No person shall be an Alderman unless he/she be at least eighteen
(18) years of age, a citizen of the United States, and an inhabitant
and resident of the City for one (1) year next preceding his/her election,
and a resident, at the time he/she files and during the time he/she
serves, of the ward from which he/she is elected.
No person shall be Mayor unless he/she be at least twenty-five
(25) years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident
of the City at the time of and for at least one (1) year next preceding
his/her election.
The Board of Aldermen shall elect one (1) of its own number
who shall be styled "Acting President of the Board of Aldermen" and
who shall serve for a term of one (1) year.
When any vacancy shall happen in the office of Mayor by death,
resignation, removal from the City, removal from office, refusal to
qualify, or from any other cause whatever, the Acting President of
the Board of Aldermen shall, for the time being, perform the duties
of Mayor, with all the rights, privileges, powers and jurisdiction
of the Mayor, until such vacancy be filled or such disability be removed;
or, in case of temporary absence, until the Mayor's return.
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of each City governed by this
Chapter shall have the care, management and control of the City and
its finances and shall have power to enact and ordain any and all
ordinances not repugnant to the Constitution and laws of this State,
and such as they shall deem expedient for the good government of the
City, the preservation of peace and good order, the benefit of trade
and commerce, and the health of the inhabitants thereof, and such
other ordinances, rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary
to carry such powers into effect and to alter, modify or repeal the
same.
The Mayor shall have a seat in and preside over the Board of
Aldermen but shall not vote on any question except in case of a tie,
nor shall he/she preside or vote in cases when he/she is an interested
party. He/she shall exercise a general supervision over all the officers
and affairs of the City and shall take care that the ordinances of
the City, and the State laws relating to such City, are complied with.
The style of the ordinances of the City shall be "Be it ordained
by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Vandalia, 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 Board of Aldermen shall vote for it, and the
"ayes" and "nays" be entered on the journal. Every proposed ordinance
shall be introduced to the Board of Aldermen 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 Board of Aldermen. If the proposed
ordinance is read by title only, copies of the proposed ordinance
shall be made available for public inspection prior to the time the
bill is under consideration by the Board of Aldermen. No bill shall
become an ordinance until it shall have been signed by the Mayor,
or person exercising the duties of the Mayor's office, or shall have
been passed over the Mayor's veto as herein provided.
Every bill duly passed by the Board of Aldermen and presented
to the Mayor and by him/her approved shall become an ordinance, and
every bill presented as aforesaid, but returned with the Mayor's objections
thereto, shall stand reconsidered. The Board of Aldermen shall cause
the objections of the Mayor to be entered at large upon the journal
and proceed at its convenience to consider the question pending, which
shall be in this form: "Shall the bill pass, the objections of the
Mayor thereto notwithstanding?" The vote on this question shall be
taken by "ayes" and "nays" and the names entered upon the journal,
and if two-thirds (2/3) of all the members-elect shall vote in the
affirmative, the City Clerk shall certify the fact on the roll, and
the bill thus certified shall be deposited with the proper officer
and shall become an ordinance in the same manner and with like effect
as if it had received the approval of the Mayor. The Mayor shall have
power to sign or veto any ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen;
provided that should he/she neglect or refuse to sign any ordinance
and return the same with his/her objections, in writing, at the next
regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen, the same shall become a
law without his/her signature.
The Board of Aldermen shall cause to be kept a journal of its
proceedings, and the "ayes" and "nays" shall be entered on any question
at the request of any two (2) members. The Board of Aldermen may prescribe
and enforce such rules as it may find necessary for the expeditious
transaction of its business.
The Board of Aldermen shall semiannually each year, at times
to be set by the Board of Aldermen, make out and spread upon their
records a full and detailed account and statement of the receipts
and expenditures and indebtedness of the City for the half year ending
with the last day of the month immediately preceding the date of such
report, which account and statement shall be published in some newspaper
in the City.
In the event the financial statement of the City is not published as required by Section 110.100, the Treasurer of the City shall not pay out any money of the City on any warrant or order of the Board of Aldermen after the end of the month in which such financial statement should have been published until such time as such financial statement is published. Any Treasurer violating the provisions of this Section shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation.
The Board of Aldermen shall have power to compel the attendance
of witnesses and the production of papers and records relating to
any subject under consideration in which the interest of the City
is involved and shall have power to call on the proper officers of
the City, or of the County in which such City is located, to execute
such process. The officer making such service shall be allowed to
receive therefor such fees as are allowed by law in the Circuit Court
for similar services, to be paid by the City. The Mayor or Acting
President of the Board of Aldermen shall have power to administer
oaths to witnesses.
The Mayor shall sign the commissions and appointments of all
City Officers elected or appointed in the City and shall approve all
official bonds unless otherwise prescribed by ordinance.
The Mayor shall be active and vigilant in enforcing all laws
and ordinances for the government of the City, and he/she shall cause
all subordinate officers to be dealt with promptly for any neglect
or violation of duty; and he/she is hereby authorized to call on every
male inhabitant of the City over eighteen (18) years of age and under
fifty (50) to aid in enforcing the laws.
The Mayor shall, from time to time, communicate to the Board
of Aldermen such measures as may, in his/her opinion, tend to the
improvement of the finances, the Police, health, security, ornament,
comfort and general prosperity of the City.
The Mayor shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures and
to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses arising under the ordinances
of the City; but this Section shall not be so construed as to authorize
the Mayor to remit any costs which may have accrued to any officer
of said City by reason of any prosecution under the laws or ordinances
of such City.
[R.O. 1991 § 120.060; CC 1978 § 21.230]
The Mayor shall have the power to
issue proclamations, call mass meetings and regular and special elections
in such a manner as this Code or other ordinances or State law may
provide.
[R.O. 1991 § 120.130; Ord. No. 639 §§ I – II, 12-17-1991; Ord. No. 17-1173, 7-11-2017]
The Mayor and the Board of Aldermen,
with the consent of a majority of the members of the Board of Aldermen
and within the guidelines set out in the City Personnel Code, may
discipline any employee under their direct supervision. In addition,
a majority of the Board of Aldermen may, without the Mayor's approval
or disapproval and within the guidelines set out in the City Personnel
Code, discipline any such employee. For the purposes of this Section,
the City Administrator is the only employee under the direct supervision
of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.
[Ord. No. 626 § 1, 5-14-1991; Ord. No. 10-1102 §§ I
– II, 4-13-2010; Ord. No.
17-1171, 7-11-2017]
The Board of Aldermen of the City of Vandalia, Missouri, shall
meet in regular session in the City of Vandalia's Lange Building at
5:30 P.M. on the second Tuesday of each month unless specifically
changed at a meeting of the Board of Aldermen.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.170]
All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public, except
those meetings which may be closed under Chapter 610, RSMo., as amended.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.070; CC 1978 § 24.020]
A.Â
Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or by any two (2) members of the Board by written request filed with the City Clerk, who shall thereupon prepare a notice of such special meeting, stating time, place and object thereof, which notice shall be prepared in conformance with Chapter 120, Open Meetings, of this Code, served personally or by telephone upon each member of the Board or left at his/her usual place of residence at least twelve (12) hours before the time of the meeting. It shall also be the duty of the City Clerk, immediately upon receipt of the request for the meeting, to make diligent effort to notify each member of the Board in person, either by telephone or otherwise, of such special session.
1.Â
The City Clerk shall make a diligent effort to notify those members
of the mass media who customarily attend meetings of the Board of
Aldermen of the special session, in the same manner as described above.
2.Â
Failure to comply with the requirements of this Section shall not
invalidate any action taken at a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen.
At the hour appointed, the Mayor, or in his/her absence the
Acting President of the Board of Aldermen, shall call the Board of
Aldermen to order, and the Clerk shall call the roll of members and
announce whether or not a quorum is present. A majority of the members
elected to the Board of Aldermen shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum
not be present, a smaller number may lawfully adjourn the meeting
from day to day until a quorum is present.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.090; CC 1978 § 24.040]
In case that a lesser number than a quorum shall convene at
a regular or special meeting of the Board of Aldermen, the majority
of the members present are authorized to direct the Chief of Police
or other City Officer to send for and compel the attendance of any
or all absent members upon such terms and conditions and at such time
as such majority of the members present shall agree.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.100; CC 1978 § 24.045]
All adjourned meetings of the Board shall, to all intents and
purposes, be continuations of the meetings of which they are adjournments,
and the same proceedings may be had at such adjourned meetings as
at the meeting of which they are adjournments.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.110; CC 1978 § 24.050]
A.Â
At
the hour designated for Board meetings, the Mayor shall call the Board
of Aldermen to order, and he/she shall act as President of the Board.
B.Â
The
Mayor shall appoint all committees, subject to the concurrence of
the Board of Aldermen, the appointment or election of which is not
otherwise provided for by this Code or other ordinance.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.130; CC 1978 § 24.060]
Except as otherwise provided by law or ordinance, the proceedings
of the Board of Aldermen shall be controlled by Robert's Rules of
Order, as revised.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.140; CC 1978 § 24.070]
The presiding officer of the Board of Aldermen shall preserve
decorum and shall decide all questions of order subject to appeal
to the Board of Aldermen. Any member may appeal to the Board from
a ruling of the presiding officer upon a question of order. If the
motion for an appeal is seconded, the member making the appeal may
briefly state his/her reason for the same and the presiding officer
may briefly express his/her ruling, but there shall be no debate on
the appeal and no other member shall participate in the discussion.
The presiding officer shall then put the question to vote as to whether
the decision of the presiding officer shall be sustained. If a majority
of the members present vote "aye," the ruling of the chair is sustained;
otherwise, it is overruled.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.160]
Any member of the Board of Aldermen shall have the right to
express dissent from or protest against any ordinance or resolution
of the Board and to have the reason therefor entered upon the journal.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.190; CC 1978 § 24.140]
Any bill shall be subject to amendment until the vote upon final
passage.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.210; CC 1978 § 24.160; Ord. No. 17-1171, 7-11-2017]
All special committees shall be authorized by the Board. Such
authorization shall include the manner of member selection, purpose
and duration of the committee.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.230; CC 1978 § 24.180]
The Board of Aldermen may by resolution prescribe and enforce
such rules as it may find necessary for the expeditious transaction
of its business, but such rules shall not contravene the requirements
of this Code or other ordinance.
[R.O. 1991 § 110.250; CC 1978 § 24.200]
Any rule of the Board may be repealed, altered or amended by
a majority vote of the members. Every amendment offered shall lie
on the table until the next meeting of the Board before being voted
upon except by the unanimous consent of all elected members of the
Board of Aldermen (including the Mayor). Any rule may be suspended
by a majority vote of the members of the Board, or quorum being present
by unanimous consent.
