(a)
Organization Meetings. Council shall meet and organize at an "Organization
Meeting" on the first Monday of January of each even numbered year,
commencing at 8:00 p.m. prevailing time. If the first Monday of January
is a legal holiday, the Organization Meeting shall be held on the
next following business day. At each Organization Meeting, Council
shall elect officers in accordance with Section 409 and shall consider
and act upon such other matters as the members of Council may deem
necessary or appropriate for the organization and operation thereof,
including the establishment of a schedule of Regular Meetings. In
addition, Council may consider and act upon any matter at an Organization
Meeting which would be appropriate for decision at any Regular Meeting
of Council.
(b)
Regular Meetings. Council shall hold Regular Meetings, at least once
each month, at such times as may be determined by a schedule from
time to time adopted or revised in advance by resolution of Council
at the Organization Meeting or at any Regular Meeting. At any Regular
Meeting, Council may consider and act upon any matter which properly
may be brought before it in accordance with the provisions of this
Charter and all other applicable provisions of law.
(c)
Special Meetings. Council also may hold Special Meetings upon the
call of the President of Council or the Vice President in his absence
or the Town Manager or at least three (3) members of Council, at such
times as may be specified in the notice of the Special Meeting to
be sent in accordance with Section 403. At a Special Meeting, Council
may consider and act upon only those items of business which shall
have been identified as a purpose of that Special Meeting in the notice.
(d)
Emergency Meetings. Council also may hold and take action at an Emergency
Meeting at any time, and without complying with the notice requirements
set for in Section 403, upon the call of the President of Council
or the Vice President in his absence or the Town Manager or any member
of Council, provided (i) that such meeting is attended by at least
a majority of all members of Council and (ii) that all of the members
of Council present and voting at such meeting determine that the holding
of such meeting and the taking of emergency action under Section 505(f)
at that time will be necessary to protect or to promote the public
health and safety of the Town.
(e)
Adjourned Meetings. Council may adjourn any Organization, Regular
or Special Meeting to a specified time, and reconvene and take action
at that Adjourned Meeting, by a motion duly adopted by Council. Council
may act upon any matter at an Adjourned Meeting which would have been
appropriate for decision at the meeting at which the motion of adjournment
has been approved, except that Council may not reconsider or take
action at an Adjourned Meeting on any matter which has been acted
on or tabled at the meeting at which such motion of adjournment has
been approved.
All official meetings of Council shall be held at the municipal
building of the Town. All official meetings of Council shall be held
at times determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 401
pertaining to the specific types of meetings and, where required,
communicated in the notice to be sent in accordance with Section 403.
(a)
Notice of Special Meetings. Special Meetings of Council may be held
only after the delivery of at least seventy-two (72) hours advance
written notice to all members of Council. The notice of a Special
Meeting shall be conspicuously posted at appropriate locations in
and in front of the municipal building and (if reasonably practicable)
shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the community
in advance of such meeting. The notice of a Special Meeting shall
identify the subject matter(s) of the business to be considered at
such meeting. The presence of a member of Council at a Special Meeting
shall constitute a waiver of notice by that member.
(b)
Notice of Other Official Meetings. Official Meetings of Council of
all types provided for in Section 401 other than a Special Meeting
may be held without the delivery or publication of specific advance
notice in accordance with the provisions of the pertinent sub-paragraphs
of Section 401. The schedule of all Regular Meetings shall be conspicuously
posted at appropriate locations and at reasonable times and advertised
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town as and when that
schedule is adopted or revised. The schedule of Regular Meetings also
shall be kept conspicuously posted at all times at appropriate locations
in and in front of the municipal building.
(a)
Minutes of Council Meetings. Council shall make and preserve minutes
of all official meetings of Council; provided, however, that it may
hold portions of any official meeting in executive session in accordance
with Section 405 without the making of minutes or any other record,
and that it may hold any unofficial or committee meeting at any time
without the making of such minutes or other record. Such minutes shall
be prepared and distributed to all members of Council promptly after
the completion of each meeting, and they shall be open and available
for public inspection and copying, in a convenient place and form
at the municipal building, during normal business hours.
(b)
Codification of Ordinances. Council shall provide for the codification,
promptly after the effective date of this Charter, and for the periodic
updating at reasonable times thereafter, of the substance of all ordinances
of Council having continuing legal effect. Such codification shall
be kept open and available for public inspection and copying, in a
convenient place and form at the municipal building, during normal
business hours. Copies shall be made available to all interested persons
upon request and payment of a reasonable fee.
Except as is otherwise specifically provided in the following
two sentences, all official meetings of Council shall be open for
public attendance. Council may hold portions of any official meeting
in executive session at such times as may be determined by the affirmative
vote of all members of Council present at a meeting at which a quorum
exists, but no final action shall be taken by Council on any matter
in executive session. Council may hold unofficial or committee meetings
or portions thereof in executive session at any time, upon the approval
of a motion by Council or such committee. Council at all times shall
provide reasonable opportunities for interested citizens and taxpayers
of the Town to address Council orally or in writing on matters of
general or special concern. However, this requirement shall not preclude
Council from adopting an enforcing in good faith, under Section 406,
reasonable procedures for the orderly conduct of its business.
Council shall adopt and enforce such reasonable rules and procedures
for the conduct of its business, consistent with the provisions of
this Charter, as Council may determine to be necessary for the orderly
conduct of its business. All such rules and procedures shall be designed,
among other things, to promote the full and equai participation of
all members of Council in the deliberations of Council and its committees
and to provide reasonable opportunities for all interested citizens
and taxpayers of the Town to inform themselves of, and be heard with
respect to, all matters under consideration by Council.
A majority of all members of Council shall constitute a quorum
at any official meeting. Council shall conduct no business in the
absence of a quorum.
(a)
Majority Action. The affirmative vote of a majority of the members
of Council present and entitled to vote at a meeting at which a quorum
exists shall constitute the official action of Council, except as
is otherwise provided in Section 306(b) and except in instances in
which a greater vote may be required by law or by the provisions of
this Charter or of the Administrative Code.
(b)
Roll Call Votes. All final actions on ordinances and resolutions
of Council other than those adopted or rejected by the unanimous vote
of the members of Council present at the meeting shall be taken by
roll call vote in a public meeting, and the vote of each member of
Council shall be entered in the minutes of that meeting.
(a)
Election. Council shall elect a President, a Vice President, a Secretary,
and such other officers (if any) as Council may deem appropriate.
The President and Vice President shall be members of Council. The
Secretary need not be a member of Council. All officers may be elected,
removed and/or replaced by resolution of Council at any time.
(b)
Duties. The President of Council shall preside over meetings of Council
and shall serve as the principal elected representative of the Town
for formal purposes. The Vice President shall exercise the duties
of the President in the event of the absence or unavailability of
the President. The Secretary shall maintain the official minutes and
records of Council. All officers and other agents of Council shall
have such additional duties and powers, if any, as may from time to
time be delegated to them under this Charter or the Administrative
Code or any other ordinance, resolution or motion of Council duly
adopted in accordance with this Charter.
Council may appoint advisory committees, consisting of members
of Council and/or other residents of the Town for such purposes as
may be specified by Council. The members of such advisory committees
shall serve in that capacity without compensation, but they shall
be reimbursed for the reasonable expenses incurred by them in the
performance of their duties.
