There shall be a Council consisting of eight (8) Councilmen who shall have and exercise all of the legislative powers of the City.
The City Council shall consist of eight (8) members, two (2) elected from each ward, by the qualified voters thereof. Each Councilman shall be elected for a term of two (2) years and shall serve until his successor shall be elected, except as otherwise provided herein.
At the first (1st) election under this Charter eight (8) Councilmen shall be elected; the candidate from each ward receiving the greatest number of votes shall serve until the regular election in the year 1969, the candidate from each ward receiving the next greatest number of votes shall serve until the regular election in the year 1968. Commencing at the next regular election and at all subsequent regular elections, four (4) Councilmen shall be elected; the candidate from each ward receiving the greatest number of votes shall serve for a two (2) year term. Councilmen shall be eligible for reelection.
A Councilman must be at least twenty-five (25) years of age, a qualified voter in the City of Bridgeton, and a resident of the City for two (2) years immediately prior to his election. A Councilman shall be a resident of the ward from which he is elected for six (6) months immediately prior to his election. A Councilman shall hold no other remunerative position in the City government during his term.
Each Councilman shall receive twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each regular or special session of the Council attended, but no member shall receive more than seventy-five dollars ($75.00) in any one (1) month of service. The City Council may by ordinance adopted at least six (6) months prior to the next regular election alter the compensation of the Councilmen but such change shall not be effective for any then member of the Council until the completion of his current term of office.
A. 
Vacancies. The office of a Councilman shall become vacant upon his death, resignation, forfeiture of office, or removal from office in any manner authorized by law.
B. 
Forfeiture of Office. A Councilman shall forfeit his office should he lack at any time during his term of office any qualification for the office prescribed by this Charter or by law. The Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of its members and for that purpose shall have power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and require the production of evidence. A member charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of office shall be entitled to a public hearing on his demand, and notice of such hearing shall be published in one (1) or more newspapers of general circulation in the City at least one (1) week in advance of the hearing. Decision made by the Council under this Section shall be subject to review by the courts.
C. 
Filling Vacancies. A vacancy in the Council shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at the next regular election if such vacancy occurs within sixty (60) days of said election. If the vacancy occurs more than sixty (60) days prior to the next regular election, the Council shall, by a majority vote of its remaining members, appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the person elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term takes office. If the Council fails to fill such vacancy within thirty (30) days following the occurrence of the vacancy and if the next regular election is then more than ninety (90) days following, the Mayor shall call a special election to fill the vacancy, to be held not sooner than sixty (60) days and not later than ninety (90) days following the occurrence of the vacancy and to be otherwise governed by the provisions of Article XI. If at any time the membership of the Council is reduced to less than five (5) members, the remaining members may by majority action appoint additional members to raise the membership to five (5).
The Council shall meet regularly at least twice each month at such times and places as the Council may prescribe by rule. Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor or five (5) or more members of the Council, upon no less than twelve (12) hours notice in writing to each member. All meetings shall be public; however, the Council may recess for the purpose of discussing in a closed or executive session any matter which would tend to defame or prejudice the character or reputation of any person provided that the general subject matter for consideration is expressed in the motion called for such session and that the final action thereon shall not be taken by the Council until the matter is placed on the agenda.
Before entering his office, each Councilman shall take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Missouri and faithfully demean himself in office, a certificate of which oath shall be filed by the City Clerk. At the first meeting of the Council after each regular or Mayoral election, the Council shall elect one (1) of its members to serve as chairman of the Council and one (1) to serve as treasurer. The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business; shall provide for keeping a journal of its proceedings. This journal shall be a public record.
Voting on all resolutions and ordinances shall be by roll call and the aye and nays shall be recorded in the journal. At the request of any member, voting on any motion shall be by roll call vote. Five (5) members of the Council shall constitute a quorum but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in the manner and subject to the penalties prescribed by the rules of the Council. No action of the Council, except as otherwise provided in the preceding sentence and in Sections 3.04 and 2.05, shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of five (5) or more members of the Council.
In addition to other acts required by law or by specific provision of this Charter the Council shall have the power by ordinance, not inconsistent with this Charter, to:
1. 
Create, change, or abolish departments or offices other than the departments or offices established by this Charter and assign additional functions or duties to departments or offices established by this Charter. The Council may not discontinue or assign to any other department or office any function or duty that is specifically assigned by this Charter to that office.
2. 
Assess, levy, and collect taxes for all general special purposes on all subjects or objects of taxation not expressly prohibited by law, provide for enforcing prompt payment thereof by any appropriate means, and adopt such classifications of the subjects and objects of taxation as may not be contrary to law.
3. 
Furnish all public services; purchase, hire, own, lease, construct, maintain, and operate public utilities; dispose of the services and products thereof; acquire, by condemnation or otherwise, within or without the corporate limits of the City, property, or any estate or interest therein, necessary for any such purposes; grant public utility franchises and permits and regulate the exercise thereof and establish the fees for such franchises and permits.
4. 
Make public improvements and acquire, by condemnation or otherwise, property or any estate or interest therein, within or without the corporate limits of the City, necessary for such improvements.
5. 
Adopt, police, health, sanitary, safety, fire prevention and other similar regulations and provide for their enforcement.
6. 
Authorize the expenditure of money of the City for all lawful purposes.
7. 
Issue, sell, pledge, or in any manner dispose of negotiable or nonnegotiable interest bearing or noninterest bearing bonds or notes of the City upon the credit of the City or solely upon the credit of specific property owned by the City, or solely upon the credit of income derived from the property used in connection with any public utility owned or operated by the City, or from service charges made for any public service provided by the City, or solely upon the credit of the proceeds of special assessments for local improvements, or upon any two (2) or more of such credits.
8. 
Exercise the power of eminent domain including the power of excess condemnation, and condemn private, real or personal property, or any use therein for public use within or without the corporate limits of the City as authorized by the constitution or by law.
9. 
Take and hold property within or without the corporate limits of the City upon trust and administer trusts.
10. 
Acquire and receive by gift bequest, or devise all kinds of property, real, personal or mixed, or any estate or interest therein, within or without the City, absolutely or in trust, for all public, charitable or municipal uses or purposes and perform all acts necessary to carry out the purposes of such gifts, bequests, or devises, with power to manage, sell, lease, or otherwise handle or dispose of such property in accordance with the terms of the gift, bequest, or devise.
11. 
Acquire, receive, hold, provide for by contract or otherwise construct, operate, regulate, manage, maintain, and improve all kinds of public buildings, structures, public market facilities, airports, off-street parking facilities, public housing, cemeteries, hospitals, parks and other recreational facilities, all other public improvements, and any other real or personal property, within or without the City, for all such uses or purposes, or for any other public or municipal use or purpose; acquire, receive, and hold any estate or interest in any such property, and sell, lease, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of it or its products. The power herein granted shall be limited only by prohibitions contained in the constitution and laws of Missouri and other provisions of this Charter.
12. 
Collect and dispose of sewage, offal, ashes, garbage and refuse; contract for or license and regulate such collection and disposal and provide for a service charge therefor.
13. 
Regulate the construction and materials of all buildings and structures, and inspect all buildings, lands, and places as to their condition for health, cleanliness, and safety; when necessary, limit or prevent the use thereof and require any alterations or changes necessary to make them healthful, safe, and clean; provide procedures and methods to condemn and, if necessary, to tear down or destroy unsafe or unhealthful places, buildings, or structures.
14. 
Prescribe limits within businesses, occupations and practices apt to be nuisances or detrimental to the health, safety, morals, security, or general welfare of the people and maintain these limits.
15. 
License and inspect weights and measures and inspect, test, measure and weigh any article offered for sale within the City for consumption or use.
16. 
Establish, open, close, relocate, vacate, alter, widen, extend, grade, pave, improve, repair, construct, reconstruct, maintain, light, landscape, decorate, sprinkle, and clean public highways, streets, boulevards, parkways, sidewalks, alleys, parks, grounds and squares, bridges, viaducts, subways, tunnels, sewers and drains, and regulate the use thereof.
17. 
Abolish or prevent grade crossings, and provide for safe crossings, and compel any street, railway, railroad, or other transportation company or companies affected thereby to pay all or part of the cost thereof; regulate and control the location of aviation fields, hangars, and aircraft landing places; regulate and control the location, construction, operation, and use of all types of communication facilities; all subject to any superior regulatory authority.
18. 
Invest funds of the City, except as otherwise provided in this Charter, in time deposit certificates, in obligations of the United States, the State of Missouri of this City.
19. 
Extend or diminish the City limits by ordinance and as otherwise provided by law; merge with any other municipal corporation, but only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the electors of Bridgeton.
20. 
Define, prohibit, suppress, prevent, and regulate all acts, practices, conduct, businesses, trades, callings, uses of property, and all other things whatsoever detrimental or apt to be detrimental to the health, safety, morals, comfort, security, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants of the City, and abate all nuisances.
21. 
Do all things necessary or expedient for promoting the comfort, education, morals, safety, security, peace, government, health, welfare, trade, commerce, or industry of the City and its inhabitants.
22. 
Provide for the enforcement of any ordinance, rule or regulation by means of fines, penalties, forfeitures, and imprisonment or by action or proceedings in the municipal court or in any court of competent jurisdiction, or by any one (1) or more of such means and impose costs as a part thereof, and provide for probation and parole in proper cases.
23. 
License, tax, and regulate all businesses, professions, occupations, vocations, activities, or things whatsoever set forth and enumerated by the laws of Missouri now or hereafter applicable to constitutional Charter City or cities of the first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), or fourth (4th) class, or any population group, and which any such cities are now or may hereafter be permitted by law to license, tax and regulate which shall include but not be limited to the following:
a. 
All wholesale or retail businesses buying, selling, or processing of food, clothing, cosmetics, furniture, drugs, medicines, furnishings, motor vehicles, household goods, hardware, textiles, plastic materials, metal, paper, wood, or rubber products, ice, fuel, gasoline, tobacco in any form, oil, beverages of every kind, magazines, jewelry, books, musical instruments, radios, television sets, electrical, gas, and oil appliances, construction materials, produce, livestock, poultry, dairy products, plants, real estate, shrubs, coal, feed and grain, boats, or any other property.
b. 
All private and common carriers engaged in the transportation of passengers or freight by air, bus, truck, train, automobile, or by any other means.
c. 
All manufacturing establishments making or processing ceramics, chemicals, metals, fibers, textiles, rubber, plastics, paper, wood, grains, rock, minerals, stone, nuclear products, airplanes, airplane products of all kinds, natural gas, petroleum or petroleum products, air, incendiary material, pyrotechnic materials, materials of vegetable origin, coal, ice, coke, cement, clay, oils, fats, waxes, glues, surface coatings, paints, detergents, hair, hides, material of animal or marine origin, explosives, building materials or products of all kinds, motor vehicles, medical and surgical supplies, coin-operated devices, or any other goods or products.
d. 
All cleaning and pressing establishments, tailors, barber or beauty shops, banks, abstractors, accountants, finance, loan or trust companies, itinerant vendors, junk dealers, car washing establishments, surveyors, taxicab operators, laundries, machine shops, public utility companies, undertakers, upholsterers, bondsmen, locksmiths, brokers of whatever class or character including but not limited to insurance, investment, grain, bonding, real estate, and loan brokers.
e. 
All lotteries, games of chance, businesses for amusement or entertainment, all devices, structures, buildings, fields, and properties for amusement, entertainment, contests or exhibitions including but not limited to pool and billiard halls and parlors, bowling alleys, pinball machines, juke boxes, shooting galleries, swimming pools, golf courses and driving ranges, all coin-operated devices, dance halls, theaters, and carnivals.
f. 
Private schools of every kind operated for profit, nursing homes, hotels, motels, kennels, trailer courts, tourist camps, boarding and lodging houses, and stables.
g. 
Contractors and subcontractors for the construction, alteration or performance of any facility, structure, machine, plant or service, including but not limited to carpentry, plumbing, cement and brick work, electrical work, flooring, excavating and grading, painting and interior decorating, plastering, tuckpointing, ventilation, glazing, stone work, tile work, roofing, tin work, heating, and all other improvements on real property, and those engaged in the sale of products in connection therewith.
h. 
Public utilities including electric, sewer, telephone, gas, and water companies.
i. 
All occupations for fee, salary, wage, retainer, stipend, or commission whether a profession, art, craft, trade, skill, or service in any degree whatsoever, or any combination thereof, not contrary to law.
j. 
All businesses in the service or repair or storage of any article, structure, or thing.
k. 
All land, water, or air vehicles whether automotive or otherwise, and operators, drivers, or pilots thereof.
l. 
The renting, selling, leasing, and buying of real property.
m. 
Agents or agencies for any occupation or business named herein.
A separate license tax may be imposed for each place of business conducted or maintained by the same person, firm, or corporation.
24. 
Compel by the issuance of process the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers and records relating to any subjects under investigation in which the interest of the City is involved, call upon the proper officers of the City or County to execute such process, and administer oaths in the same manner and with like effect under the same penalties as in the case of magistrates exercising criminal and civil jurisdiction under the laws of Missouri.
25. 
Contract and be contracted with; sue and be sued.
26. 
Make and collect special assessments on public or private property for public improvements, and provide for enforcing the prompt payment thereof by any appropriate means.
27. 
Provide for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the City for any purpose.
28. 
Regulate and restrict, for the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals, or the general welfare, the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, parking areas and other open spaces, the density of population, the preservation of features of historical interest and the location and use of buildings, structures and land for trade, industry, residence or other purpose; divide the City into districts for any or all of said purposes and regulate and restrict the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration or use of buildings, structures or land within such districts.
29. 
Cooperate or join by contract or otherwise, with other cities, Counties, States, the United States or other governmental bodies, singly or jointly or in districts or associations for promoting or carrying out any of the powers of the City, or for the acquisition, construction or operation of any property, works, plants, facilities, or structures convenient or necessary for carrying out any of the purposes or objects authorized by this Charter.
30. 
Establish and enforce gas, electric, water, and public transportation rates and charges for all other utilities owned and operated or services furnished by the City; establish or approve and enforce all rates and charges of privately owned utilities operating within the City not regulated by other public authority. All such rates and charges shall be determined after a public hearing and in accordance with regularly established procedures to be prescribed by ordinance.
31. 
Improve watercourses and regulate the use thereof.
32. 
Direct, regulate, and control the location and construction of all poles, wires, conduits, subways, pipe mains, or other structures or erections of any kind in, under, or over public streets, alleys, highways, or places in the City.
33. 
Provide for the purchase by the City of property levied upon and under execution, or process in favor of the City and of property when sold for delinquent taxes and assessments, and for the sale and conveyance of the same.
34. 
Provide for the support and care of sick, aged, insane, or poor persons and neglected or delinquent children; provide for the punishment of parents, guardians, or custodians for neglect of children.
35. 
Acquire, operate, and maintain charitable, educational comfort, recreative, curative, penal, corrective, detentive, and other institutions, departments, functions, facilities, instrumentalities, conveniences and services.
36. 
Assess against property the costs of cutting and removing therefrom weeds and rubbish.
37. 
Provide for the clearance, replanning, reconstruction, redevelopment, and rehabilitation of blighted, sub-standard or unsanitary areas, and for recreational and other facilities incidental or appurtenant thereto, and for taking or permitting the taking, by eminent domain of property for such purposes, and when so taken the fee simple estate and title shall vest in the owner, who may sell or otherwise dispose of the property subject to such restrictions as may be deemed in the public interest.
38. 
Incur debts by borrowing money or otherwise and give appropriate evidence thereof as provided by approved budget and control procedures.
39. 
Provide for the employment of all personnel necessary to carry on the functions of all departments and agencies of the City.
40. 
Establish curfew regulations.
41. 
Adopt by reference, with or without notification, codes, standards, or regulations prepared by major technical trade or service associations, the State of Missouri, or any of its agencies, or the United States or any of its agencies relating to fire prevention, building, plumbing, electrical installations, food products, and all other subjects which the City has power to regulate, provided that a copy of every code, standard, or regulation so adopted and in effect shall be kept in the City Clerk's office and open to public inspection.
42. 
Manage, regulate, sell, lease, and dispose of the commons of the City and in connection therewith all powers heretofore granted to the Board of Trustees of the inhabitants of the Town of Bridgeton on or relating to the commons of said town are hereby vested and continued in the City Council of Bridgeton created by this Charter and said Council shall have power to manage, sell, lease, or otherwise regulate and dispose of all lots of ground, and all money or property to which the inhabitants are entitled for the benefit of schools, and may take all necessary steps to maintain suits to recover the same, or to effect compromises with conflicting claimants, and to appropriate such money or property in a manner they may consider most advantageous for the support of schools and the promotion of useful education in said City.
43. 
Enact, adopt, and enforce all ordinances, rules, and regulations; do all things and exercise all governmental and municipal authority necessary, appropriate, or convenient, contributing to or bearing a substantial relation to the full and complete exercise of all the power of this City.
A. 
Form. Every ordinance shall be by bill which shall be in written form, and the enacting clause shall be: "Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Bridgeton . . ." No bill, except those making appropriations of money and those codifying or revising existing ordinances, shall relate to more than one (1) subject, which shall be clearly expressed in the title. Ordinances making appropriations shall be confined to the subject matter of the appropriations.
B. 
Procedure. All bills shall be called up for consideration at least twice and at least one (1) week shall elapse between the time a bill is introduced and its final passage, except that bills may be passed on the day of their introduction by the affirmative vote of all members of the Council.
At the time of its introduction a copy of every bill introduced shall be provided for each member of the Council and a copy shall be kept on file in the office of the City Clerk where it shall be open for public inspection until it is finally adopted or fails of adoption.
Prior to the passage of any bill, except those passed on the day of their introduction by the affirmative vote of all members of the Council, interested persons shall be given an opportunity to be heard before the Council in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Council may adopt. The Council may finally pass a bill with or without amendments, except that if the Council shall make an amendment which, in the opinion of at least four (4) members of the Council, constitutes a change in substance the amended bill shall be placed on file for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk for one (1) more additional week.
Every bill duly passed by the Council and presented to the Mayor and by him approved, shall become an ordinance. Every bill vetoed by the Mayor, and adopted by the affirmative vote of six (6) members of the Council over the objections of the Mayor, as provided in Section 2.05(C) hereof, shall become an ordinance upon such adoption without the approval of the Mayor.
C. 
Codification. Within three (3) years after adoption of this Charter and at least every ten (10) years thereafter, the Council shall provide for the preparation of a codification of all City ordinances of a general and permanent nature. The general codification shall be adopted by the Council by ordinance and shall be published promptly.
To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property, or public peace, the Council may adopt one (1) or more emergency ordinances, but such ordinances may not levy taxes; grant, renew, or extend a franchise; regulate the rate charged by any public utility for its services; or authorize the borrowing of money.
An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances generally except that it shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms. An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced, but the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members shall be required for adoption. After its adoption the ordinance shall be placed on file for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk. It shall become effective immediately. Every emergency ordinance shall automatically stand repealed as of the sixty-first (61st) day following the date on which it was adopted but this shall not prevent re-enactment of the ordinance in the manner specified if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may also be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this Section for adoption of an emergency ordinance.
The City Clerk shall be appointed by the Mayor subject to the approval of the Council. He shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed by ordinance. He may be removed by the Mayor.
He shall keep a journal of all Council proceedings, authenticate by his signature all ordinances and resolutions, and maintain same as public records. He shall keep the corporate seal and attest to all of the official acts of the City, administer oaths, and perform such other duties as may be required by this Charter or by ordinance.