[Amended 2-19-2015 by
HR 2015-02]
The government of said City shall be vested in a Mayor and ten
(10) Councilmembers, to be elected as hereinafter provided for, who
shall compose the City Council.
[Amended 2-19-2015 by
HR 2015-02]
A. Election; tenure. The Mayor shall be elected from the City at large
and shall be elected for a term of four (4) years. One (1) Councilmember
shall be elected from each ward of the City concurrent with the election
of the Mayor, and one (1) Councilmember shall be elected from each
ward of the City two (2) years thereafter. Each Councilmember shall
be elected for a term of four (4) years, except in case of an election
to fill a vacancy in that office, in which case the election shall
be until the next regular City election. The Mayor and Councilmembers
shall hold their respective offices for the several terms aforesaid
and until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified,
unless otherwise terminated by operation of law. The Mayor and all
Councilmembers shall retain throughout their respective terms of office
all the qualifications necessary for their election, and their failure
to retain all such qualifications shall ipso facto cause a forfeiture
of their respective offices.
[Amended 5-15-1978 by
HR No. 2-78]
B. Qualifications. No persons shall be eligible as Mayor or Councilmembers
except those who, upon the day of election, shall be citizens of the
United States, at least eighteen (18) years of age, registered voters
of the City of Hyattsville, actual bona fide residents of the City
of Hyattsville and, in the case of Councilmembers, residents of the
ward from which they shall be elected.
[Amended 5-1-1972]
C. Restrictions. Neither the Mayor nor any of the Councilmembers shall
hold any other office with the City during their respective terms
of office, neither shall they nor any other officer of the City, either
directly or indirectly through the medium or agency of other persons,
enter into any contract or contracts with the City.
[Amended 12-19-1993 by
HR No. 12-83]
D. Required attendance to serve. The Mayor and/or a member of Council
may be removed from office as a result of extended absenteeism, which
is defined as missing in excess of fifty percent (50%) of each of
the Council regular and special legislative meetings and meetings
as committees of the whole in any calendar year. The Mayor or five
(5) Councilmembers shall have the authority to convene a public hearing
on the issue of the extended absenteeism of the Mayor and/or member
of Council.
[Amended 2-3-2003, HR
No. 2003-07]
E. Removal from office. After a public hearing on the issue of the extended
absenteeism of the Mayor and/or member of Council, the Mayor and/or
member Council may be removed from office as a result of such extended
absenteeism by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members
of the Council.
[Amended 2-3-2003, HR
No. 2003-07]
[Amended 5-15-1978 by
HR No. 3-78, 9-23-1992 by HR No.
3-92, 12-7-1998 by HR 98-07, 2-19-2015 by HR 2015-02]
A.
The Council shall meet on the first Monday in June of each election
year herein provided for, when those members just elected shall qualify
by taking the oath required by the provisions of § C12-1
of this Charter, and the Council shall proceed to organize by electing
two (2) of their number President and Vice President of the Council
at the next regularly scheduled meeting after the first Monday in
June.
[Amended 12-7-2020 by Charter
Amendment Res. No. 2020-01]
B. If a vacancy is created in the office of Mayor or any Councilmember
by reason of death, refusal or inability to act, disqualification,
resignation or removal beyond the corporate limits of the City, then
the remaining Councilmembers shall notify the Board of Supervisors
of Elections to proceed to fill such vacancy by special election which
must be held within one hundred forty (140) days of the date the vacancy
is created, for the balance of the term of the Mayor or that of a
Councilmember.
[Amended 12-7-1998 by
HR 98-07; 2-22-2022 by Charter Amendment Res. No. 2022-01]
C. A special election shall not be required, and the vacancy shall remain,
if the election is to occur within one hundred fifty (150) days of
any regularly scheduled election.
[Amended 12-7-1998 by
HR 98-07]
D. In the event that the special election is scheduled for a date when
voting machines or other equipment necessary to conduct the election
are not available the election may be postponed for no more than thirty
(30) days.
[Amended 12-7-1998 by
HR 98-07]
E. In the event of a vacancy in the Mayor's position, the President
of the Council shall serve as Mayor until such time as a new Mayor
is elected.
[Amended 12-7-1998 by
HR 98-07]
F. The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Council and shall
have all the privileges of a Councilmember in debate and vote. The
President of the Council shall, in the absence of the Mayor, preside
at all meetings. The Vice President shall, in the absence of the Mayor
and President, preside at all meetings.
G. The City Council shall hold two (2) regular monthly meetings on the
first and third Mondays of each month at 8:00 p.m.; except during
the months of June and August, when there shall be one (1) meeting
on the first Monday of the month, and the months of July and September,
when there shall be one (1) meeting on the third Monday of the month,
unless any of said days is a legal holiday or a quorum should not
be present. In such an event, the regular meetings shall be held on
the next business day when a quorum can be obtained or at such time
as the Mayor may designate, not more than one (1) week from the date
that said meeting should have been held.
[Amended 9-23-1992 by
HR No. 3-92]
H. The regular meetings shall be open for the transaction of any business
that may come before the City Council for action, subject to such
rules and regulations as the City Council may determine.
I. Special meetings of the City Council may be convened by the Mayor
or at the request of five (5) members of the Council. Special meetings
shall be confined to the business set out in the call for such meetings
unless there is unanimous consent of all Councilmembers present to
the consideration of other matters.
J. The Mayor shall be the executive officer of the City with all the
power necessary to secure the enforcement of all City ordinances,
resolutions and laws under this Charter.
K. Except as provided in Subsection
B, at all meetings of the City Council the Mayor and five (5) Councilmembers or, in the absence of the Mayor, six (6) Councilmembers present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. At least six (6) affirmative votes shall be necessary for the passage of all ordinances, resolutions or laws; and they shall take effect from the date of their passage unless otherwise provided therein.
[Amended 9-22-1992 by
HR No. 4-92]
All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, except
as otherwise authorized to be closed pursuant to state law, and residents
of the City shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard at all
regular open meetings in regard to any municipal question.
[Amended 1-21-1992, HR
No. 4-91]
The Mayor shall receive an annual salary as set, from time to time, by an ordinance passed by the Council in the regular course of business; provided, however, that the compensation of the Mayor be determined pursuant to the provisions of §
C2-6.1.
[Amended 1-21-1992, HR
No. 4-91]
Each Councilmember shall receive an annual salary which shall be equal for all Councilmembers and shall be as specified, from time to time, by an ordinance passed by the Council in the regular course of business; provided, however, that the compensation of the Councilmember be determined pursuant to the provisions of §
C2-6.1.
[Amended 1-21-1992, HR
No. 5-91, 3-3-2008 by HR 2008-07; 2-19-2015 by HR 2015-02; 8-5-2019 by Charter Amendment
Res. No. 2019-02]
A. At least one hundred and eighty (180) days prior to every regular
mayoral election, the Mayor shall appoint, with Council approval,
a seven person compensation review committee whose membership shall
be comprised of at least one member from each Ward of the City, to
review and make recommendations for the compensation of both the Mayor
and all City Councilmembers who shall serve within the period of recommendation
as determined elsewhere in this section. The compensation review committee
shall make its recommendation as to any compensation increase, decrease,
or lack of change, in the existing compensation to the Mayor and City
Council at least ninety (90) days prior to the election. The Mayor
and Council shall have no power to alter or amend the committee's
recommendation, but shall either accept or reject it, by motion, resolution,
or ordinance. Regardless of how any recommendation is accepted, the
salaries of the Mayor and Council shall be set by ordinance as required
by sections C2-5 and C2-6 of the City's Charter.
B. In order to ensure no elected official is voting to alter his or
her own compensation, the committee shall begin its review with the
fiscal year commencing on the first day of July following each regular
mayoral election or on the first day of July following the expiration
of the current compensation period. The length of time covered by
the committee's recommendation to the Mayor and Council shall
be no less than three (3) fiscal years and no more than six (6) fiscal
years. The length of the committee's recommendation shall be
governed by:
(1) The need to avoid having an elected official vote on his or her own
salary, being mindful of the staggered Council terms,
(2) The expiration date of any existing period covered by an enactment
based upon a recommendation of a committee, and
(3) Keeping the period of recommendation as short as possible so as not
to undermine the input of the next committee.
The Council shall be the judge of the election and qualification
of its members.
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business.
It shall keep a journal of its proceedings and enter therein the yeas
and nays upon final action on any question, resolution or ordinance
or at any other time if required by any one (1) member. The journal
shall be open to public inspection during normal business hours at
the City Office.
[Amended 1-5-2004 by
HR 2003-20]
No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced.
At any regular or special meeting of the Council held not less than
six (6) nor more than sixty (60) 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, the above requirement may be suspended
by the affirmative votes of a majority of the members of the Council.
Every ordinance shall become effective on the date the ordinance specifies
which date shall be no less than twenty (20) calendar days following
passage. An emergency ordinance shall become effective on the date
specified in the ordinance without regard to the twenty (20) calendar
day period specified above. A fair summary of each ordinance shall
be published twice in a newspaper having general circulation in the
City.
[Amended 2-3-2003, HR
No. 2003-03]
If, before the expiration of thirty (30) business days following
passage of any ordinance, a petition is filed with the Clerk containing
the signatures of not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified
voters of the City and requesting that the ordinance or any part thereof
be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters of the City 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 City at the next regular City 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. 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 or part thereof passed under the authority
of § C3-2A of this Charter levying property taxes for the
payment of indebtedness, but the provisions of this section shall
apply to any ordinance or any part thereof levying special assessment
charges under the provisions of this Charter. The provisions of this
section shall be self-executing, but the Council may adopt ordinances
in furtherance of these provisions and not in conflict with them.
[Amended 2-3-2003, HR
No. 2003-04]
(1)
Request for a voter ballot initiative. A qualified voter of
the City may submit to the Clerk of the City, along with a two hundred
dollar ($200.00) filing fee, a proposed voter ballot initiative containing
a request for a Charter change or a proposed ordinance, other than
for a Charter change or ordinance addressing § C3-2a(2)
or § 3C-2a(4) or § C3-2a(17) of this Charter or
Charter changes or ordinances passed under the authority of § C3-2a(2)
or § 3C-2a(4) or § C3-2a(17) of this Charter.
The Clerk shall submit a copy of the proposed voter ballot initiative
to the Council and the City Attorney for the City. If the Council
determines that there is a reasonable probability the proposed voter
ballot initiative will eventually be submitted to the voters of the
City, the Council will direct the City Attorney for the City to draft
and/or approve the text of the proposed voter ballot initiative as
specified and in conformance with the provisions of the Charter and
other applicable law. The proponent may also seek the assistance of
their own private counsel to assist in the drafting of the text of
the proposed voter ballot initiative to be included in the petition.
When drafted and/or approved, the City Attorney for the City shall
submit a copy of the text of the proposed voter ballot initiative
to the proponent and the City Council. The proponent of the proposed
voter ballot initiative shall insert the City Attorney drafted and/or
approved text of the proposed voter ballot initiative in the petition
which the proponent intends to circulate among the qualified voters
of the City. All petitions for proposed voter ballot initiatives must
comply with the provisions of this section regardless of whether the
same or similar proposed voter ballot initiative(s) were previously
filed with the Clerk.
(2)
Submission of petition. If, before one hundred and twenty (120)
calendar days prior to a regular City election, a petition is filed
with the Clerk containing the signatures of not less than twenty percent
(20%) of the qualified voters of the City, requesting and favoring
that a Charter change or proposed ordinance be submitted to a vote
of the qualified voters of the City for their approval or disapproval,
and the petition complies with the requirements of this section, the
Council shall have the ordinance requested by voter initiative submitted
to a vote of the qualified voters of the City at the next regular
election. The exact wording of the petition shall be placed on the
ballots or voting machines when the initiative is submitted to the
voters of the City. No Charter change or ordinance requested by voter
initiative shall become effective following the receipt of such petition
until and unless approved at a regular election by a majority of the
qualified voters voting on the initiative. Any Charter change or ordinance
disapproved by the voters shall have no force or effect.
(3)
Council enactment. If the Council shall approve of the Charter
change or ordinance provided for in the petition, the Council shall
have the right by resolution to pass the ordinance proposed in the
initiative petition and to proceed thereafter in the same manner as
if the resolution had been initiated by such legislative body.
(4)
Petition requirements. Each person signing a petition shall
indicate thereon his or her name, residence address and ward, whether
such person is in favor or against the proposed resolution or ordinance,
and the date on which the petition was executed. Each person signing
the petition may also print his or her name and address but failing
to print a name and/or address shall not disqualify a corresponding
signature. No signature may be obtained more than one (1) year prior
to the date the petition is filed with the Clerk. A petition may consist
of several pages, but each page shall contain the complete text and
exact wording of the resolution or ordinance petitioned upon. There
shall be at the bottom of each page of signatures filed with a petition
an affidavit of the person procuring the signatures on such page that
to the person's best knowledge and belief every signature on it is
genuine and bona fide and that the signers are qualified voters of
the City. Upon receiving the petition, the Clerk is directed to verify
that it has been signed by the required number of qualified voters
and complies with the provisions of this section. The Clerk shall
consider the petition as of no effect if it is signed by fewer than
twenty percent (20%) of the qualified voters of the City. A minor
variation in the signature of a petitioner between his or her signature
on a petition and that on the City voter registration records shall
not serve to invalidate his or her signature. The invalidation of
one signature on a petition shall not serve to invalidate any others.
[Amended 2-3-2003, HR
No. 2003-05]
By passage of a resolution approved by a minimum of two-thirds
(2/3) of the Council members, the Council may direct that a referendum
be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters of the City on the
question(s) set forth in such resolution at the next regular election
or, in the Council's discretion, at a special election occurring before
the next regular election. The Council may not direct that a referendum
be submitted on questions concerning the code. Any resolution containing
a Council-directed referendum shall be passed by the Council at least
one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days prior to the election date
the referendum is to be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters
of the City. The resolution shall specify whether the referendum shall
be advisory or binding in nature and shall specify the exact wording
of the referendum to be submitted to the qualified voters of the City.
If the Council specifies the referendum as advisory, the results of
such referendum shall be advisory only, and shall not be binding upon
the Council. If the Council specifies the referendum as binding, the
results of such referendum shall be binding upon the Council. The
exact wording of such referendum contained in the resolution shall
be placed on the ballots or voting machines when the referendum is
submitted to the qualified voters of the City. The provisions of this
section shall not apply to any ordinance or part thereof passed under
the authority of § C3-2a of this Charter levying property
taxes for the payment of indebtedness, but the provisions of this
section shall apply to any ordinance or any part thereof levying special
assessment charges under the provisions of this Charter. The provisions
of this section shall be self-executing, but the Council may adopt
ordinances in furtherance of these provisions and not in conflict
with them.
[Amended 2-3-2003, HR
No. 2003-06]
(1)
Request for a recall referendum. A qualified voter of the City
may request a recall referendum, by presenting to the Mayor and Council,
at a regular meeting of the Council, a petition requesting the removal
of the Mayor or a member of Council from the office which he or she
holds, and containing the favorable signatures of at least forty percent
(40%) of the qualified voters of the City, in the case of a petition
regarding the removal of the Mayor from office; or the favorable signature
of at least forty percent (40%) of the qualified voters of the ward
of the City of such Council Member, in the case of a petition regarding
the removal of a member of Council from office. The Council shall
submit the petition to the Clerk of the City for verification of its
compliance with this section. The Clerk shall return said petition
with its written findings regarding the petition's compliance to the
Council within five (5) business days; and at the next regular meeting,
if the petition complies with the requirements of this section, the
Council shall by resolution schedule a special election to submit
the recall referendum to a vote of the qualified voters of the City
or the ward, as the case may be, for their approval or disapproval.
The special election shall be scheduled within forty-five (45) days
from the date of the Clerk's verification of the petition, except
if the date of the Clerk's verification is within one hundred fifty
(150) days of a regularly scheduled election, then it shall be submitted
for a vote at such regular election. The question to appear on the
ballot shall include the name of the Mayor or member of Council, as
the case may be, the office which he or she holds, and shall request
a "yes" or a "no" vote as to his/her removal from that office. No
petition for recall referendum shall become effective following the
receipt of such petition until and unless approved by a majority of
the qualified voters voting on the recall referendum. Any recall referendum
disapproved by the voters shall have no force and effect. The provisions
of this section shall be self-executing, but the Council may adopt
ordinances in furtherance of these provisions and not in conflict
with them.
(2)
Petition requirements. The petition shall contain the name of
only one (1) official, either the Mayor or a member of Council and
the office which he or she holds. Each person signing a petition shall
indicate thereon his or her name, residence address and ward, and
whether such person is in favor or against removing such official
from that office. Each person signing the petition may also print
his or her name and address but failing to print a name and/or address
shall not disqualify a corresponding signature. No signature may be
obtained more than one (1) year prior to the date of the petition
is presented to the Mayor and Council. A petition may consist of several
pages, but each page shall contain the complete text and exact wording
of the resolution petitioned upon. There shall be at the bottom of
each page of signatures filed with a petition an affidavit of the
person procuring the signatures on such page that to the person's
best knowledge and belief every signature on it is genuine and bona
fide and that the signers are qualified voters of the City. Upon receiving
the petition, the Clerk is directed to verify that it has been signed
by the required number of qualified voters and complies with the provisions
of the section. The Clerk shall consider the petition as of no effect
if it is signed by fewer than forty percent (40%) of the qualified
voters of the City, in the case of a petition regarding the removal
of the Mayor from office, or by at least forty percent (40%) of the
qualified voters of the ward of the City of such Councilman, in the
case of a petition regarding the removal of member of Council from
office. A minor variation in the signature of a petitioner between
his or her signature on a petition and that on the City voter registration
records shall not serve to invalidate his or her signature. The invalidation
of one signature on a petition shall not serve to invalidate any others.
Ordinances shall be permanently filed by the Clerk and shall
be kept available for public inspection during normal business hours
at the City Office.