All legislative powers of the Town shall be vested in a Council
consisting of a Mayor and four (4) Councilmembers, who shall be elected
as hereinafter provided and who shall hold office for a term of four
(4) years or until the succeeding Mayor and Council takes office.
The regular term of the Mayor and the Councilmembers shall expire
on the last day of June immediately following the election of their
successors. The Mayor and 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
Mayor and Council takes office under the provisions of this Charter.
Councilmembers shall have resided in the Town for at least one
year immediately preceding their election and shall be qualified voters
of the Town. Councilmembers shall maintain a permanent residence in
the Town during their term of office.
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 adopted prior to the municipal election
for the members of the next succeeding Council and shall take effect
only as to the members of the next succeeding Council.
[Amended 7-1-2013 by Res.
No. 2013-04]
The newly elected Council shall meet at 7:00 p.m. on the first
Monday in July, following the election in May, for the purpose of
organization. Special meetings shall be called by the Clerk-Treasurer
upon the request of the Mayor or majority of the members of the Council.
All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, and the rules
of the Council shall provide that residents of the Town shall have
a reasonable opportunity to be heard at any meeting in regard to any
municipal question. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the
public unless closed in a manner consistent with § 10-501 et
seq. of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland,
and the rules of the Council shall provide that residents of the Town
shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard at any meeting in
regard to any municipal question.
The Council shall be the judge of the election and qualification
of its members.
A majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business, but no ordinance shall be
approved nor any other action taken without the favorable votes of
a majority of the whole number of members elected to the Council.
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business.
It shall keep minutes of its proceedings and enter therein the yeas,
nays, or abstentions upon final action on any question, resolution,
or ordinance, or at any other time if required by any one member.
The minutes shall be open to public inspection.
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 (6) nor more than sixty (60) 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. In cases of emergency, the above requirement may be suspended
by the affirmative votes of four (4) members of the Council. Every
ordinance, unless it be passed as an emergency ordinance, shall become
effective at the expiration of twenty (20) calendar days following
approval by the Mayor or passage by the Council over the Mayor's
veto. A fair summary of each ordinance shall be published at least
twice (2) 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 the Mayor's
veto by the Council.
Ordinances shall be permanently filed by the Clerk-Treasurer
and shall be kept available for public inspection.
