[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 1-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
The legislative powers of the town shall be vested in a council,
consisting of five council members who shall be elected at large as
hereinafter provided, and who shall hold office for a term of two
(2) years or until their successors take office. The regular term
of council members shall commence on the first Monday following their
election. Council members shall receive no salary for their services.
(Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 59-3.)
[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 2-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
Council members shall (1) be citizens of the United States,
(2) have resided in the town for at least eighteen months immediately
preceding their election, and (3) be qualified voters of the Town
of Somerset and of the State of Maryland. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 59-4,
Res. R-5-79, 7-24-1979.)
[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 3-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
The council shall meet on the first Monday following the election
of new members, or on such other date as the council may determine,
for the purpose of organization, after which the council shall meet
regularly at such times as may be prescribed by its rules but not
less frequently than once each month. Special meetings shall be called
by the town manager upon the request of the mayor or a majority of
the members elected to the council. All meetings, regular and special,
of the council shall be public meetings and open to the public at
all times, and residents of the town shall have a reasonable opportunity
to be heard at such meeting in regard to any town matter, except that
the council may hold work sessions at which comments may be prohibited
and special purpose meetings at which comments may be restricted to
subjects on the meeting agenda. Nothing contained herein shall be
construed to prevent the holding of an executive session, but no ordinance,
resolution, rule, or regulation shall be finally adopted at such an
executive session. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 59-5.)
[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 4-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
(a)
The mayor shall serve as chair of the council. The mayor may take
part in all discussions, but the mayor shall have no vote except in
case of a tie.
(b)
The council shall each year, at its regular meeting following the
election of new members, elect a president of the council from among
its members, who shall act as chair of the council in the absence
of the mayor.
(Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 59-6.)
A majority of the members elected to the council shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business, but no ordinance shall be
approved without the favorable votes of at least three members of
the council. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 59-7.)
The council shall by resolution determine its own rules and
order of business. It shall keep a record of its proceedings and enter
therein the yeas and nays upon final action on any ordinance, resolution,
rule, or regulation, and if required by any one member, on any other
subject. The record shall be reasonably available for public inspection.
(Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 59-8.)
No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced,
nor shall it be acted upon until notice of its introduction and title
has been published as provided in section 83-87 of this Charter. At
any regular or special meeting of the council held not less than six
nor more than sixty days after the meeting at which an ordinance was
introduced, it shall be passed; or passed as amended, or rejected,
or its consideration deferred to some specified future date. In cases
of emergency, all the above requirements in this section may be suspended
by the affirmative votes of at least four members of the council.
Every ordinance, unless it be passed as an emergency ordinance, or
unless it is an ordinance adopting a budget, making appropriations,
or levying property taxes or special benefit assessments, shall become
effective at the expiration of thirty-six calendar days following
approval by the mayor or passage by the council over his veto. An
emergency ordinance, or an ordinance adopting a budget, making appropriations,
or levying property taxes or special benefit assessments, shall become
effective on the date specified in the ordinance, but no ordinance
shall become effective until approved by the mayor or passed over
his veto by the council. Each ordinance or a summary thereof shall
be published as provided in section 83-87 of this Charter within twenty
days after its approval by the mayor or passage over his veto. (Mont.
Co. Code 1965, § 59-9; Res. R-4-95, 12-26-1995.)
[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 5-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations passed by
the council shall be delivered within three (3) days by the town manager
to the mayor for his or her approval or disapproval. If the mayor
approves any ordinance, resolution, rule, or regulation, the mayor
shall sign it; if the mayor disapproves it, the mayor shall not sign
it. The mayor shall return all ordinances, resolutions, rules and
regulations to the town manager within six (6) days after delivery
to the mayor (including the days of delivery and return and excluding
Sunday) with the mayor's approval or disapproval. Any ordinance, resolution,
rule, or regulation disapproved by the mayor shall be returned with
a message stating the reasons for the mayor's disapproval. Any disapproved
ordinance, resolution, rule, or regulation shall not become a law
unless subsequently passed by a favorable vote of at least four (4)
members of the council within thirty-five (35) calendar days from
the time of its return. If the mayor fails to return any ordinance,
resolution, rule, or regulation within six (6) days of its delivery
as aforesaid, it shall be deemed to be approved by the mayor and shall
become law in the same manner as if signed by the mayor. (Mont. Co.
Code 1965, § 59-10; Res. R-4-95, 12-26-1995.)
[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 6-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
If, before the expiration of thirty-six (36) calendar days following
approval of any ordinance by the mayor or passage of any ordinance
over the mayor's veto, a petition is filed with the town manager containing
the signatures of not less than twenty per centum (20%) of the qualified
voters of the town and requesting that the ordinance, or any part
thereof, be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters of the town
for their approval or disapproval, the council shall have the ordinance,
or the part thereof requested for referendum, submitted to a vote
of the qualified voters of the town at the next regular town election
or, in the council's discretion, at a special election occurring before
the next regular election. No ordinance, or the part thereof requested
for referendum, shall become effective following the receipt of such
petition until and unless approved at the election by a majority of
the qualified voters voting on the question, except that an emergency
ordinance or the part thereof requested for referendum, shall continue
in effect for sixty (60) days following receipt of such petition.
If the question of approval or disapproval of any emergency ordinance,
or any part thereof, has not been submitted to the qualified voters
within sixty (60) days following receipt of the petition, then the
operation of the ordinance, or the part thereof requested for referendum,
shall be suspended until approved by a majority of the qualified voters
voting on the question at any election. Any ordinance, or part thereof,
disapproved by the voters shall stand repealed. The provisions of
this section shall not apply to any ordinance adopting a budget, making
appropriations, or levying property taxes or special benefit assessments.
(Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 59-11; Res. R-4-95, 12-26-1995.)
[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 7-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
The mayor or any council member may be dismissed from office
by the qualified voters of the town in accordance with the procedure
set forth in the following subsections.
(a)
A petition seeking the recall of the mayor or any town council member
shall state the reasons for the recall and must be signed by not less
than twenty percent (20%) of the registered voters of the town. The
petition shall be addressed to the town council and filed with the
town manager.
(b)
The town manager shall immediately notify the chair of the board
of supervisors of elections of the filing of a petition for recall,
and shall deliver the petition to the board. The board shall, within
fourteen (14) days of the filing of the petition, ascertain whether
the petition is signed by the requisite number of voters, and shall
attach to the petition a certificate showing the results of its examination.
If the board finds the petition to be sufficient, the town manager
shall submit the petition to the council for action at its next regularly-scheduled
meeting, if such meeting is scheduled within fifteen (15) days of
the date of certification. If the next regularly-scheduled council
meeting is scheduled for sixteen (16) or more days from the date of
certification, the town manager shall schedule a special town council
meeting to be held within fifteen (15) days of the date of certification.
(c)
Upon receipt of a properly-certified petition, the council shall
order a special election to be held on a date not more than sixty
(60) days from the date of the certification by the board of supervisors
of elections; provided, however, that if any town election is scheduled
within ninety (90) days of the date of the board's certification,
the council, at its option, may order that the recall vote be included
on the general election ballot; provided, further, that if the term
of the elected official who is the subject of a recall petition expires
within ninety (90) days of the date of the certification by the board,
no recall election shall be held.
(d)
In its discretion, the council may hold a hearing on the recall petition,
such hearing to take place not less than fifteen (15) days before
the election.
(e)
The recall election ballot shall read: "Shall (name of official)
be continued in the office of (title)?" Following this question shall
be the words "Yes" and "No" on separate lines, with a space to the
right of each, in which the voter shall indicate a vote for or against
recall. The question of recall shall be decided by a simple majority
of votes cast.
(f)
Within not more than twenty-four (24) hours after the closing of
the polls, the board of supervisors of elections shall determine the
vote cast on the recall question and shall certify the results of
the election to the town manager who shall record the results in the
minutes of the council.
(g)
Any person whose recall is sought shall continue in office pending
certification of the election results by the board of supervisors
of elections to the town manager. The official's term of office shall
terminate upon receipt by the town manager of the board's certifications
that the official has been recalled.
(h)
No recall petition shall be filed against any person until that person
shall have been in office for at least three (3) months, nor shall
any recall petition deal with more than one (1) public official.
(i)
Any vacancy created by the recall of an elected official shall be
filled in the manner prescribed in section 83-34 of this Charter.
(Res. R-7-88, 12-27-1988.)
[Amended 10-2-2017 by Res. No. 8-17, eff. 11-21-2017]
Ordinances shall be permanently filed by the town manager and
shall be reasonably available for public inspection. (Mont. Co. Code
1965, § 59-12.)
