The legislative body of the City of Meriden
shall be called the City Council and shall have all of the rights,
duties, privileges and powers which on the effective date of this
Charter were vested in the existing Court of Common Council except
as may otherwise be herein specified. The legislative and fiscal power
shall be vested exclusively in the City Council. Said City Council
shall have the power to enact, amend or repeal ordinances not inconsistent
with this Charter or the General Statutes of the state and to create
or abolish, by ordinance, boards, commissions, departments and offices
except those created specifically by this Charter or by state statute.
The City Council may contract for services and the use of facilities
of the United States or a federal agency, the State of Connecticut
and any political subdivision thereof or may, by agreement, join with
any such agency, the state or any such political subdivision to provide
services and facilities. The City Council is authorized, in adopting
ordinances, to incorporate any nationally recognized code, rules or
regulations that have been printed in book form, or any code officially
adopted by any administrative agency of the state, or any portion
thereof, by reference thereto in such ordinance, provided that upon
adoption of any such ordinance wherein such code, rules or regulations
or portions thereof have been incorporated by reference, there shall
be maintained two copies of such code, rules or regulations in the
office of the City Clerk for examination by the public. Said City
Council may by resolution regulate the internal operation of boards,
commissions and offices which it fills by appointment and may fix
the compensation of all elected officials and of the officers and
employees not in the classified service who are hereinafter provided
for in Chapter IX of this Charter, but no salary of any elected official
so fixed by the City Council shall be raised or lowered during the
official term of any incumbent. Said City Council may fix the charges,
if any, to be made for services rendered by the City or for the execution
of powers vested in the City as provided in this Charter.
The City Council shall have the power of eminent
domain for any public purpose, consistent with the laws of the United
States of America and the State of Connecticut.
The City Council shall fill, for the unexpired
portion of any term, vacancies of any City office not herein otherwise
provided for.
[Amended 11-3-1987]
The City Council shall be composed of 12 members,
except that the 10 members of the City Council elected at the November
1987 municipal election shall serve as such until the expiration of
the terms to which they were originally elected.
The members of the City Council shall be elected
at each biennial municipal election to be held in 1989 and thereafter,
in the manner described herein.
There shall be four City Council areas, the
boundaries and composition of which shall be determined from time
to time, but no later than 120 days preceding any municipal election,
by the City Council after public hearing.
At each biennial municipal election, a City
Council member shall be elected from each of four City Council areas,
and two City Council members shall be elected on a Citywide at-large
basis, all for a term of four years, commencing on the first Monday
in December following each municipal election.
[Amended 6-26-1996]
Upon the filing with the City Clerk of a petition
signed by qualified electors in number equal to 5% or more of the
total number of electors of the City as determined by the last effective
list of the Registrars of Voters, which petition requests the City
Council to consider a proposed resolution or ordinance, the City Clerk
shall within 10 days determine whether the petition contains a sufficient
number of valid signatures and, if it does, shall so certify and transmit
the petition to the City Council. Each page of such petition shall
contain the full text of the proposed resolution or ordinance and
shall clearly indicate that signatures to the petition are sought
in order to bring the proposal before the City Council for consideration.
Each signature shall be accompanied by the date of the signature.
No signature made more than 60 days prior to the date the petition
is submitted to the City Clerk shall be counted as valid. Any petition
so certified shall be placed on the agenda of the next regular meeting
of the City Council. Within 90 days thereafter, the City Council shall
either approve or disapprove of the proposed resolution or ordinance.