Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the legislature and
governing power of the city shall be vested in the Common Council.
The Mayor and the Alderman of the city shall constitute and
be the members of the Common Council thereof.
The members of the Common Council shall meet on the first Monday
of each year, or if that day is a public holiday, on the next day
thereafter. They shall elect a president of the Common Council and
an Acting Mayor from their number, who shall, until the following
first day of January, perform their duties as described in Section
37 of this Act.
Whenever required by the Common Council every member of a department
or city officer shall attend its meetings and answer all questions
by any member of the Common Council or by the City Attorney, relating
to the affairs of his department or office, provided that at least
forty-eight (48) hours before the meeting he has had written notice
thereof.
The City Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Council.
The Common Council shall hold stated meetings at least once
a month and at such other times as they shall by vote or resolution
direct. They may also hold special meetings to be called by the Mayor
or in his absence by the President of the Common Council, on request
of at least two (2) Aldermen, at such time and place as the written
notice to be served upon the Aldermen shall direct, or without notice
when the aldermen are all present. If held pursuant to notice, such
notice shall specify the objects of the meeting and shall be served
personally or left at the residence of each member of the Common Council
at least two (2) hours before the time of the meeting.
The Common Council shall determine the rules of its own procedure.
A majority of all its members shall constitute a quorum to do business,
or a smaller number may effect a legal adjournment. The attendance
of absent members may be compelled at a meeting thereof at which less
than a quorum is present, and it may punish a member for disorderly
conduct, for violation of its rules, or for official misconduct. The
ayes and noes shall be called and recorded on all ordinances and resolutions
involving the expenditure of money. All meetings and proceedings of
the Council shall be public. No ordinance shall be passed by the Council
on the same day on which it is introduced, except by unanimous consent
and all members being present thereat. No resolution shall be passed
authorizing or involving the expenditure of money or the collection
of money by a tax or assessment unless it shall receive the assent
of a majority of all members of the Council.
The powers of the Common Council shall be legislative only,
except as otherwise provided by this Act and any other provision of
law not inconsistent therewith. The Common Council shall have the
power to pass any ordinance or resolution not repugnant to the Constitution
and laws of this state for any local purpose, pertaining to the government
of the city and the management of its business, the protection of
the business and property interests of the citizens, the preservation
of order peace and health and the safety and welfare of the city and
the inhabitants thereof; and shall have such powers of legislation
by ordinance or resolution as are conferred upon it by this act or
any other provision of law affecting the city, not inconsistent with
this Act or the laws of this state, except such as are especially
conferred by this Act upon any separate department of the city government.
And they shall also have the power:
1.
To license, regulate or prohibit all exhibitions of natural or artificial
curiosities, caravans of animals, theaters and opera houses, theatricals
and other shows and exhibitions, circuses and other performances for
money, within the bounds of said corporation, and to regulate parades,
exhibitions, and the parading and playing of bands of music upon the
streets and in public places therein. But nothing herein shall be
construed to prevent the delivery of literary, historical and scientific
lectures in said city, the use of apparatus illustrating the same
and the receiving of money for the same; nor shall any church fair,
concert or other entertainment, under the auspices and for the benefit
of any church or religious body in said city, be prevented thereby,
and no license shall be required for the delivery of such lectures
or for such church fair, concert or other entertainment.
2.
To license, regulate or prohibit the hawking, peddling or auctioneering
of goods, wares and merchandise or property of any kind, in or upon
the streets, sidewalks and public grounds of said city, and in said
city, except sales made under any judgment, execution or authority
conferred by statute, or in satisfaction of specific liens; to restrain,
regulate or prohibit all gift enterprises or sales of goods founded
upon or connected with any gift, raffle, lottery or change in said
city; and to regulate, license or restrain the peddling, auctioneering
or crying of goods, wares and merchandise or other property or commodity,
except farm and garden produce, by nonresidents or transient dealers
or vendors in said city; also to regulate the sale of goods, wares
and merchandise by samples, or upon order by contracts by persons
not residents of the City of Norwich, and to license such persons
to sell such goods, wares and merchandise or take orders or make contracts
for the same, and fix the amount to be paid for such licenses.
3.
To regulate or prohibit the erection or construction of any projection
from or in front of any building, in, over or upon any of the streets
or sidewalks in said city, and to cause the same to be removed at
the expense of the owner or occupant of the premises, and to enforce
the penalty prescribed for neglect or failure to make such removal.
4.
To provide for the planting, setting or trimming and protection of
shade or ornamental trees in any public square, ground or streets
in said city; and to prevent the cutting, injuring or destruction
of any shade or ornamental trees now or hereafter planted in and along
such streets, grounds or public squares.
5.
To require all persons owning or occupying property in the city,
and the owners of unoccupied property therein, to remove all snow,
ice, stones, dirt or any other obstruction, hindrance or nuisance
from the sidewalk in front of the premises so owned or occupied by
them, and to keep the same free and clean therefrom, and in case of
neglect or refusal on the part of such owner or occupant, to remove
the same at his expense; and to remove all grass and weeds overgrown
on any premises, for pollen control, and in case of neglect or refusal
on the part of such owner, to remove the same at his expense.
6.
To compel by ordinances or resolution in special cases the sweeping
and cleaning of chimneys, flues, stovepipes and all other conductors
of smoke, to prevent a dangerous construction or condition of chimneys,
fireplaces, stove hearths, stovepipes, stoves, ovens, boiler and apparatus
in any building or manufactory, or to cause the same to be removed
or placed in a safe condition when considered dangerous, to prevent
the deposit of ashes in unsafe places; to remove or cause to be removed
all wooden awnings or verandas to or in front of buildings or signs
over or across the sidewalks or streets; and to establish and prescribe
such regulations for the prevention and extinguishment of fires as
they may deem proper and necessary; and to enforce the penalty prescribed
for the violation of any such ordinance or resolution.
7.
To authorize and direct the Fire Chief or other person by them specially
appointed for the purpose at reasonable times to enter and examine
every building or structure of any description in said city, to ascertain
whether the same is in an unsafe or dangerous state in regard to fires,
whether by reason of any defect in construction or as to the manner
in which fire is used for any purpose therein, and to direct and compel
the owner or occupant to put the same in such condition as a proper
security against fire shall, in its judgment, require.
8.
To provide by ordinance or resolution, generally or in special instances,
when, how and in what manner any gas, water, electric light, telephone
or telegraph or street transit company, or any officer or employee,
or any person or corporation, may disturb, dig up or in any manner
interfere with the streets, lanes, alleys, park or public grounds
of said city; and to prohibit any interference with said streets or
in any other places in said city, or the laying of any pipes or drains
erecting of poles, or the placing or maintaining any other material
or thing in, upon, under or over the surface of said streets or other
places in said city, except as now permitted by law or acquired franchise;
and to enforce the penalty prescribed for the violation of any such
ordinance or resolution; but this section shall not be interpreted
as modifying any vested right heretofore acquired.
9.
To regulate the use and running of public vehicles for the conveyance
of passengers; grant licenses therefor and fix the amount to be paid
for the same.
10.
To regulate and determine the places of bathing.
11.
To cause buildings and other structures encroaching on the streets
to be removed at the expense of owners or occupants thereof; to declare
such expense a lien on the premises from which the same shall be removed,
and to issue their warrants against any such owner or occupant to
collect the same.
12.
To give names to streets, and numbers to the lots and buildings,
and to change the same, to cause streets to be surveyed and maps of
the city to be made and published.
13.
To limit the rate of speed at which an engine or train shall be run
upon any railroad within the limits of said corporation across any
street, and to regulate the switching and kicking of cars across any
street or the blocking of any street or thoroughfare by rolling stock
of any kind.
14.
To regulate and restrict the location of trades and industries and
the location of buildings, designed for specified uses, and for said
purposes to divide the city into districts and to prescribe for each
such districts the trades and industries that shall be excluded or
subjected to special regulations and the uses for which buildings
may not be erected or altered. Such regulations shall be designated
to promote the public health, safety and general welfare and shall
be made with reasonable consideration, among other things, to the
character of the district, its peculiar suitability for particular
uses, the conservation of property values and the direction of building
development, in accord with a well-considered plan.
15.
To compel by ordinance or resolution, whenever it shall determine
that public safety and protection against fire so requires, the removal
and regulate the erection and maintenance of all telegraph, telephone
or electric light wires or cables, and other appliances for conducting
electricity and the poles connected therewith, in any place within
the corporate limits of the City of Norwich, and may prescribe penalties
and fines for violations of such ordinance or resolution made pursuant
to the provisions of this section.
16.
To pass such ordinances for the government and discipline of the
Fire Department as it may deem necessary. The Common Council shall
also have power to enforce and enact ordinances necessary or expedient
for the prevention, summary abatement or removal of nuisances in the
city, or for the establishment or preservation of good government
and order, or for the security of the inhabitants of the city, or
for the suppression of vice.
17.
To provide for the lighting of the streets, highways, alleys, public
places and municipal buildings in the city, but no contract therefor
shall be made for a period longer than five (5) years, and for the
protection and safety of the public lamps, to prevent the same from
being lighted or extinguished by persons not authorized to do so,
and to provide rules and regulations concerning the same, and penalties
for willful violation of the rules and regulations so prescribed or
willful injury to lighting appliance.
18.
The Council is further authorized to raise annually a reasonable
sum of money, not to exceed the sum of one thousand four hundred dollars
($1,400), to provide for band concerts and to promote the maintenance
of an efficient band in the City of Norwich, and the Council shall
pay out as much of such sum as may be necessary for such purpose under
such conditions as they may deem wise.
19.
To do all such acts, perform all such duties and exercise all such
powers as are authorized, imposed, conferred or granted by this Act,
or now are or may be authorized, imposed, conferred or granted by
any general Act of the legislature of this state, applicable to all
cities therein, incorporated under a special Act.
1.
Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context requires
otherwise, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
a.
CONTROL COMMISSION-Shall mean the State Lottery Control Commission.
b.
BINGO or GAME-Shall mean and include a specific game of chance, commonly
known as bingo or lotto, in which prizes are awarded on the basis
of designated numbers or symbols on a card conforming to numbers or
symbols selected at random.
c.
AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATION-Shall mean and include only bona fide religious,
charitable or nonprofit organization of veterans, volunteer firemen
and similar nonprofit organization.
d.
LICENSE-Shall mean a license issued pursuant to the provisions of
the Article.
2.
Authorization. It shall be lawful for any organization, upon obtaining
a license therefor as hereinafter provided, to conduct the game of
bingo within the territorial limits of the City of Norwich, subject
to the provisions of this section, the provisions of Article 14-G,
Section 475-499, of the General Municipal Law, and the provisions
of the State Lottery Control Law.
3.
Application for license.
a.
Each applicant shall file with the City Clerk of the City of Norwich
a written application in the form prescribed in the rules and regulations
of the Control Commission, duly executed and verified.
b.
In each application there shall be designated an active member or
members of the applicant organization under whom the game or games
of chance described in the application are to be held, operated and
conducted, and there shall be appended to the application a statement
executed and verified by the applicant and by the member or members
so designated that he, she or they will be responsible for the holding,
operation and conduct of such games of chance in accordance with the
terms of the license and the provisions of this section, Chapter 854
of the Laws of 1957, and the rules and regulations of the Control
Commission, if such license is granted.
c.
In the event that any premises upon which any such game of chance
is to be held, operated or conducted, or which is to be used for any
other purpose in connection with the holding, operation or conduct
thereof, is to be leased or rented from any person, persons or corporations,
the application shall be accompanied by a written statement signed
and verified under oath by such person or persons or on behalf of
such corporation, stating his or its address, the amount of rent to
be paid for such premises, and stating that such lessor, lessors or,
if a corporation, all of its officers and each of its stockholders
who held more than ten percent (10%) or more of its stock issued and
outstanding, one of good moral character and have not been convicted
of a crime.
4.
General restrictions. Any game or games licensed hereunder shall
be subjected to the following restrictions in addition to such other
restrictions as may be provided herein or contained in the rules and
regulations of the Control Commission:
a.
No person, firm, association, corporation or organization, other
than an authorized organization licensed under the provision of this
section, shall be permitted to conduct such games.
b.
The entire net proceeds of any game or games shall be exclusively
devoted to the lawful purposes of the organization permitted to conduct
the same.
c.
No single prize shall exceed the sum or value of two hundred fifty
dollars ($250.).
d.
No series of prizes on any one (1) occasion shall aggregate more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000.).
e.
No person except bona fide member of such organization shall participate
in the management or operation of such game.
f.
No person shall receive any remunerations for participating in the
management or operation of any such game.
g.
The unauthorized conduct of a bingo game and any willful violation
of any provision of this section shall constitute and be punishable
as a misdemeanor.
5.
Issuance and duration of license.
a.
The City Clerk shall cause to be investigated the qualifications
of each applicant and the merits of each application with due expedition
after the filing of the application. The City Clerk shall deliver
to the Mayor the application, together with the supporting documents
therefor, and a detailed report of the results of his investigation
or that of the Chief of Police, including the due qualifications of
the applicant to be licensed, the relationship of the members under
whom such games are to be conducted with the applicant, whether such
persons are of good moral character or have ever been convicted of
a crime, whether the conduct of such games will comply with all the
provisions of law and rules and regulations applicable thereto, whether
a commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense of any nature
will be paid to any person conducting or assisting in conducting such
games of chance, whether a prize will be offered or given in excess
of the sum or value of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.) in any single
game or an aggregate of all prizes given in a series of games on a
given occasion will exceed the sum or value of one thousand dollars
($1,000.), and such other questions or inquiries as the Mayor may
direct.
b.
If the Mayor shall determine that the requisite conditions have been
met by the applicant, he shall direct the City Clerk to issue a license
to the applicant for the holding, operation and conduct of the specific
kinds of games of chance applied for, upon payment of a license fee
or fees of ten dollars ($10.) for each occasion upon which any games
of chance are to be conducted under such license, which fees are to
be paid to the Chamberlain of the City of Norwich.
c.
On or before the 30th day of each month, the Director of Finance
shall transmit to the State Comptroller a sum equal to fifty percent
(50%) of all license fees collected by the City of Norwich pursuant
to this section during the preceding calendar month.
d.
No license shall be issued under this section which shall be effective
for a period of more than one (1) year.
6.
Hearing; amendment of license.
a.
No application for a license hereunder shall be denied by the Mayor
until after a hearing, held on due notice to the applicant, at which
the applicant shall be entitled to be heard upon the qualifications
of the applicant and the merits of the application.
b.
Any license issued under this section may be amended upon application
to the Mayor, if the subject matter of the proposed amendment could
lawfully and properly have been included in the original license,
and upon the payment of such additional license fee, if any, as would
have been payable if it had been so included.
7.
Each license shall be in such form as shall be prescribed in the
rules and regulations promulgated by the Control Commission.
8.
The Mayor shall have and exercise control and supervision over all
games of chance held, operated or conducted under such license, and
shall have the power and authority to suspend any such license, and,
after notice and hearing, to revoke the same for violation of any
provision of such license, this Article, Sections 475 to 499 of the
General Municipal Law, or the rules and regulations of the Control
Commission. The Mayor or any officer designated by him shall have
the right of entry at all times into any premises where any such game
of chance is being held, operated or conducted, or where it is intended
that any such game of chance shall be held, operated or conducted,
or where any equipment being used or intended to be used in the conduct
thereof is found, for the purpose of inspecting the same.
9.
Such games may be held on any day of the week, including Sunday,
which may be authorized in such license.
10.
No person under the age of eighteen (18) years shall be permitted
to participate in any game or games of chance held, operated or conducted
pursuant to any license issued under this section, unless accompanied
by an adult.
11.
No game or games of chance shall be held, operated or conducted under
any license issued under this section oftener than on (6) days in
any one (1) calendar month, or in any room or outdoor area where alcoholic
beverages are sold or served during the progress of the game or games.
12.
Persons operating and conducting games; equipment; expenses; compensation.
No person shall hold, operate or conduct any game or games of chance
under any license issued under this section except an active member
of the authorized organization to which the license is issued, and
no person shall assist in the holding, operating or conducting of
any game or games of chance under such license except such an active
member or a member of an organization or association which is an auxiliary
to the licensee or a member of an organization or association of which
such licensee is an auxiliary or a member of an organization or association
which is affiliated with the licensee by being, with it, auxiliary
to another organization or association, and except bookkeepers or
accountants as hereinafter provided, and no such game of chance shall
be conducted with any equipment except such as shall be owned absolutely
or used without payment of any compensation therefor by the licensee,
and no item of expense shall be incurred or paid in connection with
the holding, operating or conducting of any game of chance held, operated
or conducted pursuant to any license issued under this section, except
such as are bona fide items of reasonable amount for goods, wares
and merchandise furnished or services rendered which are reasonably
necessary to be purchased or furnished for the holding, operating
or conducting thereof under any circumstances whatever; no rental
shall be paid for the use of any premises for holding, operating or
conducting thereof under any circumstances whatever; no rental shall
be paid for the use of any premises for holding, operating or conducting
thereof, unless the amount of such rental is stated in a statement
annexed to the application for the license as provided in Section
480 of Article 14-G of the General Municipal Law, or which is in excess
of the sum stated as the rental to be charged therefor in such statement;
and no commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense whatever
shall be paid or given, directly or indirectly, to any person holding,
operating or conducting, or assisting in the holding, operation or
conduct of, any game of chance so held, operated or conducted, except
that reasonable compensation may be paid to bookkeepers or accountants
for bookkeeping or accounting services rendered according to a schedule
of compensation prescribed by the rules of the Control Commission.
13.
Charge for admission and participation; amount of prizes; award or
prizes. No more than one dollar ($1.) shall be charged by any licensee
for admission to any room or place in which any game or games of chance
are to be held, operated and conducted under any license issued under
this section, which admission fees, upon payment thereof, shall entitle
the person paying the same to a card entitling him to participate
without additional charge in all regular games of chance to be played
under such license on such occasion, and no charge in excess of one
dollar ($1.) shall be made for a single opportunity to participate
in all special games to be played under such license on such occasion.
No prize greater in amount or value than two hundred fifty dollars
($250.) shall be offered or given in any single game conducted under
any such license, and the aggregate amount or value of all offered
or given in all games played on a single occasion shall not exceed
one thousand dollars ($1,000.), and all winners shall be determined
and all prizes shall be awarded in any game played on any occasion
within the same calendar day as that upon which the game was played.
No alcoholic beverage shall be offered or given as a prize in any
such game.
14.
Advertising games. No game of chance to be conducted under any license
issued under this section shall be advertised as to its location,
the time when it is to be or has been played, or the prizes awarded
or to be awarded, by means of newspapers, radio, television or sound
tracks or by means of billboards, posters or handbills or any other
means addressed to the general public, except that one (1) sign not
exceeding sixty (60) square feet in area may be displayed on or adjacent
to the premises where the game will be played, and an additional sign
may be displayed on or adjacent to the premises where the prized or
prizes are displayed, and additional signs may be displayed upon any
fire-fighting equipment belonging to any licensee which is a volunteer
fire company, or upon any first aid or rescue squad equipment belonging
to any licensee which is a first aid or rescue squad, in and throughout
the community or communities served by such volunteer fire company
or such first aid or rescue squad, as the case may be.
15.
State of receipts, expenses, etc. Within fifteen (15) days after
the conclusion of the holding, operating and conducting of any such
game of chance, the authorized organization which held, operated or
conducted the same, and its members who were in charge thereof, shall
furnish to the City Chamberlain a duly verified statement showing
the amount of the gross receipts derived from each game of chance,
which shall include receipts from the sale of shares, tickets or rights
in any manner connected with participation in said game or the right
to participate therein, each item of expense incurred or paid, and
each item of expenditure made, the name and address of each person
to whom each such item has been paid or is to be paid, with a detailed
description of the merchandise purchased or the services rendered
therefor, the net profit derived form each such game of chance, and
the use to which such net profit has been or is to be applied, and
a list of prizes offered and given, with the respective value thereof,
and it shall be the duty of such licensee to maintain and keep such
books and records as may be necessary to substantiate the particulars
of each such report.
16.
Examination of books and records; examination of managers, etc.;
disclosure of information. The Mayor and the Control Commission shall
have power to examine or cause to be examined the books and records
of any authorized organization to which any such license is issued,
so far as they may relate to any transactions connected with the holding,
operating and conducting of any game of chance thereunder, and to
examine any manager, officer, director, agent, member or employee
thereof under oath in relation to the conduct of any such game of
chance under any such license, but any information so received shall
not be disclosed except so far as may be necessary for the purpose
of carrying out the provisions of this section.
17.
Appeals to Control Commission. Any applicant for, or holder of, any
license issued or to be issued under this section, aggrieved by any
action of the city, its officers or agents, concerning an application
which has been made or a license which has been issued, may appeal
to the Control Commission from the determination of the city, its
officers or agents, by filing with the Mayor a written notice of appeal
within thirty (30) days after the determination or action appealed
from, and upon the hearing of such appeal, the evidence, if any, taken
before the Mayor, and any additional evidence, may be produced and
shall be considered in arriving at a determination of the matters
in issue, and the action of the Control Commission upon said appeal
shall be binding upon the city and all parties to said appeal.
18.
Immunity from prosecution; exemption. No person or corporation
a.
Lawfully conducting, or participating in the conduct of,
b.
Possessing, selling or in any manner disposing of, any shares, tickets
or rights to participate in, or
c.
Permitting the conduct upon any premises owned by him or it of, any
game of chance conducted or to be conducted under any license lawfully
issued pursuant to this section, shall be liable to prosecution or
conviction for violation of any provision of Article 130 of the Penal
Law or other law or ordinance to the extent that such conduct is specifically
authorized by this section, but this immunity shall not extend to
any person or corporation knowingly conducting or participating in
the conduct of any game of chance under any license obtained by any
false pretense, or statement made in any application for such license
or otherwise, or possessing, selling or disposing of shares, tickets
or rights to participate in, or Permitting the conduct upon any premises
owned by him or it of, any game of chance conducted under any license
known to him or it to have been obtained by any such false pretense
or statement.
19.
Offenses; forfeiture of license; ineligibility to apply for license.
Any person, association or corporation who or which shall make any
false statement in any application for any such license or in any
statement annexed thereto or shall pay any rental for the use of any
premises for holding, operating or conducting any game of chance under
this section or for any purpose in connection with the holding, operating
or conducting thereof, unless the amount of such rental is stated
in a statement annexed to the application for the license as provided
in Paragraph 3 of this Article, or shall pay or receive any sum for
such rental in excess of the sum stated as the rental to be charged
therefor in such statement executed by him or on its behalf, or shall
fail to keep such books and records as shall fully and truly record
all transactions connected with the holding, operating and conducting
of games of chance under any such license, or shall falsify or make
any false entry in any book or record so far as they relate to any
transaction connected with the holding, operating or conducting of
any game of chance under any such license, or shall violate any of
the provisions of this Article or of any term of such license, shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall forfeit any license issued to
it under this Article and be ineligible to apply for a license under
this Article for one (1) year thereafter.
20.
Amendment and appeal. This Article may be amended, from time to time,
or repealed, by the Common Council, and such amendment or repeal,
as the case may be, may be made effective and operative not earlier
than thirty (30) days following the date of enactment of the local
law or ordinance affecting such amendment or repeal, as the case may
be; and the approval of a majority of the electors shall not be a
condition prerequisite to the taking effect of such local law or ordinance.
21.
Severability. If any provision or application of this Section 63-a
of Title IV of the Charter of the City of Norwich, or a provision
or application of Chapter 854 of Laws of 1957, to any municipality,
person or circumstances, shall be adjudged unconstitutional by any
court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this paragraph or
the application of Chapter 854 of the Laws of 1957 to other municipalities,
persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby, and the Council
hereby declares that it would have enacted this Section 63-a of Title
IV of the Charter of the City of Norwich without the invalid provisions
or application, as the case may be, had such invalidity been apparent.
The Council shall have the management and control of the finances
and of all the property, real and personal, belonging to the city,
and shall have the power to make contracts according to law.
The Common Council is authorized to expend such sum or sums
of money, in addition to the amount raised in the budget, which are
made available pursuant to this Act or Section 29.00 of the Local
Finance Law.
[Added 6-18-1996 by L.L. No. 2-1996]
The Common Council or the appropriate committee thereof if so
designated shall have the power to appoint any and all deputies, assistants,
or other employees of any department for whom positions have been
created and funds appropriated. The Common Council shall have the
power to terminate such persons from positions.
The avails of any obligations issued by the city, other than
tax or revenue anticipation notes, shall be kept by the Director of
Finance in a separate fund, and be applied only to the payment of
the object or objects specified, and shall be paid out only upon warrants
drawn on the Director of Finance by the Common Council as herein provided,
for expenditures hereunder audited by the Common Council.
In any and all ordinances, rules and regulations ordained or
adopted by the Common Council, except as otherwise provided in this
Act, said Council shall prescribe and impose a penalty for violation
thereof. Unless otherwise provided in this Act, any violation of any
ordinance, rule or regulation adopted by the Common Council shall
be punishable by a penalty of not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.)
or imprisonment not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both such fine
and imprisonment. The Common Council shall have power by ordinance
or resolution, whenever it shall determine that public safety and
protection against fire requires, to compel the removal and regulate
the erection and maintenance of all telegraph, telephone or electric
light wires or cables, and other appliances for conducting electricity,
and the poles connected therewith, in any place within the corporate
limits of the City of Norwich. For violation of such ordinance or
resolution made pursuant to the provisions of this section, the Common
Council may prescribe penalties and fines to the amount of two hundred
fifty dollars ($250.) and imprisonment in the County jail of Chenango
County not exceeding one hundred (100) days; and that such penalties,
fines and imprisonment may be again imposed in case of continuing
the building and repairing in such ordinances or resolution prohibited.
And the Common Council shall also have the power to pass such ordinances
for the government and discipline of the Fire Department as it may
deem necessary. The Common Council shall also have power to enforce
and enact ordinances necessary or expedient for the prevention, summary
abatement or removal of nuisances therein, or for the establishment
or preservation of good government and order, or the security of the
inhabitants of the city, or for the suppression of vice.
After adoption by the Common Council, each ordinance or law
shall be duly certified by the Clerk and presented to the Mayor for
this action thereon. Within thirty (30) days after any ordinance or
law shall have been certified to the Mayor, he may return the same
to the City Clerk with his approval or disapproval written thereon.
And if he shall so approve, the same shall thereupon become a law.
And if he shall fail to approve or disapprove as above provided, the
same shall become a law at the expiration of thirty (30) days from
the date of such certification. If the Mayor shall return the same
with his disapproval in writing thereon, the Common Council may pass
the same over his veto by a two-thirds vote of all its members, whereupon
the same shall become a law.
The ordinances, bylaws, rules and regulations and resolutions
in force in the City of Norwich, or formerly in the Village of Norwich
in effect when this Act takes effect, shall, insofar as they are not
inconsistent with this Act, continue in full force and effect; subject
to modification, amendment or repeal by the Common Council, and the
Council is authorized to reenact ordinances upon the same subjects
and with the same force and effect as those as aforesaid when this
Act takes effect.
A minimum of at least six (6) copies of the Code of Ordinances
of the city shall be reviewed and maintained by the Common Council
every two (2) years, commencing in the year 1955. Every ordinance
shall, within thirty (30) days after it has become a law as herein
provided, be recorded by the City Clerk in a book provided for that
purpose. Such record shall contain the attestation of the City Clerk
and the Mayor's written approval, or in case of his disapproval,
a memorandum of its passage over his veto, or in case the ordinance
took effect because the Mayor failed to approve or disapprove and
return it within thirty (30) days, then a memorandum to that effect,
and the date when such ordinance took effect. Such record or a certified
copy thereof shall be presumptive evidence of the passage of such
ordinance.
It shall be the duty of said Common Council to post up at least
three (3) of the most public places in the city a printed copy of
every ordinance made by them to which penalties are attached, and
no new ordinance shall take effect until forty-eight (48) hours after
such copies have been so posted by the City Clerk or under his direction,
of which posting an affidavit shall be made and forthwith filed with
the City Clerk and shall be conclusive evidence of such posting.
No local law shall be enacted by the local legislative body
of the city until a public hearing thereon has been had before such
body. Notice of such public hearing shall be given by publishing in
the official city newspaper at least once each day for two (2) days
prior to such hearing an abstract of the proposed local law concisely
stating the title, purpose and effect thereof, together with a statement
that a hearing will be held thereon at a time and place specified.
The city may maintain an action to restrain by injunction the
violation of any ordinance of the Common Council, in addition to any
other remedy.
The Common Council shall at any time appoint a special committee
of its members to inquire whether the law and ordinances relating
to any matter or department of the city are being faithfully observed
and whether the duties of any of the officers and employees are being
faithfully discharged, and to examine and report whether there are
unnecessary, inefficient or unfit employees, or whether there are
excessive salaries, wages or compensation paid, and to inquire generally
in respect to any and all matters which will conduce to the orderly
and economic conduct of the business of the city, and for such purposes
such committee, so appointed, may take and hear testimony, hear and
receive affidavits and take depositions, and examine witnesses before
them. Such committee shall have access to any of the records of the
city, and for the purposes of any such inquiries, shall have the powers
conferred upon any officer, person, board or committee, as provided
in the Civil Practice Act.
No member or committee of the Common Council shall have power
to employ any person, incur any expense, or purchase any materials
for or on behalf of the city or any of its officers, members or departments,
except as expressly provided for in this Act. The Council shall not
audit or allow any claim against the city unless the same is presented
in the form and manner prescribed by this Act. Nor shall the Common
Council enter into any contract for supplies or services for a longer
period than for one (1) year except as herein otherwise provided.
The Common Council shall not change the salaries of the officers of
the city as fixed by this Act, nor shall it have the power to provide
for any salary or compensation whatsoever for any officer who, by
the provisions of this Act, is required to serve without pay.
[Amended 1-16-2001 by L.L. No. 1-2001; 10-21-2008 by L.L. No.
1-2008]
1.
Franchises.
The Common Council shall have power to grant all franchises
or permits granted on behalf of the city, and no person, persons,
association, or corporation shall erect any wires, poles, tracks or
any obstruction in, over, under or upon any street, bridge, sidewalk
or public place in said city, or in, over, under or upon any land
owned by said city, unless a franchise or permit therefor shall be
granted by the Common Council of said city. No franchise shall be
granted hereafter for a period exceeding fifty (50) years and in such
franchise it shall specifically prohibit any sublease, assignment
or other transfer of all or part of the rights obtained under such
franchise without consent of the Common Council, signified by resolution
thereof adopted by at least a majority of the members elected voting
therefor. The grant of any franchise by said Common Council shall
not become valid and take effect unless made as aforesaid, and no
grant of a new franchise or for an extension of a franchise now existing
shall become valid without a resolution by said Common Council, adopted
by at least a majority of members elected voting therefor.
2.
Sale of real estate.
a.
Real estate owned by the City of Norwich and designated by the Common
Council as not required for use by the City may be sold or leased
at a negotiated price without advertisement, or as provided by Title
XII, §§ 214-220 of the City Charter. The Director of
Finance is hereby designated as the official of the City to accept
offers for the purchase of such real estate from prospective purchasers
thereof. Each offer shall be in writing subscribed by the person making
such offer, which shall be accompanied by a deposit in the form of
cash, a certified check or money order made payable to the City of
Norwich in a sum equal to ten per cent (10%) of the offer or ten dollars
($10), whichever is the greater sum; if the offer is accepted by the
Council, it shall apply on the purchase price, and if rejected, such
offer shall be returned within ten (10) days of final action of said
Council to the person submitting the offer. The deposit shall be kept
in the custody of the Director of Finance pending action by the Council.
b.
The price of such real estate shall be fixed by the Director of Finance,
subject to the approval of the Council.
c.
The offer shall be submitted by the Director of Finance to the Council
for approval, together with his recommendation, which may be oral
or in writing.
d.
No real estate which has been assigned by the Council to a public
use shall be sold at private sale, in accordance with Article 2-A,
Section 20(2) of the General City Law of the State of New York.
e.
The Council shall, by resolution passed by a majority of all members
of the Council, either accept or reject the offer as it deems the
best interest of the city requires; if such offer is accepted, the
resolution of acceptance shall authorize, empower and direct the Mayor
to execute a deed of conveyance or lease, whichever is appropriate.
f.
A list may be prepared by the office of the Director of Finance of
all City-owned property available for purchase. This listing may be
publicized in any way deemed appropriate, including but not limited
to: direct circulation to banks, realtors, neighboring property owners
and any others with potential interest in the city property; display
in City Hall; display on the website of the City of Norwich.
g.
The sale price negotiated for any parcel will reflect consideration
of such things as assessed value, costs of administration, outstanding
bills for taxes, utilities and assessments and any other outstanding
claims.
h.
The Common Council will have final approving authority for any sales
agreements, upon clearance by the City Attorney and recommendation
of the Director of Finance.
The Common Council at its first meeting in January or as soon
thereafter as practicable must designate one (1) or more national
banks or trust companies within the City of Norwich as a depository
or depositories of all moneys received by the Director of Finance.
The Common Council may in its discretion require said depository or
depositories to give and execute to the city a good and sufficient
bond with two (2) or more sureties or a surety company to be approved
by the Common Council, in such an amount as said Council deems wise
for the ample protection of moneys so deposited with said bank or
trust company. Such bond shall be filed by the City Clerk in the office
of the Clerk of the County of Chenango. The Director of Finance of
the city shall deposit the moneys of said city with the depository
or depositories so designated by the Common Council and his failure
to do so shall be a misdemeanor.
All notices, reports or other matter required by this Act to
be published shall be published in a newspaper in the city to be designated
by the Common Council annually as the official newspaper.
If any street, section of a street, public street or square
in which a street surface railroad shall hereafter be operated shall
paved, repaired or macadamized, or any such street straightened, widened
or altered, the Common Council shall have power to require the railroad
corporation operating such street surface railroad to change its grade
and line and location of its track or parts thereof, to conform to
such alterations or improvement in such manner as such Council shall
designate, and the corporation operating such street surface railroad
shall, at its own expense, change its lines and grades and the location
of its track or tracks or parts thereof to conform to such direction
as the Common Council may make. Nothing herein contained shall be
held to relieve any such railroad corporation from paying its share
of the cost of such improvements as provided by this Act.
Whenever the Common Council shall have determined to take and
appropriate any lands, interest or easements, deemed by it necessary
in the execution of any plan or improvement adopted by the Common
Council or in the execution of any part of any plan or improvement
in any of the departments under the control and supervision of the
Common Council, which lands and rights shall not have been otherwise
acquired, the Council may in the name of the city, as herein provided,
proceed to the condemnation of the same pursuant to the provisions
of the Condemnation Law of the State of New York.
The Common Council may make, alter and modify, publish and enforce,
from time to time, such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with
any of he provisions of this Act, for the employment, dismissal, discipline
and government of the persons employed by it and for the performance
of all work authorized by it.
The Common Council may prescribe penalties for willful and malicious
acts by any person or persons whereby any of the property or rights
under the control of the Common Council in any of its departments
shall be interfered with, impaired, obstructed or injured, and may
enforce the penalties and recover the actual damage sustained thereby
in the manner provided for in this Act, paying the moneys so received
to the Director of Finance to be credited to the general fund, and
may also prescribe penalties not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.).
The violation of any of the rules and regulations adopted by
the Common Council in any of its departments, which rules and regulations
when regularly adopted may be enforced by action brought in the name
of the City of Norwich, and the amount so recovered shall be paid
to the Director of Finance. No action shall be brought to recover
any penalty for the violation of any rules or regulation unless the
same shall have been published prior to such violation at least once
a week for two (2) successive weeks in the newspaper provided in this
Act.
An act whereby any property, apparatus or appliances pertaining
thereto, which shall be under the power and control of the Common
Council in any of its departments, shall be willfully or maliciously
injured, impaired or obstructed, shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and
the person or persons, corporation or corporations convicted thereof
shall be punished accordingly.
No lands or rights shall be purchased from or by any member
of the Common Council for any of the purposes over which the Common
Council shall have control unless the same shall be taken by condemnation
proceedings or by an order of a Supreme Court Judge of the Sixth Judicial
District.
The Common Council or its duly authorized agents or employees
may enter upon any lands for the purpose of survey and examination,
and make, contract for, purchase and acquire by grant, gift, condemnation
or otherwise, in the name of the City of Norwich, all lands, water
rights, easements, privileges and other real and personal property
whatsoever, in whole or in part, for such purposes, either within
or outside of the corporate limits of the City of Norwich, which is
necessary for any of the purposes herein set forth, and shall have
the right to enter upon, take possession of and appropriate all such
property and to do any and every act or thing that may be necessary
to carry out the full intent and purposes of the provisions of this
Act, except that the right of condemnation is subject to the provisions
of the general statutes and any Acts amendatory thereof.
The Common Council shall have the power to permit excavating
in any public street or place in said city upon execution and delivery
to the city of a bond approved by the Mayor and the City Attorney,
conditioned that the excavation so made shall be promptly filled and
properly graded, that any pavement or curbing removed shall be relaid
within the time designated in the permit, and that the city shall
be held harmless from all claims, demands, suits, costs and damages
that may result by reason of the excavation, and shall be so maintained
for a period of one (1) year without expense to the city; that the
excavation made shall be made at such time and in such manner and
under such superintendence as the Common Council may prescribe in
the order granting permission, in addition to the above requirements.
Any expense incurred by the Common Council in such superintendence,
restoration or repair shall be a lien until paid, on the premises
or lot for which the work was done, to be enforced the same as unpaid
claims in the construction of sidewalks, as in this Act provided;
and the city shall have lawful demand against the claimant to whom
said permission may have been given, and may sue and collect the same
in the name of the city, and which, when so collected, shall be paid
to the Director of Finance, and by him credited to the fund against
which the expense is properly charged. No person, association or corporation
shall make any excavation in or under any street, land or public ground
or under any sidewalk, without first obtaining such permit in writing.
The Common Council shall have supervision over all public buildings
now owned by the City of Norwich and shall provide heat and light
therefor, superintend the making of repairs and all alterations thereto,
supervise the construction of all buildings that may be required for
city purposes, and procure necessary equipment therefor and have the
general supervision and control over all matters pertaining to such
buildings and equipment, and shall have the power to employ a person
or persons to care for the same whenever the Common Council deems
wise.
On or before the first day of December in every year the Common
Council shall cause to be made and filed in the office of the Director
of Finance an inventory of all personal property, equipment and material
on hand of whatever name or nature belonging to its various departments.
The Common Council shall have power to regulate the erection
of telegraph, telephone, trolley or electric light poles, or the stretching
of wires, in, over, under or upon the streets or public grounds, or
upon, over or in front of any building or buildings, and may require
that all telegraph, telephone or electric light wires be carried under
the surface of such streets as said Council may designate, in subways
to be constructed wholly at the expense of the persons, companies
or corporations owning said wires or operating the same, except that
any such ordinance or regulations shall apply to the wires of all
such corporations on said street.
The Common Council shall have power to make all contracts relating
to construction, paving and repair of streets, sidewalks and public
buildings owned by the city, sewers, water mains, the cleaning of
streets, sprinkling and removing of dirt therefrom, the grading, paving
and repairing and macadamizing of all streets, public places and public
squares, and the extension of sewers and waterlines and the purchase
of all materials, machinery, implements and utensils necessary therefor,
except as herein otherwise provided.
