Guidelines for Village of Red Hook Board Meetings

Guidelines for Village of Red Hook Board Meetings

• General Procedures

  • The Mayor presides at meetings. In the Mayor’s absence, the Deputy Mayor presides.

  • Every motion must be seconded before being put to a vote; all votes on motions must be recorded in their entirety in the Board’s minutes.

  • Once recognized, a member may not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to call them to order. If a member is called to order, they must stop speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, they must be permitted to proceed. There is no limit to the number of times a member may speak on a question. Motions to close or limit debate may be entertained and require a majority vote to pass.

  • The Village attorney, subject to availability, will hold a virtual one-hour attorneyclient session during the day of the board meeting to review and discuss agenda items and other Village business as time allows.

  • o Meetings will end at 10pm unless the board by majority vote chooses to continue past 10pm. At 9pm, the board will review and prioritize remaining agenda items.

• Agendas

  • The agenda is prepared by the Clerk at the direction of the Mayor. The Mayor or any Trustee may have an item placed on the agenda. Items for the agenda, including associated documents, must be provided to the Clerk in writing or via email at least two business days before the meeting’s start time (in the case of Monday meetings, end of day Thursday. The Clerk must post the meeting agenda and the documents to be discussed on the Village website at least 24-hours in advance (if a Monday meeting, it must be posted on Friday) to the extent practicable.

  • No resolution or business shall be transacted at a meeting of the Village Board unless such resolution or business appears upon the agenda of the meeting. By consent of a majority vote, this provision may be superseded so that the business or resolution may be considered and acted upon at such meeting even though not appearing on the agenda. Motions to table resolutions or business may be entertained and require a majority vote to pass.

  • o The Clerk will identify the source or author of any resolution on the agenda. o Any prepared statements should ideally be added to the agenda in advance to allow for constructive board discussion.

  • o The Mayor may request the attendance of any Village employee who may have relevant facts or information relating to an item on the agenda.

• Resolutions o A statement of intent shall be listed prior to the body of any resolution. The Board will discuss and agree on the intent prior to reviewing and voting on the resolution.

September 22, 2025

• Order of Business of Board of Trustee Meetings:

  • Call to order;

  • Pledge of allegiance to the flag (does not occur at workshop meetings),

  • Acceptance of minutes of previous meeting(s);

  • Public Hearing (if being held);

  • Acceptance of the agenda;

  • Public comment period (not required);

  • General Business;

  • Report of officers and committees (does not occur at workshop meetings);

  • Budget Adjustments (as needed);

  • Voucher Auditing; and

  • Adjournment

September 22, 2025