All legislative or policy forming powers of the city shall be
vested in, exercised, and determined by the council consisting of
the mayor and the eight councilmen of the city. In all cases where
the word council is used in this Charter, the same shall mean the
"common council" of the City of Holland and shall be synonymous with
any term employed in any state or federal law referring to legislative
or governing bodies of cities.
[Amend. No. 20, 11-6-1984; amend. of 11-19-2004]
Unless modified by a primary election pursuant to Sec. 11.5
of the Charter, at each regular city election, there shall be elected,
by the electors of the city at large, a mayor and one councilman from
the city at large. One councilman shall be nominated and elected from
each of the three of the six wards of the city. Councilmen to be elected
from the wards of the city at any election shall be nominated by the
electors of their respective wards at the primary election preceding
such election. The mayor and one councilman from the city at large
shall be nominated by the electors at large at the primary election
preceding such regular city election. At the regular city election
held in the year 1953, and at the regular city election every fourth
year thereafter, councilmen shall be elected from the first, third,
and fifth wards of the city. At each other regular city election,
councilmen shall be elected from the second, fourth, and sixth wards
of the city. The person elected to the office of mayor shall hold
office for a term of two years. Each councilman shall hold office
for a term of four years. All such terms of office shall commence
on and date from the Monday next following the date of the regular
city election at which they are elected or on the date the regular
city election would have been conducted except for the provisions
of Sec. 11.5 of the Charter.
The council shall be the judge of the eligibility and qualification
of its own members, subject only to review by the courts.
The mayor and each councilman shall be compensated for his service
to the city at the rate of $5 per meeting of the council actually
attended by him, but not to exceed the sum of $180 in any fiscal year
of the city. The mayor shall also receive $100 per year in addition
to the compensation received by him as a member of the council. Such
compensation shall be paid quarterly in each case, and, except as
otherwise provided in this Charter, shall constitute the only compensation
which may be paid to the mayor and to members of the council for the
discharge of any official duty for or on behalf of the city during
their terms of office.
Upon authorization of the council, reasonable expenses may be
allowed to its members when actually incurred on behalf of the city.
(a) Insofar as required by law, and for all ceremonial purposes, the
mayor shall be recognized as the executive head of the city and shall
preside over all meetings of the council and preserve order thereat
and shall have and exercise all powers granted to mayors of cities
by state law and by this Charter.
(b) He shall be a conservator of the peace, and may exercise within the
city the powers conferred upon sheriffs to suppress disorder, and
shall have the power to command the assistance of all able-bodied
citizens to aid in the enforcement of the ordinances of the city,
and to suppress riot and disorderly conduct.
(c) He shall authenticate by his signature such instruments as the council,
this Charter, or the laws of the State of Michigan or of the United
States shall require.
The council shall, at its first regular meeting following each
regular biennial city election, select one of its members to serve
as mayor pro tem. The mayor pro tem shall perform the duties of the
mayor when, on account of absence from the city, disability, or otherwise,
the mayor is temporarily unable to perform the duties of his office,
and shall succeed to the office of mayor in case of vacancy in that
office. The mayor pro tem shall preside over the meetings of the council
during the absence of the mayor, at the call of the mayor, and when
the council is convened as a committee of the whole. In the event
that a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor pro tem, through advancement
to the office of mayor, the council shall appoint one of its elected
members to fill such vacancy. Until such time as the council shall
so appoint a mayor pro tem, the line of succession of persons who
shall act as mayor shall be councilmen according to the numerical
order of the wards from which they were elected.
(a) Regular meetings. The council shall provide by resolution for the
time and place of its regular meetings and shall hold at least two
regular meetings each month. If any time set for the holding of a
regular meeting of the council shall be a holiday, then such regular
meeting shall be held at the same time and place on the next secular
day which is not a holiday.
(b) Special meetings—Generally. Special meetings of the council
may be called by the clerk on the written request of the mayor, the
city manager, or any two members of the council, on at least six hours
written notice to each member of the council, designating the time,
place, and purpose of such meeting and served personally or left at
his usual place of residence by the clerk or someone designated by
him. Notwithstanding the foregoing requirements for the calling of
special meetings, any special meeting of the council at which all
members of the council are present, or, in the event that one or more
of the members may be absent, such member or members have, upon receipt
of notice, waived in writing, the requirement that notice may be given
at least six hours prior to the time specified for the holding of
such meeting, shall be a legal meeting; provided, that a quorum of
the council is present.
(c) Same—Transaction of business. No business shall be transacted
at any special meeting of the council unless the same has been stated
in the notice of such meeting.
(d) Meetings to be public; citizens to be heard. All regular and special
meetings of the council shall be open to the public and the rules
of order of the council shall provide that citizens shall have a reasonable
opportunity to be heard.
(e) Quorum. Five members of the council shall be a quorum for the transaction
of business at all meetings of the council, but in the absence of
a quorum, any number of members less than a quorum may adjourn any
regular or special meeting to a later date.
(f) Rules; journal; voting; public access to records. The council shall
determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal
in the English language of all its proceedings which shall be signed
by the clerk, and by the mayor after approval thereof by the council.
The vote upon the passage of all ordinances, and upon the adoption
of all resolutions shall be taken by "Yes" or "No" votes and entered
upon the record, except that where the vote is unanimous, it shall
only be necessary to so state. The public shall have access to the
minutes and records of all regular and special meetings of the council
at all reasonable times.
(g) Each councilman shall be required to attend all meetings of the council. The council may compel the attendance of its members and other officers of the city at its meetings, and may enforce such fines for nonattendance, in such manner as may, by ordinance, be prescribed. Any member of the council, or other officer of the city, who refuses to attend such meetings or conduct himself in an orderly manner thereat shall be deemed guilty of misconduct in office. The police chief, or such other person as the council shall designate, shall serve as the sergeant-at-arms of the council in the enforcement of the provisions of this section and of section
4.5(a) of this chapter.
(h) Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, a councilman shall
vote on each question before the council for a determination, unless
excused therefrom by a vote of at least seven of the members of the
council.
Through the established departments and agencies of the city
government, together with any such departments or agencies as may
be created under authority of this Charter, the council shall provide
for the public peace, health, and recreation, and for the safety of
persons and property.
The council shall constitute the board of health of the city,
and shall possess all powers, privileges, and immunities granted to
boards of health by state law. The mayor shall be president and executive
officer and the clerk shall be the secretary of the board of health.
All actions taken by the council in the exercise of the powers herein
conferred shall be deemed to be actions in its capacity as the board
of health.
The council shall, by ordinance, prescribe the terms and conditions
upon which licenses may be granted, suspended, or revoked, and may
require and exact payment of such reasonable sums for licenses, as
it may deem proper, of persons receiving such license from the city.
When required by ordinance, the person or persons receiving any such
license shall, before the issuance thereof, execute a bond to the
city in such sum and with such securities as shall be prescribed in
such ordinance, conditioned for the faithful observance of the ordinance
under which the license is granted and each other ordinance of the
city, the provisions of which may be applicable to the exercise of
such license.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the council shall
be charged and entrusted with all responsibilities for the control
of the parks, sewers, sewage system and plants, and other public improvements
and works of the city, whether the same were in existence at the time
this Charter became effective or may be thereafter acquired.
The council shall have power to enact all ordinances deemed
necessary for the establishment, maintenance, and protection of cemeteries,
together with improvements thereon and appurtenances thereto, owned
or hereafter acquired by the city either within or without its corporate
limits. All ordinances pertaining to public health and welfare in
the regulation and protection of public cemeteries shall apply equally
to all cemeteries within the city belonging to or under the control
of, any church or religious society, or any corporation, company,
or association. The city may cause any bodies buried within the city,
in violation of any rule or ordinance made in respect to such burials,
to be taken up and reburied in such a manner as shall conform to the
ordinances of the city. A plan for the platting, sale, and perpetual
care of all lots, plots, and lands therein shall be provided.
Except insofar as limited by state law and the provisions of
this Charter, the council shall have power to establish, vacate, use,
control, and regulate the use of its streets, alleys, bridges, and
public places, whether such public places be located within or without
the limits of the city, and the space above and beneath them. Such
power shall include, but not be limited to, the proper policing and
supervision thereof; the licensing and regulation, or the prohibition
of the placing of signs, awnings, awning posts, and other things which
are of such nature as to impede or make dangerous the use of sidewalks
or streets of the city; and the licensing and regulation of the construction
and use of openings in the sidewalks or streets, and all vaults, structures,
and excavations under the same. When the council shall deem it advisable
to vacate, discontinue, or abolish any public place, street, or alley
or any part thereof, it shall, by resolution, so declare and, in such
resolution, shall appoint a time, not less than 30 days thereafter,
when the council shall meet and hear objections thereto. Notice of
such hearing and of the purpose thereof shall be published not less
than once in each of the three calendar weeks preceding such hearing
in one of the newspapers of the city. Objections to such declared
action of the council may be filed with the clerk, in writing. If
any such objection shall be filed, such public place, street, or alley,
or part thereof, shall not be vacated, discontinued, or abolished,
except by affirmative vote of six members of the council.
The council may, in its discretion, receive and hold any gift
or bequest made to the city or any officer, board, or department thereof
for any municipal purpose and shall apply the same in accordance with
the terms and conditions, if any, of such gift and may, by contract
or otherwise, if permitted by or consistent with the terms of the
gift or bequest, transfer any such gift or bequest to or permit such
gift or bequest to remain in the hands of any person, group of persons,
or corporation to administer the same for the benefit of the city
or any board or department thereof in accordance with the terms and
conditions of such gift or bequest.
The council shall have the power to acquire for the city by
purchase, gift, condemnation, lease, construction, or otherwise, either
within or without the County of Ottawa, property of every type and
nature which may be required for or incidental to the present or future
exercise of the purposes, powers, and duties of the city government
established in this Charter.
The council shall be responsible for the control of letting
and making of contracts and shall provide by ordinance the necessary
procedures governing purchasing and making of contracts. Such ordinance
shall specify an amount below which and the purposes for which purchases
may be made by the city administration, either without specific authorization,
or without the necessity of formal competitive bidding, or both. The
council, in its discretion, shall have the right to reject any and
all bids on work or on the furnishing of materials for the city.
(a) The council shall not have the power to make any contract with or
give any official position to any person who is in default to the
city. Further, the council shall not have the power to sell any park,
cemetery, or any part thereof, except where such park is not required
under an official master plan of the city, or any property bordering
on a water front, or to engage in any business enterprise requiring
an investment of money in excess of $0.10 per capita, unless approved
by 3/5 of the electors voting thereon at any general or special election.
(b) Except in those cases where a larger majority is required by state
law or the provisions of this Charter, no ordinance or resolution
shall be adopted or passed, nor shall any appointment be made, nor
any person removed from office, as required or permitted by this Charter,
except by the affirmative vote of at least five members of the council.
(c) There shall be no standing committees of the council; but this provision
shall not be construed to prohibit the appointment by the mayor, with
the approval of the council, of any temporary special committee to
make or perform any investigation or act required by the council to
be made or performed.
The council, or any committee authorized by it for the purpose,
shall have the power to inquire into the conduct of any department,
office, or officer of the city and to make investigations as to municipal
affairs, and for that purpose may summon witnesses to appear before
the council or such committee of the council to give information under
oath pertinent to such inquiry, administer oaths, and require the
production of books, papers, and other evidence. Any officer or employee
of the city who shall fail or refuse to obey such summons or to produce
books, papers, or other evidence as ordered under the provisions of
this section, shall, on conviction thereof in any court of competent
jurisdiction, be subject to a fine of not more than $100, or imprisonment,
for not more than 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.