City of Warren, PA Article I Organization

§ 26-1 General.

The number of Council members, their terms, election and qualifications, and the filling of Council vacancies shall be as provided for in the Charter.

§ 26-2 Organization.

A. The day, time and place of the organization meeting of Council shall be as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VI).

B. The first order of business shall be the election of a Vice President of Council to serve in the absence of the Mayor.

C. Council may transact any further business it deems necessary.

§ 26-3 Meetings.

A. Public notice. Provisions governing public notice of meetings shall be as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VI).

B. Regular meetings. Council shall meet at least once a month at 7:00 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Municipal Building, or at such other time and place as Council may, from time to time, designate. Council may adjourn to a stated time for general business or for special business. If no quorum is present at a monthly or adjourned meeting, a majority of those who do meet may continue to do so until the meeting is held or adjourned.

[Amended 5-1-2017 by Ord. No. 1892; 12-17-2018 by Ord. No. 1912]

C. Special meetings. Such meetings shall be as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VI).

D. Emergency meetings. Council may hold and take action at an emergency meeting at any time. Such emergency meetings may be called by the Mayor, the Manager or any member of Council.

E. Executive sessions. Council may hold executive sessions as permitted by laws. No official action shall be taken by Council on any matter in executive session.

§ 26-4 Conduct of meetings.

All meetings of Council shall be open to the public, as provided by the Charter and by laws (see Charter, Article VI).

§ 26-5 Agenda.

A. The proposed agenda for any meeting of Council shall be prepared by the Manager in consultation with the Mayor and/or any members of Council.

B. The proposed agenda for every stated meeting shall be forwarded to all members of Council and be available for examination by and distribution to the public at the office of the Manager at least three days before the meeting. In addition, the agenda for stated regular, adjourned, special and, where possible, emergency meetings shall be posted in the entrance lobby of the municipal building and shall be distributed to the news media as soon as possible after its preparation.

§ 26-6 Official actions of Council.

Official actions of Council shall be taken by ordinance, resolution or motion, as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VI).

§ 26-7 Ordinances.

A. Actions shall be taken by ordinance, as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII). In no case shall more than one reading of a proposed ordinance be required prior to passage unless the law specifically requires more than one meeting.

B. Ordinance form and procedure.

(1) Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption.

(2) Every ordinance shall deal with only one subject or with interrelated aspects of that subject, and the main subject shall be clearly expressed in the title of the ordinance.

(3) Any ordinance which amends an existing ordinance shall set out in full the ordinance, sections or subsections to be amended, and shall indicate matter to be omitted by amendment by enclosing that matter in brackets or by strikeout type and shall indicate new matter by underscoring or by italics.

C. Amendment of ordinance. As provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII) and in the foregoing subsection.

D. Ordinances requiring prior public notice and hearing. As provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII).

E. Emergency conditions. To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace, Council may adopt one or more emergency ordinances, which may be adopted without prior notice and shall be made effective immediately. An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances generally, except that it shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing the emergency in clear and specific terms. After enactment, the ordinance shall be published as in the case of any other ordinance. It shall become effective upon adoption or at such later time as it may specify. Every emergency ordinance shall be effective for no longer than 60 days after the date of its enactment, subject to extension beyond the sixty-day period in the manner specified in this subsection or in the manner prescribed for enactment of a nonemergency ordinance if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may be repealed in advance of its expiration date by following the same procedure specified in this subsection for enactment of an emergency ordinance.

F. Publication of notice of enactment. As provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII).

G. Authentication, recording and codification.

(1) Ordinances and resolutions, upon enactment or adoption by Council, shall be signed by the Mayor and attested to by the Municipal Clerk.

(2) The Municipal Clerk shall record and index all ordinances in the municipal ordinance book, as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII).

(3) Codification shall be kept current by updating on a biennial or more frequent basis, as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII).

H. Availability of ordinances. As provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII).

I. Effective date of ordinances. As provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII).

J. Penalties for ordinance violations. As provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article VII).

§ 26-8 Compensation and expenses of elected officers.

Provisions as to salary shall be as provided for in the Charter (see Charter, Article IV). Members of Council shall receive no other compensation, direct or indirect, for the performance of their duties. Members of Council shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual expenses incurred when the expenditure is related to the performance of official duties, and it was authorized in advance by Council at a public meetings, and it is included in an itemized list presented prior to payment.