[Amended 9-27-1983 by Res. No. 1983-36; 1-10-1989 by Res. No.
1989-02; 1-27-2009 by Res. No. R-09-03; 1-27-2009 by Res. No.
R-09-04; 1-27-2009 by Res. No. R-09-05; 5-26-2009 by Res. No.
R-09-26; 6-21-2011 by Res. No. R-11-30]
All legislative powers of the City are vested in a Council consisting
of five Councilmembers who shall be elected as provided herein and
who shall hold office for a term of four years, except for those elected
in 2009, and until the succeeding Council takes office. The newly
elected Councilmembers shall take office on the third Monday following
the date of the general election. The Councilmembers holding office
at the time this charter becomes effective shall continue to hold
office for the term for which they were elected and until the succeeding
Council takes office under the provisions of this charter.
As of the date of: (i) the general election at which the council
is elected; or (ii) the date of selection of any Councilmember pursuant
to § 506 of this Charter, each Councilmember shall: (a)
be at least twenty-one years of age; (b) have resided within the corporate
limits of the City for at least one year immediately preceding the
date of said general election; and (c) be a qualified voter of the
City. If any Councilmember shall fail to continue to reside within
the corporate limits of the City during the entire term for which
elected or selected, the office of such Councilmember shall be declared
vacant.
Each Councilmember shall receive an annual salary which shall
be equal for all Councilmembers and shall be as specified from time
to time by an ordinance passed by the Council in the regular course
of its business; provided, however, that the salary specified at the
time any Council takes office shall not be changed during the period
for which that Council was elected. The ordinance making any change
in the salary paid to the several Councilmembers, either by way of
increase or decrease, shall be finally ordained prior to the general
election for the members of the next succeeding Council and shall
take effect only as to the members of the next succeeding Council.
The newly elected Council shall meet on the third Tuesday following
the date of the general election for the purpose of organization,
after which the Council shall meet regularly at such times as may
be prescribed by its rules but not less frequently than once each
month. Special meetings shall be called upon the request of the Mayor
or a majority of the members of the Council. All meetings, regular
and special, of the Council shall be public meetings and open to the
public at all times in accordance with the Annotated Code of Maryland.
The Council shall have the privilege of holding executive sessions
from which the public is excluded in accordance with the applicable
provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland; however, no ordinance,
resolution, rule or regulation shall be finally adopted at such an
executive session.
A majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business. Subject to § 304.d,
any action taken other than the filling of a Council vacancy requires
three favorable votes.
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business.
It shall keep a journal of its proceedings and enter therein the yeas
and nays upon final action on any question, resolution or ordinance.
No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced.
At any regular or special meeting of the Council held not less than
six nor more than sixty days after the meeting at which an ordinance
was introduced, it shall be passed, or passed as amended, or rejected,
or its consideration deferred to some specified future date. No ordinance
shall be approved without at least three favorable votes of the Council.
In cases of emergency the provision that an ordinance may not be passed
at the meeting at which it is introduced may be suspended by the affirmative
votes of four members of the Council. Every ordinance, unless it be
passed as an emergency ordinance, shall become effective at the expiration
of thirty calendar days following approval. A fair summary of each
ordinance shall be published at least twice in a newspaper or newspapers
having general circulation in the municipality. An emergency ordinance
shall become effective on the date specified in the ordinance, but
no ordinance shall become effective until approved by the Mayor or
passed over his veto by the Council.
All ordinances passed by the Council shall be considered as
having been delivered by the Administrator to the Mayor for his approval
or disapproval at the meeting when same is initially passed. If the
Mayor approves any ordinance, he shall sign it. If the Mayor disapproves
any ordinance, he shall not sign it. The Mayor shall return all ordinances
to the Council within ten days after delivery to him (excluding the
first day, including the last day, and excluding any Sunday) with
his approval or disapproval. Any ordinance approved by the Mayor shall
be law. Any ordinance disapproved by the Mayor shall be returned with
a message stating the reasons for his disapproval. Any disapproved
ordinance shall not become a law unless subsequently passed by a favorable
vote of four-fifths of the whole Council within thirty-five calendar
days from the time of the return of the ordinance. If the Mayor fails
to return any ordinance within ten days of its delivery, it shall
be deemed to be approved by the Mayor and shall become law in the
same manner as an ordinance signed by him.
If, before the expiration of thirty calendar days following
approval of any ordinance by the Mayor or passage of any ordinance
over the Mayor's veto, a petition is filed with the City Administrator
containing the signatures of not less than twenty per centum (20%)
of the qualified voters of the City and requesting that the ordinance,
or any part thereof, be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters
of the city for their approval or disapproval, the Council shall have
the ordinance, or the part thereof requested for referendum, submitted
to a vote of the qualified voters of the city at the next general
election for which the deadline imposed by the State Board of Elections
for the submission of local ballot questions has not passed or, in
the Council's discretion, at a special election occurring before
the next general election. No ordinance, or the part thereof requested
for referendum, shall become effective following the receipt of such
petition until and unless approved at the general election by a majority
of the qualified voters voting on the question. An emergency ordinance,
or the part thereof requested for referendum, shall continue in effect
for sixty days following receipt of such petition. If the question
of approval or disapproval of any emergency ordinance, or any part
thereof, has not been submitted to the qualified voters within sixty
days following receipt of the petition, the operation of the ordinance,
or the part thereof requested for referendum, shall be suspended until
approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question
at the next general or special election. Any ordinance, or part thereof,
disapproved by the voters, shall stand repealed. The provisions of
this section shall not apply to any ordinance, or part thereof, passed
under the authority of § 719, levying property taxes for
the payment of indebtedness, but the provisions of this section shall
apply to any ordinance or any part thereof, levying special assessment
charges under the provisions of §§ 901 and 902. The
provisions of this section shall be self-executing, but the Council
may adopt ordinances in furtherance of these provisions and not in
conflict with them.
Ordinances shall be permanently filed as directed by the City
Administrator and shall be kept available for public inspection.
