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7. Mayor as Presiding Officer The Ma yor shall preside at all meetings of City Council (“presiding officer”.) The Vice Mayor shall be the presiding officer in the Mayor's absence. Meetings of City Council shall be governed according to these Meeting Procedures, except where provided otherwi se by the Virginia Code or the Code of the City of Charlottesville. Matters not addressed within by one of those sources shall be resolved in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order. a. The City Attorney shall serve as the Parliamentarian for the purposes of interpreting these Meeting Procedure, and the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, and Robert’s Rules of Order, as may be directed by the presiding officer, or as required as a result of a point of order raised by one or more Councilors. b. No rule set forth within these Meeting Procedures can be suspended except by the consent of four Council members. Suspension of the rules may be made by a motion. (City Code section 2 66 ) c. At each Council meeting, the presiding officer shall preserve order and deco rum, and shall have the authority: i. To rule motions in or out of order, including any motion not germane to the subject under discussion; ii. To determine whether a speaker is unreasonably disturbing the meeting, and to entertain and rule on objections from other members on this ground; iii. To entertain and answer questions of procedure; iv. To call a brief recess at any time; v. To adjourn in an emergency. d. A decision by the presiding officer on any matter listed in c.i. through c.iii. above may be appealed to Council upon motion of any member. Such a motion is in order immediately after the presiding officer announces his or her decision, and at no other time. e. The presiding officer shall ensure that individuals address their comments to City Coun cil at appropriate times, in accordance with the meeting agenda. Otherwise, no person shall address City Council until leave to do so has been granted by the City Council or until invited to do so by the Mayor. Remarks shall at all times be addressed dire ctly to Council, and not to staff, the audience, or the media. (City Code sec. 2 71 ) f. Remarks and actions that disrupt the Council meeting, and remarks from persons other than Councilors, the City Manager or City Attorney, which are outside the purpose o f Matters by the Public or a Public Hearing (see section D below), a staff report, or other presentation associated with an agenda item, are not permitted. The presiding officer shall call an individual to order when that individual goes afoul of these rule s. The following are examples of remarks and behavior that are not permitted: i. Interrupting a speaker who is addressing Council at the speaker’s microphone or a speaker who has otherwise been invited to address Council during Matters by the Public or a P ublic Hearing; ii. Interrupting a Councilor who is speaking; iii. Shouting, and talking (either individually or in concert with others) in a manner that prevents a speaker or a Councilor from being heard or that otherwise hinders the progress