Council shall organize on the first Monday of
January of each year. At such time it shall elect one of its members
as President and another of its members as Vice President, who shall
hold those offices at the pleasure of Council. Council, at this time,
shall also appoint a temporary Municipal Secretary when necessary.
If the first Monday is a legal holiday, the meeting and organization
shall take place on the first day following. If a quorum is not present,
the organization meeting shall be held on the earliest succeeding
day at which a quorum can be assembled. Council may transact any further
business it deems necessary or appropriate at the organization meeting.
A.
Council shall hold regular meetings at least twice
a month on such day and at such time as Council shall determine and
schedule. Council may adjourn to a stated time for general business
or for special business. If no quorum is present at a regular or adjourned
meeting, a majority of the Councilmembers who are present may agree
upon another date and hour for a meeting, and Councilmembers so present
may continue to so agree until a meeting can be held with a quorum
in attendance.
B.
Special meetings shall be called by the presiding
officer of Council upon written request of three Councilmembers. Members
shall have at least 24 hours'[1] notice of special meetings, unless waived. The notice
shall contain a statement of the nature of the business to be considered.
Presence at such special meeting constitutes waiver of notice.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original.
C.
All meetings of Council shall be open to the public
and shall be conducted according to rules of procedure that shall
be adopted by Council. Such rules shall be designed to assure full
and equal participation in the deliberations of Council by all of
its members.
Four Councilmembers shall constitute a quorum.
Council shall conduct no business except in the presence of a quorum.
A.
Official actions of Council shall be taken by adoption
of an ordinance, a resolution, or a motion. All ordinances and resolutions
must be in written form. All actions of a legislative character shall
be taken by ordinance. All other actions of Council shall be by resolution
or motion, unless otherwise required in this Charter. However, no
such administrative action shall be void or otherwise adversely affected
if it shall have been taken by ordinance.
B.
All final action shall be by roll call vote, and the
vote of each Councilmember shall be entered in the official minutes.
If any Councilmember shall abstain from voting, the reason for abstention
shall be stated and shall be noted in the official minutes.
No action of Council shall be effective except
upon the affirmative vote of four Councilmembers.
Council shall cause minutes of all its proceedings
to be made and preserved in accordance with applicable law. The minutes
shall be public record.
Council shall provide for electronic recordings
of all public meetings. These recordings shall be preserved for a
period of one year and shall be public record.
The proposed agenda shall be forwarded to all
Councilmembers, be available to the public 48 hours prior to the meeting
and be posted at the Municipal Office. A brief statement of each subject
to be considered shall be included as a part of the agenda. The agenda
may be amended prior to the meeting for good cause.
Council shall provide reasonable opportunity
for interested citizens and taxpayers to address Council on matters
of general or special concern. This opportunity shall be afforded
to the public at all Council meetings and at other meetings that may
be set for this purpose. Citizen's comments shall be made a part of
the official minutes.
A.
Whenever a petition shall be presented to Council
signed by a number of residents of the Municipality equal to at least
2% of the number of registered electors in the Municipality at the
time of the most recent general or municipal election, as the case
may be, requesting that Council consider and take action on the subject
matter of the petition, it shall be the duty of Council to place the
subject matter thereof on its agenda.
B.
Action, pro or con, shall be taken by Council at a
regular or special meeting within two months after receipt of the
petition. The same subject matter shall not be presented to Council
by petition pursuant to this section more often than one time in any
period of two years.
A.
All members appointed by Council to boards, commissions
and authorities shall have been residents of the Municipality for
at least six months prior to appointment and must remain residents
during their terms of appointment. Council shall publish notice of
all vacancies on any board, commission, or authority at least 14 days
prior to filling such vacancy. Council shall adopt procedures for
citizens to apply for such vacancies and shall keep a master list
of citizens interested in such.
B.
Provisions for removal of appointed officials shall
be included in the Administrative Code.
Except as otherwise provided by applicable law,
Council shall publish notice of all public hearings at least 14 days
prior to such hearings and shall cause minutes of such hearings to
be made and preserved.
All public records shall be open to inspection
in the Municipal Office during regular business hours, and copies
shall be available to any interested party at cost.
