Business presented to the City Council is executed by one of the following actions:
"Ordinance" means an official legislative action of the City Council, which action is a regulation of a special and permanent nature and enforceable as a local law. The City Code is a compilation of all permanent ordinances of the City.
Ordinances require a first and second reading at two different meetings, at least one of which must be a duly noticed public hearing, and they take effect immediately after final adoption (Emergency Ordinances require only one hearing and take effect immediately but are limited to issues for protection of the public health and safety and are, therefore, sparingly used).
Ordinances are numbered sequentially each year by the City Clerk's Office after each regular or special Council meeting (Example: Ordinance 1, 2008).
The City Clerk's Office publishes Ordinances by title fourteen days prior to second reading unless the subject of the Ordinance falls under statutory requirements other than Section 166.041(3)(a), Florida Statutes.
"Resolution" means an expression of the City Council concerning matters of administration, an expression of a temporary character, or a provision for the disposition of a particular item of the administrative business of the Council.
Resolutions require one vote of the Council and generally are not published. Resolutions are numbered sequentially for each year by the City Clerk's Office after each regular or special Council meeting (Example: Resolution 1, 2008). Resolutions are used to declare general policy, give formalized direction to staff, or approve administrative actions.
A motion is a formal proposal made in a meeting. It is used to solicit approval or denial of an action by the City Council. A motion, second to the motion, and a majority vote authorizes the disposition of an item on a meeting agenda.