[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.