[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 6, sec. 187. 1929, ch.
21, sec. 10; 1947, ch. 337, sec. 187; unnumbered Res. No. 2, 7-26-1994; Res. No. 2004-03, 3-1-2004; Res. No.
2012-06, 5-7-2012; amended 1-6-2020 by Res. No. 2019-09; 4-3-2023 by Res. No. 2023-05]
No person shall be elected as Mayor of said
Town unless he/she shall have been a resident of said Town for at
least one year prior to his/her election; and in the event that he/she
shall remove from the corporate limits of said Town, then the said
office of Mayor shall forthwith become vacant, and his/her successor
shall be duly appointed as is provided in this article. The Mayor
shall receive the annual salary to be established from time to time
by resolution of the Mayor and Council duly adopted pursuant to the
requirements of § C3-6 of this Charter, and subject to the
restriction that no increase may take effect during the term of office
when such resolution is passed. The Mayor's salary shall be paid semiannually,
during the first pay period in October and the first pay period in
April, with the first pay period to begin the October following the
election. Beginning in 2028, the Mayor's salary shall be paid semiannually
during the first pay period in December and the first pay period in
April, with the first pay period to begin in December following the
election. No other distributions, partial or otherwise, are authorized.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 6, Sec. 214. 1929, ch.
21, sec. 37; Res. No. 2004-03, 3-1-2004]
In the event the Mayor is incapacitated from
the performance of his/her duties at any time on account of illness
or necessary absence from the Town of Federalsburg, the President
Pro Tempore of the Council shall as acting Mayor be clothed with and
perform all of the duties incident to the office of Mayor.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 6, sec. 188. 1929, ch.
21, sec. 11; 1947, ch. 337, sec. 188; unnumbered Res. No. 2, 7-26-1994; Res. No. 2004-03, 3-1-2004; Res. No.
2012-06, 5-7-2012; amended 1-6-2020 by Res. No. 2019-10; 4-3-2023 by Res. No. 2023-05]
No person shall be elected as a Council member
of said Town unless he/she shall have been a resident of said Town
for at least one year prior to his/her election; and in the event
that he/she shall remove from the corporate limits of said Town, then
said office of Council member shall forthwith become vacant, and his/her
successor shall be duly appointed as is provided by this article.
No person shall be elected as a Council member to serve a particular
legislative district unless he/she shall have been a resident of that
district for at least one year prior to his/her election, and in the
event that he/she removes from the legislative district that they
serve, then the said office of Council member shall become vacant
and his/her successor shall be duly appointed as provided by this
article.
The Council member shall receive an annual salary to be established
from time to time by resolution of the Mayor and Council duly adopted
pursuant to the requirements of § C3-6 of this Charter,
and subject to the restriction that no increase may take effect during
the current term of office, when such a resolution is passed. The
Council members' salaries shall be paid semiannually, during the first
pay period in December and the first pay period in April, with the
first pay period to begin the December following the election. Beginning
in 2028, the Council member's salary shall be paid semiannually during
the first pay period in December and the first pay period in April,
with the first pay period to begin in December following the election.
No other distributions, partial or otherwise, are authorized.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 6, Sec. 184. 1929, ch.
21, sec. 7; Res. No. 2004-03, 3-1-2004]
If any vacancy shall occur in the office of Mayor or Council by death, removal, resignation, failure to qualify or otherwise, the remaining Council members at their next regular meeting shall elect a suitable person as Mayor or Council member as the case may be that meets the candidacy qualifications to serve until the next election, who shall subscribe to the oath which shall be certified to and recorded as is provided in §
C3-5.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 6, sec. 185. 1929, ch.
21, sec. 8; 1947, ch. 337, sec. 185; Res. No. 2004-03, 3-1-2004]
Any person elected as Mayor shall, before he/she
enters upon the discharge of his/her office make oath before the Clerk
of the Circuit Court for Caroline County "that he/she will diligently
and faithfully, without favor, partiality or prejudice, perform the
duties of such Mayor of said Town," and a certificate showing the
taking of said oath shall be returned by the said Clerk and filed
and recorded among the proceedings of the said Mayor and Council of
Federalsburg. After the Mayor has taken his/her oath, any newly elected
Council members shall make oath before the Mayor "that he/she will
diligently and faithfully, without favor, partiality or prejudice,
perform the duties of such Council member of said Town."
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 6, sec. 186. 1929, ch.
21, sec. 9; 1947, ch. 337, sec. 186; Res. No. 2004-03, 3-1-2004;
amended 1-6-2020 by Res. No. 2019-05; 4-3-2023 by Res. No. 2023-05]
The Mayor and Council shall meet the first Monday
of October following their election, except in 2028 and every two
years thereafter, the Mayor and Council shall meet the fourth Monday
of November, and shall hold office for their aforesaid terms of office
from said date, and shall hold regular meetings on the first Monday
of each and every month thereafter which shall be open to the public
(except for lawful closed sessions), and may meet as often thereafter
as may be necessary to the proper discharge of their official duties.
The Mayor shall be the President of the Council and preside at its
meetings and shall have all the privileges of a Council member in
debate and vote. He/she shall have no power to veto any measure, but
every resolution or ordinance passed by the Council must be signed
by the Mayor or by three Council members and be recorded before the
same shall be enforced. The Council may elect one of its members as
President Pro Tempore, who shall in the absence or inability of the
Mayor preside at the sessions, who for the time being shall be acting
Mayor and have all the authority in law of the Mayor. Special meetings
of the Council may be at any time convened by the Mayor or at the
request of three members of that body. The Mayor of the Town of Federalsburg
shall be the executive officer thereof, clothed with all the powers
necessary to secure the enforcement of all ordinances of said Town
under this Charter. At all meetings of the Mayor and Council, the
Mayor and two Council members or, in the absence of the Mayor, three
Council members, present and voting, shall constitute a quorum for
the transaction of business, and three affirmative votes shall be
necessary for the passage of an ordinance, law or resolution at all
times. Upon every vote the ayes and nays shall be called and recorded.
[Res. No.
2004-03, 3-1-2004]
A. General powers. The Mayor and Council shall have the
power to pass all such ordinances not contrary to the Constitution
and laws of the State of Maryland or this Charter as it may deem necessary
for the good government of the Town; for the protection and preservation
of the Town's property rights and privileges; for the preservation
of peace and good order; for securing persons and property from violence,
danger or destruction; and for the protection and promotion of the
health, safety, comfort, convenience, welfare, and happiness of the
residents of the Town and visitors thereto and sojourners therein.
B. Specific powers. In addition to the general powers
referred to above, the Mayor and Council shall expressly have the
power to pass ordinances for the specific purposes enumerated in Article
23A, § 2, of the Annotated Code of Maryland, or corresponding
future provision thereof, and enumerated in any other state law pertaining
to the Mayor and Council of Federalsburg or to municipal corporations
generally. In addition, the Mayor and Council shall have the power
to pass ordinances not contrary to the laws and Constitution of this
state.
[Res. No.
2004-03, 3-1-2004]
If a Mayor or Council member does not attend
four consecutive regular monthly meetings, a majority of the remaining
Mayor and Council members may vote to remove the absent Mayor or Council
member, provided written notice of the potential removal is sent to
the absent Mayor or Council member at least 15 days in advance, and
the absent Mayor or Council member is given the opportunity to be
heard on the potential removal.
[Res. No. 2009-03, 3-17-2009]
The Mayor or any Council member may be removed from office in
accordance with the following procedure:
A. A petition signed by at least 25% of the registered voters of the Town of Federalsburg must be presented to the Mayor and Council at a regular meeting of the Mayor and Council stating a desire to have the named Mayor or Council member subjected to recall or reaffirmation by a vote of the electorate for one or more of the reasons set forth in Subsection
B herein. The petition shall satisfy all of the requirements of Maryland law prescribed for petitions to Charter amendments. Only one person may be named in a petition. A petition may contain several pages, but each page shall contain the name and office of the official sought to be removed and the reason(s). Each signer shall sign his or her name as it appears on the Town election records, and under each signature shall be typed or printed each petitioner’s name and residential address. All signatures on the petition shall be dated, and the petition shall not be valid unless signatures are within 90 days of one another. At the bottom of each page of the petition, the person circulating the petition, who must be a qualified voter of the Town, shall sign the page and make an affidavit before a notary public that he or she circulated the petition and saw each person whose name appears thereon sign his or her name in the circulator’s presence. All pages comprising such petition shall be assembled and filed as a single instrument.
B. The petition
shall state specifically the factual basis for the proposed recall
of the Mayor or Council member, which shall be for at least one of
the following reasons:
(1) Failure
to uphold the oath of office;
(2) Conviction
of a criminal offense of a felony category;
(3) Misconduct
in office. For the purpose of this provision, “misconduct in
office” shall mean any willful, unlawful or wrongful behavior
of a Mayor or Council member in relation to the duties of his or her
office, but such conduct need not be criminal in nature to come within
this provision;
(4) Misfeasance
while in office. For purposes of this provision, "misfeasance" is
defined as the improper doing of an act which a person might lawfully
do; or
(5) Malfeasance
in office. For purposes of this provision, "malfeasance" is defined
as the doing of an act which a person ought not to do at all.
C. Upon receipt
of a petition, the Mayor and Council shall forthwith verify the appropriate
number of registered voters' signatures. If the petition is so authenticated,
the Mayor and Council shall announce that: 1) within 30 days of receipt
of the petition a public hearing will be held on that petition; and
that 2) within 60 days of receipt of the petition a special election
shall be held in order to allow all registered voters of the Town
to vote on the petition.
D. The voting ballot shall contain the Mayor or Council member's name, a summary of the allegations set forth in the petition required by Subsection
B and the choice of "reaffirm" or "recall." In order for the Mayor or Council member to be removed from office, a majority of those voting must vote "recall."
E. The voting shall be conducted in the manner as prescribed in Article
II of the Town Charter. If recall is voted by a majority of those voting, the Mayor or Council member in question shall immediately forfeit his/her office. The vacancy so created shall be filled in accordance with § C3-5 of the Town Charter except that the Mayor or Council member removed shall not be eligible for appointment to the office from which he/she has been removed.
[Res. No. 2009-04, 2-2-2009]
If, before the expiration of 20 calendar days following the
effective date specified in any ordinance, a petition is filed with
the Town Clerk containing the signatures of not less than 20% of the
qualified voters of the Town and requesting that the ordinance, or
any part thereof, be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters of
the Town for their approval or disapproval, the Mayor and Council
shall have the ordinance, or the part thereof requested for referendum,
submitted to a vote of the qualified voters of the Town at the next
regular Town election or, in the Mayor and Council's discretion, at
a special election occurring before the next regular election. No
ordinance, or the part thereof requested for referendum, shall become
effective following the receipt of such petition until and unless
approved at the election by a majority of the qualified voters voting
on the question. Any ordinance, or part thereof disapproved by the
voters, shall stand repealed. The provision of this section shall
not apply to any ordinance adopting a budget, making appropriations,
or levying property taxes, or special benefit assessments.