[Amended 11-8-2004 by
Charter Amendment No. CA-04-04]
To the extent permitted by the Constitution and laws of Maryland the legislative powers of the town are vested in a council consisting of five councilpersons who shall be elected as hereinafter provided and who shall hold office for a term of two years, except that beginning with the elections in May, 2005, and May, 2006, councilpersons shall be elected for terms as provided in section
C-609. The regular term of councilpersons shall expire on the second Monday in May following the election of their successors.
Councilpersons shall be at least twenty-one years old, have
resided in the town for at least one year immediately preceding their
election and be qualified voters of the town. A councilperson must
retain these qualifications during the term of office.
Each councilperson may receive an annual salary which shall
be equal for all councilperson and shall be a specified from time
to time by an ordinance passed by the council in the regular course
of its business; provided, however, that the salary specified at the
time any council takes office shall not be changed during the period
for which that council was elected. The ordinance making any change
in the salary paid to the several councilperson, either by way of
increase or decrease, shall be finally ordained prior to the municipal
election for members of the next succeeding council and to the municipal
election for members of the next succeeding council and shall take
effect only as to the members of the next succeeding council.
[Amended 11-8-2004 byCharter
Amendment No. CA-04-03]
The council shall meet at 4:00 PM on the second Monday in May
following each election for the purpose of organization, after which
the council shall meet regularly at such times as may be prescribed
by its rules but not less frequently than once each month. Special
meetings shall be called by the Town Administrator upon the request
of the mayor or a majority of the members of the council. All meetings
of the council shall be open to the public, except for such meetings
as may be closed in accordance with the laws of the state of Maryland.
Meetings of the council to which the Maryland Open Meetings Act does
not apply may be closed for the same reasons and under the same procedures
as apply to meetings covered by that act. The rules of the council
shall provide that residents and owners of real estate and businesses
in the town shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard at any
open meeting of the council in regard to any municipal question, concern
or matter.
The council shall be the judge of the qualification of its members.
If anyone questions the continuing qualifications of a councilperson
or the mayor, the matter shall be determined by vote of the council.
By qualification is meant those requirements for office as set forth
in Section 202 and 302 of this charter.
The mayor shall serve as president of the council. The mayor
may take part in all discussion, but he or she shall have no vote.
The council shall elect a vice-president of the council who, in the
absence of the president of the council, shall preside.
A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business, but no ordinance shall be
approved nor any other action taken without the favorable votes of
at least three councilpersons.
The council shall promulgate 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.
The journal shall be open to public inspection.
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 nor more than sixty 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 provision that an ordinance may not be passed at
the meeting at which it is introduced may be suspended by the affirmative
votes of four members of the council. Every ordinance, unless it be
passed as an emergency ordinance, shall become effective at the expiration
of twenty calendar days following approval by the mayor or passage
by the council over his veto. A fair summary of the ordinance shall
be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality
at least seven calendar days prior to its effective date. The intent
of the publication requirement is to put the public on notice that
an ordinance has been approved. It is not intended that the entire
ordinance be published. It is the intent of this charter that publication
costs be kept to a minimum. Therefore, fair summaries and a reduced
size type is permissible. In lieu of publication the council can accept
as a substitute a news article that has been published in a newspaper
of general circulation in the town within the time prescribed above
that presents a fair summary of the ordinance.
An emergency ordinance shall become effective on the date specified
in the ordinance, but no ordinance shall become effective until approved
by the mayor or passed over his veto by the council.
All ordinances passed by the council shall within two days of
passage be delivered by the Town Administrator to the mayor for approval
or disapproval. If the mayor approves any ordinance, the mayor shall
sign it. If the mayor disapproves any ordinance, the mayor shall not
sign it. The mayor shall return all ordinances to the Town Administrator
within seven days after delivery to the mayor (excluding the first
day, including the last day, and excluding any Sunday) with the mayor's
approval or disapproval. Any ordinance approved by the mayor shall
be law. Any ordinance disapproved by the mayor shall be returned with
a written message stating the reasons for its disapproval. Any disapproved
ordinance shall not become a law unless subsequently passed by a favorable
vote of four fifths of the whole council within forty calendar days
from the date of the disapproval of the ordinance. If the mayor fails
to return any ordinance within seven days of its delivery, it shall
be deemed to be approved by the mayor and shall become law in the
same manner as an ordinance signed by him.
If, before the expiration of twenty calendar days following approval of any ordinance by the mayor or passage of any ordinance over the mayor's veto, a petition is filed with the Town Administrator containing the signatures of not less than twenty per centum (20%) of the then registered and qualified voters of the town and requesting that the ordinance, or any part thereof, be submitted to a vote of the registered and qualified voters of the town 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 town at the next regular town 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 registered and qualified voters voting on the question. An emergency ordinance, or the part thereof requested for referendum, shall continue in effect for no longer than sixty 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 days following receipt of the petition, 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, levying taxes, but the provisions of this section shall apply to any ordinance, or any part thereof, levying special assessment charges under the provisions of Article
10 of this Charter. The provisions of this section shall be self-executing, but the council may adopt ordinances resolutions or rules, as appropriate, in furtherance of these provisions and not in conflict with them.
Ordinances shall be permanently filed by the secretary and shall
be kept available for public inspection.
These words shall have their ordinary meaning. Where permitted
the council shall promulgate such resolutions, rules, and regulations
as are necessary to implement an ordinance. While there shall be no
publication requirement, resolutions, rules and regulations shall
be appropriately numbered and maintained in separate records. Resolutions,
rules and regulations shall be binding from one council to the next
and shall remain in effect until changed, amended, repealed or superceded
by the council.