Article II
THE COUNCIL
Sections:
2.03 Removal from or Forfeiture of Office – Vacancies.
2.04 Filling Vacancies in Council.
2.06 Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore.
2.08 Council Meetings – Quorum.
2.01 Number – Terms.
The registered electors of the City shall elect a Council of seven members, at large, in the following manner: At the election approving this Charter, the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall serve until the second regular general election thereafter, and the four candidates receiving the next highest number of votes shall serve until the first regular general election following the election approving this Charter. Commencing at the first regular general election following the election approving this Charter and at all subsequent regular general elections, four councilmen shall be elected; each of the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall serve for a four-year term, and the one receiving the fourth highest number of votes shall serve for a two-year term. All incumbent councilmen shall continue to serve until the expiration of their terms of office. In the event of a tie vote, the election shall be decided by lot.
2.02 Qualifications.
Councilmen shall be registered electors; shall have been residents of the city for a continuous period of at least two years next prior to their election or appointment; shall hold no other public office except in the National Guard, organized reserves, or as a notary public; and shall not be employed by the city. Before entering upon his duties, and within ten days after the issuance of the certificate of his election, or his appointment by the Council, each councilman shall qualify by taking, subscribing, and filing with the city clerk an oath or affirmation as prescribed by this Charter.
2.03 Removal from or Forfeiture of Office – Vacancies.
Any councilman may be removed from office by recall as provided by law. A councilman shall be deemed to have forfeited his office, thereby creating a vacancy, upon any of the following grounds: failure to qualify or enter upon his duties within the time limited by law; ceasing to be a resident of the city; conviction of an infamous crime, or any offense involving a violation of this Charter or his official oaths; failure or refusal to take his oath of office; ceasing to have the qualifications prescribed in this Charter, general laws, or city ordinances; or a failure to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by the Council. In addition to the foregoing, the office of a councilman shall become vacant upon his death, removal from office, or resignation. If a superior court determines that a member of Council is unable or incapable of reasonably fulfilling his/her duties because of illness or any other reason, excused or unexcused, for at least six continuous months thereafter, or is unlikely to so perform, the position filled by such councilmember shall be considered vacant. [Approved General Election 1991].
2.04 Filling Vacancies in Council.
A vacancy in the Council shall be filled at the next regular general election following the occurrence of the vacancy, except that the Council by a majority vote of all of the remaining members shall, within sixty days, appoint a person to serve in the vacancy until the person elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term takes office. If a vacancy shall remain unfilled for sixty days, then the mayor shall make the appointment. Notwithstanding the requirement in Section 2.08 that a quorum of the Council shall consist of four members, if at any time the membership of the Council is reduced to less than four, the remaining members may make appointments to raise the membership of the Council to four. The names of candidates to fill a vacancy in the Council shall occupy a separate position on the election ballot. Any person elected to serve the remainder of an unexpired term shall take office at the next meeting, regular or special, of the Council following the certification of his election.
2.05 Compensation.
The compensation of the councilmen shall be determined by ordinance, except that the compensation for the terms of those councilmen elected at the time this Charter is adopted shall be five hundred dollars a year, payable monthly in equal amounts, until such time as the Council shall otherwise determine by ordinance. Councilmen may, upon order of the Council, be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the service of the city.
2.06 Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore.
Biennially, in the meeting at which the newly elected councilmen take office, the Council shall choose from among its members a chairman who shall have the title of mayor, and shall also choose from among its members an assistant chairman who shall have the title of mayor pro tempore. The mayor pro tempore shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor and shall succeed to the office of mayor in case of a vacancy. The mayor and the mayor pro tempore shall serve until the next regularly elected councilmen take office unless removed as provided in this section. The mayor, or the mayor pro tempore when serving as mayor, shall preside at meetings of the Council and shall be recognized as head of the city government for all ceremonial purposes and by the governor for purposes of military law. He shall have the rights, privileges, and immunities of a member of the Council, but shall have no regular administrative duties as mayor. In addition to his compensation as a councilman, the mayor shall receive such additional compensation as may be determined by ordinance, except that the additional compensation for the mayor during the first term after this Charter is adopted shall be five hundred dollars a year, payable monthly in equal amounts, until such time as the Council shall otherwise determine by ordinance.
The Council may remove the mayor or the mayor pro tempore from office in accordance with the following procedure:
A. The Council must adopt by an affirmative vote of at least five of its members a resolution stating the reason or reasons for the proposed removal, which resolution shall be served on or mailed to the officer proposed to be removed.
B. Within fifteen days after such service or mailing, whichever is the earlier, the officer proposed to be removed may file with the city clerk written reply and request a public hearing. The hearing if requested, shall be conducted not earlier than fifteen days nor later than thirty days after the filing of the hearing request. If the mayor is the officer proposed to be removed, the mayor pro tempore shall preside at the hearing and during the Council deliberations and action on the question of removal. If the mayor pro tempore is the officer proposed to be removed and the mayor is unavailable to preside at the hearing or Council deliberations and action, the Council shall select another member to preside.
C. Not less than thirty days after the date of adoption of the first resolution and after the public hearing, if requested, the Council, may by resolution remove the officer. [Approved General Election 1991].
2.07 Powers and Duties.
The Council, in the name of the city, shall have the power:
A. To enact ordinances and resolutions, and to adopt rules and regulations;
B. To appoint and to remove the city manager (hereinafter referred to as “manager”);
C. To control the finances of the city, to adopt the annual budget and a capital expense budget, and to provide for an independent audit of any department, division, or office;
D. To borrow money for corporate purposes on the credit of the city and to issue negotiable bonds, warrants, or other evidences of indebtedness therefore on the conditions and in the manner prescribed by general laws, and ordinances or resolutions not in conflict with general laws;
E. To provide for the execution of contracts for the benefit of the city, subject to general laws and this Charter;
F. To grant franchises by ordinances, and to alter, amend, repeal, modify, and regulate any such grant or any right or interest arising there from, on condition that the expense incident to the granting of any franchise shall be paid by the applicant.
G. To acquire land or other property, within or without the boundaries of the city, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation, or otherwise, for any corporate purpose or use, or necessary in the exercise of any corporate power under the general laws or this Charter, and to sell or otherwise convey, and to lease, hold, manage, and control any such property as the Council deems the interests of the city require;
H. To provide by ordinance, subject to general laws, for the acquisition, by purchase or otherwise, the ownership, opening, operation, and disposition of any public utility or other municipal facility or installation which a city is permitted by general laws to acquire, operate, or dispose of, and to provide by ordinance for the acquisition and acceptance from the United States of America, pursuant to the Atomic Energy Community Act of 1955 (Public Law 221, 84th Congress. 69 Stat. 472), or any amendment thereto, and for the ownership and operation of any such public utility and municipal facility and installation, including, but not limited to, electric utility, waterworks and systems for the distribution of water, systems of sewerage, systems and plants for garbage and refuse collection and disposal, and any other public utility and municipal facility and installation which a city is permitted by general laws to acquire;
I. To provide for regulations, not in conflict with general laws or this Charter, in the interest of the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare, and to provide for their administration and enforcement;
J. To adopt and, from time to time, to amend a comprehensive plan for the physical and other generally advantageous development of the city, and to adopt zoning and other regulations designed to carry out the purposes of the comprehensive plan;
K. After hearing the recommendations of the manager, to adopt an administrative code to govern the administration of the city, to create or eliminate departments, offices, and positions of employment, not created by this Charter, and to determine the powers and duties of any department and office;
L. To inquire into the conduct of any department, office, agency, or officer of the city, and to make investigations relating to municipal affairs;
M. To adopt, finance, and provide for disability, death, and retirement pension plans for city officers and employees, and to contract, finance, and provide for group insurance coverage for city officers and employees, subject to general laws;
N. To provide rules and regulations for the conduct of city elections not in conflict with general laws;
O. To provide penalties for the violation of any ordinance, subject to general laws;
P. To provide for the performance of all duties and obligations imposed upon the city by general laws not otherwise provided for in this Charter;
Q. To exercise all other powers permitted a city of the first class and to determine all matters of policy, whether or not they are enumerated in this Charter.
2.08 Council Meetings – Quorum.
As soon as they enter upon their duties, the first councilmen elected to serve under the provisions of this Charter shall meet to organize for the purpose of carrying out their duties. After each regular general election, the Council shall meet and reorganize at the usual time and place on the day fixed by law for the newly elected councilmen to take office. After organization or reorganization, the Council shall meet regularly at such times and places as its rules may prescribe, but not less often than once each month. The city clerk shall call special meetings of the Council upon the written request of the mayor or of any two members. Any request shall state the subjects to be considered at such special meetings and no other subject shall there be acted upon, except by consent of all members of the Council present. All meetings of the Council, except executive sessions, shall be open to the public. No ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, order, or directive shall be adopted except at a meeting open to the public. Four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. A lesser number may adjourn from day to day or until the time of the next regular meeting and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as the Council may prescribe.
2.09 Procedures.
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business. It shall keep a journal and minutes of all regular and special meetings, except executive sessions, and such records shall be open to public inspection.