City Council

AGENDA Special Council Meeting - 11:30 AM - Thursday, April 17, 2025 City Council Chambers, Bossier City Hall 620 Benton Road, Bossier City, Louisiana Page I. CALL TO ORDER II. INVOCATION BY COUNCIL MEMBER JEFFERY DARBY III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DON WILLIAMS IV. ROLL CALL V. APPROVE AGENDA VI. NEW BUSINESS 3 - 15 1. Adopt a Resolution repealing and re-enacting Resolution 1 of 2024 for the organization of the City Council, providing rules for the Council and otherwise providing with respect thereto. (First and Final Reading) (Jacobs) A Resolution repealing and re-enacting Resolution 1 of 2024 for the organization of the City Council, providing rules for the Council and otherwise pr - Pdf Res to repeal and re-enact Res 1 of 2024 - with track changes VII. ANNOUNCEMENTS VIII. ADJOURN Livestream provided at https://bossiercity.org/373/Live-Stream Page 1 of 15 Any member of the public or the designated caregiver of any member of the public with an ADA-recognized disability may submit a request to provide written comment on an agenda item remotely via electronic means. For more information contact: City Clerk Phyllis McGraw, 620 Benton Road, Bossier City, LA 71111, 318-741-8509 or cityclerk@bossiercity.org Page 2 of 15  City of Bossier City ITEM FACT SHEET Regular Council Meeting Date: Regular Council - Apr 08 2025 Department: Legal Prepared by: Jennifer Emert, Secretary Sponsor: Charles Jacobs, CA Submitted: April 8, 2025 ☐ NOTED: ☒ RECOMMENDED BY: Thomas Chandler, Mayor TITLE: A Resolution repealing and re-enacting Resolution 1 of 2024 for the organization of the City Council, providing rules for the Council and otherwise providing with respect thereto. COUNCIL DATE REQUESTED: Regular Council - Apr 08 2025 ATTACHMENTS: Res to repeal and re-enact Res 1 of 2024 4.11.25 Reviewed By: Charles Jacobs, CA Approved - Apr 08 2025 Angela Williamson, Finance Director Approved - Apr 08 2025 Thomas Chandler, Mayor Approved - Apr 08 2025 Phyllis McGraw, City Clerk Approved - Apr 08 2025 Page 3 of 15 The following Resolution offered and adopted: RESOLUTION NO. ____ OF 2025 A RESOLUTION REPEALING AND RE-ENACTING RESOLUTION NO. 1 OF 2024 FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL, PROVIDING RULES FOR THE COUNCIL AND OTHERWISE PROVIDING WITH RESPECT THERETO. BE IT RESOLVED, By the City Council of the City of Bossier City, Louisiana, that the following procedural rules are hereby enacted, effective April 17, 2025: REGULAR ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS DURING THE TERM OF COUNCIL: Each newly elected Council shall meet in Council Chambers at their first meeting at which time it will elect from its membership a President Pro-tem and Vice President Pro-tem whom shall serve until July 1st of the following year. During the term of the Council, their successors will be elected yearly at the Regular Council Meeting in June and their elected successors shall automatically assume office on July 1st following their election. Such election procedures shall continue until the next elected Council takes office. When this occurs, the Council will again organize itself on the date it takes office as mentioned above. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS: (1) Time – The Council shall hold regular, bi-weekly meetings at 3:00PM. However, when the day fixed for any regular meeting of the Council falls upon a day designated by law as a legal or national holiday, such meeting will be rescheduled by a vote of the Council upon the adoption of their official Calendar each year or during the year as needed. (2) Place – All Council Meetings shall be held in Council Chambers, Municipal Complex, 620 Benton Road, Bossier City, Louisiana. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS: Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor, President Pro-tem of the Council or four (4) or more members of the Council and upon no less than twenty-four hours notice to each member. In the event of a Public Emergency, the Mayor, President-Pro-tem or (4) or more Council members may call a Special Meeting at whatever notice shall be convenient to give. ROLL CALL: Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the City Clerk shall call the roll of the members and the names of those present shall be entered the minutes. Page 4 of 15 QUORUM: A majority of all members shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in a manner and subject to the penalties prescribed by the rules of the Council. VOTING: Voting will generally be by electronic vote unless there are technical malfunctions or one of the council members request that a roll call vote be taken and in such event the vote shall be taken according to a rotating system established by the City Clerk. READING OF THE MINUTES: Unless a reading of the minutes of a Council meeting is requested by a member of the Council, such minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy thereof. DUTIES AND AUTHORITY OF PRESIDENT PRO-TEM AND THE VICE PRESIDENT PRO-TEM The President Pro-tem, and in his or her absence, the Vice President Pro-tem shall preside over all Council meetings. During the absence of the President Pro-tem at any Regular or Special called meeting, including committee meetings, the Vice President Pro-tem shall automatically become the Acting President Pro-tem. Further, in the event the President Pro-tem’s temporary absence from the City or temporary inability to perform the duties of his or her office, he or she may by letter filed with the City Clerk, designate the Vice President Pro-tem as Acting President Pro-tem during such absences. Such absences shall not exceed thirty (30) days. Further, in the event the office of the President Pro-tem is vacant for any reason, the Vice-President shall become President Pro-tem for the remainder of the President Pro-tem’s term of office and a New Vice President Pro-tem shall be elected. The President Pro-tem may authorize Council operating expenditures for budgeted items not to exceed $500.00 for any single expenditure. CHAIRING THE MEETINGS: The President Pro-tem shall assume the chair of presiding officer immediately after his or her election. He shall preserve strict order and decorum at the regular and special meetings of the Council. He, or the City Clerk if designated, shall state every question coming before the Council. He shall announce the decision of the Council on all subjects and decide all questions of order, subject; however, to an appeal to the Council, in which event a majority vote of the Council shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. He or she shall vote on all questions. He or she shall sign all Ordinances and Resolutions adopted by the Council during his or her presence. Page 5 of 15  The President Pro-tem shall take the chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall immediately call the meeting to order. Promptly at the hour set by law on the day of each Regular Meeting, the members of the Council, the City Clerk, and the City Attorney shall take their regular stations in the Council Chambers and the business of the Council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition. RULES OF DEBATE: The President Pro-tem may move, second, and debate, provided the President Pro-tem relinquish the chair while debating, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Councilperson by reason of his or her acting as presiding officer. Every member of the Council desiring to speak shall address the chair and upon recognition by the President Pro-tem, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him to order, or as herein otherwise provided. If a member, while speaking, be called to order, he shall cease speaking until the questions or order be determined, and if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed. The Councilperson moving the adoption of any Ordinance or Resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be only on the day such action was taken. It may be either immediately during the same session, or at a recessed or adjourned session thereof. Such motion must be made by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member, and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions or while a member has the floor; it shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the Council from making or remaking the same or any other motion at subsequent meeting of the Council. The Clerk may be directed by President Pro-tem, with consent of the Council, to enter in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion on any question coming before the Council. Roberts Rules of Order are adopted by reference and will apply to any procedural question not covered by the Resolution, provided, such rule does not conflict with the City Charter or Louisiana Law. Page 6 of 15  DECORUM BY COUNCIL MEMBERS: While the Council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum and a member shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the Council or its President Pro-tem, except as otherwise herein provided. BY PERSONS: Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Council shall be forthwith, by the President Pro-tem, barred from further audience before the Council during that meeting. SERGEANT-AT-ARM: With the concurrence of the Council, the Bossier City Marshal or such member or members of the Bossier City Marshal’s Office and the Bossier City Police Department, shall serve as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Council meetings. They shall carry out the orders and instructions given by the President Pro-tem for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council Meetings. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL: Any Person desiring to address the Council shall first receive the permission of the Meeting Chair and will be limited to the current agenda item up for consideration. Each Add-on request, will also allow public comment prior to being added on to the current agenda. Any person wishing to speak must step up to the podium microphone and state their name and address for the record. They shall address the Council in an audible tone of voice for the record, and unless further time is granted by the Council, shall limit their address to three (3) minutes. A maximum of forty-five minutes will be set aside for addressing the Council and no more than 8 speakers per Agenda item. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than the Council or at Council request, City Attorney, and the person having the floor shall, address the Council without the permission of the President Pro-tem. No question shall be asked a Councilperson or the Mayor except through the Meeting Chair. Page 7 of 15 ACT 393 COMPLIANCE ACT 393 of the 2023 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, amends La. R.S. 42:17.2.1 and La. R.S. 42:14 (E) to requiring public bodies to provide reasonable accommodation to persons with a medically certified disability recognized by the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) such that those persons may participate during the open meetings. The act also requires reasonable accommodation for members of the public body with an ADA-recognized and medically certified disability seeks accommodation including, but not limited to, remote participation in public meetings. ACT 393 POLICY A. Any member of the Council with an ADA-recognized disability who requires reasonable accommodation to participate remotely and vote in an open meeting of the City of Bossier City, shall provide a medical certification of disability on forms provided by the City Clerk. B. Any member of the public with an ADA-recognized disability requiring reasonable accommodation to provide comment remotely in an open meeting of the City of Bossier City shall complete an application for remote participation and provide a medical certification of disability on forms provided by the City Clerk. Any member of the public who is granted accommodation for a medically certified ADA- recognized disability pursuant to this section may submit written public comment on any agenda item via email to the City Clerk as provided in the public notice of the meeting. Any such public comment shall be specific to an agenda item and shall specify by number the pertinent agenda item. Further, any such comment shall be in writing and shall be received by the City Clerk no later than 5:00 pm on the day prior to the meeting. Written comment provided pursuant to this section shall not exceed 500 words and shall conform in content to all other rules of decorum regarding public comment and will be read aloud by the clerk during the public comment period of the pertinent agenda item. FACT SHEETS FOR AGENDA ITEMS: A Fact sheet shall be submitted to the City Clerk on a form prescribed by the Council prior to the Council Meeting on every item requested on the Agenda by the Executive Branch, and where possible on items requested by a Council member. Each item requested by the Executive Branch will indicate that it has been approved by the Mayor. The completed Agenda Fact Sheet plus Ordinance/Resolution and any other pertinent data must be presented to the City Clerk by (3:00 pm) the Thursday prior to the Council Meeting unless directed differently by City Clerk on an as needed basis. If that day is a legal holiday then items must be presented at the City Clerks direction. With the exception of any bona-fide public emergency, any add-on agenda requests shall be delivered to the City Clerk no later than 12:00 pm noon on the date of the meeting. Page 8 of 15 PREPARATION OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTIONS: All Ordinances and Resolutions shall be prepared and/or approved by the City Attorney for form and legality. No Ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless requested by the Mayor, a Council member, or prepared by the City Attorney on his or her own initiative. MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETINGS: Minutes shall be prepared by the City Clerk and published in the manner prescribed by the City Charter. Minutes of the Council meetings shall be prepared as soon as possible after each meeting. The City Clerk and the President Pro-tem, or in his or her absence the Vice-President Pro-tem, shall sign all Ordinances and Resolutions included in such minutes. The City Clerk shall provide the Mayor with copies of all Ordinances and Resolutions included in such minutes prior to publication of the same. The minutes shall have the publication date noted thereon. If the Mayor fails to approve or disapprove (veto) an Ordinance within ten (10) days after publication, it shall be deemed to have been approved by the Mayor as of the last day of such period. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Resolution 1 of 2024 is hereby recalled, set aside and repealed and this Resolution will replace it. The above and foregoing Resolution was discussed and opened for public input at open and legal session convened, was on motion of ________________ and seconded by ______________, and adopted on this the day of 2025. AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ___________________________ Don Williams, President ___________________________ Phyllis McGraw, City Clerk Page 9 of 15 The following Resolution offered and adopted: RESOLUTION NO. 1 ____ OF 20242025 A RESOLUTION REPEALING AND RE-ENACTING RESOLUTION NO. 561 OF 20212024 FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL, PROVIDING RULES FOR THE COUNCIL AND OTHERWISE PROVIDING WITH RESPECT THERETO. BE IT RESOLVED, By the City Council of the City of Bossier City, Louisiana, that the following procedural rules are hereby enacted, effective January 2, 2024April 17, 2025: REGULAR ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS DURING THE TERM OF COUNCIL: Each newly elected Council shall meet in Council Chambers at their first meeting at which time it will elect from its membership a President Pro-tem and Vice President Pro-tem whom shall serve until July 1st of the following year. During the term of the Council, their successors will be elected yearly at the Regular Council Meeting in June and their elected successors shall automatically assume office on July 1st following their election. Such election procedures shall continue until the next elected Council takes office. When this occurs, the Council will again organize itself on the date it takes office as mentioned above. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS: (1) Time – The Council shall hold regular, bi-weekly meetings at 3:00PM. However, when the day fixed for any regular meeting of the Council falls upon a day designated by law as a legal or national holiday, such meeting will be rescheduled by a vote of the Council upon the adoption of their official Calendar each year or during the year as needed. (2) Place – All Council Meetings shall be held in Council Chambers, Municipal Complex, 620 Benton Road, Bossier City, Louisiana. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS: Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor, President Pro-tem of the Council or four (4) or more members of the Council and upon no less than twenty-four hours notice to each member. In the event of a Public Emergency, the Mayor, President-Pro-tem or (4) or more Council members may call a Special Meeting at whatever notice shall be convenient to give. Page 10 of 15 ROLL CALL: Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the City Clerk shall call the roll of the members and the names of those present shall be entered the minutes. QUORUM: A majority of all members shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in a manner and subject to the penalties prescribed by the rules of the Council. VOTING: Voting will generally be by electronic vote unless there are technical malfunctions or one of the council members request that a roll call vote be taken and in such event the vote shall be taken according to a rotating system established by the City Clerk. READING OF THE MINUTES: Unless a reading of the minutes of a Council meeting is requested by a member of the Council, such minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy thereof. DUTIES AND AUTHORITY OF PRESIDENT PRO-TEM AND THE VICE PRESIDENT PRO-TEM The President Pro-tem, and in his or her absence, the Vice President Pro-tem shall preside over all Council meetings. During the absence of the President Pro-tem at any Regular or Special called meeting, including committee meetings, the Vice President Pro-tem shall automatically become the Acting President Pro-tem. Further, in the event the President Pro-tem’s temporary absence from the City or temporary inability to perform the duties of his or her office, he or she may by letter filed with the City Clerk, designate the Vice President Pro-tem as Acting President Pro-tem during such absences. Such absences shall not exceed thirty (30) days. Further, in the event the office of the President Pro-tem is vacant for any reason, the Vice-President shall become President Pro-tem for the remainder of the President Pro-tem’s term of office and a New Vice President Pro-tem shall be elected. The President Pro-tem may authorize Council operating expenditures for budgeted items not to exceed $500.00 for any single expenditure. CHAIRING THE MEETINGS: The President Pro-tem shall assume the chair of presiding officer immediately after his or her election. He shall preserve strict order and decorum at the regular and special meetings of the Council. He, or the City Clerk if designated, shall state every question coming before the Council. Page 11 of 15 He shall announce the decision of the Council on all subjects and decide all questions of order, subject; however, to an appeal to the Council, in which event a majority vote of the Council shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. He or she shall vote on all questions. He or she shall sign all Ordinances and Resolutions adopted by the Council during his or her presence. The President Pro-tem shall take the chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall immediately call the meeting to order. Promptly at the hour set by law on the day of each Regular Meeting, the members of the Council, the City Clerk, and the City Attorney shall take their regular stations in the Council Chambers and the business of the Council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition. RULES OF DEBATE: The President Pro-tem may move, second, and debate, provided the President Pro-tem relinquish the chair while debating, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Councilperson by reason of his or her acting as presiding officer. Every member of the Council desiring to speak shall address the chair and upon recognition by the President Pro-tem, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him to order, or as herein otherwise provided. If a member, while speaking, be called to order, he shall cease speaking until the questions or order be determined, and if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed. The Councilperson moving the adoption of any Ordinance or Resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be only on the day such action was taken. It may be either immediately during the same session, or at a recessed or adjourned session thereof. Such motion must be made by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member, and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions or while a member has the floor; it shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the Council from making or remaking the same or any other motion at subsequent meeting of the Council. The Clerk may be directed by President Pro-tem, with consent of the Council, to enter in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion on any question coming before the Council. Roberts Rules of Order are adopted by reference and will apply to any procedural question not covered by the Resolution, provided, such rule does not conflict with the City Charter or Louisiana Law. Page 12 of 15  DECORUM BY COUNCIL MEMBERS: While the Council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum and a member shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the Council or its President Pro-tem, except as otherwise herein provided. BY PERSONS: Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Council shall be forthwith, by the President Pro-tem, barred from further audience before the Council, unless permission to continue by granted by a majority vote of the Council during that meeting. SERGEANT-AT-ARM: With the concurrence of the Council, the Bossier City Marshal or such member or members of the Bossier City Marshal’s Office and the Bossier City Police Department, shall serve as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Council meetings. They shall carry out the orders and instructions given by the President Pro-tem for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council Meetings. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL: Any Person desiring to address the Council shall first receive the permission of the Meeting Chair and will be limited to the current agenda item up for consideration. Each Add-on request, will also allow public comment prior to being added on to the current agenda. Any person wishing to speak must step up to the podium microphone and state their name and address for the record. They shall address the Council in an audible tone of voice for the record, and unless further time is granted by the Council, shall limit their address to three (3) minutes. A maximum of forty-five minutes will be set aside for addressing the Council and no more than 4 8 speakers per side of the argument discussion per Agenda item. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than the Council or at Council request, City Attorney, and the person having the floor shall, address the Council without the permission of the President Pro-tem. No question shall be asked a Councilperson or the Mayor except through the Meeting Chair. Page 13 of 15 ACT 393 COMPLIANCE ACT 393 of the 2023 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, amends La. R.S. 42:17.2.1 and La. R.S. 42:14 (E) to requiring public bodies to provide reasonable accommodation to persons with a medically certified disability recognized by the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) such that those persons may participate during the open meetings. The act also requires reasonable accommodation for members of the public body with an ADA-recognized and medically certified disability seeks accommodation including, but not limited to, remote participation in public meetings. ACT 393 POLICY A. Any member of the Council with an ADA-recognized disability who requires reasonable accommodation to participate remotely and vote in an open meeting of the City of Bossier City, shall provide a medical certification of disability on forms provided by the City Clerk. B. Any member of the public with an ADA-recognized disability requiring reasonable accommodation to provide comment remotely in an open meeting of the City of Bossier City shall complete an application for remote participation and provide a medical certification of disability on forms provided by the City Clerk. Any member of the public who is granted accommodation for a medically certified ADA- recognized disability pursuant to this section may submit written public comment on any agenda item via email to the City Clerk as provided in the public notice of the meeting. Any such public comment shall be specific to an agenda item and shall specify by number the pertinent agenda item. Further, any such comment shall be in writing and shall be received by the City Clerk no later than 5:00 pm on the day prior to the meeting. Written comment provided pursuant to this section shall not exceed 500 words and shall conform in content to all other rules of decorum regarding public comment and will be read aloud by the clerk during the public comment period of the pertinent agenda item. FACT SHEETS FOR AGENDA ITEMS: A Fact sheet shall be submitted to the City Clerk on a form prescribed by the Council prior to the Council Meeting on every item requested on the Agenda by the Executive Branch, and where possible on items requested by a Council member. Each item requested by the Executive Branch will indicate that it has been approved by the Mayor. The completed Agenda Fact Sheet plus Ordinance/Resolution and any other pertinent data must be presented to the City Clerk by (123:00 noonpm) the Thursday prior to the Council Meeting unless directed differently by City Clerk on an as needed basis. If that day is a legal holiday then items must be presented at the City Clerks direction. With the exception of any bona-fide public emergency, any add-on agenda requests shall be delivered to the City Clerk no later than 12:00 pm noon on the date of the meeting. Page 14 of 15 PREPARATION OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTIONS: All Ordinances and Resolutions shall be prepared and/or approved by the City Attorney for form and legality. No Ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless requested by the Mayor, a Council member, or prepared by the City Attorney on his or her own initiative. MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETINGS: Minutes shall be prepared by the City Clerk and published in the manner prescribed by the City Charter. Minutes of the Council meetings shall be prepared as soon as possible after each meeting. The City Clerk and the President Pro-tem, or in his or her absence the Vice-President Pro-tem, shall sign all Ordinances and Resolutions included in such minutes. The City Clerk shall provide the Mayor with copies of all Ordinances and Resolutions included in such minutes prior to publication of the same. The minutes shall have the publication date noted thereon. If the Mayor fails to approve or disapprove (veto) an Ordinance within ten (10) days after publication, it shall be deemed to have been approved by the Mayor as of the last day of such period. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Resolution 561 of 20212024 is hereby recalled, set aside and repealed and this Resolution will replace it. The above and foregoing Resolution was discussed and opened for public input at open and legal session convened, was on motion of ________________ and seconded by ______________, and adopted on this the ____ day of ________, 2025. AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ___________________________ Don Williams, President ___________________________ Phyllis McGraw, City Clerk Page 15 of 15