Sarasota City Commission Rules of Procedure Workshop - March 18, 2025

The Sarasota City Commission held a workshop on March 18, 2025, from approximately 10:01 AM to 12:53 PM in the SRQ Media Studio, to continue and finalize proposed revisions to the City Commission Rules of Procedure. The meeting was chaired by Vice Mayor Debbie Trice, with Mayor Liz Alpert arriving at 10:02 AM and Commissioner Kyle Scott Battie arriving at 10:04 AM. City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs led the discussion through proposed changes page by page.

Discussion Items

• Rule V.B – Orders of the Day: Added language allowing changes to the Orders of the Day by consensus of the Commission; if no consensus, a formal motion is needed. The Commission expressed no additional input and agreed the language was working.
• Rule V.C – Consent Agenda Removal: Removed reference to “via email, telephone or in person” and replaced with “by advising the Charter Officials in advance.” The time certain requirement was eliminated per previous discussion; commissioners may still pull items at the dais.
• Rule VI.C – Presiding Officer / Parliamentarian: Changed “Consistent with the City Charter” to “Pursuant to the City Charter Article VI, Sec. 5, sub-section F.” The Commission commended the expanded role of the City Auditor and Clerk as parliamentarian and the Mayor's increased guidance.
• Rule VII.F – Citizens’ Input (30-minute limit): Extensive debate occurred. Some commissioners opposed any hard limit, while others argued a limit provides a procedural off-ramp. The final consensus: retain the 30-minute limit but allow the Commission to extend public comment by additional 30-minute increments via majority vote, consistent with Florida Statute 286.0114(4)(d).
• Rule VII.M – Public Hearing Time Limits: Approved as highlighted.
• Rule X.C – Rules of Debate (Question Rounds): After rejecting a fixed three rounds of three questions each, the Commission adopted: “ten minutes for the first round, five minutes for the second round, and three minutes for all subsequent rounds. Commissioners will not ask another round of questions until every Commissioner who desires to ask questions has had an opportunity to do so.”
• Rule X.D – Speaking Second Time: Changed “cannot” to “will not” to read “Commissioners will not speak the second time on a motion until every Commissioner who desires to speak on it has had an opportunity to do so once.”
• Rule XI.I.A.3 – Remarks by Commissioners: Discussed concerns that remarks had become performative or merely listing attended events. No formal rule change was made, but consensus favored shifting to brief, substantive reports on board/committee actions, with written summaries distributed via email or agenda attachments.
• Rule XI.II – Petitioner vs. Applicant: Changed “petitioner(s)” to “applicant(s)” throughout.
• Rule XII – Sergeant-at-Arms: Added “or the City Manager” to the line giving instructions for maintaining order. Also, it was agreed to add “Mayor and Vice Mayor” as individuals who can announce that a speaker’s time has expired, to provide clear escalation authority.
• Special vs. Emergency Meetings: Clarified that a special meeting is for business requiring a directive or policy vote (cannot vote at a workshop), while an emergency meeting addresses urgent, unforeseen circumstances. Two commissioners may request a special meeting through staff without violating sunshine laws.
• Workshop Public Input: Decided not to allow public input at workshops by default, but the notice may specify if input will be allowed.
• Cancelling Meetings: Authority rests with the City Manager in coordination with the Mayor/Vice Mayor during emergencies.
• Adjournment Time (Rule VII.R): Removed the parenthetical requiring a 2/3 vote to continue past 5:00 PM.
• Leading Motions: Agreed that the presiding officer should simply ask “Is there a motion?” rather than making a leading motion.
• Gender Pronouns: Agreed to replace “his/her” with “their” throughout.
• Friendly Amendments: Commissioner Ohlrich raised a point of order that denying a friendly amendment without a vote violates Robert's Rules of Order. The Commission agreed to follow Robert's Rules: an amendment is moved, seconded, debated, and voted on.
• Backup Material Deadlines: Reaffirmed that substantive changes to backup materials must be submitted by the Wednesday before the meeting (current deadline is 17 days for agenda items). Materials handed out at the dais should not be expected to be read during the meeting; changes must be clearly communicated, and if substantive, may require the item to be continued.
• Ringling Museum and TIF Discussion: Commissioner Ahearn-Koch alerted the Commission to a bill placing the Ringling Museum under New College and a potential request for the City to take over. Vice Mayor Trice raised the question of interpreting TIF fund usage for Van Wezel; the City Attorney noted the codified resolution governs.

Key Outcomes

• Consensus reached on most proposed rule changes; the final document will be presented as a Resolution and amended Ordinance for a formal vote at a future Commission meeting.
• Agreed to revisit the Rules of Procedure every odd-numbered year in January, shortly after new commissioners are seated.
• No formal votes were taken at this workshop; all decisions are guiding consensus for staff to prepare the final version.