[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Walhalla
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-17-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-17]
A.
Regular meetings of Council shall be held on the third Tuesday in
each month unless changed by a majority vote of members present at
any regular or special meeting.
B.
Special meetings of Council may be held on the call of the Mayor
or of a majority of the Council members. Notice of a special meeting
shall be given to all available members and the news media by City
Clerk or City Administrator.
C.
All regular and special meetings of Council shall be open to the
public.
A majority of the Councilpersons serving shall constitute a
quorum for the conduct of business at any meeting. The Mayor or Mayor
Pro Tempore shall preside; except that in the absence of both, the
members present shall elect a presiding member.
A.
All actions of Council shall be by majority vote of members present
at a public meeting.
B.
Every member of Council present shall vote on every question except
when required to refrain from voting by state law.
C.
The vote on any question may be by voice vote. The Mayor, Mayor Pro
Tempore or any member of Council may request a roll call vote, which
shall be recorded in the Council minutes.
The City Clerk or City Administrator shall keep the minutes
of all public meetings of Council, which shall be a matter of permanent
public record. A truthful and trustworthy account of the meeting transactions
is essential to the completeness of the official record. At each Council
meeting the minutes of the previous meeting shall be presented for
approval. Minutes shall not be considered the official record of a
meeting until approved by Council. Any member of Council desiring
to express a position on a matter voted upon by Council in the minutes
may do so by presenting the position in writing to Council no later
than the next regular meeting.
A.
Any citizen of the City shall be entitled to an appearance before
Council. To be placed on the agenda, the citizen must contact the
City Clerk or City Administrator prior to 12:00 noon preceding either
a committee, regular or special Council meeting.
B.
All persons addressing the Council will be limited to five minutes
for their request. The time limitation may be waived, provided 2/3
of the Mayor and Council shall agree by vote of Council.
The primary objective of preparing an agenda, besides legal
reasons, is to provide a guide to all interested parties of the business
proposed to be acted on at a given time, date and place. Matters to
be considered by Council at a regular meeting shall be placed on the
public written agenda prepared by the chief administrative officer
and posted by 12:00 noon on Thursday preceding the meeting. An agenda
for a regularly scheduled meeting must be posted on a bulletin board
in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the
public body and on the municipal website at least 24 hours prior to
such meeting. At the request of a member of Council, the agenda may
be amended by a two-thirds vote of Council prior to approval of the
minutes.
The City Attorney shall attend meetings of Council upon request
of Council. Upon Council approval the City Attorney shall act as parliamentarian,
propose ordinances and resolutions. The City Attorney shall if called
upon by Council review all ordinances, resolutions, documents presented
to Council and give opinions upon questions of procedure, form and
law to any member of Council.
The City Administrator, City Clerk or designee shall attend
meetings of Council.
A.
City Council may have conference meetings as permitted by the South
Carolina Freedom of Information Act and the City Code at such times
and in such places as may be deemed necessary and in the public interest
by the Mayor or any member of Council.
B.
No formal vote shall be taken upon any matter under discussion at
any such conference, but informal polling of Council may be made if
desired by any member of Council.
C.
The City Clerk or Administrator must give notice to the news media
that a conference meeting will be held pursuant to law, stating the
specific matters to be discussed.
D.
No vote of Council shall be necessary to call a conference meeting.
Council may appoint a special committee to assist in or hold
a public hearing for Council at any time upon any matter pending before
it. Minutes or reports of hearings held by special committees shall
be filed with the City Administration as public records:
Council shall act by ordinances in accordance with S.C. Code
Ann. § 5-7-260. Acts of Council which are required to be
done by ordinance:
A.
Adopt or amend an administrative code or establish, alter or abolish
any municipal department, office or agency;
B.
Provide for a fine or other penalty or establish a rule or regulation
in which a fine or other penalty is imposed for violation;
C.
Adopt budgets, levy taxes, except as otherwise provided with respect
to the property tax levied by adoption of a budget, pursuant to public
notice;
D.
Grant, renew or extend franchises;
E.
Authorize the borrowing of money;
F.
Sell or lease or contract to sell or lease any lands of the municipality;
and
A.
In accordance with the S.C. Code. Ann. § 5-7-270, every
proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form
required for final adoption. No ordinance shall have the force of
law until it shall been read two times on two separate days with at
least six days between each reading.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the
form required for final adoption, which shall include:
(1)
A title briefly describing the content;
(2)
Findings, reasons or basis for the ordinance, if desired and appropriate;
(3)
An enacting clause;
(4)
Citation of any ordinance repealed;
(5)
The provisions of the ordinance, including section numbers if the
ordinance is to be codified or amends an existing codified ordinance;
(6)
The effective date of the ordinance;
(7)
The name of the person requesting introduction of the ordinance;
(8)
Space for the signatures of the Mayor or presiding member of Council
and the City Clerk or City Administrator attesting notice, if required,
and adoption.
C.
Written resolutions shall be in such similar form as deemed appropriate.
An ordinance may be proposed by any member of Council. A proposed
ordinance may be referred to the City Attorney at the request of Council
for approval as to form. The City Attorney, if requested by Council,
shall render assistance in the preparation of notices and ordinances.
An ordinance shall be deemed introduced when it appears on an agenda
for a public meeting of Council and its title is read.
A.
An ordinance to levy a tax, adopt a budget, appropriate funds, grant
a franchise, license or right to use or occupy a public street or
public property for commercial purposes shall be complete in the form
in which it is passed.
B.
No ordinance shall be adopted until it shall have been read two times
on two separate days with at least six days between each reading and
the public has an opportunity to comment. An ordinance to levy a tax,
to adopt or amend a budget, and grant a franchise must be presented
at a Council committee meeting.
C.
Emergency ordinances may be adopted on one reading without notice
or hearing by affirmative vote of 2/3 of members present. An emergency
ordinance may not levy taxes, relate to a franchise or service rate
and shall expire automatically on the 61st day following enactment.
D.
The introduction and reading of any ordinance shall be by the reading
of the title only unless full reading is requested by a member of
Council.
E.
Upon final adoption by vote of Council, an ordinance shall be signed
by the Mayor or presiding member and attested by the City Clerk or
City Administrator, who shall file the original in the Council minutes.
All ordinances relating to administration, health, safety, vehicles,
streets (except franchises and encroachments), solicitations, pollution,
municipal court, descriptions of areas annexed to the City, and any
other ordinances or portions of ordinances so required by Council
shall be codified and updated annually in a loose-leaf Code of Ordinances
and by electronic versions to be displayed on the City's website.
Standard codes, technical regulations and zoning ordinances may be
cited in the code by reference and copies shall be made available
for distribution or purchase at a reasonable price.
A voice motion of a member of Council shall be considered to
be the introduction of an oral resolution which shall require no written
record other than a notation in the Council minutes. A resolution
proposed in writing shall be introduced in the same manner as an ordinance.
Written and oral resolutions may be adopted on one reading unless
a public hearing is set by a majority of the members of Council present.
[Adopted 5-16-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. II,
Standing Committees, adopted 11-17-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-16.
The City shall maintain the following standing committees:
A.
The Mayor shall appoint members to standing and temporary committees.
Prior to the appointment, the Mayor shall request input from Council
members regarding committee assignments.
B.
Each committee shall have three members. One of the members shall
serve as Chairman. The Mayor shall serve as an ex officio member on
all committees.
C.
The membership of the committee shall rotate off every two years.
D.
The General
Government and Finance Committee shall consist of Council as a whole.
The Mayor shall serve as Chair.
A.
Each committee shall meet as needed at the call of a majority of
the committee or the Chairman, who shall preside over each meeting.
The standing committees shall formulate policies, investigate
departments and make recommendations to Council concerning the operation
of each department. Temporary committees shall make recommendations
to Council.
