A.
All legislative
powers of the City shall be vested in a Mayor and eight district Council
members, two from each district of the City, to be known as the Mayor
and Council. The Mayor and Council is the legislative body of the
City. The Mayor shall be elected at large by the voters of the City
and the Council members shall be elected by the voters within their
respective districts. The candidate for Mayor with the highest number
of votes shall be declared elected as Mayor. The two candidates for
Council member for each Council district with the highest number of
votes shall be declared elected as Council member. At the time of
taking office, the Mayor and each member ofthe Council shall have
attained the age of 18 years. To qualify, a candidate for elective
office shall:
(1)
Be a
citizen of the United States;
(2)
Be a
current registered voter in the City; and
(3)
For
Council Member candidates, have been domiciled in their respective
district for at least one year immediately preceding the date of qualification.
A Council Member candidate does not lose the benefit of having met
all or part of the one year domicile period requirement due to redistricting
of their domicile.
(4)
For
Mayoral candidates, have been domiciled in the City for at least one
year immediately preceding the date of qualification.
B.
The City's
Supervisors of Elections shall determine whether these requirements
have been met. The Mayor and Council members shall continuously be
domiciled in the City during their term of office. Each Council member
must reside in their respective district and the Mayor and each Council
member shall retain throughout their respective term of office all
the qualifications necessary for election, and the failure to retain
all of such qualifications shall ipso facto cause a forfeiture of
office.
During his/her term of office, neither the Mayor nor any Council
member may hold:
A.
Any other City office;
B.
Membership on the City's Advisory Planning Commission, Noise Control
Board, Ethics Commission or Supervisors of Elections; or
C.
Membership on any other committee, commission, board or operational
authority appointed by the Mayor and/or Council, unless authorized
in the enabling legislation.
[Amended 4-24-2018 by Res. No. 18-CR-02]
Before entering upon the duties of the office, the Mayor and
each Council member shall take an oath to diligently and faithfully
discharge all duties of office without favor, partiality or prejudice.
Said oath shall be filed among the records of said City. The Clerk
of the Circuit Court or a sworn deputy of the Clerk shall administer
the oath of office to the Mayor. The Mayor shall administer the oath
of office to Council members.
[Amended 4-24-2018 by Res. No. 18-CR-02]
The Mayor shall receive as compensation $10,500 per year as
salary, payable on a monthly basis. Each Council member holding office
under this Charter shall receive as compensation $7,000 per year as
salary, payable on a monthly basis. A change to the amount of compensation
of the Mayor and Council shall be adopted by ordinance. No change
in the amounts of compensation enacted by ordinance may be enacted
by the Mayor and Council to be effective during their current term
of office.
[Amended 3-23-2021 by Res. No. 21-CR-01; 4-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-CR-01]
The qualified voters of the City shall elect a Mayor to serve
a term of two years. The voters within each district shall elect two
Councilpersons for their respective districts, each to serve the term
of two years. On or before March 31 of a general election year, the
Mayor and Council may by motion set the date in November for the general
election, on a date that is not a City, state, county or federal election
day or holiday. If the Mayor and Council fail to set the election
date by March 31, the general election shall be held on the first
Tuesday following the first Monday in November.
A.
At each biennial election, the qualified voters of the City and of
each district shall elect officers necessary to fill vacancies caused
by the expiration of the terms for which the incumbents were elected.
B.
Election or appointment to fill vacancies.
(1)
In the event that the office of Mayor or any Council member shall
become vacant for any cause other than the expiration of the term
for which the incumbent was elected, such vacancy shall be filled
as follows:
(a)
If it occurs more than 180 days before the next general election,
the vacancy shall be filled by special election held not later than
65 days after the vacancy exists.
(b)
If it occurs on or after 180 days of, but not later than 90
days before, the next general election, the vacancy shall be filled
by appointment of the Mayor and Council, by majority vote, within
30 days after the vacancy shall have occurred. If the appointment
is not made within that time, the position shall remain vacant until
the next election.
(c)
If it occurs within 90 days of the next general election, the
position shall remain vacant until a successor is elected at said
election.
(2)
A vacancy shall exist if the Mayor or any Council member shall be
absent from Council meetings during a consecutive sixty-day period
without just cause being shown. The Council shall make the determination
in such cases. The Mayor shall, as soon after taking office as may
be practicable, appoint from among the membership of the Council a
Mayor Pro Tem, subject to the approval of the Council. The Mayor Pro
Tem shall preside in the Mayor's absence. In the event of the incapacity
of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem shall serve until the next general
election or special election and receive the same compensation as
that received by the Mayor.
[Amended 4-24-2018 by Res. No. 18-CR-02]
(3)
Vacancy in office of Mayor or Council.
(a)
Upon it becoming necessary to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor or Council member pursuant to Subsection B(1) above, the City Clerk shall give public notice of the vacancy, containing the qualifications of the office, the geographical boundaries of the district(s) to be represented, the procedure to apply for appointment to the vacancy or to be placed on the special election ballot, as appropriate, and the deadline for applications. Applications for appointment shall be forwarded by the Clerk to the Mayor and Council. Applications to be placed on the special election ballot shall be forwarded by the Clerk to the Supervisors of Elections, who shall review the applications for the purpose of determining the qualifications of the candidates. The application shall include a petition in a form satisfactory to the Board of Election Supervisors containing the names, addresses and signatures of not less than 20 registered voters residing in the applicant's district or, in the case of the Mayor, not less than 15 registered voters from each district in the City, indicating support of the applicant's candidacy. The applicant's name and signature may appear and be counted toward the required number on any such petition. Any candidate wishing to withdraw an application must do so no later than 2 days after the said applications are due.
[Amended 3-23-2021 by Res. No. 21-CR-01; 4-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-CR-01]
(b)
For vacancies to be filled by appointment, the Mayor and Council
shall review the applications at the next regular meeting after the
deadline or at a meeting specially called for that purpose. Nominations
may also be taken from the floor from any member of Council. The Mayor
shall refer all nominations to a committee of the whole Council for
review and comment for the purpose of reporting on the qualifications
of the nominees. Upon the report of the committee of the whole, a
vote on the nominee or nominees shall be taken with no further nominations
being allowed from the floor. Should no nominee receive a majority
of the votes cast, a second vote shall be conducted between the two
nominees receiving the highest number of votes. The nominee receiving
a majority vote shall thereby be appointed to fill the vacancy.
(c)
The qualifications necessary to qualify for election as Mayor or Council member, as set forth in § C3-1 of the Charter, shall also apply to an application for appointment or to be placed on the special election ballot for the office of Mayor or Council member under this section. An applicant for appointment or to be placed on the special election ballot under this section shall possess all the required residency qualifications in § C3-1 as of the date of filing the application for the vacancy and shall maintain those qualifications during the term. Any nominee not possessing the required qualifications shall be disqualified. The petition and authorization requirements of § C4-5 of the Charter shall not apply to special elections under this section. The oath of office shall also be the same, and the appointee or individual elected shall receive the compensation provided by law for such office.
C.
When no candidate qualifies to run for an office. A vacancy is declared in the event that no candidate qualifies under § C4-5 of the Charter to run in a general or special election for the office of Mayor, or for one or more of the offices of Council member. In that event, the vacancy may be filled by appointment by the Mayor and Council, by majority vote. The process with respect to appointment to office set out in Subsection B(3) of this section shall apply to appointments under this subsection, except as otherwise set out herein. In addition, the required application shall include a petition in a form satisfactory to the Board of Election Supervisors containing the names, addresses, district and signatures of not less than 20 registered voters residing in the affected district or, in the case of the Mayor, not less than 15 registered voters from each district in the City, indicating support of the applicant's candidacy. The applicant's name and signature may appear and be counted toward the required number on any such petition. Appointment of a resident of the district in which the vacancy exists is preferred, but not required. The Council may determine not to appoint any applicant to a vacancy, thereby leaving the office vacant until the next general election.
[Amended 4-24-2018 by Res. No. 18-CR-02]
The Mayor and Council members elected under this Charter shall
assume the duties of their respective offices at the first regular
meeting of the Mayor and Council in the December following election
or as soon thereafter as is practicable and, unless removed for cause,
shall continue to serve until their successors are duly elected and
installed. In the case of special elections, Mayor and Council members
shall assume the duties of office at a regular meeting as soon after
certification of the results of the special election as is practicable,
but no later than during the next calendar month following the election.
All officers appointed by the Mayor and Council pursuant to § C3-6,
Vacancies, of the Charter shall assume the duties of their offices
at the meeting of the Mayor and Council at which they are administered
the oath of office and, unless removed for cause, shall continue to
serve until their successors are duly elected and installed.
