All legislative powers of the town are vested in a Council consisting
of three (3) Commissioners, who shall be elected as hereinafter provided
and who shall hold office for a term of four (4) years or until the
succeeding Council takes office. The regular term of Councilmen shall
expire on the third Monday of July in odd years following the election
of their successors. At the regular election held in 1981, two (2)
Commissioners shall be elected for four-year terms, and at the regular
election held in 1983, the number of Commissioners shall be increased
to five (5), and three (3) Commissioners shall be elected for four-year
terms, and thereafter two (2) Commissioners and three (3) Commissioners
shall be elected alternately as the terms of their predecessors expire.
Commissioners shall have resided in the town for at least one
(1) year immediately preceding their election and shall be qualified
voters of the town.
The Commissioners shall serve without pay, but shall be entitled
to an allowance in lieu of expenses as may hereafter be provided by
ordinance.
The Council shall meet at 8:00 p.m. on the third Monday in July
following each municipal election for the purpose of organization,
after which the Commissioners 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 Town Clerk upon
the request of the President or a majority of the members of the Commissioners.
All meetings shall be open to the public, and the rules of the Commissioners
shall provide that residents of the town shall have a reasonable opportunity
to be heard at any meeting in regard to any municipal question.
The Council shall be the judge of the election and qualification
of its members.
The Commissioners shall elect from its members a President and
Vice President, who shall serve as such until the first meeting of
Commissioners following each municipal election or until their successors
have been elected.
A majority of the members of the Council 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.
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business.
It shall keep a journal of its proceedings and enter therein the yeas
and nays upon final action on any question, resolution or ordinance,
or at any other time if required by any one (1) member. The journal
shall be open to public inspection.
Vacancies in the Council shall be filled as provided in § PC-32
of this Charter.
No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced.
At any regular or special meeting of the Commissioners held not less
than six (6) nor more than ninety (90) 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. Every ordinance shall become effective as of the time of its
final passage unless a later effective date shall be specified therein.
Each ordinance shall be published at least twice in a newspaper having
general circulation in the municipality. In the case of an emergency
ordinance, the notice may be published on successive days rather than
in successive weeks, but no ordinance shall be designated as an emergency
ordinance without the unanimous approval of all Commissioners present
at the time of introduction of the emergency ordinance.
All ordinances shall be signed by all the Commissioners voting
for the ordinance at the time it is enacted.
Ordinances shall be premanently[1] filed by the Town Clerk and shall be kept available for
public inspection. Copies shall be made available to the public at
a price sufficient to defray the cost of reproduction.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original. Probably should read "permanently."
The President of the Commissioners shall preside at the meetings
of the Commissioners. He shall be entitled to vote on all matters
before the Council of Commissioners. He shall be the chief administrative
officer of the town. He shall nominate the Town Clerk, the Town Attorney
and such other department heads as may hereafter be provided by this
Charter or by ordinance. He shall have general supervision over all
department heads who shall be responsible to him for the proper performance
of their duties. He shall, together with the Town Treasurer, prepare
the annual budget. He shall have such other powers and duties as may
be prescribed by this Charter or as provided by ordinance not inconsistent
with this Charter.
The Vice President shall preside at all meetings of the Commissioners
in the absence of the President. During the disability or protracted
absence of the President from the town, he may be designated as Acting
President by the Council of Commissioners and shall serve as such
with the full powers of the President until such time as the President
has returned or his disability has ended.
