[Ord. No. 2 Ch 4 Art. 1 §2, 1953; Ord. No. 04072014 §I, 4-7-2014]
No person shall be an Alderman unless he be at least eighteen (18) years of age, a citizen of the United States, an inhabitant and resident of the City for one (1) year next preceding his election, and a resident (at the time he files and during the time he serves) of the Ward from which he is elected.
[Ord. No. 2 Ch. 3 Art. 1 §2, 1953; Ord. No. 032095 §1, 3-20-1995; Ord. No. 111505D §1, 11-15-2005; Ord. No. 021511E §1, 2-15-2011; Ord. No. 062011 §1, 6-20-2011]
A. 
The Board of Aldermen shall consist of six (6) members, two (2) from each Ward.
B. 
The Board of Aldermen shall meet regularly at City Hall, except as otherwise provided, on the first (1st) Monday of each month at the hour of 6:30 P.M. for a work session. If circumstances require the Board of Aldermen to hold a meeting in lieu of a work session on said date, reasonable notice of the meeting will be provided at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance therefore. Said notice will be made in full compliance with the Missouri Sunshine Law.
C. 
The Board of Aldermen shall meet regularly at City Hall, except as otherwise provided, on the third (3rd) Monday of each month at the hour of 6:30 P.M. Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or any two (2) members of the Board of Aldermen; such call shall designate the time and place of said special meeting.
D. 
A majority of the Board of Aldermen elected shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a less number may adjourn from time to time.
[Ord. No. 03032014 §I, 3-3-2014]
A. 
Meetings Using Video Conference Technology.
1. 
Policy statement. While it is legally permissible for members of the City's public governmental bodies to attend meetings and vote via video conference transmission, a member's use of video conference attendance should occur only sparingly. Because it is good public policy for citizens to have the opportunity to meet with their elected officials face-to-face, elected members of a public governmental body should endeavor to be physically present at all meetings unless attendance is unavoidable after exercising due diligence to arrange for physical presence at the meeting. The primary purpose of attendance by video conference connection should be to accommodate the public governmental body as a whole to allow meetings to occur when circumstances would otherwise prevent the physical attendance of a quorum of the body's members. A secondary purpose of attendance by video conference should be to ensure that all members may participate in business of the public governmental body that is emergency or highly important in nature and arose quickly so as to make attendance at a regular meeting practically impossible. Except in emergency situations, all efforts should be expended to ensure that a quorum of the members of the public governmental body be physical present at the normal meeting place of the body.
2. 
Video conference defined. For purposes of this section "video conference" or "video conferencing" shall refer to a means of communication where at least one (1) member of a public government body participates in the public meeting via an electronic connection made up of three (3) components: 1) a live video transmission of the member of the public governmental body not in physical attendance; 2) a live audio transmission allowing the member of the public governmental body not in physical attendance to be heard by those in physical attendance; and 3) a live audio transmission allowing the member of the public governmental body not in physical attendance to hear those in physical attendance at a meeting. If at any time during a meeting one (1) or more of the elements of a video conference becomes compromised (e.g., if any participants are unable to see, hear, or fully communicate), then the video conference participant is deemed immediately absent, and this absence should be reflected in the minutes. A video conference participant's absence may compromise a quorum in which case the applicable Missouri laws shall take effect regarding a broken quorum.
3. 
Frequency of use of video conference attendance. A member of a public governmental body shall not attend more than two (2) meetings via video conference in a rolling twelve-month period. In keeping with the policy stated in Subsection (A)(1) above, attendance via video conference should only occur sparingly and for good cause. Such good cause shall be at the discretion of the member seeking to attend by video conference, but shall be for significant reasons such as serious illness or injury of the member or a member of his or her immediate family, including father or mother, spouse, sibling, child, or grandchild.
4. 
Physical location. Members of the public may not participate in a public meeting of a governmental body via video conference. The public wishing to attend a meeting and elected officials not participating via video conferencing of a meeting shall participate at the physical location where meetings of the public governmental body are typically held, or as provided in a notice provided in accordance with the Sunshine Law. The public governmental body shall cause there to be provided at the physical location communication equipment consisting of an audio and visual display, and a camera and microphone so that the member(s) of the public governmental body participating via videoconferencing, the members of the public governmental body in physical attendance, and the public in physical attendance may actively participate in the meeting in accordance with rules of meeting decorum. The communication equipment at the physical location of the meeting must allow for all meeting attendees to see, hear, and fully communicate with the video-conferencing participant.
5. 
Voting. Elected members of a public governmental body attending a public meeting of that governmental body via video conference are deemed present for purposes of participating in a roll call vote to the same effect elected members of a public governmental body in physical attendance at a public meeting of that governmental body are deemed present. As indicated in Subsection (A)(2) above, if any component of the video conference communication fails during the meeting, the member attending the meeting by video conference whose connection failed shall be deemed absent immediately upon such failure, and if the public governmental body was in the act of voting, the voting shall stop until all of the components of video conference attendance are again restored and the video conference participant's presence is again noted in the minutes.
6. 
Closed meetings. In a meeting where a member of a public governmental body is participating via videoconferencing and the meeting goes into a closed session, all provisions of Missouri law and City ordinances relating to closed sessions apply. Upon the public governmental body's vote to close the meeting, all members of the general public shall not be present. Likewise, a member of a public governmental body participating via videoconferencing must ensure there are no members of the public present at his or her location to see, hear, or otherwise communicate during the closed session. The member must also take all reasonable precautions to guard against interception of communication by others. Failure to ensure the requirements of this Subsection may result in corrective action by the full public governmental body in accordance with City regulations.
7. 
Minutes. In the meeting, whether in open or in closed session, the minutes taken should reflect the member, if any, participating via video conference; the members in physical attendance; and members, if any, absent.
8. 
Emergency meetings. In the event that emergency circumstances create impossibility for the members of a public governmental body to physically attend, the body as a whole may meet, and if necessary vote, by video conference. Examples of such emergency circumstances include, but are not limited to, war, riot, terrorism, widespread fire, or natural disaster such as earthquake, tornado, hurricane, flood, or blizzard. To the extent possible in such circumstances, the public governmental body shall use reasonable efforts to cause a physical location to be provided for public attendance and participation.
[Ord. No. 2 Ch 3 Art. 1 §3, 1953]
A. 
The Board of Aldermen at its regular meetings in October and April of each year shall cause to be spread upon the records a full and detailed statement of the receipts and expenditures and indebtedness of the City at the end of each fiscal year, ending the last day of September and six (6) months after the end of each fiscal year, ending the last day of March with publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. Each such statement shall be for the six-month period preceding the date of the statement.
[Ord. No. 11152021, 11-15-2021]
B. 
The Board shall cause a journal to be kept of their proceedings and a record of the names voting for and against any proposition before the Board of Aldermen.
C. 
The Board of Aldermen shall have exclusive power to originate and adopt all ordinances for the City.
D. 
The Board of Aldermen shall within a reasonable time, not exceeding thirty (30) days after ascertaining the assessment of the real estate and personal property in the City, fix the annual rate of levy thereon by ordinance.
E. 
The Board shall by ordinance fix all licenses, penalties, provide for all levies and collections of all taxes, and perform all duties required of them by law, and fix penalties for neglect or refusal to comply with all ordinances.
F. 
The Board of Aldermen at the date of incurring any indebtedness shall by ordinance provide for meeting such indebtedness in a manner as provided by laws of the State relating to Cities of the Fourth (4th) Class.
G. 
The Board shall approve all official bonds, not otherwise provided, and no officer of the City shall be accepted as security on such official bond.
[RSMo. §79.090]
The Board shall elect one of their own number who shall be styled "Acting President of the Board of Aldermen" and who shall serve for a term of one (1) year.
[Ord. No. 2 Ch 5 Art. 1 §2, 1953]
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.