[R.O. 2011 §105.010; Code 1967 §1-8; CC 1975 §2-11]
The City Council shall consist of two (2) Councilmembers elected
from each ward of the City. The Mayor, who shall be President of the
City Council, shall preside over the same but shall not vote except
in case of a tie vote in the City Council, provided that he/she shall
have no such power to vote in cases when he/she is an interested party.
At the first (1st) regular meeting of the City Council after the election
in each year, the Council shall elect one (1) of its members President
Pro Tem, who shall hold such office for a term of one (1) year and
who, in the absence of the Mayor, shall preside over the meetings
of the Council. In the absence of the Mayor and President Pro Tem,
the Council may select one (1) of its members present to preside at
such meetings, who shall be styled "Acting President Pro Tem" and
shall exercise the same powers as the ex officio President of the
Council.
[R.O. 2011 §105.020; Ord. No. 2922 §1, 4-9-1980; Ord.
No. 91-11 §1, 5-8-1991; Ord. No. 2015-37 §1, 4-13-2015; Ord. No. 2020-34, 7-13-2020; Ord. No. 2022-15, 5-9-2022]
A.
The following Standing Committees shall be appointed by the Mayor
with the consent of the Council, and each shall be composed of four
(4) members of the City Council. A majority of a committee shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of the committee's business. The Mayor
shall appoint all committees, subject to the concurrence therein of
the City Council, and if, on the appointment of any committee, the
City Council shall fail to concur therein, such committee shall be
elected by the Council by ballot. It shall be the duty of the City
Clerk to cause committees, members of the Council and Officers of
the City to be informed of such duties as they may be charged with
by the Council from time to time.
[R.O. 2011 §105.030; Ord. No. 2922 §1, 4-9-1980; Ord.
No. 91-11 §1, 5-8-1991; Ord. No. 2015-38 §1, 4-13-2015]
A.
Standing Committee On Administration. The duties
of the Standing Committee on Administration shall be as follows:
1.
Streets. The Committee on Administration shall,
subject to the approval of the City Council, exercise a general supervision
over the streets, sidewalks and alleys of the City. It shall, subject
to the approval of the City Council, exercise a general supervision
over the constructing, grading, macadamizing and repairing of the
streets, sidewalks and alleys of the City and the construction and
building of bridges, culverts and curbing. It shall see that all work
in the building, constructing and repairing done in or upon any of
the streets, alleys or sidewalks shall be done in accordance with
the plans and specifications of the City Administrator or City Engineer,
or other person acting in his/her stead, and this Code and other ordinances
of the City. The Committee shall examine into the advisability of
building any new bridge or culvert, or the making of any repair, and
shall advise the Council as to the feasibility and the best plan of
doing the same. All matters pertaining to the streets or highways
not disposed of by the Council shall be referred to the Standing Committee
on Administration.
2.
Police and Fire Departments. The Committee
on Administration shall, subject to the approval of the City Council,
exercise a general supervision over the Police and Fire Departments
and shall, from time to time, report to the Council such police or
fire measures as it may deem best for the improvements or protection
of the City. The Committee shall promulgate such needful rules and
regulations for the government and control of such departments as
it shall deem necessary. All matters pertaining to the Police and
Fire Departments and regulations not disposed of by the Council shall
be referred to the Standing Committee on Administration.
3.
Health and landfill. The Committee on Administration
shall together with the City Physician and the City Administrator
or City Health Officer constitute the Board of Health of the City.
The Committee shall, subject to the approval of the City Council,
exercise general supervision over the health and welfare of the inhabitants
of the City and shall advise the Council as to necessary rules and
regulations which should be enacted to protect the same. All matters
pertaining to the health and welfare of the inhabitants of the City
which are not disposed of by the Council shall be referred to the
Standing Committee on Administration.
4.
Zoning and parks. The Committee on Administration
shall exercise, subject to the approval of the City Council, general
supervision over the public parks and parkways of the City and recreation
facilities included therein. Such committee shall advise with the
Council as to the necessary rules and regulations which should be
enacted for the protection or improvement of the same. All matters
pertaining to such public parks, parkways and recreation facilities
therein not disposed of by the Council shall be referred to the Standing
Committee on Administration.
B.
Standing Committee On Finance. The duties of the
Standing Committee on Finance shall be as follows:
1.
Finance. The Committee on Finance shall, subject
to the approval of the City Council, exercise a general supervision
and control over the finances of the City. It shall advise with the
City Collector as to the best means of collecting the City's revenues
and shall, from time to time, make such recommendations regarding
the expenditures of the same as it shall deem best. It shall audit
the accounts of the several City officers and pass upon claims against
the City. All matters affecting the City's finances not acted upon
by the Council shall be referred to the Standing Committee on Finance.
2.
Improvements and purchasing. The Committee
on Finance shall, with the approval of the City Council, purchase
all supplies for the City or direct the same to be done, and to the
end that economy may be practiced, it shall from time to time cause
estimates to be made by the heads of various departments of the City
of the supplies needed, and purchase the same at the best possible
advantage. The Committee shall also advise the Council as to municipal
improvements other than those within the jurisdiction of the Standing
Committee on Administration.
3.
Ways and means. All other functions not specifically
designated to the Standing Committee on Administration or which directly
affect the fiscal affairs of the City shall be referred to the Standing
Committee on Finance.
C.
Standing Committee On Economic Development. The
duties of the Standing Committee on Economic Development shall be
as follows:
1.
To serve as a liaison between the City Council and other economic
industrial development organizations operating within the City of
Trenton, Missouri.
2.
To work with appointed City personnel in developing a business
retention, expansion and selection plan of action in conjunction with
other like organizations.
3.
To take an active role as an "ambassador" for the City of Trenton,
Missouri, when greeting new and prospective businesses.
4.
Serve as the initial point of contact between appointed City
personnel and the City Council on economic/community development issues
that require immediate action and present reports and recommendations
made to the full City Council.
5.
To work closely with appointed City personnel in researching
and exploring new and expanding markets that could benefit the City
of Trenton.
6.
The membership of the Standing Committee on Economic Development
shall consist of two (2) members of the Standing Committee on Administration
and two (2) members of the Standing Committee on Finance who shall
be appointed by the Mayor in the same manner as are members of the
Standing Committee on Administration and the Standing Committee on
Finance and who shall serve a similar term.
D.
Standing Utility Committee. The duties of the Standing
Utility Committee shall review information received with regard to
the operations of Trenton Municipal Utilities and its departments
and provide recommendations with regard to such operations to the
City Council.
[R.O. 2011 §105.040; CC 1975 §2-14; Ord. No. 2909 §1, 2-27-1980]
The City Council shall hold its meetings in the buildings used
by the City for its City offices and known as the City Hall. However,
any regular, adjourned, or special meeting of the City Council may
be held at any other appropriate location, when a change in location
is deemed by the Mayor to be in the public's best interest; and, provided,
forty-eight (48) hours advance notice of the change in location of
the meeting is given to the public through use of available media
means.
[R.O. 2011 §105.050; CC 1975 §2-15; Ord. No. 2982 §1, 5-27-1981; Ord. No. 00-37 §1, 9-11-2000]
Regular monthly meetings of the City Council shall be held on
the second (2nd) and fourth (4th) Mondays of each month. The Council
has the option of canceling the second (2nd) regular meeting at the
first (1st) regular meeting of each month. Special meetings may be
held whenever persons as are in this Article are authorized to call
this meeting deem it necessary. The hour that such regular monthly
meetings shall commence shall be 7:00 P.M. unless otherwise ordered
by a majority of the elected members of the City Council. The hour
that special meetings shall commence shall be determined by the person
calling the same, and the time shall be set out in the notice to the
members of the City Council, as in this Article provided, for holding
such meetings.
[R.O. 2011 §105.060; Code 1967 §1-12; CC 1975 §2-16]
The Mayor or any two (2) members of the City Council may call
a special meeting of the City Council at any time, by causing the
Chief of Police, or some person acting in his/her stead, to serve
written notice of the time, place and purpose of such meeting upon
each member of the City Council, which notice shall conform to Section
610.020, RSMo. The notice may be served upon each member personally
or by leaving a copy of same at the residence of such member with
some person over the age of fifteen (15) years; provided, that such
notice may be waived by unanimous consent of the elected members of
the Council; provided further, that attendance of any member of the
City Council at such meeting, when made for a purpose other than to
object to its validity on the grounds of improper notice, shall be
deemed a waiver of such notice. No other business shall be transacted
at such special meeting except that stated in the notice as being
the purpose for which the meeting is called.
[R.O. 2011 §105.070; Code 1967 §1-13; CC 1975 §2-17]
The Chief of Police shall be ex officio Sergeant At Arms and,
when ordered by the Mayor or other person acting in his/her stead,
shall attend the meetings of the City Council and execute all orders
of the Council.
[R.O. 2011 §105.080; Code 1967 §1-14; CC 1975 §2-18]
A majority of the members elected to the City Council shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller
number may adjourn meetings thereof from day to day.
[R.O. 2011 §105.090; CC 1975 §2-19]
The City Council shall, from time to time, fix and determine
the salaries of all Councilmembers.
[R.O. 2011 §105.100; Code 1967 §1-15; CC 1975 §2-20]
A.
The
following rules and order of business for the Government of the City
Council in its deliberations are hereby adopted:
1.
Mayor to open meeting. A quorum being present, the
Mayor or person acting in his/her stead shall call the Council to
order, cause the roll to be called and, if a regular monthly meeting,
the unapproved minutes of the previous meetings to be read and the
mistakes therein, if any, to be corrected. The Mayor, in presiding
at the meetings of the City Council, shall preserve order and decorum
and shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Council.
2.
Absent members. The names of absent members shall
be noted by the City Clerk.
3.
Order of business. At each meeting of the City Council
for regular business, the following shall be the order of business:
4.
Reports of committees. All reports of committees
may be presented in writing or orally. If presented in writing, they
shall be signed by the members or officers offering the same. If presented
orally, a synopsis of the contents thereof shall be entered by the
City Clerk in the minutes of the meeting.
5.
Papers addressed to Council. Petitions and other
papers addressed to the City Council shall be presented and read by
the City Clerk.
6.
New business. When new business is reached in the
regular order of business, the Clerk shall call the roll, and each
member, as his/her name is called, shall report to the Council all
matters he/she may have requiring action.
7.
Proposed ordinance to be read. All bills or proposed
ordinances shall be read as required by Section 77.080, RSMo.
8.
Majority of members elected to Council necessary to pass
ordinance. No bill or proposed ordinance shall become an
ordinance, unless on its final passage the vote be taken by "ayes"
and "nays", and the names of the members voting for and against the
same shall be entered upon the journal and a majority of the members
elected to the Council be recorded therein as voting in its favor.
9.
Motion to reconsider. When a bill or proposed ordinance
is put upon its final passage and, upon such bill or proposed ordinance
failing to pass, a motion is made to reconsider the vote by which
it was defeated, the vote upon such motion to reconsider shall be
immediately taken and the subject finally disposed of before the Council
proceeds to the transaction of any other business.
10.
Amending ordinance. No Section of any ordinance
shall be amended, except by setting out the new Section in full in
the amending ordinance.
11.
New motion under color of amendment. No new motion
or proposition shall be admitted under color of an amendment, or as
a substitute for the pending motion or proposition, which does not
relate to the subject matter of the original motion or proposition.
12.
Amendment to amendment. An amendment to an amendment
is in order, but it is not in order for any member of the Council
to attempt to amend an amendment to an amendment of the main question.
13.
Motion or resolution to be reduced to writing. When
a motion or resolution is made and seconded, it shall be reduced to
writing by the Clerk and by him/her read aloud before it is debated,
and no motion or resolution shall be stated and debated until the
same is seconded.
14.
Withdrawal of motion or resolution. After a motion
or resolution is stated or read by the Clerk, it shall be deemed to
be in possession of the Council but may be withdrawn, at any time
before a decision or amendment but afterward only by the consent of
the Council.
15.
Motion for previous question. A motion for the previous
question shall be admitted only on a demand of two (2) members of
the Council, and when sustained by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the
members present, its effect shall be to bring the Council to a direct
vote upon the pending question. The previous question shall be put
in the words, "Shall the previous question be not put?" and, until
decided, shall preclude all amendments of the main question under
debate.
16.
Motions precluding amendments and debate. Motions
for the previous question, to lay the motion on the table or to refer
to a committee until decided shall preclude all amendments and debate
upon the main question, and a motion to amend or to postpone the question
indefinitely or to adjourn it to a certain day shall, until it is
decided, preclude all further amendments to the main question.
17.
Motion to go into executive session. Any motion
that the Council go into executive session shall be in conformity
with Chapter 610, RSMo.
18.
Motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn shall always
be in order, except:
19.
Statement of question — motions when question under
debate. No question shall be stated, unless moved by two
(2) members. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be received,
except to adjourn, to fix the time to which to adjourn, to lay on
the table, the previous question, the order of the day, to postpone,
to refer or to amend. Such motions shall have precedence in the order
in which they are above stated.
20.
Reconsideration of motion. When a motion has once
been made and carried in the affirmative or negative, it shall be
in order for any member who voted on that side which prevailed to
move for a reconsideration thereof at the same meeting, but not thereafter.
21.
Order of questions. All questions, whether in the
Council or a committee, shall be put in the order in which they are
made, except privileged questions.
22.
Vote entered into the minutes. If any two (2) members
require it, the "ayes" and "nays" upon any question shall be taken
and entered upon the minutes of the Council meeting, but the "ayes"
and "nays" shall not be so taken unless called for previous to any
vote upon the question.
23.
Reform of questions. Questions shall be distinctly
put in the form, "As many as are of the opinion that (as the question
may be) say aye," and after the affirmative is expressed, "As many
as are of the contrary opinion, say no." If the Presiding Officer
is in doubt, or if division is called for, those voting in the affirmative
shall raise their hands and hold them in such position until counted,
and afterwards those in the negative. This being done, the Presiding
Officer shall state the decision of the Council.
24.
Nomination for office. When a nomination for appointment
to office shall be made by the Mayor, the Council shall proceed to
vote thereon, but no nomination shall be concurred in until it shall
have been ratified by a majority of all the members elected to the
Council.
25.
All members present to vote — exception — method
of voting. When a question is put to the chair, each member
present shall vote, unless the Council for special reason excuses
him/her; provided, that if any member of the Council is subject to
personal gain or loss by the result of the vote cast, with reference
to the subject matter under consideration, he/she shall not vote.
For violation of this provision, such Councilmember shall be deemed
guilty of an ordinance violation. Unless the Council shall provide
otherwise, voting shall be oral, by "ayes" and "nays".
26.
Members wishing to speak — generally. When
a member of the Council wishes to speak, he/she shall address the
chair as "Mr. Mayor" but shall not proceed with his/her remarks until
recognized by the chair. The speaker, upon receipt of recognition
from the chair, shall confine his/her remarks to the question and
shall avoid engaging in personalities. No member shall be permitted
to speak concerning the subject under consideration more than once
until every member wishing to speak shall have spoken.
27.
Members wishing to speak — chair to determine who speaks
first. Should two (2) or more members of the Council address
the chair at the same time, the chair shall designate which is to
speak first.
28.
Point of order. Any member of the Council may rise
to a point of order, or the Mayor or Presiding Officer may rule any
person out of order whenever any rule of procedure as provided in
this Section is breached. Any member so called to order shall cease
his/her discourse or actions which constitute such breach of procedure,
unless he/she is permitted by the Mayor or Presiding Officer to explain
his/her purpose of committing same. The member so called to order
may appeal to the Council, in which case the Council shall decide
whether or not the member's conduct was in order.
29.
Interruption of speaker. When the Mayor or person
acting in his/her stead is putting any question, or when any member
is addressing the Council, no one shall walk out of or across the
room in which the Council is sitting, nor, when the Clerk is reading
the minutes or any paper, shall any member engage in private discourse,
nor shall any person visiting the meetings of the Council engage in
any private discourse or speak to the Council, or any member thereof,
without leave of the Council.
30.
Member may be excused. The Mayor or person acting
in his/her stead may temporarily excuse any member of the Council,
but no member shall be permitted to leave the meeting of the Council
without the permission of a majority of the members present.
31.
Suspension of rules. Any of the rules set forth
in this Section may be temporarily suspended by a vote of three-fourths
(¾) of all the members elected to the Council but shall not
be repealed, altered or amended, unless by a concurrence of a majority
of the members elected to the City Council. No such repeal, alteration
or amendment shall be voted on until the regular monthly meeting next
following that at which the same may be presented to the Council.
[R.O. 2011 §105.110; Code 1967 §1-1; CC 1975 §2-41]
The Mayor shall be elected at the same time and shall qualify
in the same manner as other elective City Officers. his/her term of
office shall commence on the second (2nd) Wednesday after his/her
election and continue for four (4) years and until his/her successor
is duly elected and qualified.
[R.O. 2011 §105.130; Code 1967 §1-5; CC 1975 §2-44]
The Mayor shall sign the commissions and appointments of all
City Officers elected or appointed in the City and shall approve all
official bonds.
[R.O. 2011 §105.140; Code 1967 §1-7; CC 1975 §2-46]
The Mayor shall exercise all other powers and perform all other
duties as shall be provided in the general laws of the State for Mayors
of Cities of the Third Class.
[R.O. 2011 §105.150; CC 1975 §2-47]
The compensation of the Mayor shall be fixed from time to time
by the City Council.
