[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of
Smithsburg 2-3-2004 as Ch. 2, Titles 2 and 3, of the 2004 Code. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Town Charter, the government of the Town shall be vested in and enforced by a Mayor and Council of five members who shall be elected by the inhabitants of the Town qualified to vote in Town elections, who have actually resided within the corporate limits of the Town as required by the Charter and whose names shall appear upon the books of registered voters as provided in the Town Charter and in Chapter 25, Elections, Article I, of this Code.
B.
Candidates for the office of Mayor shall have resided in the Town
for at least one year immediately preceding the election and must
be a qualified voter of the Town.
C.
Candidates for the office of Councilperson shall have resided in
the Town for at least one year immediately preceding the election
and must be a qualified voter of the Town.
D.
The qualified voters of the Town shall elect three members of the
Council on the second Tuesday of May 2004, and every four years thereafter,
and two members of the Council and the Mayor on the second Tuesday
of May 2006, and every four years thereafter.
A.
Section 31-37 of the Charter of the Town of Smithsburg provides for
the Council to fill vacancies in its membership or in the office of
Mayor. This section implements the provisions of the Charter by establishing
a procedure under which vacancies shall be filled.
B.
At the meeting when the Council is notified of a vacancy, the Council
may set a date to fill the vacancy.
C.
The vacancy may be filled at a regular or special meeting by the
favorable votes of a majority of the remaining members of the Council.
A.
The Mayor and members of the Council shall receive as full compensation
for their respective services the sums provided therefor by ordinance.
Changes in the salary of the Mayor and members of the Council may
be made by ordinance from time to time, but no ordinance effecting
any such change shall become effective during the current term of
office of the Mayor or Council, as the case may be, or any portion
thereof. Salaries of the Councilpersons shall all be equal as provided
in the Charter.
B.
Salaries of the Mayor and members of the Council shall be paid in
installments or otherwise, as provided by ordinance or resolution
of the legislative body.
C.
Salaries.
(1)
Prior to the May 2006 Town general election, the salary of the Mayor
of the Town shall be $2,000 per annum. Commencing with the May 2006
Town general election, the salary of the Mayor of the Town shall be
$3,000 per annum.
(2)
Prior to the May 2008 Town general election, the salary of the members
of the Council shall be $1,000 per annum. Commencing with the May
2008 Town general election, the salary of the members of the Council
shall be $1,500 per annum.
No member of the legislative body, during the term for which
he was elected, shall be eligible for appointment to any other Town
office for which any salary, emolument or other compensation is provided.
A.
Subject to the provisions of the Charter, the Mayor and Council shall,
by motion duly passed and entered in the minutes, fix the date and
time of regular meetings of the legislative body.
B.
Special meetings may be called by the Clerk-Treasurer at any time
upon the request of the Mayor or by the majority of the members of
the Council, upon reasonable notice to all members of the legislative
body.
C.
On the fourth Tuesday in May of each even-numbered year or, if such fourth Tuesday should fall upon a holiday, then the next succeeding business day, the newly elected and holdover members of the legislative body shall meet for the purpose of organizing the Town government. The newly elected members shall file with the Town Clerk-Treasurer the prescribed oath of office, and the legislative body shall then elect one of the Councilpersons to the office of Vice President of the Council. It shall then adopt such resolutions as provided in Subsection E of this section as it may consider appropriate, but all such then-existing resolutions not amended or repealed at this meeting shall continue in full force and effect. The legislative body shall then take such action as may be considered appropriate with respect to vacancies in Town offices which, by law, the Town Charter, this Code or other ordinance, are required to be filled by the Mayor and Council, provided that such appointments shall be made by the Mayor with the approval of the Council, if such approval is required by the Charter.
D.
All meetings of the legislative body, whether regular, special or
biennial, shall be open to the public at all times, but this shall
not be construed to prevent the legislative body from holding executive
sessions from which the public is excluded, but no ordinance, resolution,
rule or regulation shall be finally adopted or approved at any such
executive session.
E.
The legislative body may, from time to time, adopt resolutions not
inconsistent with state law, the Town Charter or this Code, providing
for the order of business and rules of procedure at meetings, the
appointment of standing and special committees and defining the jurisdiction,
powers and duties of such committees and the conduct of its members
at meetings, and such resolutions may impose penalties for the violation
thereof by members and for unexcused absence from or tardiness in
attendance at meetings.
F.
Members of the legislative body who are designated as members of
boards or commissions of the Town are expected to regularly attend
the meetings of such boards or commissions, unless excused for good
cause by the Mayor.
The Town Clerk-Treasurer shall keep a correct official journal
or minutes of all proceedings of the legislative body and shall enter
therein, among other items, the yeas and nays upon final action on
all ordinances, resolutions and questions or at any other time when
the entry of yeas and nays is called for by any member. The Town Clerk-Treasurer
shall maintain a current file of reports, resolutions, ordinances,
orders, proclamations and other acts of the Mayor and Council and
shall certify to or attest to the correctness thereof when required
or directed so to do by law, ordinance, regulation or resolution.
He shall perform such other duties as the Mayor and Council shall,
from time to time, require.
The legislative body may, by resolution or motion duly passed
and entered in the journal, require such Town officers and employees
as may be specified in such resolution or motion to attend any or
all meetings of the legislative body, unless excused.
The Mayor shall be chief executive officer of the Town government
and shall be responsible for the enforcement of the Town Charter,
this Code and other ordinances. He shall, from time to time, and whenever
so required by the Council, report to the Council the condition of
municipal affairs and make such recommendations as he deems proper
for the public good and the welfare of the Town. He shall have general
supervision over all administrative departments and offices of the
Town government, and he shall have such other powers and perform such
other duties as may be required of him by state law, the Town Charter,
this Code and other ordinances.