City of Westminster, MD Article II Legislative Body

[Adopted as Ch. 2, Art. II, of the 1972 Code, as amended through 1990]

§ 4-6 Authorization; empowerment; membership; elections; terms; qualifications.

A. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the City Charter, the government of the City shall be vested in and enforced by a Mayor and Common Council of five members who shall be elected by the inhabitants of the City qualified to vote for delegates to the General Assembly, who have actually resided within the corporate limits of the City and whose names shall appear upon the books of registered voters as provided in Sections 3 to 5, inclusive, of the City Charter and in Chapter 14, Elections, of this Code.

B. The Mayor shall be at least 25 years of age and a payer of taxes of the assessed value of at least $1,000 worth of property subject to municipal taxation; the members of the Common Council shall be at least 21 years of age and payers of taxes upon the assessed value of at least $500 worth of property subject to municipal taxation; and the Mayor shall have resided at least two years and the members of the Council at least one year within the City.

C. The qualified voters of the City shall elect three members of the Common Council on the Tuesday following the second Monday of May 2015, and every four years thereafter, and two members of the Common Council and the Mayor on the Tuesday following the second Monday of May 2013, and every four years thereafter.

[Amended 7-11-2011 by Ord. No. 829]

§ 4-6.1 Filling Council vacancies.

[Added 3-27-1995 by Ord. No. 595]

A. Section 6 of the Charter of the City of Westminster provides for the Council to fill vacancies in its membership. This section implements the provisions of the Charter by establishing a procedure under which vacancies shall be filled.

B. At the meeting when the Council is notified of a vacancy, the Council shall set a date to fill the vacancy.

(1) The vacancy may be filled at a regular or special meeting.

(2) The meeting will be held not less than three weeks nor more than six weeks after the Council is notified of the vacancy.

(3) For purposes of this section, "notification of the vacancy" shall be the announcement of:

(a) A death that occurred or resignation that becomes effective prior to the Council's meeting;

(b) Formal notice of a member's intent to resign, made known to the Council and the public generally; or

(c) The impending elevation of the Council President to Mayor, creating a vacancy on the Council.

C. The City Clerk shall publish a notice of vacancy in at least two newspapers of general circulation in the City providing:

(1) Notice of the impending vacancy.

(2) The Council's intention to fill the vacancy at the announced meeting.

(3) The eligibility requirements for a Council member.

(4) An invitation to qualified residents to apply, in writing, on a form supplied by the City Clerk no later than 10 days before the meeting at which the Council will act.

D. At the meeting at which the Council intends to act, the Clerk will read a list of the qualified applicants for the vacancy.

E. All Council members, including the presiding officer, will then cast their vote for any of the candidates on the Clerk's list. A majority of the Council members voting shall be required to fill a vacancy. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, additional ballots shall be taken until the vacancy is filled, provided that said additional ballots must occur no later than the next meeting.

F. If the vacancy is caused by the elevation of the Council President to Mayor, the Council shall wait to elect a new President until the vacancy is filled.

(1) The President Pro Tem shall preside over the selection of the new Council member and may vote on filling the vacancy.

(2) The new Council member shall take the oath of office as promptly as possible and then participate in the election of a new President.

§ 4-7 Salaries and compensation.

A. The Mayor and members of the Common Council shall receive as full compensation for their respective services the sums provided therefor by ordinance. Changes in the salary of the Mayor and members of the Common Council may be made by ordinance, from time to time, but no ordinance effecting any such change shall become effective until it has been submitted to the electorate of the City at a regular or special municipal election and has been approved by the majority of the qualified voters of the City voting thereon at such election.

B. Salaries of the Mayor and members of the Common Council shall be paid in installments or otherwise, as provided by ordinance or resolution of the legislative body.

C. The salary of the Mayor of the City shall be $5,000 per annum. The salary of the President of the Common Council shall be $1,500 per annum. The salary of the members of the Common Council shall be $1,200 per annum.

D. From and after June 1, 1985, the salary of the Mayor of the City of Westminster shall be $10,000 per annum. From and after June 1, 1985, the salary of the President of the Common Council shall be $3,000 per annum. From and after June 1, 1985, the salary of members of the Common Council shall be $2,400 per annum.

E. Elected officials of the City shall be considered to be full-time employees for purposes of eligibility for noncash employment benefits.

[Added 8-11-2019 by Ord. No. 916]

§ 4-8 Limitations.

No member of the legislative body, during the term for which he was elected, shall be eligible for appointment to any other City office for which any salary, emolument or other compensation is provided.

§ 4-9 Meetings.

A. The Mayor and Common Council shall, by motion duly passed and entered in the minutes, fix the date and time of regular meetings of the legislative body.

B. Special meetings may be called at any time by the Mayor or by any two members of the Common Council, upon reasonable notice to all members not joining in the call.

C. At 7:00 p.m. on the third Monday in May of each odd-numbered year or, if such third Monday should fall upon a holiday, then the next succeeding business day, the newly elected and holdover members of the legislative body shall meet for the purpose of organizing the City government. The newly elected members shall file with the City Clerk the prescribed oath of office, and the legislative body shall then elect one of the Council members to the office of President of the Council. It shall then adopt such resolutions as provided in Subsection E of this section as it may consider appropriate, but all such then-existing resolutions not amended or repealed at this meeting shall continue in full force and effect. The legislative body shall then take such action as may be considered appropriate with respect to vacancies in City offices, which by law, the City Charter, this Code or other ordinance are required to be filled by the Mayor and Common Council, provided that such appointments shall be made by the Mayor with the approval of the Common Council.

[Amended 7-14-1997 by Ord. No. 619]

D. All meetings of the legislative body, whether regular, special or biennial, shall be open to the public at all times; but this shall not be construed to prevent the legislative body from holding executive sessions from which the public is excluded, but no ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation shall be finally adopted or approved at any such executive session.

E. The legislative body may, from time to time, adopt resolutions not inconsistent with state law, the City Charter or this Code providing for the order of business and rules of procedure at meetings, the appointment of standing and special committees and defining the jurisdiction, powers and duties of such committees and the conduct of its members at meetings; and such resolutions may impose penalties for the violation thereof by members and for unexcused absence from or tardiness in attendance at meetings.

§ 4-10 Minutes.

The City Clerk shall keep a correct, official journal or minutes of all proceedings of the legislative body and shall enter therein, among other items, the yeas and nays upon final action on all ordinances, resolutions and questions or at any other time when the entry of yeas and nays is called for by any member. The City Clerk shall maintain a current file of reports, resolutions, ordinances, orders, proclamations and other acts of the Mayor and Common Council and shall certify to or attest to the correctness thereof when required or directed so to do by law, ordinance, regulation or resolution. He shall perform such other duties as the Mayor and Common Council shall, from time to time, require.

§ 4-11 Attendance of other City officers and employees at meetings.

The legislative body may, by resolution or motion duly passed and entered in the journal, require such City officers and employees as may be specified in such resolution or motion to attend any or all meetings of the legislative body, unless excused.