The legislative power of the city is vested exclusively in the
Council, except as otherwise provided by law. When this charter requires
the adoption of an ordinance for any purpose, the existence of an
ordinance accomplishing such purpose shall suffice.
All ordinances, resolutions, rules, and regulations of the Council
and of each administrative agency of the city, to the extent that
they are consistent with the provisions of this charter, which are
in force on the effective date of this charter, shall continue in
full force, until repealed or amended.
(a)
Each proposed ordinance shall be introduced in written form. The
style of all ordinances passed by the Council shall be, "The City
of Coldwater Ordains:"
(b)
No ordinance shall be passed at the same meeting at which it is introduced,
unless it is declared to be an emergency ordinance by a vote of not
less than six members of the Council.
(c)
An ordinance may be repealed or amended only by an ordinance passed
in the manner provided in this section. An ordinance may be repealed
by reference to its number only.
(d)
If a section of an ordinance is amended, it shall be re-enacted and
published at length: Provided, that this requirement shall not apply
to zoning ordinance amendments or to the schedules of one-way streets
and of parking limitations contained in any traffic ordinance.
(e)
Each ordinance, after adoption, shall be identified by a number.
(f)
The Council may adopt any detailed technical code or regulations
as a city ordinance by reference to any recognized standard code,
official or unofficial, or may adopt the same in detail. In either
case, publication thereof may be made by providing to the public not
less than 50 copies thereof in book or booklet form, available for
public inspection and public distribution at cost at the office of
the Clerk. Any amendment or revision of any such code or regulation
which is so adopted and published may be adopted and published in
the same manner.
(g)
Each ordinance shall be recorded by the Clerk forthwith in the Ordinance
Book, and the enactment of such ordinance shall be certified by him
therein.
(a)
Before an ordinance may become effective, it shall be published in
one or more newspapers of general circulation in the city or as may
be otherwise provided or permitted by law. Such publication may be
as a part of the proceedings of the meeting at which it was adopted.
The effective date of an ordinance shall be stated therein, but shall
not be less than 20 days from the date of its adoption, unless it
is declared by the affirmative vote of not less than six members of
the Council to be an emergency ordinance.
(b)
In the event of the codification of the ordinances the deposit of
100 printed copies in the office of the Clerk, available for public
inspection and sale at cost, shall constitute the publication thereof.
The Council shall provide in ordinances adopted by it for the
punishment of violations thereof. Such punishment may be by a fine
of not to exceed $500 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or
both, in the discretion of the court. Imprisonment for violations
of ordinances may be in the city or county jail, or in any workhouse
of the state which is authorized by law to receive prisoners of the
City.
No prosecution for the violation of an ordinance shall be commenced
after the expiration of two years after the commission of the offense.
Except as may be inconsistent with or otherwise provided in
Chapter 11 of this charter, all proceedings relative to the arrest,
custody, and trial of persons accused of the violation of ordinances
shall be governed by and conform as nearly as may be with the provisions
of law relating to proceedings in criminal cases cognizable by justices
of the peace.
Any act which may be done by the Council by ordinance or resolution
may be initiated by petition, or a referendum on any act of the Council
may be had by a petition, as hereinafter provided.
An initiatory or a referendary petition shall be signed by not
less than 20% of the registered electors of the city on the day of
the closing of the registration rolls prior to the last previous city
election. The Clerk shall provide and make available to any registered
elector of the city general petition forms upon which any initiatory
or referendary petition may be set forth by such elector or others
interested therein. Such petition may be the aggregate of two or more
petition papers. Each signer of a petition shall sign his name, and
shall place thereon after his name the date of his signing and his
place of residence by street and number and compliance with the requirements
of this sentence shall be jurisdictional to the validity of any petition
or petition paper. To each petition paper there shall be attached
a sworn affidavit by the circulator thereof, stating that each signature
thereon is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports
to be, and that it was signed in the presence of the affiant. Such
petition shall be filed with the Clerk who shall, within 10 days,
canvass the signatures thereon to determine the genuineness and the
sufficiency thereof. Any signature obtained more than 60 days before
the filing of such petition with the Clerk shall not be counted. If
an initiatory petition be found to contain an insufficient number
of genuine signatures of registered electors of the city, or to be
improper as to form or compliance with the provisions of this section,
the Clerk shall notify, forthwith, the person filing such petition,
and 10 days from such notification shall be allowed for the filing
of supplemental petition papers. When an initiatory or referendary
petition is found to be sufficient and proper, the Clerk shall present
the petition to the Council at its next regular meeting.
Upon receiving an initiatory or referendary petition from the
Clerk, the Council shall, within 60 days, either:
Should the Council decide to submit the proposal to the electors,
it shall be submitted at the next election held in the city for any
purpose, or, in the discretion of the Council, at a special election.
The result shall be determined by a majority vote of the electors
voting thereon, except in cases where otherwise required by law.
An ordinance adopted by the electorate through initiatory proceedings
may not be amended or repealed by the Council for a period of two
years after the date of the election at which it was adopted. Should
two or more ordinances, adopted at the same election, have conflicting
provisions, the one receiving the largest affirmative vote shall prevail.
The certification by the Clerk of the sufficiency of a referendary-petition
within 30 days after the passage of the ordinance to which such petition
refers shall automatically suspend the operation of the ordinance
in question pending repeal by the Council or final determination by
the electors.
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 make investigations as to municipal
affairs, and for that purpose may summon witnesses to appear before
the Council or a 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 be deemed to be guilty of a violation of this charter.
