Hastings City Council members reopened a contested procedural decision and approved a change to the council’s rules of procedure at a regular meeting on Aug. 8, 2025.

An early motion to adopt the meeting agenda excluding agenda item 7(a) failed 4-2 with one abstention. City Attorney Jesse told the council the only way to immediately rerun that vote was by unanimous consent to reconsider the earlier action: “For that to happen to do a revote right after, it'd have to be unanimous consent of counsel,” he said. Councilmembers then moved to reconsider the earlier vote and, after that reconsideration carried, voted to adopt the agenda without item 7(a) on a subsequent roll call.

The council later considered amendments to city code 2-204 governing meeting procedure. City Attorney Jesse described the substantive change as allowing members to amend a motion after a motion and a second have been made—something the council’s current code did not allow. Councilmembers also agreed to add the words “or presiding member” to a subsection that gives the mayor the authority to declare a short recess of up to 15 minutes. The ordinance amendment (Ordinance No. 47-99, amending Section 2-204) passed on the council floor and a motion to suspend final reading also passed.

Why it matters: The sequence exposed a gap between the council’s current rules and the practical needs of conducting business. The code amendment will let the council consider amendments on the floor without restarting a motion from scratch and clarifies which presiding official can call a short recess.

The council’s procedural sequence and the ordinance action occurred during the same meeting and were handled as discrete votes. The initial failed vote on the agenda (4-2 with one abstention) was followed by a unanimous reconsideration and revote that produced a 7-0 result; a later motion to approve the agenda without item 7(a) was recorded as passing 6-1. The ordinance amendment passed on the council floor 7-0 and the motion to suspend final reading also passed 7-0.

The council adjourned at 7:23 p.m.

Details and immediate outcomes
- Initial failed motion to adopt the agenda excluding item 7(a): recorded 4 yes, 2 no, 1 abstention (vote recorded in meeting minutes).; - Motion to reconsider and seek unanimous consent to revote: council obtained the reconsideration and then voted on the agenda again; the revote passed 7-0. - Subsequent motion to approve the agenda minus item 7(a): recorded as passing 6-1. - Ordinance No. 47-99 (amending Hastings City Code Section 2-204 to permit motion amendments after a first and second and adding "or presiding member" to subsection 14): approved 7-0; motion to suspend final reading passed 7-0.

Quotes (selected)
City Attorney Jesse: “For that to happen to do a revote right after, it'd have to be unanimous consent of counsel.”

Ending
Council members said the changes should reduce the need to restart votes if members wish to amend a motion, and they adopted the revised rule language before moving on to other business that evening.