Agenda Packets - 1994/07/05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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HOLMES & GRAVEN CHARTERED Attorneys at Law ROBERT A ALSOP 470 Pillsbury Center,Minneapolis,Minnesota 55402 (612)337-9300 ROBERT C.LONG RONALD H.BATTY LAURA K.MOLLET STEPHEN J.BUBUL Facsimile(612)337-9310 BARBARA L PORTWOOD JOHN B DEAN JAMES M.STROMMEN MARY G.DOBBINS JAMES J.THOMSON,JR. STEFANIE N.GALEY LARRY M.WERTHEIM CORRINE A.HEINE BONNIE L WILKINS JAMES S.HOLMES WRITER'S DIRECT DIAL GARY P.WLYTER DAVID J.KENNEDY DAVID L.GRAVEN(1929.1991) JOHN R.LARSON 337-9209 — WELLINGTON H.LAW OF COUNSEL CHARLES L.LEFEVERE ROBERT C.CARLSON JOHN M.LEFEVRE,JR. ROBERT L.DAVIDSON ROBERT J.LINDALL T.JAY SALMEN June 9, 1994 Mayor Jerry Linke and City Concilmembers City of Mounds View 2401 Highway 10 Mounds View, MN 55112-1499 RE: Proposed Changes to City Code, Section 105.04 Dear Mayor Linke and Councilmembers: I have reviewed the suggested changes to Mounds View's City Code, Section 105.04 dealing with rules of order for the city council. Under the proposal, the rules would be amended to state that councilmembers will refrain from making negative personal comments, such as comments questioning the motives or ability of other elected officials, staff or persons appearing before the council. The proposal contemplates that if a councilmember violates the rule, the presiding officer will have the ability to limit further comments of the councilmember until a later time when the presiding officer again recognizes that councilmember's right to address the body. A second violation during the same meeting would result in suspension of the councilmember's opportunity to participate in further debate on that item, and a third violation during the same meeting would result in the member being asked to remove himself/herself from the meeting room. The city council clearly has the authority to adopt rules of order that prohibit council members from making negative personal comments about other members. However, the proposed remedies for violation of the rule exceed the council's authority, and I therefore recommend that the proposed ordinance be revised. It is a well-established principle that members of an elected body should refrain from making negative personal comments about other members. It is also an established principle that an elected official must not be precluded from participating in matters pertaining to the governmental body, unless the member has a conflict of interest. In addition, elected officials maintain the same First Amendment rights as other members of the public. In Kucinich v. Forbes, 432 F.Supp. 1101 (N.D. Ohio 1977), the court was asked to address the question of whether a councilmember could be suspended from JJT71463 MU125-11