All legislative powers of the town are vested in a Council consisting
of five (5) Commissioners 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 Commissioners shall expire
on the third Monday in December following the election of their successors.
Two (2) Commissioners shall be elected in December, 1976, and every
four (4) years thereafter, and three (3) Commissioners shall be elected
in December 1978 and every four (4) years thereafter. Commissioners
holding office at the time this Charter becomes effective shall hold
office for the term for which they were elected. Said Commissioners
before entering the duties of their office shall make oath before
the Clerk of the Town of Sharptown that they will diligently and faithfully
without partiality, favor or prejudice, well and truly perform the
duties of Commissioners of Sharptown.
Commissioners shall have resided in the town for at least one
(1) year immediately preceding their election or, if they reside within
an area annexed to the town, shall have resided within the annexed
area for at least one (1) year immediately preceding their election
and shall have been qualified to vote at the last state or congressional
election held prior to the date of their election. The Commissioners
of Sharptown shall be the judge of the election and qualification
of its membership.
Commissioners shall receive such salaries for their services
as Town Commissioners as the Commissioners may hereafter from time
to time by ordinance, but shall receive no pay until the passage of such ordinance,
and further provided that no salary ordinance shall become effective
until after the expiration of the current terms of all Commissioners
in office when such ordinance is passed. The Commissioners may in
any salary ordinance hereafter passed provide that the President of
the Commissioners receive a higher rate of pay for his services in
such office than do the remainder of the Commissioners.
The Commissioners shall meet on the third Monday in December
in every year after the election of Commissioners for the purpose
of organization, after which the Commissioners shall meet regularly
on the first and third Mondays in each month, unless said date shall
be a legal holiday, in which case the Commissioners shall meet on
such other date as they by their rules provide. Special meetings shall
be called by the Clerk-Treasurer upon the request of the President
or of a majority of the Commissioners. All meetings of the Commissioners
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.
At every meeting held on the third Monday in December following
the election of Commissioners, the Commissioners shall elect one (1)
of their number as President of the Commissioners who shall serve
as such for a term of two (2) years. The President shall preside at
all meetings of the Commissioners. He may take part in all discussions
but shall have no vote except in cases of a tie vote, or unless required
to assure the passage of any ordinance by three (3) affirmative votes.
In the absence of the President, the Commissioners shall designate
one (1) of their members to act as Chairman of the meeting, but his
right to vote shall be unimpaired.
A majority of the members of the Commissioners 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 Commissioners.
The Commission 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.
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 sixty (60) days after the meeting at which
an ordinance was introduced, it shall be passed, passed as amended
or rejected or its consideration deferred to some specified future
date. In cases of emergency the provision that an ordinance may not
be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced may be suspended
by the affirmative votes of four (4) of the Commissioners. Every ordinance
shall become effective upon the date of its final passage or on the
date specified therein. Each ordinance shall be published at least
twice in a newspaper having general circulation in the municipality.
All ordinances shall be permanently filed by the Clerk-Treasurer and
shall be kept available for public inspection.