No person shall be an Alderman unless he/she be at least eighteen
(18) years of age, a citizen of the United States and an inhabitant
and resident of the City for one (1) year next preceding his/her election
and a resident, at the time he/she files and during the time he/she
serves, of the ward from which he/she is elected.
[1]
Cross Reference — As to when aldermen may be elected
at large, §79.060, RSMo.
No person shall be Mayor unless he/she be at least twenty-five
(25) years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident
of the City at the time of and for at least one (1) year next preceding
his/her election.
The Board 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.
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.
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of each City governed by this
Chapter 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.
[CC 1999 §2.0421; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999]
No member of the Board of Aldermen shall directly interfere
with the conduct of any department or duties of employees, except
at the express direction of the Board of Aldermen.
The Mayor shall have a seat in and preside over the Board of
Aldermen but shall not vote on any question except in case of a tie,
nor shall he/she preside or vote in cases when he/she is an interested
party. He/she shall exercise a general supervision over all the officers
and affairs of the City and shall take care that the ordinances of
the City and the State laws relating to such City, are complied with.
The style of the ordinances of the City shall be "Be it ordained
by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Fair Grove, as follows: .
. . ." No ordinance shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall
become an ordinance unless on its final passage a majority of the
members elected to the Board of Aldermen shall vote for it, and the
"ayes" and "nays" be entered on the journal. Every proposed ordinance
shall be introduced to the Board of Aldermen in writing and shall
be read by title or in full two (2) times prior to passage; both readings
may occur at a single meeting of the Board of Aldermen. If the proposed
ordinance is read by title only, copies of the proposed ordinance
shall be made available for public inspection prior to the time the
bill is under consideration by the Board of Aldermen. No bill shall
become an ordinance until it shall have been signed by the Mayor,
or person exercising the duties of the Mayor's office, or shall have
been passed over the Mayor's veto as herein provided.
Every bill duly passed by the Board of Aldermen and presented
to the Mayor and by him/her approved shall become an ordinance and
every bill presented as aforesaid, but returned with the Mayor's objections
thereto, shall stand reconsidered. The Board of Aldermen shall cause
the objections of the Mayor to be entered at large upon the journal
and proceed at its convenience to consider the question pending, which
shall be in this form: "Shall the bill pass, the objections of the
Mayor thereto notwithstanding?" The vote on this question shall be
taken by "ayes" and "nays" and the names entered upon the journal
and if two-thirds (2/3) of all the members-elect shall vote in the
affirmative, the City Clerk shall certify the fact on the roll and
the bill thus certified shall be deposited with the proper officer
and shall become an ordinance in the same manner and with like effect
as if it had received the approval of the Mayor. The Mayor shall have
power to sign or veto any ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen;
provided that, should he/she neglect or refuse to sign any ordinance
and return the same with his/her objections, in writing, at the next
regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen, the same shall become a
law without his/her signature.
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
at 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.
The Board of Aldermen shall semi-annually each year, at times
to be set by the Board of Aldermen, make out and spread upon their
records a full and detailed account and statement of the receipts
and expenditures and indebtedness of the City for the half year ending
with the last day of the month immediately preceding the date of such
report, which account and statement shall be published in some newspaper
in the City.
In the event the financial statement of the City is not published as required by Section 110.100, the Treasurer of the City shall not pay out any money of the City on any warrant or order of the Board of Aldermen after the end of the month in which such financial statement should have been published until such time as such financial statement is published. Any Treasurer violating the provisions of this Section shall be deemed guilty of a ordinance violation.
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.
[CC 1999 §2.0411; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999]
The Mayor shall, at the first (1st) meeting of the Board of
Aldermen after each annual election, name the members of such standing
committees as he/she deems necessary, which shall consist of two (2)
or more members of the Board of Aldermen.
The Mayor shall sign the commissions and appointments of all
City Officers elected or appointed in the City and shall approve all
official bonds unless otherwise prescribed by ordinance.
The Mayor shall be active and vigilant in enforcing all laws
and ordinances for the government of the City and he/she shall cause
all subordinate officers to be dealt with promptly for any neglect
or violation of duty; and he/she is hereby authorized to call on every
male inhabitant of the City over eighteen (18) years of age and under
fifty (50) to aid in enforcing the laws.
[CC 1999 §2.0413; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999]
The Mayor shall have authority to give such orders to the Chief
of Police and Policemen of the City as in his/her judgment the public
good may require and it shall be the duty of the Chief of Police and
Police Officers to obey such orders. Any such orders may be overridden
by a motion and majority vote of the Board of Aldermen.
The Mayor shall, from time to time, communicate to the Board
of Aldermen such measures as may, in his/her opinion, tend to the
improvement of the finances, the Police, health, security, ornament,
comfort and general prosperity of the City.
The Mayor shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures and
to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses arising under the ordinances
of the City; but this Section shall not be so construed as to authorize
the Mayor to remit any costs which may have accrued to any officer
of said City by reason of any prosecution under the laws or ordinances
of such City.
[CC 1999 §2.0501; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999; Ord. No. 02-11-02 §§1 — 4, 11-19-2002; Ord. No. 04-05-01 §1, 5-11-2004]
A.
The
Board of Aldermen of the City shall meet in regular session in the
City Hall on the second (2nd) and fourth (4th) Tuesday of every month.
By appropriate notice, as required by the Missouri Open Meeting Act,
the Board of Aldermen may specify a different place for such regular
meeting for the convenience of the public and the City.
B.
These
regular meetings will begin at 6:30 P.M.
C.
When any such meeting day is a holiday or if other special circumstances require, the regular meeting shall be held at such time as may be determined in agreement by the Mayor and President of the Board and after posting appropriate notice, as required by Chapter 120, Open Meetings and Records Policy, of this Code.
D.
The
Mayor and President of the Board may jointly dispense with any regular
meeting, but at least one (1) meeting, regular or special, must be
held in each calendar month.
[CC 1999 §2.0502; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999]
Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or by any two (2) members of the Board by written request filed with the City Clerk who shall thereupon prepare a notice of such special meeting in conformance with Chapter 120, Open Meetings and Records Policy, of this Code.
[CC 1999 §2.0503; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999]
A.
At
the hour appointed, the Mayor or in his/her absence the Acting President
of the Board of Aldermen, shall call the Board to order, the Clerk
shall call the roll of members and announce whether or not a quorum
is present. A majority of the members elected to the Board shall constitute
a quorum. If a quorum not be present, a smaller number may lawfully
adjourn the meeting from day to day until a quorum is present.
B.
A quorum
of the Board of Aldermen shall consist of four (4) or more Aldermen
being present.
[CC 1999 §2.0504; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999]
The Board of Aldermen hereby adopts Roberts Rules of Order for
the expeditious transaction of its business, but such rules shall
not contravene the requirements of this Code or other ordinances.
[CC 1999 §2.0505; Ord. No. 99-11-01 §2, 11-16-1999]
All special committees shall be appointed by the Mayor unless
otherwise ordered by a majority of the Board. By consent of a majority
of the Board, a special committee may be appointed at any time to
hold public hearings for the Board upon any matter pending before
it. A special committee is a committee composed a members of the Board
of Aldermen; the concurrence of the Board shall not be required as
to the membership of the special committee, unless the Board shall
order otherwise.
[Ord. No. 131, 4-25-2017]
A.
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 physically present at the normal meeting place of the body.
B.
Video
Conference Defined. For purposes of this Section "video conference" or "videoconferencing" 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 (i.e.,
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.
C.
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) above, attendance via video 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.
D.
Physical
Location. Members of the public may not participate in a public meeting
of a governmental body via video conference.
E.
Voting. Elected members of a public governmental body attending a public meeting of that governmental body via video conference are deemed present. As indicated in Subsection (B) 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.
F.
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 their 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.
G.
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.
H.
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.
