[Ord. No. 4 § 31, 1-8-1918; Ord.
No. 2095 § 1, 12-20-1999; Ord. No. 2793 § 1, 1-19-2015]
No person shall be an Alderman unless he or she is at least
eighteen (18) years of age, a citizen of the United States, a qualified
voter under the laws and Constitution of this State and this Code,
an inhabitant and resident of the City for at least one (1) year next
preceding his or her election, and a resident, at the time he or she
files and during the time he or she serves, of the ward from which
he or she is elected. No person shall be delinquent at the time of
filing as an Aldermanic candidate of the candidate's Declaration of
Candidacy in the filing or payment of any State income taxes, personal
property taxes, real property taxes on the Alderman candidate's place
of residence, municipal taxes, and not be a past or present corporate
officer at any fee office that owes any taxes to the State of Missouri,
except any taxes which may be in dispute. An Aldermanic candidate
shall not be delinquent in payment of any unpaid City taxes by the
election date. All Aldermen shall hold their office for a term of
two (2) years and until their successors are elected and qualified.
[Repealed by Ord. No. 1520 § 1, 1-15-1990]
[Ord. No. 420 § 29, 3-20-1950; Ord.
No. 660 § 1, 5-19-1959; Ord. No. 1232 § 1, 12-17-1984; Ord. No. 1899 § 1, 4-15-1996; Ord. No. 1930 § 1, 10-7-1996; Ord. No. 3047, 3-16-2020]
The members of the Board of Aldermen shall be two (2) in number from each ward of the City. The regular meetings of the Board of Aldermen shall be held at the City Hall on the third (3rd) Monday of each month at 6:30 P.M., provided, however, that if any such regular meeting date falls on a City holiday designated in Section
22-71 of the Centralia City Code, then that meeting shall be held on the following Tuesday at 6:30 P.M. unless the Board of Aldermen adopts a motion at a meeting previous to said City holiday to meet on the regularly scheduled meeting date. The Board of Aldermen may establish, by duly adopted motion at any lawful meeting, additional meeting dates and times, including "work session" meetings. A special meeting of the Board of Aldermen may be called by the Mayor or by written application of any two (2) Aldermen, by notice in writing stating the time, place of meeting and business to be transacted, which notice shall be served on every member of the Board of Aldermen and served on the Mayor if the meeting is not called by the Mayor, by a member of the Police Force or by some person over the age of twenty-one (21) years appointed by the Mayor or by any two (2) members of the Board of Aldermen. If said notice of a special meeting is not served on every member of the Board of Aldermen and served on the Mayor if the meeting is not called by the Mayor, no special meeting of the Board of Aldermen may be held. The Mayor and four (4) Aldermen shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting, provided that if the Mayor is absent or if there is a vacancy in the Mayor's office, the acting President of the Board of Aldermen and four (4) Aldermen (one (1) of whom shall be the acting President) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting. If at any meeting a quorum is not present, the Board of Aldermen shall stand adjourned until the next meeting; provided, that a less number than a quorum may adjourn and fix another day prior to the next regular meeting for a meeting of the Board of Aldermen.
[Ord. No. 420 § 30, 3-20-1950]
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.
[Ord. No. 436 § 1, 12-4-1950]
At the hour designated for Board meetings the Mayor shall call
the Board of Aldermen to order, and after roll call, if a quorum be
present, he shall cause the minutes of the last preceding meeting
to be read for correction and approval. He shall preserve order and
decorum and decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to
the Board of Aldermen. He 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.
[Ord. No. 1520 § 2, 1-15-1990]
The Board of Aldermen shall elect one (1) 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. The acting President
of the Board of Aldermen may also be known as "Mayor Pro Tempore."
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 is filled or such disability is removed;
or, in case of temporary absence, until the Mayor's return.
[Ord. No. 420 § 31, 3-20-1950; Ord.
No. 3166, 4-17-2023]
The Board of Aldermen shall elect a Clerk for such Board, to
be known as the City Clerk, whose duties and term of office shall
be fixed by this Code or other ordinance. Among other duties, the
City Clerk shall keep a journal of the proceedings of the Board of
Aldermen. He or she shall safely and properly keep all the records
and papers belonging to the City which may be entrusted to his or
her care; he or she shall be the general accountant of the City. He
or she is hereby empowered to administer official oaths to persons
certifying to demands or claims against the City. Within fifteen (15)
days after his or her appointment and before entering upon the discharge
of the duties of his or her office, the City Clerk shall execute to
the City a bond in the sum of twenty-seven thousand, five hundred
dollars ($27,500.00), conditioned that he or she will faithfully perform
all the duties of his or her office as required by laws of the State
governing Cities of the Fourth Class and this Code or other ordinances
of the City, and that he or she will account for and promptly pay
over all money coming into his or her possession that belongs to the
City, at the time and in the manner provided by law. The sureties
in case of personal bond shall be worth in unencumbered real estate,
after payment of all debts and liabilities for which they are legally
responsible, at least double the amount of such bond. When properly
executed, such bond with the Mayor's approval endorsed thereon shall
be filed in the office of the City Clerk, who shall record, preserve
and safely keep the same.
[Ord. No. 420 § 32, 3-20-1950]
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
to 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.
[Ord. No. 2655 § 1, 9-19-2011]
As authorized by Section 79.150, RSMo., and Section
2-19 of the Centralia City Code for the Board of Aldermen to prescribe and enforce necessary rules for the expeditious transaction of public business, the following is hereby enacted to assist in preserving order, decorum and civility at Board of Aldermen meetings necessary to further the purposes of conducting public business pertaining to City Government in an expeditious manner:
1. No person attending a public meeting of the Board of Aldermen including
any committee meeting shall make any statement or engage in any conduct
which disrupts or threatens to disrupt the public meeting including,
but not limited to, the following: interrupting in any way a statement
being made by a City Official, City employee or other person speaking
at the meeting; yelling, booing, heckling or making any loud verbal
noise; use of verbal or written profanity; use of any noise-making
device; continuous hand clapping; stamping of feet; whistling; use
of offensive, threatening or violent language, or conduct of such
nature; obstructing or blocking of a door or another part of the building
where or near where the Board of Aldermen meeting is being held to
restrict other persons from freely walking; failure to comply with
a statement given by the Mayor or any other person presiding at the
Board of Aldermen meeting (including a committee meeting) concerning
a public meeting matter such as time limits for speaking, to stop
talking, to be quiet or to take a seat; making redundant or repetitious
statements; making statements not related to or relevant to City Government
business; or engaging in any other conduct which impedes, disrupts
or threatens to impede or disrupt a Board of Aldermen meeting.
2. Any person in violation of any provision of this City Code Section
concerning disrupting a public meeting and who also fails to cease
any such statement or conduct after being given a verbal warning to
do so by the Mayor or other person presiding at the Board of Aldermen
meeting (including a committee meeting) shall commit the municipal
ordinance violation of disrupting a public meeting, and shall be subject
to arrest for such ordinance violation.
3. A photocopy of this City Code Section may be posted on any City bulletin
board and may be distributed or made available to any person attending
a City public meeting, but such posting, availability or distribution
shall not be a requirement for enforcement of this City Code Section.
[Ord. No. 420 § 38, 3-20-1950]
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen 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.
[Ord. No. 420 § 33, 3-20-1950]
The Board of Aldermen shall, from time to time, provide by this
Code or other ordinance for the levy and collection of all taxes and
licenses, and within a reasonable time after the Assessor's books
of each year are returned, ascertain the amount of money to be raised
thereon for general and other purposes, and fix the annual rate of
levy therefor by this Code or other ordinance.
[Ord. No. 420 § 40, 3-20-1950]
The Board of Aldermen shall have the power, by this Code or
other ordinance, to secure the general health of the inhabitants of
the City by any measure; to regulate, suppress and abate slaughterhouses,
slaughtering animals, stockyards, soap and other factories, pig pens,
cow stables and other stables and dairies, and to remove the same,
and to regulate or prevent the carrying on of any business which may
be dangerous or detrimental to the public health, or the manufacturing
or rendering of articles obnoxious to the health of the inhabitants;
and to pass ordinances for the prevention of nuisances and their abatement.
[Ord. No. 420 § 37, 3-20-1950]
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.
[Ord. No. 420 § 36, 3-20-1950; Ord.
No. 1252 § 1, 9-23-1985]
The Board of Aldermen shall semiannually, in April and October
of each year, make out and spread upon their records a full and detailed
account statement of the receipts and expenditures and indebtedness
of the City for the half-year ending each March 31 and September 30
immediately preceding the date of such report, which account and statement
shall be published in some newspaper in the City.
[Ord. No. 1288 § 1, 2-17-1986]
Each member of the Board of Aldermen shall receive for his services
such compensation as may, from time to time, be fixed by ordinance.
The compensation of any Alderman shall not be changed during the term
for which he was elected or for the term for which he was appointed.
