[Amended 5-9-1995 by Res. No. 3-95]
The Council shall consist of five (5) Council
members who shall be elected as hereinafter provided and who shall
hold office for a term of four (4) years or until their successors
take office. The regular term of Council members shall expire on the
second Wednesday following the election of their successors. The newly
elected Council shall take office on the second Wednesday following
their election. Council Members holding office at the time this Charter
becomes effective shall continue to hold office for the term for which
they were elected so that two (2) Council members shall be elected
with the Mayor in alternating odd numbered years and three (3) Council
members shall be elected in the other odd numbered years.
[Amended 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015; 5-10-2016 by Res. No. 02-2016]
Council members shall have maintained continuous occupancy of
a primary residence in the Town for at least two (2) years immediately
preceding their election and shall be qualified voters of the Town
for at least two (2) years immediately preceding their election. They
shall maintain a permanent domicile in the Town during their term
of office.
A. The enumeration of powers and functions in this Charter
or elsewhere shall not be deemed to limit the power and authority
granted to the Mayor and Council by law.
B. Specific powers. The Council shall have, in addition,
and not by way of limitation all express ordinance making powers set
forth in Article 23A, Section 2, of the Annotated Code of Maryland
as it may be amended from time to time.
C. Exercise of powers. For the purpose of carrying out
the powers granted in this Article or elsewhere in this Charter, the
Council may pass all necessary ordinances. All the powers of the Town
shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by this Charter.
Each Council member shall receive an annual
salary which shall be equal for all Council members and shall be as
specified from time to time by an ordinance passed by the Council
in the regular course of its business; provided, however, that the
salary specified at the time any Council takes office shall not be
changed during the period for which that Council was elected. The
ordinance making any change in the salary paid to the several Council
members, either by way of increase or decrease, shall be finally ordained
prior to the municipal election for members of the next succeeding
Council and shall take effect only as to the members of the next succeeding
Council.
The newly elected Council shall meet at 7:30
p.m. on the second Wednesday following its election for the purpose
of organization, after which the 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 by the Director
of Finance upon the request of the Mayor or a majority of the members
of the Council. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public.
Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prevent the Mayor and
Town Council from holding closed sessions from which the public is
excluded, in accordance with the safeguards provided by state law,
but no ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation shall be finally
adopted at such an executive meeting. The rules of the 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.
[Amended 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
The Council shall be the judge of the election and qualification
of its members. A member of the Council may be removed from the office
and the seat declared vacant under the following conditions: 1) the
member ceases to be qualified as required by the Charter; 2) the member
is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude; 3) the member is
convicted of any violation of local or state law where such penalties
include forfeiture of office; or 4) the member is absent to the extent
that his or her performance is affected, and the other Councilmembers
vote unanimously to remove the member. If one or more of the aforementioned
conditions are met, the Council may remove a member by adoption of
a Resolution. Before consideration and passage of any such Resolution,
the member shall be provided written notice by certified mail and
an opportunity to be heard at a public meeting.
The Mayor shall serve as President of the Council.
The Mayor may take part in all discussions but shall have no vote.
The Council shall elect a Vice President of the Council from among
its members, who shall act as President of the Council in the absence
of the Mayor.
A majority of the members of the Council (three-fifths)
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but no
ordinance shall be approved nor any other action taken without the
favorable votes of a majority of the whole number of members elected
to the Council.
Vacancies in the Council shall be filled as
provided in Section C5-13 of this Charter. A vacancy shall exist upon
the death, resignation, disqualification or removal of a Council member.
No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting
at which it is introduced. At any regular or special meeting of the
Council held not less than six (6) nor more than sixty (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 cases of emergency the above requirement
may be suspended by the affirmative vote of four (4) members of the
Council. Every ordinance, unless passed as an emergency ordinance,
shall become effective at the expiration of twenty (20) calendar days
following approval by the Mayor or passage by the Council over veto.
Upon approval by the Mayor or upon passage by the Council over any
veto, the ordinance shall be posted at the Town Office for review
by the general public, and notice of the passing of said ordinance
and its availability for review shall be published at least twice
in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in the Town
of Manchester. An emergency ordinance shall become effective on the
date specified in the ordinance, but no ordinance shall become effective
until approved by the Mayor or passed over any veto by the Council.
All ordinances passed by the Council shall be
promptly delivered by the Director of Finance to the Mayor for approval
or disapproval. If the Mayor approves any ordinance, the Mayor shall
sign it. If the Mayor disapproves any ordinance, the Mayor shall not
sign it. The Mayor shall return all ordinances to the Director of
Finance within six (6) days after said delivery (including the days
of delivery and return and excluding Sunday) with the said approval
or disapproval. Any ordinance approved by the Mayor shall be law.
Any ordinance disapproved by the Mayor shall be returned with a message
stating the reasons for disapproval. Any disapproved ordinance shall
not become a law unless subsequently passed by a favorable vote of
four-fifths (4/5) of the whole Council within thirty-five (35) calendar
days from the time of the return of the ordinance. If the Mayor fails
to return any ordinance within six (6) days of its delivery as aforesaid,
it shall be deemed to be approved by the Mayor and shall become law
in the same manner as an ordinance signed by the Mayor.
If, before the expiration of twenty (20) calendar days following approval of any ordinance by the Mayor or passage of any ordinance over the Mayor's veto, a petition is filed with the Director of Finance containing the signatures of not less than twenty per centum (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 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 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. An emergency ordinance or the part thereof requested for referendum shall continue in effect for sixty (60) days following receipt of such petition. If the question of approval or disapproval of any emergency ordinance or any part thereof has not been submitted to the qualified voters within sixty (60) days following receipt of the petition, then the operation of the ordinance or the part thereof requested for referendum shall be suspended until approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question at any election. Any ordinance or part thereof disapproved by the voters shall stand repealed. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any ordinance or part thereof levying property taxes for the payment of indebtedness, but the provisions of this section shall apply to any ordinance or any part thereof levying special assessment charges under the provisions of §§
C10-1 and
C10-2. The provisions of this section shall be self-executing, but the Council may adopt ordinances in furtherance of these provisions and not in conflict with them.
Ordinances shall be permanently filed by the
Director of Finance and shall be kept available for public inspection
during business hours.