A. 
Composition. There shall be a City Council of seven members, six are to be known as "Councillors" and one is to be known as "Mayor." All members of the City Council shall be nominated and elected at large.
B. 
Eligibility. Only qualified voters of the City shall be eligible to hold the office of Councillor or Mayor. If the Councillor or Mayor following his/her election or during his/her term of office shall remove his/her residence from the City, that removal shall constitute immediate forfeiture of the office so held by that person and a vacancy shall exist.
C. 
Election and term.
(1) 
Elections.
[Amended 3-8-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995]
(a) 
During the year 1995, the incumbent Mayor and the incumbent Councillors shall serve respectively as Mayor and Councillors until the expiration of their previously established terms.
(b) 
Regular elections of Councillors shall be held at the general election in every odd-numbered year and Councillors shall be elected for terms of four years. Three Councillors shall be elected each odd-numbered year. A Mayor shall be elected at the general election of 1995 and every other odd-numbered year for a term of four years.
(2) 
The terms of all Councillors and the Mayor shall begin on the first day of January after their respective election, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
[Amended 1-23-1984 by L.L. No. 1-1984]
Under this Charter the Mayor shall receive an annual salary of $7,000 and each Councillor shall receive an annual salary of $3,500, and the Mayor and Councillors shall receive their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office.
[Amended 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
A. 
The Mayor shall be a voting member of the City Council. The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the City Council and shall be recognized as head of the City government, but shall have no administrative or executive duties unless otherwise provided by this Charter or by law. The Deputy Mayor shall act as Mayor during the absence or inability of the Mayor.
B. 
The City Council, at the first meeting following the first of January of every even-numbered year, shall elect, from among its members, an officer of the City who shall have the title of Deputy Mayor, and who shall serve for a period of two years.
[Amended 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
All powers of the City shall be vested in the City Council, except as otherwise provided by this Charter or by law, and the City Council shall provide for the exercise thereof and for the performance of all duties and obligations imposed on the City by law.
[Amended 3-8-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995; 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
A. 
Holding other office. Except where authorized by law, no Councillor or Mayor shall hold any other City office or City employment, other than Deputy Mayor, during the term for which he/she was elected, and no former Councillor or Mayor shall hold any compensated appointive City office or City employment until one year after the expiration of the term for which he/she was elected or until one year after he/she leaves office should that event be sooner.
B. 
Appointments and removal. Neither the City Council nor any of its members, including the Mayor, shall in any manner dictate the appointment or removal of any City employees whom the City Manager or any of his subordinates are empowered to appoint, but the City Council may express its views and fully and freely discuss with the City Manager anything pertaining to appointment and removal of such employees.
[Amended 10-13-2020 by L.L. No. 3-2020]
C. 
Interference with administration. Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations under § C-14, the City Council and its members, including the Mayor, shall deal with City officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the City Manager solely through the City Manager, and neither the City Council nor its members, including the Mayor, shall give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately.
[Amended 8-13-2001 by L.L. No. 2-2001; 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007; 11-10-2014 by Ord. No. 16-2014]
A. 
Vacancies. The office of a Councillor and the office of Mayor or Deputy Mayor shall become vacant upon the death, resignation, removal of residence from the City, removal from office in any manner authorized by law or forfeiture of the office.
B. 
Forfeiture of office. A Councillor or the Mayor shall forfeit the office if:
(1) 
At any time during the term of office any qualifications for the office prescribed by this Charter or by law are lacking;
(2) 
Any express prohibitions of this Charter as set forth in § C-9 are violated;
(3) 
Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude occurs; or
(4) 
Absence at three consecutive regular meetings of the City Council occurs without being excused by the City Council.
C. 
Filling of vacancies.
(1) 
Within 45 days from the effective date of this subsection, the Mayor and City Council, shall appoint a Vacancy Committee, which shall consist of a Chair and two members. The term of the Chair shall be five years. The initial terms of the members shall be four years and three respectively. The succeeding terms shall each be five years. The Mayor and City Council, shall fill vacancies on the Committee as the same may occur.
(2) 
Vacancies in the office of Mayor or Councillor, caused other than by the expiration of the terms thereof, shall be filled, within 30 days, by the remaining members of the City Council according to the following procedures:
(a) 
On creation of a vacancy, the City Council shall schedule a vote at a regularly scheduled or special meeting duly called to fill said vacancy and shall notify the City Clerk of the date on which it intends to take action to fill said vacancy. On notice of the existence of a vacancy, the City Clerk of the City of Ogdensburg shall immediately notify the Chair of the Vacancy Committee, which shall, within five days thereof, convene a meeting of said Committee.
(b) 
The Vacancy Committee shall solicit and receive nominations of persons eligible to be appointed to the existing vacancy.
(c) 
The Vacancy Committee shall recommend and present to the City Council the names of three persons eligible and willing to serve as Mayor or City Councilor. Said names shall be presented at least seven days before the City Council meeting at which the City Council intends on taking action to fill the subject vacancy.
(d) 
The City Council shall review said recommendation and shall vote to fill said vacancy. Each Councillor shall vote for one individual from the list of persons recommended. The nominee receiving four or more votes shall be named to fill the vacancy. In the event that none of the candidates receives a vote of four members of the City Council, the nominee who receives the least number of votes, or no votes, shall be dropped and another vote shall ensue until a majority of votes are cast for one individual. In the event of a three-way tie after the first vote, the City Council shall then vote to eliminate one name from the list of nominees. The nominee receiving the greatest number of votes shall be eliminated from consideration. A vote on the remaining two nominees shall then ensue. In the event of a tie in the vote on two nominees, the City Council shall continue to vote until a majority of votes are cast for one nominee. In the event that more than one vacancy exists, the City Council shall vote, after filling the first vacancy, to fill such additional vacancy using the two remaining names from the list of recommended nominees according to the procedures set forth herein.
(e) 
If such vacancy occurs before July 25 of the current year, the term of the appointed Mayor or Councillor shall be for the balance of such calendar year.
(f) 
If such vacancy occurs too late to be placed on the ballot at the next ensuing general election preceding the end of the current year, for the balance of the year; and if the term of office does not expire at the end of such year, by further appointment to the end of the next year, at which time the balance of the unexpired term, if any, will be on the general election ballot.
D. 
(Reserved)
E. 
In canvassing the results of the election, those persons equal to the number of vacancies who receive the highest number of votes shall be elected as Councillors as follows: the person receiving the highest number of votes cast shall be deemed elected for the longest term; the person receiving the second highest number of votes cast, for the next longest term and so on to the end; and the inspectors of election shall count the ballots and certify the result accordingly. Notwithstanding the requirement in § C-16 that a quorum of the City Council consists of four members, if at any time the membership of the City Council is reduced to fewer than four the remaining member or members may by majority action appoint additional members to raise the membership to at least four. A vacancy in the office of Deputy Mayor shall be filled by the City Council by election from among its members.
[Amended 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
The City Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of its members and of the facts constituting grounds for forfeiture of their office and for that purpose shall have power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and require the production of evidence. A member charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of office shall be entitled to a public hearing on demand, and written notice of such hearing shall be filed with the City Clerk and published in the official newspaper of the City at least one week in advance of the hearing. Decisions made by the City Council under this section shall be subject to review by the courts.
[Amended 3-14-1988 by L.L. No. 1-1988; 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
A. 
The City Manager shall appoint an officer of the City who shall have the title of City Clerk and who shall serve at the pleasure of the City Manager.
B. 
The City Clerk shall be a person who is a qualified voter of the City.
C. 
Duties of the City Clerk:
(1) 
Give notice of City Council meetings to its members and to the public;
(2) 
Record and maintain the journal of City Council proceedings;
(3) 
Perform such other duties as are assigned by this Charter or by the City Manager.
[Amended 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007; 11-13-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2018]
A. 
The City Council, with the advice of the City Manager, shall appoint a City Attorney who shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council.
B. 
In those matters within the scope of responsibility of the City Manager, the City Attorney shall perform services at the discretion and supervision of the City Manager.
C. 
Duties of the City Attorney:
(1) 
Act as legal counsel for the City of Ogdensburg;
(2) 
Perform such other duties as are assigned by this Charter, the City Council (consistent with this Charter) and the City Manager.
[Amended 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
The City Council may make investigations into the affairs of the City and the conduct of any City department or office and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of evidence. Any person who fails or refuses to obey such a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers by the City Council shall be dealt with as provided by the Penal Law of the State of New York.
[Amended 3-8-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995; 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
The City Council shall provide for an independent annual audit of all City accounts and may provide for such more frequent audits as it deems necessary. Such audits shall be made by a certified public accountant or firm of such accountants who have no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the City government or any of its officers. The City Council may, without requiring competitive bids, designate such accountant or firm annually or for a period not exceeding three years, provided that the designation for any particular fiscal year shall be made prior to July 1 of such fiscal year. If the State Comptroller makes such an annual audit, the City Council may accept it as satisfying the requirement of this section.
[Amended 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
A. 
Meetings. The City Council shall meet regularly at least once in every month at such times and places as the City Council may prescribe by rule. Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor or of two or more members and upon no less than 24 hours' written notice to each member. All meetings shall be public; however, the City Council may recess for the purpose of discussing any matter in a closed session, which is in compliance with New York State Public Officers Law, Articles 6 and 7, limited to its own membership, provided that final action thereon shall not be taken by the City Council while in closed session.
B. 
Rules and minutes. The City Council shall determine its own rules and order of business, and the minutes of its proceedings shall be a public record.
C. 
Voting. Voting, except on procedural motions, shall be by roll call and the ayes and nays shall be recorded in the minutes. Four members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum does not exist, those present may compel the attendance of absent members in the manner and subject to the penalties prescribed by the rules of the City Council. No action of the City Council except as otherwise provided in the preceding sentence and in § C-10 shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of four or more members of the City Council.
[Amended 9-10-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
A. 
In addition to other acts required by law or by specific provision of this Charter to be done by ordinance or by local law, those acts of the City Council shall be by ordinance or by local law which:[1]
(1) 
Provide for a fine or other penalty or establish a rule or regulation for violation of which a fine or other penalty is imposed;
(2) 
Levy taxes, except as otherwise provided with respect to the property tax levied by adoption of the budget;
(3) 
Grant, renew or extend a franchise;
(4) 
Regulate the rate charged for its services by the holder of a franchise;
(5) 
Convey or lease, or authorize the conveyance or lease, of any lands of the City; and
(6) 
Amend or repeal any ordinance or local law previously adopted.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection (1), which immediately followed this sentence and dealt with adoption or amendment of an administrative code, was deleted 12-9-1985 by L.L. No. 5-1985.
B. 
Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing. An ordinance may be introduced by any member of the City Council at any regular or special meeting of the City Council. Upon introduction of any ordinance, the City Clerk shall distribute a copy to each City Council member and to the Manager, and shall file a reasonable number of copies in the office of the City Clerk. The City Council shall fix a time and place for a public hearing thereon and the City Clerk shall publish a notice of such hearing setting out the time and place and describing in summary form the consent of such proposed ordinance, at least seven days before the date set for such hearing, in the official newspaper of the City or, if no official newspaper has been designated, in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. After the hearing, the City Council may adopt the ordinance with or without amendments. Within 10 days after adoption, the Clerk shall have a notice of adoption of such ordinance published which shall give the title of the ordinance and describe the same in summary form, in the same manner as the notice of such hearing. Every adopted ordinance shall become effective immediately with regard to any person upon whom a copy thereof is served, together with a certificate of the Clerk, setting forth the date of adoption and shall become effective 10 days after its publication with regard to all other persons. The City Council may adopt any standard code of technical regulations by reference thereto in an adopting ordinance. The procedure and requirements governing such an adopting ordinance shall be the same as prescribed for ordinances generally, except that the requirements for distribution and filing of copies of the ordinance shall be construed to include copies of such code of technical regulations as well as of the adopting ordinance, and a copy of each adopted code of technical regulations as well as of the adopting ordinance shall be authenticated and recorded by the City Clerk in the City Clerk's office. It shall not be necessary to publish a copy of such code of technical regulations in the notice of hearing or with the notice of adoption thereof. However, copies of any adopted code of technical regulations shall be made available by the City Clerk for purchase at a reasonable price or as otherwise provided by the City Council.
C. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law or of this Charter, any action by the City Council to establish, alter or abolish any City department, office or agency specified in this Charter shall be by local law.
[Amended 10-13-2020 by L.L. No. 3-2020]