Revere Retirement Board - Rules of Order

Approved on June 9, 2010

Index of Rules

Rule 1 - Chairperson, Powers and Duties and Quorum

The Chairperson shall take the chair at the hour to which the Retirement Board has adjourned, shall call the Retirement Board meeting to order and, on the appearance of a majority of all of the members of the Retirement Board, a quorum, (three Retirement Board members) shall proceed to business. In the absence of the Chairperson, the senior member of the Board shall call the Retirement Board meeting to order and serve as Chairperson, pro-tempore for the meeting. An affirmative vote of a majority of all of the members of the Retirement Board shall be necessary to adopt any motion.

Rule 2 - Chairperson, Election

The Retirement Board shall elect a Chairperson annually at the first meeting of each calendar year. The member of the Retirement Board with the longest seniority shall be Chairperson Pro-tempore.

Rule 3 - Preservation of Order - Appeals

The Chairperson shall preserve order and decorum, may speak to points of order in preference to other Retirement Board members, and shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Retirement Board on a motion of any Retirement Board member and no other business shall be in order until the question on the appeal shall have been decided. The questions shall be put as follows: "Shall the decision of the Chairperson be Overruled?"

Rule 4 - Questions - Order

The Chairperson shall propound all questions in the order in which they are moved, unless the subsequent motion is previous in its nature, except that in naming sums or fixing times, the largest sums and the longest times shall be put first.

Rule 5 - Addressing Chairperson

When a Retirement Board member desires to address the Board, the Board member shall respectfully address the Chairperson as "Mr. Chairperson" or "Madam Chairperson" and the Retirement Board member shall confine his or her remarks to the question under debate and shall avoid personalities.

Rule 6 - Speaking Decorum

No Retirement Board member shall be interrupted while speaking except by a call to order or for an explanation. Any Retirement Board member on being called to order shall cease debate until the point of order is decided unless allowed by the Chairperson to explain. All questions addressed by one Retirement Board member to another shall be stated through the Chairperson.

Rule 7 - Debate Limitations

No Retirement Board member shall speak for more than three minutes and more than twice on the same matter without leave of the Retirement Board, nor more than once until all other Retirement Board members desiring to speak have spoken.

Rule 8 - Motions, Procedure During Debate

When a question is under debate, the Chairperson shall receive no motion but:

(a) to adjourn

(b) to lay on the table

(c) for a previous question

(d) to limit or extend debate

(e) to postpone to a day certain

(f) to refer

(g) to amend

(h) to postpone indefinitely

which several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are arranged.

Rule 9 - Motion To Lay On Table, Previous Question

The motion to lay on the table, to take from the table, or the previous question shall be decided without debate.

Rule 10 - Previous Question

The Chairperson shall put the previous question in the following manner: "Shall the main question be now put?" All debate on the main question and pending amendments shall be suspended until the previous question is decided. After adoption of the previous question by a majority vote of the members, the vote shall forthwith be taken upon amendments pending in the regular order and then upon the main question.

Rule 11 - Motion To Adjourn, When Not In Order, Not Debatable

A motion to adjourn shall be in order at any time, except as follows:

(a) When repeated without intervening business or discussion

(b) When made as an interruption of a Retirement Board member while speaking

(c) When the previous question has been ordered

(d) While a vote is being taken

A motion to adjourn is debatable only as to the time to which the meeting is adjourned. A majority vote of all of the members of the Retirement Board shall be required to adopt a motion to adjourn.

Rule 12 - Voting

Every Retirement Board member present when a question is put may vote either "YES", "NO", or "PRESENT". Board members required to abstain from any vote will remove themselves from the table at the meeting, and will be recorded as absent at the time of the vote.

Rule 13 - Roll Call, Request

The Chairperson shall decide all votes, but if any Retirement Board member doubts the vote, the Chairperson, without further debate, shall call for a vote of the Retirement Board, which shall be taken by a roll call.

Prior to the announcement by the Chairperson of the result of a roll call vote, any Retirement Board member may ask to have his or her name called again in order to be recorded differently.

It shall not be in order for Retirement Board members to explain their votes during the call of the roll.

Rule 14 - Personal Privilege

The right of a Retirement Board member to address the Retirement Board on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which the integrity, character of motives of a Retirement Board member have been assailed, questioned or impugned.

Rule 15 - Reconsideration

A question having been taken, it shall not be in order to move a reconsideration thereof at the same meeting, but a motion to reconsider may be made at the next regular meeting provided written or electronic notice of such motion shall be filed with the Retirement Board Administrator, hereinafter referred to as the Administrator, prior to 4:00 P.M., of the second business day following; but no more than one motion for reconsideration of any vote shall be entertained. In case more than one written or electronic notice of intent to move for reconsideration on any question is filed with the Administrator, the Retirement Board shall accept a motion for reconsideration by the Retirement Board member whose notice shows the earliest date and hour of filing. There shall be no debate on a motion for reconsideration. A motion to reconsider may be made by any member of the Retirement Board present and voting. An affirmative vote of a majority of all of the members of the Retirement Board shall be necessary to approve a motion of reconsideration.

Rule 16 - Order Of Business

Section 1. At every regular meeting of the Retirement Board, the order of business shall be as follows:

(a) Salute to the Flag

(b) Roll Call of Retirement Board members

(c) Approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting

(d) Legal Matters

(e) Unfinished Business of the previous meeting

(f) New Applications for Membership in the System

(g) New Applications for Superannuation Retirement

(h) New Applications for Disability Retirement (Executive Session)

(i) Deaths of members of the System-Active, Retired, and Beneficiaries receiving

monthly survivor allowances

(j) Requests for purchase of creditable service

(k) Approval of Warrants

1. Refunds, Transfers

2. Retiree Payroll, Retroactive adjustments

3. Board Payroll

4. Payment of Charges & Expenses

(l) Administrator's Report

1. Monthly Expenditure Report

2. Trial balance Monthly Reconciliation Report & PRIT Fund Report

3. Budget Report

(m) New Business-reserved for topics that members introduce or any other matters

which may arise prior to the meeting

(n) Correspondence

(o) Executive Session-for the purpose of approving the Executive Session minutes from

the previous meeting, if any

(p) Adjournment

The order of business shall not be departed from except by a majority vote of those Retirement Board members present. All questions pertaining to a change in the Rules of Order shall be voted upon without debate. Notwithstanding the foregoing order of business, whenever, the Mayor, members of the General Court, Department Heads, City, State or Federal Officials, employees or retirees who are requested to appear before the Retirement Board, (or who seek to be heard by the Retirement Board?) the aforementioned shall be scheduled in the order of business, immediately following the approval of the Journal of the previous meeting.

Rule 17 - Communications, Petitions, Etc.

All communications addressed to the Retirement Board shall be presented by the Chairperson, and read by the Administrator of the Retirement Board and they shall be disposed of in the order in which they are presented.

All communications shall, if they relate to a matter which may be properly considered and reported on by a sub-committee of the Retirement Board shall be referred thereto by the Chairperson, unless the Retirement Board otherwise directs.

The reading of any paper may be waived by a majority vote of the Retirement Board.

Any communication received by the Retirement Board requesting the opportunity to address Retirement Board must state the topics or issues to be presented.

Rule 18 - Meeting Of The Retirement Board

Regular meetings, special meetings and various committee meetings of the Retirement Board shall be held on the date and at the time and location designated by the Retirement Board or the chairperson of the respective sub-committees of the Retirement Board, which shall be given in notice of the call of the meeting.

Regular meetings, special meetings and various sub-committee meetings of the Retirement Board shall be called to order at the designated time and shall not be adjourned until at least fifteen minutes after the convening.

Rule 19 - Sub-committees

The Chairperson may from time to time create special sub-committees of the Retirement Board as may be necessary to deal with special issues or administrative matters. Sub-committees of the Retirement Board may consist of as many members of the Retirement Board as the Chairperson deems necessary.

Rule 20 - Calendar

All communications, petitions, memorials, and motions to be considered, by the Retirement Board at a regular meeting shall be filed in the Office of the Retirement Administrator no later than 5:00 P.M., of the Thursday preceding such regular meeting, except late motions introduced in writing by members of the Retirement Board on the day of the meeting and approved for consideration by a majority vote of the Retirement Board. The Administrator of the Retirement Board shall prepare a brief synopsis of matters to be considered by the Retirement Board and send a copy of the calendar to the residence of each Retirement Board member forty-eight hours prior to Retirement Board meetings.

Rule 21 - Motions

No motion of any Retirement Board member need be seconded.

Any motion may be withdrawn before the question is put and such motion shall then be out of order unless upon inquiry from the Chairperson. Any motion may be renewed by another Retirement Board member. An affirmative vote of a majority of all of the members of the Retirement Board shall be necessary to adopt a motion.

Rule 22 - Rules, Amendment Or Suspension

The Retirement Board shall from time to time establish rules of its proceedings. No rules shall be suspended except by a majority vote of all of the members of the Retirement Board, nor shall any rules of order be repealed or amended without giving at least one week's notice thereof, nor unless a mjority of all of the members of the Retirement Board concur thereto.

Rule 23 - Parliamentary Authority

The Retirement Board shall be the sole judge of its rules and proceedings.

Rule 24 - Parliamentary Practice

The rules contained in "Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law" (latest edition) shall govern in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the rules of the Retirement Board.

(1) No citizens or employee of the City shall be allowed to speak on any matter, until debate by the Retirement Board has been closed. After debate by the Retirement Board has been closed any citizen or employee who wishes to express any opinion on a matter under consideration shall rise and respectfully address the Chairperson and wait until he or she is recognized; shall confine himself or herself to the question under consideration and avoid personalities.

(2) The time allowed for each person and employee to express his or her opinion on any matter shall be limited by the Chairperson.

(3) No citizen or employee shall address any Retirement Board member by name or engage in debate with any member or members of the Retirement Board.

(4) Rule 7 "Speaking Decorum" shall apply to all persons speaking under authority of this section.

(5) If a person behaves in a disorderly or disrespectful manner during any meeting of the Retirement Board, and after notice from the Chairperson persists therein, the Chairperson may order the constable or any other persons to take the person from the meeting.

(6) The person so refusing to withdraw when requested as provided by the preceding section shall for such offense be punished as provided in Chapter 1, Section 6 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Revere.

Rule 25 - Corrections To Minutes

The Retirement Board Administrator will send, by mail to the home address of each member of the Board, a draft of the minutes from the previous meeting along with the agenda for the next scheduled meeting. Any Retirement Board member wishing to make corrections to any minutes presented to the Retirement Board for approval shall submit said corrections in writing to the Administrator and all members of the Retirement Board prior to the commencement of each Retirement Board meeting.

Rule 26 – Executive Sessions

Executive Sessions of the Retirement Board shall be held only after the Retirement Board has first convened in an open session for which proper notice has been given, a majority of the members of the Retirement Board have voted to go into executive session, and the vote of each member of the Retirement Board is recorded on a roll call vote and entered into the minutes of the Retirement Board. The Retirement Board member requesting the executive session shall state the specific purpose of requesting the executive session and said executive session may only be held for one of the purposes stipulated by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 39, Section 23B sub-sections 1 through 9, and effective July 1, 2010, Chapter 30A, Section 21 of the Massachusetts General Laws.

Rule 27 - Voting On Retirement Home Rule Petitions Or Special Legislation

Pursuant to the provisions of R.R.O Title 2, Chapter 2.12, Section 2.12.120, whenever the City Council is presented with an application or request for a Home Rule Petition or Special legislation for changes or adjustments to Chapter 32 of the General Laws or any other statutes pertaining to the retirement allowances for municipal or school department employees and/or their dependents, no City Council vote on such petition or legislation may occur until such time as the City of Revere Retirement Board provides the City Council with a detailed analysis of the full cost of such petition or legislation to the City’s Retirement System. Further, any such petition or legislation shall require a two-thirds vote of the City Council, as well as a favorable vote of the Retirement Board. In all cases, no such vote shall occur until the Retirement Board has been provided with at least thirty days to give an advisory opinion to the City Council on the merits of the petition or legislation.

Rule 28 - Preserving The Board’s Right To Appeal

Board Counsel is directed to take all procedural steps necessary to preserve the Board’s substantive right of appeal.

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