There shall be a County Council of Cecil County, Maryland, composed
of five Council members.
All legislative powers which may be exercised by the County under the Maryland Constitution and laws of the state are vested in the Council, subject to those powers retained by the people of the County as hereinafter set forth in Section 308 of this Charter.
In all functions and deliberations, the Council shall act as
a body. It shall have no power to create standing committees or to
delegate any of its functions and duties to a smaller number of its
members than the whole. The Council may, however, appoint special
ad hoc committees solely for the purpose of inquiry and fact finding.
(a)
The County shall be divided into five residency districts, the boundaries of which shall be established pursuant to Section 214 of this Charter. The five residency districts shall be designated District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4, and District 5.
(b)
A Council member shall reside in each of the five residency districts
and be elected at-large, subject to the provisions of this section.
(c)
At the same time the elections for President and Vice President of
the United States are conducted, one Council member from District
1 and one Council member from District 5 shall be elected. In the
at-large election, the candidate who both resides in a given district
and who receives the most votes of all the candidates residing in
the district shall be elected to office.
(d)
At the same time the election for Governor of Maryland is conducted,
one Council member from District 2, one Council member from District
3, and one Council member from District 4 shall be elected. In the
at-large election, the candidate who both resides in a given district
and who receives the most votes of all the candidates residing in
the district shall be elected to office.
(a)
Each Council member shall be a citizen of the United States and,
for at least one year immediately preceding election or appointment,
a resident and registered voter of the County. Each Council member
shall be a resident of the residency district from which the Council
member is elected or appointed for at least six months immediately
preceding election or appointment.
(b)
While serving as a Council member, no Council member may:
(1)
Hold any other elected public office;
(2)
Hold any other office of profit created by the Maryland Constitution
or laws of the state, pursuant to Article 35 of the Maryland Declaration
of Rights; or
[Amended 11-3-2020]
(3)
Be employed by a department or agency of the County government,
which is directly supervised or substantially controlled by the Executive
or Council.
[Amended 11-3-2020]
(c)
A retired, former County employee receiving a pension shall not be
considered to be serving in a public body for purposes of this section
and shall be eligible to be a Council member if all the other provisions
of this section are satisfied.
(d)
Nonelected
board members, committee members, and employees of the state, County
and municipal agencies, which are not directly supervised or substantially
controlled by the Executive or Council, shall be eligible to be a
Council member if all the other provisions of this section are satisfied.
[Added 11-3-2020]
A Council member shall hold office for a term beginning at 12:00
noon on the first Monday of December next following the election of
the Council member and ending at 12:00 noon on the first Monday of
December in the fourth year thereafter, or until a successor is qualified.
[Amended 7-16-2024]
Each Council member shall receive as compensation and allowances
for the performance of public duties under this Charter the sum of
not less than $25,000 per annum and starting on December 4, 2028,
$35,000 per a twelve-month period. A Council member shall not accrue
annual leave or be entitled to any payment in lieu thereof. The compensation
and allowances shall be in full compensation for all services performed
by members of the Council as required by this Charter, but shall not
preclude reasonable and necessary expenses as may be provided in the
budget. The County Council shall establish by ordinance a Compensation
Review Commission every four years to review the Council's compensation
and allowances in accordance with the provisions of Article 25A, Subsection
5(AA), of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
(b)
No Council member may forfeit office by reason of a change in the
boundaries of any residency district made during the Council member's
term of office.
(c)
A Council member shall be suspended by operation of law, without compensation, from office upon being granted probation before judgment for, upon the acceptance of a plea of nolo contendere by a court to, or upon being convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. During the period of suspension the Council shall appoint a person to temporarily fill the elective office in the manner provided in Section 209 of this Charter. If the conviction becomes final, after judicial review or otherwise, the Council member shall be removed from office by operation of law and the office shall be deemed vacant.
[Amended 6-7-2022; 7-16-2024]
(a)
A vacancy occurs when a Council member, prior to the expiration of the term for which elected, dies, resigns from office, or becomes disqualified to hold office pursuant to Section 208 of this Charter.
(b)
When a vacancy occurs, the remaining Council members, within 30 days
after receiving a list of three persons from the County Central Committee
of the political party affiliated with the person vacating office,
shall appoint a person to serve the unexpired term of office. The
appointee shall be selected by a majority vote of the remaining Council
members. The appointee shall meet the same qualifications and residence
requirements and, when succeeding a party member, shall be a member
of the same political party as the person who vacated office at the
time of the vacating member's election to office.
(c)
When succeeding a party member, the appointee shall be selected from a list of three persons submitted to the Council by the County central committee of the political party affiliated with the person vacating office, provided the list is submitted within 30 days from the date a vacancy occurs. If no such list is submitted within 30 days, or if the Council member vacating office is not a member of a political party, the Council shall appoint the person it deems best qualified to hold office regardless of his or her party affiliation, if any, provided the appointee meets the qualifications and residency requirements provided in Subsection (b) of this section.
(d)
If the Council fails to fill a vacancy pursuant to the provisions
of this section, the Executive shall appoint a person to fill the
vacancy, provided the appointee is nominated in accordance with the
provisions of this section and meets its qualification and residency
requirements.
At the first scheduled meeting of the Council in December following
an election and biennially thereafter, the Council shall elect from
among its members a President and Vice President of the Council. The
President, or in the absence of the President, the Vice President,
shall preside over meetings of the Council. The Council may provide
for the selection of other officers as the Council may deem desirable
for the exercise of its powers.
The Council may investigate the affairs of the County and the
conduct of any County agency. The Council may subpoena witnesses,
administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of evidence
for purposes of this section.
Neither the Council nor any of its members shall appoint, dismiss,
or give directions to any individual employee of the Executive Branch
of the government.
The Council may by resolution, at its discretion and subject
to the provisions of its budget or supplementary appropriation, employ
administrative employees or such legal, financial or other advisors
as it deems necessary to perform its functions.
(a)
The Council shall appoint by resolution a Redistricting Commission
not later than one month after receiving the official census population
data from the Maryland Department of Planning of the year following
each decennial census date. The central committee of each political
party polling at least 25% of the total vote cast for the Executive
at the last preceding general election shall nominate five persons
to serve on the Commission. Each such list shall include one person
who resides in each residency district. The Council shall appoint
all such nominees as members of the Commission as well as one or two
additional members of the Commission, as the case may be, to ensure
that its total membership equals an odd number. The Council shall
appoint the Chair of the Commission from among the Commission members.
No person, including current local central committee members, shall
be eligible for appointment to the Commission who holds elective office.
[Amended 6-7-2022]
(b)
By November 15 of the year before the year in which redistricting
is to take effect, the Commission shall present to the Council a plan
of residency districts, together with a report explaining it. Within
30 days of receiving the plan of the Commission, the Council shall
hold a public hearing on the plan. If within 90 days after submission
of the plan no other legislation reestablishing the boundaries of
the residency districts has been enacted, the plan as submitted shall
become law.
(c)
Any residency district established in accordance with this section
shall be compact, contiguous, substantially equal in population, and
have common interests as a result of geography, occupation, history,
or existing political boundaries.
(d)
An ordinance establishing residency districts shall be exempt from
referendum.
