the Board.
DEFINITIONS
Board: ‘Board’ refers to the Endicott, NY Board of Trustees consisting collectively of four Trustees and the mayor.
Executive Session: An 'executive session' is the portion of a Board meeting that is not open to the general public.
Meeting: A 'meeting' is defined in the Open Meetings Law as the official convening of a public body for the purpose of conducting public business, including the use of video and/or telephone conferencing for attendance and participation by Board members and the general public.
Minutes: ‘Minutes’ are the official written notes that record the happenings during a meeting. They may be taken during a meeting or taken from a recording after the meeting. NYS Public Officers Law #106 outlines the minimum requirements of the information that must be included in any minutes.
Motion: A motion is a procedure whereby a Board member makes a verbal or written proposal to the Board for their vote for approval or denial. Once seconded, the Board shall make their decision by a roll call vote.
Noticing of Meetings: NYS Public Officers Law #104 states the laws for noticing the public about public meetings.
Open Meeting Requirement: Every meeting of a public body must be open to the general public by in-person attendance and/or by audio/video conferencing. Public bodies must make reasonable efforts to ensure that meetings are held in facilities that can accommodate the anticipated crowd size and that permit barrier-free physical access for the physically handicapped as defined in Public Building's Law #50.
Presiding Officer: Pursuant to NYS Village Law #4-400 & and #4-412, the Village mayor presides at meetings of the Board of Trustees. If the mayor is absent, the deputy mayor presides at the Board meeting. If the mayor and deputy mayor are both absent, the Trustees shall appoint one of their number to act as Presiding Officer for that meeting.
Public body: A 'public body' is defined in NYS Law as any entity for which a quorum is required in order to conduct public business and which consists of two or more members performing a governmental function for the State or for an agency or department thereof or for a public corporation as defined in General Construction Law #66 or a committee or subcommittee or other similar body of such public body.
Trustee Comments: These are sections during Village of Endicott Regular, and Special, Board meetings when Trustees may make statements, make motions, propose resolutions, or give reports, on any topic(s).
Quorum: A 'quorum' is defined as a majority of the total authorized membership of the public body, regardless of any vacancies and absences. On a five member Board of Trustees, three members constitute a quorum. Pursuant to General Construction Law #41, a quorum of a public body must be present to conduct business. For any action to pass, a majority of the total authorized membership of the body, regardless of vacancies and absences, must vote in favor of a given action or proposal regardless of how many members of the public body are present at the meeting.
If only three members of a five-member Board are present, all three must vote ‘YES’ unanimously to pass any action.
Resolution A resolution is a motion that is presented in writing because of its importance or because it is long and having it in writing may make it easier for discussion and easier for distribution to others.
BOARD MEETING PROCEDURES
1. BOARD OF TRUSTEES SEATING: The official seating arrangement for the Board of Trustees during Board meetings, which may only be changed by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees are as follows: the head table shall have the mayor, the Village Manager and the Attorney for the Village. Two Trustees shall sit at each of two side tables that are at the left and right of the head table and perpendicular to it.
If a board member is represented by an attorney, a desk or table and a seat shall be provided next to the represented board member. A board member who is represented by an attorney may consult with the attorney or may call for a pause in the meeting for a reasonable amount of time to consult with the attorney at a location of their choosing.
2. AGENDA: By majority vote, the Board of Trustees may adopt a standard Agenda format with the list of the meeting’s item headings in a sequential order that shall be followed in that exact order for all Regular, and all Special, Board meetings. Any change(s) to any part of the approved Agenda format may only be made by a majority vote of the Board which shall be effective immediately unless otherwise stated. The approval of these Meeting Procedures, or any subsequent update or amendment or new Meeting Procedures, may only be made by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees. Such approval shall always be an approval of the official “Agenda” format included herein as “ADDENDUM A”.
The mayor, the Trustees, the Village Manager, and the Attorney for the Village may have items placed onto an Agenda by submitting them to the Village Clerk by 2:00 P.M. on the Friday before a Monday Board meeting or three days before a Board meeting scheduled on any other day. Items may not be added to the Agenda after the 2:00 PM Friday deadline and must wait for another board meeting. Exception: an item(s) may be added to the Agenda of a meeting by a majority vote of the Board during that Board meeting and shall be effective immediately for that meeting unless otherwise stated.
Inserting submitted items onto the Agenda is the sole responsibility of the Village Clerk. The Village Clerk shall
complete the following items between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM on the Friday before a Monday Board meeting or three days before a Board meeting scheduled on any other day:
A.) the Agenda shall be prepared and sent by email to each Board member, the Village Manager, and the Attorney for the Village. Once emailed, including its time & date stamp, it shall be considered the FINAL Agenda and it may only be changed by a majority vote of the Board during that Board meeting.
B.) Hard copies shall be placed in the mailbox of each Board member, the Village Manager, and the Attorney for the Village.
C.) the Final Agenda shall be added to the Village website. Only those items listed on the Agenda may be discussed at the Board meeting unless another item(s) is approved during the Board meeting by a majority vote of the Board.
3. QUORUM: A quorum for a five-member Board of Trustees is three members. A quorum of the Board of Trustees must be present to open a Regular Board meeting or a Special Board meeting, to conduct business, or to take a vote.
4. WORK SESSIONS Work Sessions are Board of Trustees meetings to informally discuss local issues. Work Sessions shall be open to the public. The public is not allowed to speak unless otherwise approved by a majority vote of the Board during the Work Session which shall be effective immediately for that Work Session only. No Board votes may be conducted during Work Sessions.
Any two Board members may call for a Work Session providing a majority of the Board members agree verbally during a Board meeting or providing there is proof that a written notice was sent to all Board members by mail or by email or by text or providing Board members are notified by one of the methods required when calling Special Meetings.
5. REGULAR MEETINGS: Regular meetings of the Endicott Board of Trustees shall begin at 6:00 PM on the first and third Mondays of each month during the year. By majority vote, the Board may change the meeting dates and times which shall be effective immediately unless otherwise stated and shall not necessitate enacting a local law to be valid.
6. SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special Meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by any two Trustees or the mayor by causing a written notice, specifying the time and place thereof, to be served upon each member of the Board personally at least one hour before the meeting, or by leaving a notice at their residence or place of business with some person of suitable age and discretion at least eighteen (18) hours before the meeting, or by mailing to their home address or emailing to their personal or Village email address such notice at least seventy-two (72) hours before the meeting. Verbal notice made during a Regular or Special Board of Trustees meeting at least one hour before the subject Special Meeting shall be valid notice for all Board members present at the Board meeting in person or through audio/video conferencing. For those not present when a verbal notice is given, an email sent to their personal or Village email address at least one hour before the Special Meeting shall be valid notice.
7. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS: Executive Sessions shall be held in accordance with NYS Public Officer Law #105. All executive sessions must be entered into from a properly noticed and convened public meeting. The purpose for the Executive Session must be stated which must comply with Public Officer Law #105. Any recording of Executive Sessions is prohibited.
8. GENERAL PROCEDURES
During every Board of Trustees meeting, the mayor and the Trustees shall not interrupt other individuals who are speaking.
The mayor shall preside at all Regular and Special Board of Trustees meetings. Each member of the BOARD, including the mayor, all Trustees, and the presiding officer are allowed to vote on every issue brought up for a vote. Every member may also debate, make motions, and take any action that every other Board member may take. The mayor has one additional duty - in the event of a tie vote the mayor is required by law to vote. The mayor only has one vote on any issue and may not vote on an issue and then vote a second time to break a tie vote on that same issue.
A motion, a second, and a roll call vote to change these Meeting Procedures, or the meeting’s final Agenda that is distributed to the Board and the public several days before the Board meetings, may take place at any time during a Regular Board meeting or a Special Board meeting.
Public bodies shall make, or cause to be made, all reasonable efforts to ensure that meetings are held in an appropriate facility which can adequately accommodate members of the public who wish to attend such meeting. By majority vote the Board may close or limit debate on any issue(s).
9. MOTIONS & RESOLUTIONS Board members may make Motions and propose Resolutions at any time during a Regular meeting, a Special meeting, or an Executive Session.
When a Motion or Resolution is introduced for the first time at a Regular, Special, or Executive Session Board of Trustees meeting, it may be held over until the next Board meeting by any one Board member. Thereafter, it may not be held over a second time unless the original wording has changed (which would cause it to become a new Motion or Resolution). ‘Holding it over’ may only be announced after a Motion or a Resolution and a second have been made, and only after any discussion has taken place.
Motions or Resolutions involving Board procedural events may not be held over unless otherwise approved by a majority vote of the Board including, but not limited to: scheduling a meeting or a public hearing, adding an item(s) to the Agenda by majority vote during a meeting, changing the Meeting Procedures or the Agenda format, adjourning a meeting, etc. If challenged, the Board may decide by majority vote if the subject of a Motion or Resolution is a procedural event.
10. HEARING OF VISITORS: There shall be at least two separate Hearing of Visitors at the designated times on the adopted Agenda format during every regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. The two Hearing of Visitors sections on the Agenda are the only times during a meeting when anyone other than the Trustees, the Village Manager, the Attorney for the Village, or the mayor may speak, except a village official(s), village employee(s), or an attorney representing a board member may speak if called upon by one of the Board members.
By majority vote, the Board may allow one or more Hearing of Visitors during a SPECIAL BOARD MEETING, which vote shall be effective immediately for that Special Meeting. Speakers may speak on more than one topic, unless it is a Public Hearing, providing each topic(s) is relevant to the Village of Endicott, its matters or its business. If challenged, the Board may decide by majority vote if a topic(s) is relevant to Village matters or business.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A public hearing is required to insure that the public body or agency charged with taking action on a particular issue is fully aware of the public’s sentiment about the proposed action, and to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinions, their support, or their opposition. A quorum must be present at the Public Hearing for it to be a valid meeting. Speakers’ comments and/or questions must only address the specific topic or subject of the public hearing.
12. SPEAKERS AT HEARING OF VISITORS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS
During each Hearing of Visitors and each Public Hearing, everyone who wishes to speak shall be allowed to speak. Prior notice or request to, or approval from, the Village or any party in order to speak is not required. Speakers must observe the commonly accepted rules of courtesy, decorum, dignity, and good taste. Speakers shall not make personal attacks or political statements. If challenged, the Board may determine by majority vote if a comment(s) is a personal attack or a political statement.
Speakers may speak only once during each Hearing of Visitors and each Public Hearing for a maximum of three minutes each time. Speakers must state their name and address before they speak. Speakers may not yield any of their time to other speakers. Speakers must address their comments and/or questions to the full Board and not to any individual person or Board member. Board members may not interrupt a Speaker except for a clarification or informational reason and any time used for those purposes shall not be counted as part of the Speaker’s three minutes. After a Speaker’s time has elapsed Board members may, but are not required to, make a comment(s), answer a question(s) posed by the Speaker, and/or ask the Speaker a question(s).
13. VOTING: The sequence of events in the procedure for taking a vote is: First: a Board member makes a motion, Second: another Board member seconds the motion, Third: the Board discusses the motion, Forth: a motion may be made to amend the wording of the motion, Fifth: that motion is seconded, Sixth: the Board discusses the amendment, Seventh: a vote is taken on the amendment, Eighth: a roll call vote is taken on the original motion including any approved amendment(s).
All votes taken by the Board shall be a roll call vote. Pursuant to New York State law, each member of the Board of Trustees (each Trustee and the mayor) may vote once, and only once, on every issue. The Village Clerk must record in the minutes how each Trustee and the mayor voted on every vote taken.
The mayor and each Trustee has only four options for voting:
1.) ‘YES’ 2.) ‘NO’ 3.) ‘ABSTAIN’ 4.) ( remaining silent )
A person saying anything other than ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ for a vote, including remaining silent, is considered abstaining from voting and the Clerk shall record their vote in the minutes as ‘ABSTAIN’. The Clerk must record in the minutes a vote of YES, NO, or ABSTAIN for the mayor and each Trustee on every vote. ‘ABSTAIN’ is neither a positive nor a negative action. It is simply no vote at all. Whenever a tie vote occurs, the mayor must vote either ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ to break the tie. The mayor is only allowed to vote once on any given matter. EG:: the mayor may not cast a vote on a matter - and then also take a second vote to break a tie on the same matter. The mayor has only one total vote on any matter.
To determine if a matter is approved, the Clerk shall tally the number of ‘YES’ votes. Unless otherwise specified by State Law, or unless the matter being voted on requires a super majority vote, the matter is approved (passes) when a majority of the total authorized members of the Board votes ‘YES’. On a five-member Board, three (3) ’YES’ votes are required to approve any matter even when only three (3) Board members are present at the meeting.
14. ADJOURNMENT: Adjournment of a Board meeting requires a motion to adjourn, a second, and three ‘YES’ votes.
15. MINUTES: Board of Trustees Regular and Special meetings shall be recorded. The Clerk shall take the minutes for the Board meetings. The Village Manager shall take the minutes for Executive Sessions. Minutes of Executive Sessions are not required unless the Board takes a formal vote on an action(s).
Minutes for Endicott Board of Trustees meetings must include the following: the name of the Board, the meeting date, time, and location, the names of Board members who are present and absent, any Board members’ time of arrival and/or time of departure if different from the time the meeting was called to order and adjourned, the names and titles of other Village officials and employees present, the number of attendees from the public, a record of communications presented, a record of reports made by the Board members and other Village personnel, a record of all motions, proposals, resolutions on any other matter, the person who made each motion, the person who seconded each motion, how each Trustee and the mayor voted, a statement of the final vote results as either APPROVED or NOT APPROVED, the time the meeting was adjourned, and the signature of the Clerk, or the person who took the minutes if not the clerk.
These same items are required for minutes of all Endicott ‘Committees’, ‘Boards’, and ‘Commissions’.
Village of Endicott Board of Trustees’ minutes must be approved by a majority vote of the Board once they are complete, accurate, typed, without cross-outs, and without handwriting. Approval of minutes may be held over by any one Board member to correct any inaccuracy(ies) or omitted items. After approval by a majority vote of the Board the minutes, or amended minutes shall be permanently posted on the Village of Endicott website within three (3) business days. If the minutes have not been approved by thirty (30) days after the meeting date, the most recent draft of the minutes shall be posted on the Village website for public viewing and shall be conspicuously labeled “Unofficial” and “Not Complete” and “Not Approved.” Any item(s) that is still in question must be stated with an explanation of why it is still in question. Once any “NOT COMPLETE” minutes are completed and approved by the Board, they shall be posted on the Village website as the ‘Final Minutes’ within three (3) business days after being approved by the Board. For the public’s ease of use and their ease of doing fast computer searches, all past minutes shall remain permanently on the Village website in separate monthly files, and also in separate calendar yearly files, and also in separate 5-year files (EG: 2001-2005, 2006-2010, etc). They must be in WORD format, easily viewable and searchable, and also easily downloadable by the public in Microsoft WORD and PDF format.
16. RECORDING: Audio and/or video recording of all public meetings is permitted except recording during Executive Sessions is prohibited. By majority vote, the Board may determine whether the recording(s) being done is disruptive to the meeting after taking into consideration, but not limited to, brightness of lights, distance from the Board, size of the equipment, the amount of noise generated by the activity, and the ability of the public to observe or hear the meeting. By majority vote, the Board may require that any individual(s) stop recording, or leave the meeting, or be removed from the meeting. By majority vote, the Board may adopt any other rules governing audio and video recording of public meetings which shall be effective immediately unless otherwise stated. It shall be the mayor’s responsibility to keep the rules for recording meetings posted conspicuously in the Village Board room and in any other room(s) where any Village public meetings are held.
17. ZOOM method for attending meetings:
A. Endicott Board of Trustees:
All meetings of the Endicott Board of Trustees shall be open to the public to attend in person and via Zoom.
Every person attending a Regular, or a Special, Board meeting, whether attending in person or via Zoom, shall be allowed to speak at every Hearing of Visitors section and during every Public Hearing
B. How to join meetings via Zoom: Go to the Village of Endicott website. Click on “Local Government”. Then click “Board Meetings”.
Click on the desired meeting and follow the directions
(Meetings are sometimes not listed in date order. They may be in order by when they were entered onto the website).
To join the meeting via Zoom via telephone, dial the number listed on the Endicott website, then dial the meeting ID number, followed by the “# “ sign. When Zoom asks the next question, dial the “#” sign again.
C. How to speak at meetings while attending via Zoom:
People attending a meeting via Zoom by computer may alert the meeting administrator they want to speak by clicking on the “reaction” tab at the bottom of the screen and then clicking on the “raise hand” feature.
The meeting administrator will then unmute them and they may speak.
People attending a meeting via Zoom by telephone may alert the meeting administrator they want to speak by
dialing * 9 (star, 9). The meeting administrator will then unmute them and they may speak.
ENDICOTT HAS THREE TYPES OF COMMITTEES ( or BOARDS, or COMMISSIONS )
The Board creates Committees, Boards, and Commissions by resolution or by passing a law.
Endicott volunteers serve as members.
18. (#1 of 3) LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES (or BOARDS or COMMISSIONS): These are created by the Board of Trustees. NYS and/or Village law govern, but not limited to, the naming of members, the Chair, the members term length, and the guidelines the members must follow when making decisions. The Village of Endicott has ten. All ten are subject to the Open Meetings Law so their meetings must be open to the public. They are: 1.) Planning Board 2.) Zoning Board of Appeals 3.) Board of Water Commissioners
4.) Board of Light Commissioners. 5.) Waste-Water Oversight Committee 6.) Airport Advisory Commission 7.) Parking Advisory Commission 8.) Library Board of Trustees 9.) Veterans Memorial Committee 10.) Youth Recreation Commission (inactive for decades).
19. (#2 of 3) BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEES (BAC): By majority vote, the Board of Trustees may create or disband ‘Board Advisory Committees’ (BAC) at any time during a Board meeting which shall be effective immediately. Each BAC shall serve at the sole direction and pleasure of the Board of Trustees who may determine, but not limited to, its duties, purpose(s), members, chairperson, beginning date, ending date, meeting place and times, and frequency of meetings, etc.
BACs are purely advisory in nature and have no legal authority, no terms of office, no quorum requirements, and the Board of Trustees may take any action with or without their advice. Therefore, meetings of BACs are notsubject to the Open Meetings Law. BAC meetings are not open to the public. BAC meetings are only open to their own committee members unless otherwise approved by the Board. The Board is solely responsible for appointing and approving the committee members for all BACs.
Being approved and sanctioned by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees, BACs may use Village of Endicott buildings and properties for their meetings and may use other Village resources for their work including audio/video conferencing equipment and the Village website and Facebook site. They may call on Village employees and department heads to attend a meeting(s) and to provide advice, and may call on people and entities who are under contract with the Village, or who are receiving money from the Village, to attend meetings and to provide advice and other purpose(s).
Minutes for BAC meetings must include the following: the name of the committee, the meeting date, time, and location, the names of committee members who are present and absent, any committee members’ time of arrival and/or time of departure if different from the time the meeting was called to order and adjourned, the names and titles of other Village officials and employees present, the number of attendees from the public, a record of communications presented, a record of reports made by the committee members and other Village personnel, a record of all motions, proposals, resolutions or any other matter, the person who made each motion, the person who seconded each motion, how each committee member voted, a statement of the final vote results as either APPROVED or NOT APPROVED, the time the meeting was adjourned, and the signature of the person who took the minutes.
20. (#3 of 3) MAYORAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES (MC)
The mayor may create or disband ‘mayoral advisory committees’ (MC) for the sole purpose of having such MCs provide advice to him/her. All MCs serve at the pleasure of the mayor
The NYS Office of Attorney General has rendered legal opinions stating that mayoral advisory committees “cannot utilize village employees, office space, equipment or supplies. Permitting that type of utilization would be a policy decision that would have to be made by the village board of trustees, the legislative body of village government” (see AG Opinion 85-71 and AG Opinion 94-44). If the Mayor does not intend to abide by these opinions, he or she should inform the Board of Trustees in advance and provide the legal basis for his or her decision.
21. CONTACT INFORMATION - BOARD MEMBERS: The public may contact Trustees or the mayor with comments, questions, or concerns. For Contact information: Go to the village website. Click ‘Local Government’. Then, Click ‘Mayor and Village Board’.
“ADDENDUM “
VILLAGE OF ENDICOTT, NY
Linda Jackson, Mayor
[ VOE loge ] Eileen Konecny, Deputy Mayor
R Ted Warner, Trustee
Patrick Dorner, Trustee
A Quality Community Nicholas Burlingame, Trustee
Anthony Bates, Village Manager
Robert McKertich, Attorney for the Village
Board Meeting Agenda
{{ ... date ... }}
Pledge of Allegiance / Moment of Silence
Fire and ADA Compliance Announcement
Mayor 1st Comments
Trustees 1st Comments
Village Manager Report
Attorney for the Village Report
Special Presentations
Public Hearings
Resolutions / Local Laws
1st Hearing of Visitors
Approval of Minutes
Communications for Filing
Communications for Action
Bid(s)
Accounts Payable for Action
Unfinished Business
New Business
2nd Hearing of Visitors
Mayor 2nd Comments
Trustees 2nd Comments
Executive Session
Adjournment