Handbook Chapters 6 & 7
VI. Meetings
The work of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) is accomplished in its regular
meetings, held monthly and open to the public, as proscribed by the Boulder Revised
Code.
A.Date and Location
Regular meetings of the HRC generally occur on thethird Monday of each month,
beginning at 6:00 p.m. and are held in the Council Chambers of the Municipal
nd
Building, 1777 Broadway, 2Floor. From time to time, it will not be possible to
hold meetings on the third Monday, due the occurrence of a holiday or other
event. In such instances, alternative dates will be set and agreed to at the
beginning of the year when the calendar is set. Similarly, Council Chambers may
not always be available for meetings of the HRC. In the case of a change of
venue, staff will notify Commission members with as much advance notice as
possible.
Staff will announce each meeting of the HRC through publication in the Daily
Camera on the weekend prior to the meeting. As appropriate, staff will include
highlights of the HRC’s agenda in the notice. Additionally, staff will post notice
of the meeting and the HRC’s agenda at the Municipal Building and at the New
Britain Building (1101 Arapahoe Ave) the Friday immediately preceding the
Monday meeting
.
B.Agenda Setting
Each meeting ofthe HRC will follow an approved agenda developed
jointly by the Agenda Setting Committee (HRC Chairperson, HRC Deputy
Chairperson and staff), which willdevelop the agendano later than two Fridays
before the scheduled meeting. Items for inclusion on the agenda may be submitted
by HRC members, City Council members and staff. This agenda and relevant
materials relating to each agenda item will be distributed to HRC members no
later than the Friday preceding the meeting.
Commission members who are not members of the Agenda Setting Committee
may also submit items for inclusion on the agenda. Agenda item requests may
also be conveyed to the Community Relations Manager by telephone or e-mail.
1
C.Agenda Components
The agenda for each monthly meeting of the HRC will generally consist of the
following components (not all components at each meeting may actually have
items under them) (see Appendix E). Modeled in part on City Council’s process,
this agenda format is designed to ensure that items to be discussed or voted upon
appear on the public agenda.
1.Call to Order. The Chair of the meeting will call the meeting to
order.
2.Agenda Adjustments.Any adjustments to the printed and
publicized agenda will occur at this point. The order of items may
be adjustedby the Chair to accommodate the anticipated arrival or
departure needs of Commissioners, witnesses or staff. Items will
generally not be added or deleted. However, additions or deletions
to all components of the agenda with the exception of Action Items
and Immediate Action Items may occur with the consent of the
Chair, or the consent of three or more members of the
Commission. Immediate Action Items may be added by a super
majority vote of the Commissioners present (four of five present;
three of four present; three of three present). Additions may not be
made to Action Items.
3Approval of Minutes.After discussion and possible amendment,
the minutes of the previous HRC meeting will be approved by a
vote of at least three of the Commissioners present, signed by the
chairperson and attested by the secretary.
4)Community Participation. Community participation consists of
public comment for all issues not on the HRC agenda for the
evening. People wishing to speak will be allowed up to three
minutes each to provide information or their perspective on a
particular issue of concern. At the Chair’s discretion, additional
time may be allotted for a speaker. Following each person’s
comments, members of the HRC may ask questions. At any time
after one-half hour of public comments (or before one-half hour’s
time if no other people are present who wish to provide
comments), the Chair may close community participation.
The purpose of community participation is for interested parties to
present to the Commission information or a point of view on a
particular issue which is not under consideration by the
Commission later in the night’s agenda. After community
2
participation has been closed by the Chair, Commissioners and
staff may comment on remarks they may have heardor new facts
which have been presented to the Commission, but they should
refrain from discussing the issue among themselves. If a majority
of the Commission so desires, the issue may be placed on the
agenda for the next meeting, or -solely in the case of an
“emergency situation”where immediate action is required because
the next scheduled meeting of the HRC will occur too late for a
particular action the Commission may wish to take-may be placed
in the Immediate Action Items section of the agenda for later
consideration that evening.
5)Action Items. This section of the agenda is reserved for items that
require a vote of the Commission. Any item appearing in this
section on the printed agenda may be voted on during the meeting;
items not appearing in this section may not be voted on (with the
exceptions of approval of the minutes and meeting adjournment),
unless approved for consideration under “Immediate Action Items”
(see subsection 7, Immediate Action Items, below). Placement as
an Action Item does not mean that a vote is required for that
meeting; rather, only that a vote may be taken. Action Items may
occur on several successive agendas -in order for the HRC to have
a full discussion of an issue -before a vote is actually taken. All
matters of procedure are governed by Roberts Rules of Order
newly Revised (1981). See section VI. D. of this document for the
rules of order under which all motions, discussions and votes will
occur.
Action Items may be brought to the Agenda Setting Committee by
Commission members, City Council members and staff, but may
not be added during the course of a meeting for consideration that
night.
Consideration of Action Items will follow the following procedure:
a.Presentation. Staff or a sponsoring Commissioner will
make a brief presentation of the Action Item.
b.Public Hearing. After an Action Item is presented,
the HRC will conduct a public hearing on that specific
item. People wishing to speak will be allowed up to three
minutes each to provide information or their perspective on
the Action Item before the HRC. Following each person’s
comments, members of the HRC may ask questions of the
presenter, but should not provide their own viewpoint, or
3
enter into discussion with other Commissioners at this time.
At any time after one-half hour of public comment (or
before one-half hour’s time if no other members of the
public are present who wish to provide comments), the
Chair of the HRC may close the hearing.
c.Staff Comment.Following the public hearing on a
particular Action Item, the Chair will ask staff to present
any additional viewpoints, based on the points made during
the public hearing.
d.Motion. Following staff comment, a
motion will be accepted by the Chair. If duly seconded, the
motion will be discussed by the Commission. See Section
D. Rules of Order for guidelines for speaking and
procedure in handling motions.
e.Voting. Following discussion by the
Commission, the Action Item will be voted on. A minimum
of three yes votes is necessary for approval of any action.
See Section D. Rules of Order for guidelines on voting.
This procedure will be repeated for each Action
Item appearing on the Agenda.
6.Discussion/Informational Items.This section of the agenda is
reserved for informational items for discussion where a vote is not
necessary. Such items may include:
a.Individual HRC member reports to the full Commission on
activities members have taken on behalf of the HRC (e.g.,
reports on the activities of the Human Services Fund
Technical Review Committee).
b.Reports by HRC members of meetings or discussions they
have had with members of City Council, other City bodies,
or members of the community.
c.Items brought by HRC members or staff for general
discussion.
d.Items brought by thepublic in the HRC’s community
participation component of the agenda.
4
Votes during this component of the agenda will only occur in the
case of an issue or topic which needs immediate action by the
Commission. In such a case, a super majority vote of those
members present (four of five members present; three of four
members present; or three of three members present) is necessary
to place an item into consideration during the Immediate Action
Items section of the agenda.
7.Immediate Action Items. On rare occasions, the need will arise for
the HRC to consider taking action on a particular item on short
notice. This case may arise, for example, when the HRC would
like to recommend a certain policy or action to City Council on a
matter that is scheduled for the Council’s calendar before the next
regularly scheduled HRC meeting. In such cases, a Commissioner
may make a motion for consideration of an issue under the
Immediate Action Items component of the agenda. In order to be
considered an “Immediate Action Item”at least two-thirds of those
members present (four of five present; three of four present; three
of three present) must vote to consider the item as an “Immediate
Action Item.”Once approved by two-thirds vote, procedures for
consideration will follow procedures b.through e.as contained in
the section on Action Items, above. All matters of procedure are
governed by Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised (1981) (See
Section D. Rules of Order for the rules under which all motions,
discussions and votes will occur) and a motion concerning an item
under consideration requires only a simple majority for approval
(with a minimum of three yes votes necessary for approval).
8.Adjournment.After all business has been conducted, the Chair will
accept a motion to adjourn the meeting. With three or more yes
votes from Commissioners present, the meeting is adjourned.
D.Rules of Order
All matters of procedure are governed by Robert’s Rules of Order Newly
Revised (1981), except as otherwise noted. In handlingroutine business, the HRC
may use a more informal procedure than that set forth in these guidelines. In such
cases, the Chair may specify an action and announce that, if there is no objection,
the action will be considered adopted. If no member says, “Objection”or “I
object,”the Chair announces that the action is adopted. If an HRC member
objects, a formal motion to take the action becomes necessary.
5
Amendments to the guidelines in this section (Rules of Order) must be proposed
at a regularly scheduled meeting. The proposed amendment may then be adopted
at another duly called public meeting at least one month following the initial
proposal of the amendment by at least three members of the Commission.
1.Quorum.
Three of the five members of the HRC must be present to
constitute a quorum. An official meeting of HRC may not take place
without a quorum.
2.Chair.
The Chairperson of the HRC shall serve as the Chair of all
meetings. In the absence of the Chairperson of the HRC, the Deputy
Chairperson shall serve as the Chair of the meeting. In the absence of both
the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of the HRC, the HRC
member with the most seniority shall call the meeting to order, after which
a vote will be taken to determine the Chair of the meeting.
3.Rule of Three.
At least three HRC members must agree for a course of
action or project if it will entail more than three hours of staff time.
4.Recess.
At any time during the agenda, the Chair may declare a recess
until a specified time.
5.Guidelines for Speaking
.
a.To obtain the floor, a member addresses the Chair, who recognizes
the member by calling out the person’s name. Only one person
may have the floor at any time. A person shall not speak while
another has the floor. The Chair generally nextrecognizes the
person who first asks for the floor after it has been relinquished. A
member shall generally relinquish the floor if s/he has addressed
the pending issue for five minutes.
b.Commission members should speak to the questions specific to the
motion on the floor for discussion. Any member shall have the
authority to request that the speaker not digress from the subject.
c.As government officials, the Commission should expect a
considerable amount of debate and dialogue at meetings. The
debate should be conducted in a professional, respectful manner in
which no member takes personally another one’s disagreement
with their position.
6.Procedure in Handling Motions.
a.Making a Motion. After obtaining the floor, a Commissioner may
make a motion. (Staff will endeavor to capture the motion in
writing on paper, but if the Commissioner knows the motion will
6
be long or involved, s/he should write the motion down to prevent
any transcription errors.)
The Commission member may briefly state his or her reason for
making the motion before the motion is made, but may not argue
the motion. Discussion and argument may occur only after the
motion has been seconded.
Having spoken once to make a motion, the Commissioner may not
speak again until everyone who wishes to be heard has had the
opportunity to speak, except to answer questions asked by other
Commission members or staff.
Having made a motion, a Commission member may neither speak
against it nor vote against it.
The correct way of making a motion is to say, “I move that... [add
your motion].”
b.Friendly Amendment. Any member of the Commission can offer a
friendly amendment before a vote on a motion is taken. At that
time, the maker of the motion will answer whether s/he does or
does not accept the friendly amendment; alternatively, the maker
can codify the original motion.
If the maker of the motion modifies the motion, the person who
has seconded it has the right to withdraw his or her second.
However, if a modification is accepted as suggested by another
member either before or after the motion has been seconded, the
suggester has, in effect, seconded the modified motion, so that
another second is not necessary.
c.A Motion Must Be Seconded to Be Discussed. A member not
making the motion must second the motion in order for discussion
to follow. A “second”does not indicate support for the motion; it
simply means that the person thinks the topic is worthy of
discussion. If there is no second, the Chair shall not recognize the
motion and it will not be discussed.
d.Stating the Question by the Chair. When a motion has been made
and seconded, the Chair formally places it before the Commission
by stating the question. The Chair states the exact motion and
indicates that it is open to discussion. The basic form used by the
Chair in stating the question on a motion is, “It is moved and
seconded that(repeating the motion).”
7
Until the Chair states the question, the maker has the right to
modify his or her motion if s/he pleases, or withdraw it completely.
After the motion has been stated by the Chair, the motion becomes
the property of the Commission, and them its maker can neither
amend nor withdraw the motion without the Commissions’
consent. However, while the motion is pending, the Commission
canchange the wording of the motion by a process of friendly
amendment before acting on it.
e.Discussing the Motion.Once the question has been stated, the
maker of the motion has the first right to speak to the motion. After
the maker finishes discussing,other members of the Commission
may obtain the floor and further question or discuss the motion.
Other Commission members should limit speaking among
themselves when another member has the floor. In general, each
member can speak twice to a debatable motion. However, all
members should be given the opportunity to speak once before
others may speak again.
Commission members and staff, when wishing to speak, shall
follow the rules of speaking outlined above. The speaker’s position
on the motion should be stated directly: “I favor this motion
because…”,“I am opposed to the motion because…,”or “I have
some questions, before I can take a position on this motion…”
Remarks should be addressed to the Chair.
At the end of discussion, the Chair restates the motion and calls for
a vote. Negative as well as affirmative votes are taken. The Chair
announces the result of the vote. The motion is not completed until
the result is announced. In the case of a tie vote, the motion fails.
7.Voting
a.Manner of Voting. The HRC may vote by a voice vote, the raising
of hands, or the calling of roll. The Chair shall announce the results
of each vote.
b.Refusal to Vote. No commissioner is excused from voting except
on approving minutes of a meeting that s/he did not attend or on a
matter of conflict of interest. If an HRC member is present at a
meeting and refuses to vote, the member’s vote shall be recorded
as a “yes”vote.
c.Effect of Votes. A “yes”vote of three or more Commission
members is required to pass a motion approving any action (with
8
the exception of a motion to consider an item not scheduled as an
Action Item-see Immediate Action Items). Any agenda item
requiring a vote of the Commission is denied if it does not receive
an affirmative vote of three or more Commissioners. A failure to
receive an affirmative vote of three members on a motion shall
result in defeat of the item.
8.Rules for Public Hearings and Public Participation
Public hearings are generally to be conducted in an informal but orderly
manner. The public is welcome to address the Commission during the
public hearing period of the agenda on those items which appear on the
HRC agenda for that evening. The public may also address the
Commission during the community participation portion of the meeting
regarding any item not on the agenda.
a.During the community participation or public hearings, members
of the public are recognized by the Chair. No person shall make a
presentation (not including Commission questions) of more than
three minutes, unless given permission by the Chair before
beginning to speak.
b.For public hearings, each speaker is requested to direct remarks to
the Commission’s action which is being requested. The Chair shall
have the authority to interrupt any speaker digressing from the
subject and may ask that points already presented not be repeated.
(During citizen participation, the speaker may bring any issue of
interest to the Commission’s attention.)
c.A public hearing is not a time for debate with the public. Questions
from the Commission and staff requesting clarification of a
statement made by a speaker are appropriate when necessary.
d.The Chair may close the public hearing after one hour of
presentations, or before that if it is determined that all speakers
who wish to present have spoken. The Chair may close public
participation after one half-hour of presentations, or before that if it
is determined that all speakers who wish to present have spoken.
e.After the public hearing or public participation has been closed, the
Commission and staff may discuss items or issues raised by the
public.
9
E. Roles of Staff
In general, staff is responsible for all activities in support of Commission
meetings, including proper notice of meetings, producing and distributing an
agenda and appropriate agenda materials, securing necessary meeting space,
scheduling witnesses, acquiring food as necessary, recording of minutes, setting-
up and breaking-down (clean up) of meeting space. In addition, it is staff’s
responsibility to add to discussions of the HRC; prepare research, analysis,
options and staff recommendations; offer suggestions regarding proper procedure
when needed; accurately record for the Chair motions as they are presented; and
conduct informational follow-up as needed bythe Commission.
1.Notice.
All meetings of three or more members of the HRC must be
posted in advance of the meeting. For the Commission’s monthly
meetings, staff will arrange for the meeting to be announced in the Daily
Cameraon the weekend prior to the meeting and will post notice of the
meeting and the agenda at the Municipal Building and the New Britain
Building the Friday immediately preceding the Monday meeting.
2.Materials.
Staff will prepare a written agenda and appropriate materials
for the meeting. Staff will ensure that the HRC receives a copy of the
Approved agenda and meeting materials not later than the Friday before
the scheduled meeting.
3.Meeting Space
. Staff will reserve an appropriate venue for all HRC
meetings and will arrange payment for any costs associated with reserving
space.
10
4.Scheduling Witnesses
. As community groups or individuals are to report
to the HRC (e.g., Cultural Celebrations grant reports), staff will work with
such individuals or groups to ensure that they are familiar with the date,
time and location of the meeting and the procedure for reporting or
testifying.
5.Food
. As most regular meetings of the HRC occur during the dinner hour,
staff will order, present and pay for food for HRC Commissioners and
staff.
6.Set-up and Clean-up
. Staff will ensure that the meeting room is properly
set up for use by the HRC-including the use of recording equipment,
audio-visuals and other materials as needed for the meeting-and will
clean up after the meeting has adjourned.
7.Recording
. During the meeting, staff will take notes which will serve as
the official minutes of the meeting (after HRC approval at its next
meeting), and will make an audio recording of the meeting for review
purposes.
VII. Special Events
Specialevents are part of the Human Relations Commission’s long-term strategy for
building a community in which all residents are treated with respect and dignity, and
have unobstructed access to basic human needs. The main objective is to build positive
relationships among the diverse communities that make up the Boulder population,
including racial, economic, ethnic, sexual orientation and people with disabilities.
The approach of special events is educational. Special events are identified and included
in the annual HRC work plan. In recent years, special events have included: a reception
for cultural awards grant recipients, an economic summit, a human rights summit, and a
celebration of the 25 year anniversary of the passage of Boulder’s human rights
ordinance.
A.Authorization
Generally, special events are planned far in advance and are part of the approved
annual workplan of the HRC. Special events outside of the scope of the annual
workplan may be undertaken by the HRC only after an affirmative vote of at least
three HRC members at a regular monthly meeting. If a special event is added,
consideration should be given to the impact on the other activities of the
workplan, and adjustments to the workplan and budget may be needed.
11
For any event, there mustbe sufficient funds in the HRC’s budget to cover costs.
It is the responsibility of staff to estimate anticipated costs and provide the HRC
with a draft budget of a proposed special event prior to its consideration. For this
reason, discussions at regularly scheduled HRC meetings before an event comes
to a vote are necessary so that staff has sufficient understanding of the scope of
the event in question.
B.Agenda Setting
Once approved in concept, a more detailed notion of the event and its agenda
may be developed either through the full Commission at a regularly
scheduled meeting, or through committees established for this purpose.
Meetings of such a committee must be noticed in the newspaper and at the
Municipal Building and the New Britain Building ifthree or more
Commissioners will be in attendance. Additionally, all such meetings must be
open to the public, as required by the Colorado “sunshine”law. For these
reasons and fiduciary responsibility, it is necessary that staff be involved in
each step of the planning process.
If outside speakers or panel participants are to on the agenda for a special
event, staff needs to be involved in the invitation of the speaker or
participant, regardless of whether there is a fee involved in the person’s
appearance.
C.Roles and Responsibilities of Commission Members
Special events play an important role in the promotion of the HRC’s work plan.
Once a special event has been approved by the HRC, it becomes part of the work
of the entire Commission and is not limited to those members who may be
involved in the planning of the event. As such, all HRC members are expected to
attend and participate in each special event authorized by the Commission.
D.Roles and Responsibilities of Staff
As indicated in Section VI. Meetings, E. Roles of Staff, staff is responsible for all
activities in support of Commission meetings, including proper notice of
meetings, producing an agenda and appropriate agenda materials, securing
necessary meeting space, acquiring food as necessary, recording of minutes,
setting-up and breaking-down (clean up) of meeting space. Additionally, staff will
conduct all fee negotiations with potential speakers or event participants, and will
be responsible for all disbursements (and promises of disbursement) of HRC
monies.
12