All City elections shall be conducted and held in conformance with the provisions of Chapter 115, RSMo.
A. 
A municipal election for the qualified voters of this City shall be held on the first (1st) Tuesday after the first (1st) Monday in April of each year.
B. 
On the first (1st) Tuesday after the first (1st) Monday in April of 2001, a municipal election of the qualified voters of the City of Cottleville shall be held for the purpose of electing a Mayor who shall hold his/her office for a term of four (4) years and until his/her successor is elected and qualified.
C. 
On the first (1st) Tuesday after the first (1st) Monday in April of odd-numbered years, a municipal election of the qualified voters of the City of Cottleville shall be held for the purpose of electing one (1) Alderman from each ward who shall hold his/her office for a term of two (2) years and until his/her successor is elected and qualified.
D. 
On the first (1st) Tuesday after the first (1st) Monday in April of even-numbered years, a municipal election of the qualified voters of the City of Cottleville shall be held for the purpose of electing one (1) Alderman from each ward who shall hold his/her office for a term of two (2) years and until his/her successor is elected and qualified.
[Ord. No. 1992, 2-16-2022]
Any person who desires to become a candidate for an elective City office at the general City election shall file with the City Clerk, not prior to the hour of 8:00 A.M. on the seventeenth (17th) Tuesday prior to the next City municipal election nor later than 5:00 P.M. on the fourteenth (14th) Tuesday prior to said election, a written, signed and sworn declaration of candidacy declaring his or her intent to be a candidate at said election. The City Clerk shall keep a permanent record of the names of the candidates, the offices for which they seek election and the date of their filing, and their names shall appear on the ballots in that order; except that in the case of candidates who file a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk prior to 5:00 P.M. on the first (1st) day for filing, the City Clerk shall determine by random drawing the order in which such candidates' names shall appear on the ballot. Such drawing shall be conducted so that each candidate, or candidate's representative if the candidate filed his or her declaration of candidacy under, and in accordance with, Subsection 2 of Section 115.355, RSMo., may draw a number at random at the time of filing. The Clerk shall record the number drawn with the candidate's declaration of candidacy. The names of candidates filing on the first (1st) day for filing shall be listed, from the first (1st) position on the ballot, in ascending order of the numbers drawn. No person's name shall be printed on any official ballot as a candidate for an elective City office unless his or her written, signed and sworn declaration of candidacy has been filed in the office of the City Clerk as provided in this Chapter.
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.
[Ord. No. 1992, 2-16-2022]
The City Clerk shall, before the seventeenth (17th) Tuesday, prior to any election at which City offices are to be filled, notify the general public of the opening filing date, the office or offices to be filled, the proper place for filing and the closing filing date of the election. Such notification may be accomplished by legal notice published in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in the City.
The form of said written declaration of candidacy shall be substantially as follows:
STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
STATE OF MISSOURI
)
 
 
)
SS
COUNTY OF ST. CHARLES
)
 
I, _________________________, being first duly sworn, state that I reside at _________________________, City of Cottleville, County of St. Charles, Missouri; that I am a qualified voter; that I do hereby declare myself a candidate for the office of _________________________ to be voted upon at the municipal election to be held on the first (1st) Tuesday after the first (1st) Monday in April, _____, and I meet all the qualifications required of a candidate for said office, and I hereby request that my name be printed upon the official ballot for said election for said office and state that I will serve as such officer, if elected.
 Signed:
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ______ day of __________________, ______.
   City Clerk
   City of Cottleville
(SEAL)
[Ord. No. 1624, 6-22-2017]
A. 
At the time of filing a written declaration of candidacy under Section 105.050 of the Municipal Code, any candidate for elective office shall deposit with the City Clerk a non-refundable filing fee in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00). No candidate's name shall be printed on any official ballot until the required fee has been paid.
B. 
Any person who cannot pay the fee required under Subsection (A) may have the fee waived by filing a written declaration of inability to pay with his/her declaration of candidacy. Each such declaration of inability to pay shall be in substantially the following form:
DECLARATION OF INABILITY TO PAY FILING FEE, I, ________, do hereby swear that I am financially unable to pay the fee of _____ (amount of fee) to file as a candidate for the office of _____ at the general municipal election to be held on the ___ day of _______, 20 ___.
__________ (signature of candidate)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___ day of _______, 20 ___.
__________ (signature of City Clerk or his/her designee authorized to administer oaths).
The declaration of inability to pay shall be signed and sworn to by the candidate before the City Clerk or his/her designee who witnesses the candidate's declaration of candidacy. With his/her declaration of inability to pay, the candidate shall submit a petition endorsing his/her candidacy. Except for the number of signatures required, each such petition shall, insofar as practicable, be in the form provided in Sections 115.321 and 115.325, RSMo. (2016), as amended. The petition shall be signed by the number of registered voters in the City or the applicable ward which is equal to at least one percent (1%) of the total number of votes cast for the office sought at the last election in which a candidate ran for such office. The candidate's declaration of inability to pay and the petition with the required signatures shall be filed at the same time and in the same manner as his/her declaration of candidacy is filed. The petition shall be checked and its sufficiency determined in the same manner as new party and independent candidate petitions are under Chapter 115, RSMo. (2016), as amended.
In City elections, the City Clerk shall notify the St. Charles County Election Authority prior to 5:00 P.M. on the tenth (10th) Tuesday prior to any City election except as noted in Section 115.125.1, RSMo. The notice shall be in writing, shall specify that the Board of Aldermen is calling the election, the purpose of the election, the date of the election, and shall include a certified copy of the legal notice to be published including the sample ballot. The notice and any other information required by this Section may, with the prior notification to the election authority receiving the notice, be accepted by facsimile transmission prior to 5:00 P.M. on the tenth (10th) Tuesday prior to the election, provided that the original copy of the notice and a certified copy of the legal notice to be published shall be received in the office of the election authority within three (3) business days from the date of the facsimile transmission.
[Ord. No. 621 §2, 12-11-2003]
For the purpose of electing Aldermen of the City, the City shall be divided into two (2) wards, as described in Exhibit 1, which is on file in the office of the City Clerk.