[Amended 11-21-1994; 11-4-2014; 11-3-2020]
The Council shall consist of five (5) members
elected from the Town at large by the electors of the Town of Barrington
as provided at the regular biennial elections held on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November. The Council member’s term
of office will be four (4) years. Elections will be held every two
(2) years to elect three (3) candidates and (2) candidates in alternating
election cycles.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
Members of the Council shall be qualified electors
(hereinafter "registered voters") of the Town of Barrington. No member
of the Council shall be eligible to be employed by the Town or to
hold any other paid town office during the member's tenure on the
Council or for a period of one year thereafter; provided, however,
a member of the Council may hold elective town office immediately
preceding[1] tenure on the Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: Spelling of "preceeding" corrected.
The Council shall elect one of its members as
President of the Council and another member as Vice President. The
President shall preside at meetings of the Council and shall be recognized
as head of the Town government for all ceremonial purposes and by
the Governor for purposes of military law. The Vice President shall
have all the powers and duties of the President during periods of
absence or disability of the President. The President and Vice President
shall have the same right to speak and vote as any other member.
[Amended 11-2-2004]
Members of the Council shall receive such annual
compensation as shall from time to time be fixed by the Financial
Town Meeting. The President of the Council shall receive such additional
annual compensation as shall from time to time be fixed by the Financial
Town Meeting.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
The Council shall have power to inquire into
the conduct of any officer, department, or agency of the Town, and
to investigate relating to town affairs and for such purposes may
subpoena witnesses, administer oaths or affirmations, and compel the
production of books, records, papers and other evidence.
All legislative powers of the Town shall be
vested in the Council except such powers as are or may be vested in
the Financial Town Meeting by the State Constitution, by this Charter,
and by laws enacted by the General Assembly in conformity with the
powers reserved to the General Assembly. The Council may enact and
amend ordinances relating to the Town's property, affairs and government
not inconsistent with the State Constitution and laws enacted by the
General Assembly in conformity with the powers reserved to the General
Assembly. The Council shall have, under this Charter, and may exercise
all such additional powers and authority as are consistent with this
Charter and have now been granted or may hereafter be granted to it
under the Constitution or Laws of the State or by the Financial Town
Meeting. The Council, by ordinance, may create, change and abolish
offices, departments, or agencies other than those established by
this Charter. The Council, by ordinance, may assign additional functions
or duties to officers, departments or agencies established by or under
this Charter. Without limiting the generality[1] of the foregoing, the Council shall have and exercise
the following specific powers, subject to the provisions of this Charter
and all applicable provisions of general and special laws:
a.
To enact, amend or repeal ordinances for the preservation
of the public peace, the health, safety, comfort and welfare of the
inhabitants of the Town and for the protection of persons and property.
b.
To provide reasonable penalties for the violation
of any ordinance not to exceed imprisonment for thirty (30) days and
a fine of Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
d.
To adopt rules governing the conduct of its meetings
and to appoint regular, standing or special committees.
e.
To appoint the Town Manager for an indefinite term
and to remove the Town Manager at the discretion of the Council, by
vote of a majority of all members of the Council, with a public hearing,
as the Council in its discretion shall determine. There shall be no
right of appeal from the decision of the Council.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
f.
To take any action necessary to give effect to any
vote of the Financial Town Meeting authorizing the issuance of bonds
for any purpose and to complete all the details of the bond transaction
in accordance with the General or Special Laws of the State.
h.
To have the powers and authority conferred upon it
by General Laws and applicable Special Laws concerning the speed,
management and control of all vessels on the public waters within
the confines of the Town of Barrington, and to regulate the size,
type, location and use of all anchorages and moorings, and collection
of fees for the same, within the waters or harbors of the Town, provided,
nevertheless, that the harbormaster shall be appointed by the Town
Manager.[4]
i.
To provide for the audit at any time of the accounts
of the Town or any of its departments and to provide for an annual
audit as hereinafter prescribed.
j.
In the event that the Town Manager shall at any time
be absent or unable to perform the duties of office, for a period
in excess of twenty one (21) consecutive calendar days, or in the
event that the Town Manager shall resign or be removed from office,
or if for any other reason a vacancy shall exist, to designate an
officer of the Town, other than a Council member, to serve as Town
Manager, with all the powers and duties of the Town Manager, until
such absence or disability shall have terminated or until a successor
Town Manager shall have assumed the duties of the office.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
k.
To fix the amount of the official bonds of all officers
of the Town, who in its opinion should be bonded, the premium on such
bonds to be paid by the Town.
l.
To fix by ordinance, in accordance with a classification
plan, the salary of the Town Manager and the compensation of all officers
and employees of the Town, except the employees of the school department.[5] The Town Council shall conduct an annual performance review
of the Town Manager to be completed no later than March 1.
[Amended 11-2-2004]
m.
To elect such numbers of constables to serve civil
process as it shall from time to time determine, and to charge and
collect for licenses issued to such constables such fees as the Council
shall fix by ordinance.
n.
To provide rules and regulations with respect to vacations
of town officials and employees, except those of the school department.
o.
To enact all ordinances which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other
powers vested in the Council by this Charter, the Constitution and
laws of the State of Rhode Island in the Town or any department, or
officer thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: Spelling of "generaltiy" corrected.
The Council is to be judge of qualifications
of its members, and for such purposes, shall have power to subpoena
witnesses and require the production of records.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
Any vacancy in the Council shall be filled for
the unexpired term by a vote of the registered voters of the Town.
Such vacancy shall be filled at the next regular or special election
to be held in the Town or the Council may call a special election
for the purpose of filling the vacancy. If a vacancy in the Council
shall occur more than nine (9) months prior to the time for the holding
of an election, the Council shall, within thirty (30) days after the
vacancy occurs, call a special election for the purpose of filling
such vacancy.
[Amended 11-6-2018]
The first meeting of a newly elected Council following the Town
election shall be presided over by the Town Clerk, or in the absence,
the Deputy Town Clerk, until the President is elected. The Council
shall determine the time and place of its regular meetings and shall
meet regularly. Meetings of the Town Council, except when in executive
session, shall be open and accessible to the public.
The Council may act by rule, ordinance or resolution, but in addition to the cases in which an ordinance is required by any specific provision of this Charter or any applicable law, any action creating or abolishing any department, office or agency of the Town government or any action taken under the provisions of Sections 2-1-6, subsections a, b, c, g and h of this Charter shall be by ordinance only.
It shall be the duty of the Council to use all
reasonable diligence to secure a qualified Town Manager as soon as
possible after this Charter shall go into effect, and in like manner
thereafter in every case when a vacancy shall occur by reason of resignation,
removal or any other cause.
Three members of the Council shall constitute
a quorum.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
Every proposed ordinance shall be filed with
the Town Clerk by a member of the Council not later than four business
days previous to the day of the meeting at which it is to be introduced.
The Clerk shall forthwith post one copy of such ordinance in some
place accessible to the public in the Town Hall, post it electronically
on the Town's website, and shall provide each member of the Council
with a copy thereof.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
Every ordinance, other than an emergency ordinance,
shall be read a first time by title and explained and discussed by
its introducer at the meeting at which it is introduced and then referred
to a subsequent regular or special meeting for action. If, in the
meantime, a petition signed by twenty registered voters be filed with
the Town Clerk requesting a public hearing, one shall be held at the
meeting next following its introduction, and no action shall be taken
on the ordinance until the conclusion of the hearing.
A public hearing shall be mandatory on any ordinance
amending the Zoning Ordinance, granting a franchise or creating or
amending a personnel classification system, and no such ordinance
shall be passed as an emergency ordinance.
The affirmative vote of a majority of the Council
Members present shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance
or the transaction of any business, provided a quorum is present.
The vote upon any ordinance shall, upon the request of any two members
of the Council, be taken by roll call and entered upon the record
of the proceedings.
In an emergency affecting the public peace,
health, safety, comfort and welfare of the inhabitants of the town
and for protection of persons and property, the Council by an affirmative
vote of three members may adopt, on the day of its introduction, an
ordinance containing a declaration of emergency which shall take effect
upon its passage. The nature of the emergency shall be specifically
stated in the ordinance and such declaration shall be conclusive as
to the existence of such an emergency.
The enacting clause of all ordinances shall
be: "The Town Council of the Town of Barrington hereby ordains:".
