[R.O. 1952 §2.27; CC 1988 §2-21]
The Council shall consist of five (5) members. The terms of
Councilmen shall be three (3) years.
No person shall be a candidate for municipal office unless such
person complies with the provisions of Section 115.346, RSMo., regarding
payment of municipal taxes or user fees.
[R.O. 1952 §2.24; CC 1988 §2-22]
No person shall be eligible to the office of Councilman who
is not twenty-one (21) years of age prior to taking office, a citizen
of the United States and an inhabitant of the City for one (1) year
next preceding his/her election.
[R.O. 1952 §2.29; CC 1988 §2-23]
All Councilmen shall be elected at large, but for voting purposes
the Council may divide the City into voting precincts.
[R.O. 1952 §2.43; CC 1988 §2-41; Ord. No. 2503 §1, 5-20-1974]
The City Council shall, at the time of organizing, elect one
(1) of its members as Mayor and another as Chairman Pro Tem for a
term of one (1) year. In case the members of the City Council, within
five (5) days after the time herein fixed for their organization meeting,
are unable to agree upon a Mayor or a Chairman Pro Tem, or both, as
the occasion may require, such officers shall be selected from all
the members of such Council by lot, and a record thereof shall be
made upon the journal of the Council. The time of organizing the City
Council shall be the first (1st) meeting after the general election
each year.
[R.O. 1952 §§2.44 — 2.45; CC 1988 §§2-42
— 2-43]
A.
The
City Council shall at the time of organizing elect one (1) of its
members as Mayor and another as Chairman Pro Tem for a term of one
(1) year. In case the members of the City Council, within five (5)
days after the time herein fixed for their organization meeting, are
unable to agree upon a Mayor or a Chairman Pro Tem, of such Council,
then a Mayor or Chairman Pro Tem, or both, as the occasion may require,
shall be selected from all the members of such Council by lot and
a record thereof shall be made upon the journal of the Council.
B.
The
Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Council and perform such
other duties consistent with his/her office as may be imposed by it;
and he/she shall have a voice and vote in its proceedings, but no
veto.
C.
The
Mayor shall be recognized as the official head of the City by the
courts for the purpose of serving civil process, by the Governor for
the purpose of military law, and for all ceremonial purposes. The
powers and duties of the Mayor shall be such as are conferred upon
him/her by Sections 78.430 to 78.640, RSMo., and no others.
D.
If
the Mayor be temporarily absent from the City, or become temporarily
disabled from any cause, his/her duties shall be performed during
such absence or disability by the Chairman Pro Tem. In the absence
of both the Mayor and Chairman Pro Tem the other members of the City
Council shall select one (1) of their number to perform the duties
of Mayor.
E.
At
the hour designated for Council meetings the Mayor shall call the
Council to order, and after rollcall, if a quorum be present, he/she
shall cause minutes of the last preceding meeting to be read for correction
and approval. He/she shall preserve order and decorum and decide all
questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Council. He/she shall
appoint all committees, the appointment or election of which is not
otherwise provided for by law or ordinance.
[R.O. 1952 §2.31; CC 1988 §2-28]
A.
Except
as herein otherwise provided, the Council of the City shall have all
of the powers now or hereafter given to the Council or to the Mayor
and Council jointly, under the law by which the City was governed
under its former organization and shall have such power over and control
of the administration of the City Government as is provided in Sections
78.430 to 78.640, RSMo.
B.
It
shall be the duty of the Council to pass all ordinances and other
measures conducive to the welfare of the City and to the proper carrying
out of the provisions of Sections 78.430 to 78.640, RSMo. It shall
appoint a suitable person not a member of the Council to be the administrative
head of the City Government, whose official title shall be "City Manager".
The Council shall also provide for all offices and positions, in addition
to those herein specified, which may become necessary for the proper
carrying on of the work of the City and shall fix the salary and compensation
of all officers and employees of the City not herein provided for.
All officers of the City shall be paid in equal monthly installments
for their services, and all employees of the City shall be paid monthly
or at such shorter periods as the Council shall determine. The creation
of all offices and salaries attached thereto, which may be provided
for by the Council under Sections 78.430 to 78.640, RSMo., shall be
by ordinance, and they shall all be for an indefinite term. The Council
shall also provide office rooms at the City Hall or at some other
convenient and suitable place in the City for the transaction of the
business of the City and for the convenience of its officers.
[CC 1988 §17-39]
It shall be unlawful for any person who shall be duly served
by a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued by the City Council or
the City Manager to fail or refuse to obey all the terms and conditions
of the subpoena or subpoena duce tecum.
[CC 1988 §2-29; Ord. No. 3000 §1, 8-20-1990]
The Council shall appoint a City Manager, City Clerk and City
Treasurer. The officers shall hold office at the pleasure of the Council.
[R.O. 1952 §2.47; CC 1988 §2-44]
The Mayor shall sign the commissions and appointments of all
the officers elected or appointed, except those officers appointed
by the City Manager, and approve all official bonds.
[R.O. 1952 §2.46; CC 1988 §2-45]
If the Mayor be temporarily absent from the City or becomes
temporarily disabled from any cause, his/her duties shall be performed
during such absence or disability by the Chairman Pro Tem. In the
absence of both the Mayor and Chairman Pro Tem, the other members
of the City Council shall elect one (1) of their number to perform
the duties of Mayor.
[CC 1988 §2-31; Ord. No. 448 §1, 3-16-1953; Ord. No. 3729 §1, 6-18-2007; Ord. No. 3798 §1, 11-17-2008; Ord. No. 4541, 10-21-2019]
All members of the City Council elected or appointed and duly
qualified shall be paid eight hundred dollars ($800.00) per year as
compensation for their services, payable in equal quarterly installments.
No person currently serving as a City Council member shall receive
an increase in pay during their current term as a City Council member.
[R.O. 1952 §2.34; CC 1988 §2-32]
Resignations of Councilmen shall be in writing and addressed
to the Mayor.
[R.O. 1952 §2.28; CC 1988 §2-33; Ord. No. 2808 §5, 9-15-1986]
Should a vacancy occur in the office of Councilman by death,
resignation or otherwise, the Council shall select a successor who
shall serve until the next regular election.
[CC 1988 §2-24; Ord. No. 2947 §1, 6-19-1989; Ord. No. 3528 §1, 7-21-2003; Ord. No. 3763 §1, 2-20-2008; Ord. No. 4707, 1-19-2021]
The regular meetings of the City Council for the months of January
and February shall be held on the third (3rd) Tuesday of each month
at 6:30 P.M. in the City Hall. The regular meetings of the City Council
for the months of March, April, May, June, July, August, September,
October, November and December shall be held on the third (3rd) Monday
of each month at 6:30 P.M. in the City Hall.
[R.O. 1952 §2.26; CC 1988 §2-25; Ord. No. 2487 §1, 12-3-1973]
A.
The
Mayor, or person acting as Mayor, or any two (2) members of the City
Council shall have the power and are hereby authorized to call a special
meeting of the City Council by serving a notice in writing on each
member of the Council and the Mayor, or person acting as Mayor, by
delivering to each of them a copy of such notice, or by leaving such
copy at his/her usual place of abode with some inhabitant thereof
over the age of fifteen (15) years. Such notice shall state the object
of such meeting and the time of holding the same, and such notice
shall be written out at length and copied upon the journal of the
Council proceedings; provided, that no business other than that specified
in such written notice shall be transacted at such special meeting.
B.
The
notice of special meetings shall also be delivered to local radio
stations and newspapers stating the time, location, date and purpose
of special meetings. The local news media shall acknowledge receipt
of the special meeting notice by signing it.
[CC 1988 §2-26; Ord. No. 2935 §1, 1-18-1989]
A.
Three
(3) members of the Council shall constitute a quorum to do business;
but no action thereof shall be valid unless at least three (3) shall
vote in favor of such action. Upon every vote the "yeas" and "nays"
shall be recorded and every ordinance shall be reduced to writing
before the vote is taken thereon. Every ordinance passed by the Council
must be signed by the Mayor or, in the Mayor's absence, by the Chairman
Pro Tem or by two (2) members of the Council before the same shall
be enforced.
B.
Except
as otherwise provided by Sections 78.430 through 78.630, RSMo., the
style of ordinances of the City shall be: "BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DE SOTO, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:" No ordinance
shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall become an ordinance
unless on its final passage a majority of the members elected to the
Council shall vote therefor, and the "ayes" and "nays" shall be entered
on the journal. Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced to the
Council in writing and shall be read by title or in full two (2) times
prior to passage, both readings may occur at a single meeting of the
Council. If the proposed ordinance is read by title only, copies of
the proposed ordinance shall be available for public inspection prior
to the time the bill is under consideration by the Council. No bill
shall become an ordinance until it shall have been signed by the person
or persons authorized to do so at the meeting of the Council at which
it shall have been passed.
