A.
Composition. There shall be a city council consisting of fifteen
(15) members which shall exercise the legislative powers of the city.
Nine (9) of these members, to be known as ward councillors, shall
be nominated and elected by and from the voters of nine (9) council
wards, one (1) ward councillor to be elected from each such ward.
Six (6) of the members, to be known as councillors at large, shall
be nominated and elected by and from the voters of the city at large.
One (1) of the members of the city council shall be elected by the
council annually as its president.
B.
Eligibility. Any voter shall be eligible to hold the office of councillor
at large. A ward councillor shall be a voter and a resident of the
ward from which he is elected, at the time of his election; provided,
however, that a ward councillor who removes from the ward from which
he was elected to another ward in the city, may continue to serve
and to discharge his duties until the expiration of the term for which
he was elected.
C.
Election and term. The term of office of all members of the city
council shall be for two (2) years beginning at one o'clock post
meridian on the first Sunday in January of each even-numbered year
following their election, until their successors are qualified.
The members of the city council shall receive for their services
such salary as the city council shall by ordinance determine, and
they shall receive no other compensation from the city. No increase
or reduction in the salaries of city councillors shall take effect
during the year in which such increase or reduction is voted, and
no change in such salaries shall be made between the election of a
new council and the qualification of the new council.
Officers of the Council. After a majority of the councillors-elect
have been sworn, the city council shall be called to order by the
city clerk or assistant city clerk or in the absence of both such
officials, by the member present in senior years of service, who shall
preside. The city council shall then elect from among its members,
by roll call vote, a president. Eight (8) votes shall be necessary
for election. No other business shall be in order until the president
has been elected. The president shall preside at meetings of the city
council and perform such other functions as may be assigned by the
charter, by ordinance or by vote of the city council.
A.
Exercise of powers. Except as otherwise provided by law or the charter,
the legislative powers of the city council shall be exercised in a
manner determined by it.
B.
Quorum, vote required. Every member of the council may vote on any
question coming before it. A majority of the council shall constitute
a quorum, and the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of
the council shall be necessary to adopt any motion, resolution or
ordinance unless otherwise required by statute or any other provision
of this charter.
A.
Rules of procedure. The city council shall from time to time establish
rules for its proceedings.
B.
Regular meetings. Regular meetings of the city council shall be held
at a time and place fixed by ordinance.
C.
Special meetings. Special meetings of the city council may be held at the call of the mayor, as provided in section 3-10, on the call of the city council president or on the call of any three (3) or more councillors, by written notice delivered in hand or to the place of residence of each member of the council at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the time set, and which includes notice of the subjects which are to be acted upon, and no other business shall be in order.
D.
Open meetings. A full and accurate journal of the proceedings of
all meetings of the council shall be kept and shall be open to the
inspection of any registered voter of the city, except as otherwise
authorized by sections twenty-three A, twenty-three B and twenty-three
C of chapter thirty-nine of the General Laws. All sessions of the
council shall be open to the public and to the press and every matter
coming before the council for action shall be put to a vote, the result
of which shall be duly recorded.
If a vacancy occurs at any time in the office of a councillor
at large, such vacancy shall be filled forthwith by a majority of
all the remaining members of the city council for the remainder of
the unexpired term. If a vacancy occurs before the last nine (9) months
of the term in office of a ward councillor, the city council shall
forthwith order an election to fill such vacancy for the remainder
of the unexpired term.
The city council at any time may request from the mayor, specific
information on any municipal matter within its jurisdiction, and may
request him to be present to answer questions relating thereto at
a meeting to be held not earlier than one (1) week from the date of
receipt of said request. The council shall inform the mayor, in writing,
of the subject matter to be discussed at said meeting.
No ordinance shall be passed finally on the date on which it
is introduced, except in cases of special emergency involving the
health or safety of the people or their property, and only then if
no member of the city council objects thereto. No ordinance shall
be regarded as an emergency measure unless the emergency is defined
and declared in a preamble thereto separately voted on and receiving
the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the city council.
No ordinance making a grant, renewal or extension, whatever
its kind or nature, of any franchise or special privilege shall be
passed as an emergency measure, and except as provided in section
seventy and seventy-one of chapter one hundred and sixty-four and
in chapter one hundred and sixty-six of the General Laws, no such
grant, renewal or extension shall be made otherwise than by ordinance.
No ordinance shall be amended or repealed except by an ordinance
adopted in accordance with this charter.
Any ordinance, order or resolution may be passed through all
its stages of legislation at one (1) session, provided that no member
of the council objects thereto; but if any member of the council objects,
the measure shall be postponed for that meeting.
[G.L. c. 55, Acts of 1992]
Every proposed ordinance or loan order, except emergency measures
as hereinbefore defined and revenue loan orders, shall be published
once in full in at least one (1) newspaper of the city, and in any
additional manner that may be provided by ordinance, at least ten
(10) days before final passage thereof; provided, however, that if
any ordinance or proposed ordinance or codification of ordinances
or proposed ordinances shall exceed in length eight (8) octavo pages
of ordinary book print, then in lieu of the advertising required by
this section, the same may be published by the city council in a municipal
bulletin or printed pamphlet and, if so published in full at least
ten (10) days before final passage thereof, such publication shall
be deemed sufficient without the newspaper publication as herein required.
The council shall, by a majority vote, elect a city clerk to
hold office for three (3) years and until his successor is qualified.
He shall have such powers and perform such duties as the council may
prescribe or as may be prescribed by law. He shall keep the records
of the meetings of the council.
