The Common Council shall be the elective governing body of the City. It shall consist of the Mayor and one Councilor elected from each of the six wards in the City. The Mayor shall be the presiding officer, but shall have no vote except as provided in Charter § C4-3C.
All Councilors shall be electors of the City of Plattsburgh
and shall have resided in their respective wards not less than 30
days before their election and during their term in office.
The boundaries of the wards of the City shall be described in
the Administrative Code.[1]
Within six months after the official publication of every federal
census, or special census pursuant to the General Municipal Law, the
Common Council shall appoint a Districting Commission to review the
existing ward boundaries and propose changes, if any, to bring them
into accord with the principles of equity and representation in relation
to population. The Districting Commission's structure, powers,
duties and procedures of shall be set forth in the Administrative
Code.[1] New Common Council districts and boundaries as of the
date of enactment by the Common Council shall supersede previous Council
districts and boundaries for all purposes of the next regular City
election, including nominations. The new districts and boundaries
shall supersede previous districts and boundaries for all other purposes
as of the date on which all Council members elected at that regular
City election take office.
Compensation for Councilors shall be established by local law,
except that changes may not be effective during the term of office
during which the change is approved.
The Council shall meet regularly at least once in every month
at such times and places as the Council may prescribe by rule. The
Council may meet in work or informational sessions at which no official
action is taken, but notice of such meetings shall be given as required
by the Open Meetings Law. Special meetings may be held on the call
of the Mayor or, in the Mayor's absence, the Mayor pro tem, or
three or more Council members and, whenever practicable, upon no less
than 12 hours' notice to each member.
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall provide for keeping a journal of its proceedings. This journal shall be a public record. Voting, except on procedural motions and the receipt of reports and correspondence, shall be by roll call and the ayes and nays and abstentions shall be recorded in the journal. An abstention or an absence is not counted as a vote. Four Council members, including the Mayor as a member thereof, shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in the manner and subject to the penalties prescribed by the rules of the Council. No action of the Council, except as otherwise provided in the preceding sentence and in § C2-10, Filling vacancies of Mayor, Councilor; appointive officers, shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of four or more members of the Council, or a greater number if required by state law.
All powers of the City shall be vested in the Common Council,
except as otherwise provided by law or this Charter and the Council
shall provide for the exercise thereof and for the performance of
all duties and obligations imposed on the City by law. The Council
shall have, but not be limited to, the following powers and duties:
A.
To enact, amend or rescind all local laws, ordinances and resolutions.
B.
To establish, alter, consolidate or abolish City departments, offices,
agencies, boards or commissions, provided however, the City shall
guarantee that the following services shall be available to its citizens:
public safety; public works infrastructure (including water, sewer,
sanitation, power, streets and sidewalks); planning and development;
public records; public parks and recreation; public library. The Common
Council may provide additional services as deemed necessary. In lieu
of providing any of these services through City departments, offices,
or agencies, the Common Council may:
C.
To confirm Mayoral appointments of City officers, department heads
and assistant department heads by three affirmative votes, except
as may be provided otherwise in this Charter.
D.
To enact legislation over the disapproval of the Mayor as provided
by this Charter.
E.
To adopt the annual budget, to appropriate moneys and levy taxes.
F.
To provide for an annual independent audit and other audits as may
be necessary.
G.
To prepare a five-year plan to guide the growth and development of
the City. The plan shall include revenue and expenditure trends and
projections, goals and plans for improving the efficiency of City
government, desirable public projects and programs, and such other
matters as may assist the Mayor and the Council in managing the City.
The plan shall be adopted by resolution and shall be revised annually
to include year five and reflect such changes as may be appropriate.
The plan shall be adopted and modified by June 1 of each year.
H.
To authorize the Mayor, or a designated City officer, to enter into
contracts and execute deeds.
I.
To make investigations into the affairs of the City and the conduct
of any City department, office, or agency and for this purpose may
subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require
the production of evidence. Failure or refusal to obey a lawful order
issued in the exercise of these powers by the Council shall be a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than $500, or by imprisonment for
not more than 15 days or both.
J.
To establish the salaries, salary schedules and fringe benefits of
all officers and employees of the City.
A.
Appointments and removals. Neither the Common Council nor any of
its members shall in any manner control or demand the appointment
or removal of any City administrative officer or employee whom the
Mayor or any subordinate of the Mayor is empowered to appoint, but
the Council may express its views and fully and freely discuss with
the Mayor anything pertaining to appointment and removal of such officers
and employees.
B.
Interference with administration. Except for the purpose of inquiries, and investigations under § C3-8I, individual Council members shall deal with City officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the Mayor solely through the Mayor, and individual Council members shall not give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately.
The Council shall act by local law, ordinance or resolution.
A.
Local laws shall be adopted pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law
of the State of New York.
B.
Ordinances shall be adopted pursuant to the following procedures.
(1)
Form. Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced, in writing, and
in the form required for final adoption. No ordinance shall contain
more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.
The enacting clause shall be "The City of Plattsburgh hereby ordains."
Any ordinance which repeals or amends an existing ordinance or part
of the City Code shall set out in full the ordinance, sections or
subsections to be repealed or amended, and shall indicate matters
to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets or by strikeout type and
shall indicate new matters by underscoring or by italics.
(2)
Procedure. Any member at any regular or special meeting of the Council
may introduce an ordinance. Upon introduction of any ordinance, the
City Clerk shall distribute a copy to each Council member and file
a copy in the office of the City Clerk and include the ordinance,
or a summary thereof, on the agenda for the Council meeting when it
will be considered. An ordinance shall not be voted on until 10 days
after introduction. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance is
not required. The Council may adopt the ordinance with or without
amendment or reject it, but if it is amended as to any matter of substance,
the Council may not adopt it until the ordinance or its amended sections
have been subjected to all the procedures herein before required in
the case of a newly introduced ordinance. An ordinance is not adopted
until approved by the Mayor, or until his or her disapproval or veto
is overridden by a vote of the Council.
(3)
Notice and effective date. As soon as practicable after adoption,
the Clerk shall have the ordinance and a notice of its adoption published.
As used in this section, the term "publish" means to print one time
in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the City, and,
if available, in a website: (1) the ordinance or a brief summary thereof,
and (2) the places where copies of it have been filed and are available
for public inspection and purchase. An adopted ordinance shall become
effective immediately upon publication or at any later date specified
therein.
(4)
Filing. Adopted ordinances and proof of publication shall be filed
with the City Clerk and promptly codified in the City Code.
C.
The Common Council may act by resolution.
A.
Every ordinance or resolution of the Common Council, except for the
adoption of Council rules, appointment of Council officers and the
adoption of the annual City budget and implementing ordinances and
resolutions, shall be subject to approval or veto by the Mayor before
it becomes effective.
B.
If the Mayor is in attendance at a meeting where the Council passes
an ordinance or resolution, he or she shall approve it, veto it or
state his or her intention to defer a decision on approval or disapproval
of the measure. If the Mayor does not state his or her approval, veto
or deferral of a decision, the measure shall be conclusively presumed
to have been approved.
C.
If the Mayor defers a decision on approval or disapproval, or is
not in attendance at the meeting where the measure passed, within
three business days of such meeting, the City Clerk shall deliver
a copy to the Mayor. Within five business days of receipt of the measure,
the Mayor shall file his written approval or veto with the City Clerk,
or the measure shall be deemed adopted. The measure may be delivered
to the Mayor by electronic mail addressed to the Mayor's City
of Plattsburgh e-mail address. The Mayor may file his approval or
veto by electronic mail addressed to the City Clerk's City of
Plattsburgh's e-mail address.
D.
If a measure is vetoed at a Council meeting, it may not be reconsidered
at that meeting, but may be reconsidered at a Council meeting held
within 30 days. If upon reconsideration the measure receives four
affirmative votes, it shall be adopted.
E.
The Mayor shall have the power to veto a local law. The procedure
for approving or vetoing a local law shall be as set forth in the
Municipal Home Rule Law.
It shall be the duty of the City Clerk to maintain the journal
of Council proceedings. Such proceedings shall be made available to
the public in a timely fashion. At the end of the year, the proceedings
shall be indexed.
Official notices and other legal notices which may be required
by law shall be published in such newspaper(s) as may be from time
to time designated by the Common Council as official newspaper(s)
of the City of Plattsburgh.
