Final action on ordinances shall be taken by a favorable vote
of four or more Council members. All ordinances shall contain the
following enacting clause: "The City of Warren hereby ordains." Ordinances
shall be numbered consecutively. After enactment, the Mayor shall
sign the ordinances and direct the municipal Clerk to affix the municipal
seal and insert the date of enactment. However, failure to sign or
affix the official seal shall in no way invalidate an otherwise valid
ordinance.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The provisions of this ordinance passed
at referendum 11-8-2016.
A.
Notices of ordinances adopted by Council shall be published in one
or more newspapers of general circulation in the municipality within
10 days of enactment. Such notice shall include a brief summary of
the ordinance, state where the full text of the ordinance may be examined,
and, where applicable, state that the ordinance imposes a penalty.
[Amended 11-21-2016 by Ord. No. 1884[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: The provisions of this ordinance passed
at referendum 11-8-2016.
B.
In addition to the publication herein required after enactment of
an ordinance, prior public notice of the intent to take action on
a proposed ordinance may be made in any case at the discretion of
Council and shall be made:
(1)
Where a provision of the law shall require such advance publication.
(2)
In the case of an ordinance or of a group or body of ordinances as
outlined in § C-32A(2) of this Charter, except for amendments
thereto.
(3)
In accordance with the procedure and requirements of § C-35
of this Charter.
(4)
In the case of any ordinance that would affect any identifiable specific
piece of private property, notice shall be given to the owner thereof
by certified mail to his last known address.
Within 15 days after the enactment of an ordinance, the municipal
Clerk shall record in the municipal ordinance book a verbatim copy
of such ordinance, which shall contain a notation of the date of enactment
and the date of publication and the name of the newspaper in which
the publication was made, provided it shall not be necessary to record
in the ordinance book the full text of any ordinance where there is
a specific provision in the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
permitting adoption and recording by reference, or in the case of
any ordinance adopting, with or without amendment or modification,
any building code, plumbing code, or other code complete in itself,
for the regulation of any trade, occupation or line of activity or
undertaking, but in the latter cases it shall be necessary only to
record the ordinance adopting the same by reference and indicating
the municipal office where the complete code or ordinance shall be
available. Provided, further, whenever an ordinance shall be specifically
amended or repealed, the municipal Clerk shall cause a notation to
the effect to be made in the book at the location where the recording
of such ordinance shall commence. Provided, further, whenever any
ordinance shall prescribe a condition to its becoming effective, in
the nature of an acceptance by a party thereto, the meeting of such
condition or the failure to meet the same shall likewise be noted
at the appropriate place in the ordinance book.
The ordinance book shall be open and available for public inspection
during business hours in the municipal building. Upon request, the
municipality shall make available copies of any ordinance to the public
at cost of reproduction.
No final action shall be taken on the following types of ordinances
and amendments thereto without public hearing thereon, of which at
least 15 days' public notice shall be published in a newspaper circulating
generally in the municipality:
A.
Any building code, plumbing code, or other code complete in itself,
for the regulation of any trade, occupation or line of activity or
undertaking.
B.
New taxes or increases in the rate of existing taxes. No prior notice
shall be necessary for the reenactment of taxes levied annually at
the same rate.
C.
Ordinances setting salaries of elected officers.
The municipality shall cause the valid ordinances and the permanent
ordinances to be codified and indexed, and the codification shall
be kept current by updating on a biennial or more frequent basis.
Violation of an ordinance shall constitute a summary offense,
and prosecution for every such offense shall be according to the practice
in the case of summary convictions, except where the laws of Pennsylvania
shall specifically provide otherwise. Any ordinance may prescribe
a penalty for the violation thereof, which may not exceed the maximum
penalty that may be imposed by any non-charter City in the commonwealth
for violation of an ordinance. All fines, penalties and costs collected
shall be paid into the municipal treasury, provided any ordinance
may provide that for continuing violations each day that a violation
exists may be regarded as a separate violation.
The effective date of an ordinance shall be 10 days after the publication date unless a later date is specified in the ordinance or required by law, provided emergency appropriations made pursuant to § C-53B shall be made effective immediately upon adoption.
