[Amended 3-3-2003 by Res. No. 617[1]]
All legislative powers of the Town shall be
vested in a Town Council consisting of five Councilpersons who shall
be elected as hereinafter provided. Newly elected Councilpersons shall
take office on the first day of January following election. Each Councilperson
holding office at the time this Charter becomes effective shall continue
to hold office for the term for which he was elected or until his
successor is elected and takes office under the provisions of this
Charter.
[1]
Editor's Note: This resolution provided in
Section 3 thereof for changing "Board of Commissioners" to "Town Council"
and "Commissioners" to "Councilpersons" in all instances where such
terms are used in the Charter and the Code.
Councilpersons shall have resided in the Town
for at least one year immediately preceding their election and shall
be registered voters of the Town. Councilpersons shall maintain a
permanent residence in the Town during their terms of office. The
minimum age for Town Councilperson shall be 25 years of age.
Each Councilperson shall receive an annual salary
which shall be specified from time to time by an ordinance passed
by the Town Commission in the regular course of its business, provided
that such a Salary Ordinance be approved by the majority of the qualified
voters of the municipality voting thereon at a regular or special
municipal election. The ordinance making any change in the salary
paid to the several Councilpersons, either by way of increase or decrease,
shall be finally ordained prior to the municipal election for the
members of the next succeeding Town Council and shall take effect
only as to the members of the next succeeding Town Council.
[Amended 3-3-2003 by Res. No. 619]
The newly elected Councilperson and the incumbent
Councilpersons holding office for the following fiscal year shall
meet on the first Monday in December for organizational purposes,
after which the Town Council shall meet regularly at such times as
may be prescribed by its rules but not less frequently than once each
month. Special meetings shall be called at the request of the Mayor
or three or more Councilpersons. All meetings of the Town Council
shall be open to the public, and the rules of the Town Council shall
provide that residents of the Town shall have a reasonable opportunity
to be heard at any meeting in regard to any municipal question. Nothing
contained herein shall be construed to prevent any such body from
holding an executive session from which the public is excluded, but
no ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation shall be finally adopted
at such an executive session.
The Town Council shall be the judge of the election
and qualifications of its members and of the ground for forfeiture
of their offices. A member charged with conduct constituting grounds
for forfeiture of his office shall be entitled to a public hearing
on demand, and notice of such hearing shall be published in one or
more newspapers of general circulation in the Town at least one week
in advance of the hearing. Decisions made by the Town Council under
this section shall be subject to review of the Court.
[Amended 12-2-1982 by Res. No. 300; 2-6-1989 by Res. No.
372; 12-6-1993 by Res. No. 431; 3-3-2003 by Res. No.
617]
At the first meeting in January following a
regular municipal election, the Town Council shall select from its
members a Mayor, Vice Mayor and a Mayor Pro Tem.
B.
Vice Mayor. The Vice Mayor shall be designated by
a Council resolution. He shall assume all mayoral powers, duties and
responsibilities during the Mayor's absence. If the office of the
Mayor becomes vacant by his death, resignation, disqualification or
forfeiture, the Vice Mayor shall become Mayor. A vacancy in the office
of the Vice Mayor shall be filled in accordance with § 3-11
of this Charter. The Vice Mayor may resign from his office as Vice
Mayor and continue to serve as Councilperson.
[Amended 3-3-2003 by Res. No. 618]
C.
Mayor pro tem. The Mayor Pro Tem shall also be designated
by a Council resolution. In the absence of the Mayor and Vice Mayor,
he shall be the presiding officer with all the powers, duties and
responsibilities empowered to the Mayor.
A majority of the members of the Town Council
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. No ordinance
shall be approved nor any other action taken without the favorable
votes of three of the members of the Town Council.
The Town Council shall determine its own rules
and order of business. It shall keep minutes of its proceedings and
enter therein the yeas, nays or abstentions upon final action of any
question, resolution or ordinance, or at any other time if required
by any one member. The minutes shall be open to public inspection.
The office of the Mayor or a Councilperson shall
become vacant upon his death, resignation, removal from office in
any manner authorized by law or forfeiture of his office.
In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Town Council with the exception of the Mayor, the Councilpersons shall appoint some qualified person in accordance with § C3-2 of this Charter to serve until the next regularly scheduled election. A vacancy shall be filled by the favorable votes of a majority of the remaining members the Town Council, and the results of such votes shall be recorded in the minutes of the Town Council. If the Councilpersons fail to appoint a successor within 30 days following the occurrence of the vacancy, the Board of Supervisors of Elections shall call a special election to fill the vacancy, to be held not sooner than 60 days and not later than 90 days following the occurrence of the vacancy and to be otherwise governed by the provisions in Article V of this Charter. Notwithstanding the requirement in § C3-7 that a quorum of the Town Council consists of three members, if at any time the membership of the Town Council is reduced to three or fewer, a special election shall be called by the Board of Supervisors of Elections with the requirements mentioned above. The candidate with the highest total number of votes shall receive the longest unexpired term. The candidate with the next highest total number of votes shall receive the unexpired term next in duration. There shall be a runoff in the event of a tie.
[Amended 10-30-1984 by Res. No. 327]
The Mayor or a Councilperson shall forfeit his
office if he:
A.
Lacks at any time during his term of office any qualification
for the office prescribed by this Charter or by law;
B.
Violates any express prohibition of this Charter.
C.
Is convicted of a felony; or
D.
Fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings
of the Councilpersons without being excused by the Town Council.
[Amended 10-30-1984 by Res. No. 327; 3-3-2003 by Res. No.
621]
No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting
at which it is introduced. At any regular or special meeting of the
Town Council held not less than six nor more than 60 days after the
meeting at which an ordinance was introduced, it shall be passed or
passed as amended or rejected or its consideration deferred to some
specified future date. In case of emergency, the provision that an
ordinance may not be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced
may be suspended by the affirmative votes of four members of the Town
Council. Every ordinance, unless it be passed as an emergency ordinance,
shall become effective at the expiration of seven calendar days following
passage by the Town Council. A summary of or each ordinance shall
be published at least twice in a newspaper or newspapers having general
circulation in the municipality. An emergency ordinance shall become
effective on the date specified in the ordinance.
[Amended 10-30-1984 by Res. No. 327]
To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace, the Town Council may adopt one or more emergency ordinances, but such ordinances may not levy taxes, grant, renew or extend a franchise, regulate the rate charged by any public utility for its services or authorize the borrowing of money except as provided in Article VI. An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances generally, except that it shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms. An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced, but the affirmative vote of at least four members shall be required for adoption. After its adoption, the ordinance shall be published and printed as prescribed for other adopted ordinances. It shall become effective upon the adoption or at such time as it may specify. Every emergency ordinance shall automatically stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may also be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this section for adoption of emergency ordinances.
Councilpersons shall have the power to appoint
and dissolve boards and commissions to act in an advisory capacity
to the Town as required by law or as it may deem necessary for the
good government of the Town. They may also establish mandatory fiscal
and administrative procedures for such boards.
