[Amended by Acts 1974, ch. 17, § 1; Acts 1987,
ch. 64, § 1]
On and after July 1, 1988, the council shall consist of seven
(7) members. Six (6) members of council shall be elected by ward,
with one (1) member elected from each of six (6) wards by the voters
residing in each such district. Any qualified voter of the city seeking
election from a ward shall be a resident of that district. One (1)
member of council shall be elected at large by the qualified voters
of the city and shall serve as the mayor. The members of the council
in office at the effective date of this Charter amendment are hereby
continued in office for the terms for which they were elected, except
that as to the three (3) councilmen whose terms of office expire on
June 30, 1990, their terms of office shall expire, upon the enactment
of this Charter amendment, on June 30, 1988.
On the first Tuesday in May of 1988, there shall be a general
city election, at which there shall be elected three (3) councilmen,
one (1) from each of three (3) wards in the city, whose terms shall
begin July 1, 1988, and expire June 30, 1990. On the first Tuesday
in May 1990, and every four (4) years thereafter, there shall be elected
three (3) councilmen, one (1) from each of the three (3) said wards,
to serve terms of four (4) years from July 1 following their election.
At the general election on the first Tuesday in May of 1988,
there shall be elected three (3) councilmen, one (1) from each of
the other three (3) wards in the city, whose terms shall begin July
1, 1988, and expire June 30, 1982. On the first Tuesday in May 1992,
and every four (4) years thereafter, there shall be elected three
(3) councilmen, one (1) from each of the three (3) said wards, to
serve terms of four (4) years from July 1 following their election.
On the first Tuesday in May 1988, and on the first Tuesday in
May in every second year thereafter, there shall be a general city
election at which the mayor shall be elected at large by the qualified
voters of the city for a term of two (2) years from July 1 following
his election.[1]
Following the enactment of this Charter amendment, the council
by ordinance shall divide the city into six (6) wards and shall determine,
for the city election to be held on the first Tuesday in may of 1988,
which three (3) wards shall be used to elect members of council having
terms expiring on June 30, 1990, and which three (3) wards shall be
used to elect members having terms expiring on June 30, 1992.
[1]
Editor's Note: Following amendments to Virginia Code § 15.2-1400,
the City Council adopted Ord. No. 2021-05 on 12-13-2021, providing
that: 1) "notwithstanding any provision of the City Charter to the
contrary, for any election held after January 1, 2022, elections of
the Mayor and members of the City Council shall be held at the time
of the November general election for terms to commence on the succeeding
January 1. The inaugural meeting of a newly elected Council shall
take place on the date of the first regularly scheduled meeting of
the City Council in the month of January following the November election";
and 2) "no term of any Mayor or a member of City Council shall be
shortened in implementing this change to the November election date.
The Mayor and members of the City Council who were elected at a May
general election and whose terms are set to expire as of June 30 shall
continue in office until their successors' terms commence on the January
1 following their election at the November general election."
[Amended by Acts 1987, ch. 64, § 1]
Vacancies in the office of councilman and in the office of mayor,
from whatever cause arising, shall be filled for the unexpired portion
of the term by majority vote of the remaining members of the council,
or, if the council shall fail to act within sixty (60) days of the
occurrence of the vacancy, by appointment of the circuit court of
Southampton County, or the judge thereof in vacation. The remaining
members of the council may choose one of their number to fill a vacancy
in the office of mayor. A vacancy in the office of a councilman elected
by ward shall be filled only with a qualified voter residing in said
ward.
[Amended by Acts 1987, ch. 64, § 1]
The council may provide and fix salaries for the mayor, vice-mayor,
and other council members in such sums not to exceed the limits established
by general law.
No member of the council shall during the term for which he
was elected or appointed or for one (1) year thereafter be appointed
to any office of profit under the government of the city.
The council shall have power, subject to the provisions of this
Charter, to adopt its own rules of procedure. Such rules shall provide
for the time and place of holding regular meetings of the council
which shall be not less frequently than once in each month. They shall
also provide for the calling of special meetings by the mayor, or
any two (2) members of the council, and shall prescribe the method
of giving notice thereof, provided that the notice of each special
meeting shall contain a statement of the specific item or items of
business to be transacted and no other business shall be transacted
at such meeting except by unanimous consent of all the members of
the council. A majority of the members of the council shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business.
[Amended by Acts 1987, ch. 64, § 1]
No ordinance, resolution or motion shall be adopted by the council
except at a meeting open to the public and by the affirmative votes
of at least four (4) members, provided this does not apply to motions
to adjourn, to fix a time and place to which adjourned, and other
motions of a purely procedural nature. All voting may be by ayes and
noes, except on request by any one (1) member therefor, the voting
shall be by roll call and the ayes and noes shall be recorded in the
journal.
[Amended by Acts 1974, ch. 17, § 1; Acts 1987,
ch. 64, § 1]
The mayor and vice-mayor in office at the effective date of
this Charter amendment [March 12, 1987] are hereby continued in office
for the terms for which they were elected and until their successors
have been elected and qualified. The mayor shall preside over the
meetings of the council and shall have the same right to vote and
speak therein as other members. He shall have no veto power. He shall
be recognized as the head of the city government for all ceremonial
purposes, the purposes of military law, and the service of civil process.
At the first meeting of the council after July 1, 1988, and at each
first meeting immediate following the taking of office of councilmen
after a councilmanic election, the council shall choose by majority
vote of all the members thereof one of their number to be vice-mayor
for the ensuing term of two (2) years. The vice-mayor, in the absence
or disability of the mayor, shall perform the duties of mayor.
The council shall appoint a clerk to the council to serve at
the pleasure of the council. He shall keep the journal of the council's
proceedings and shall record all ordinances in a book kept for the
purpose. He shall be the custodian of the corporate seal of the city
and shall be the officer authorized to use and authenticate it. He
shall receive such compensation as clerk to the council as may be
determined by council.
[Amended by Acts 2000, ch. 948, § 1]
All powers of the City of Franklin as a body politic and corporate
shall be vested in the council except as otherwise provided in this
Charter. The council shall be the policy determining body of the city
and shall be vested with all the rights and powers conferred on councils
in cities, not inconsistent with this Charter. In addition to the
foregoing, the council shall have the following powers:
(a)
To have full power to inquire into the official conduct of any office
or officer under its control, and to investigate the accounts, receipts,
disbursements, and expenses of any city employee; for these purposes
it may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and require the production
of books, papers, and other evidence; and in case any witness fails
or refuses to obey any such lawful order of the council, he shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b)
To provide for the performance of all the governmental functions
of the city; and to that end to provide for and set up all departments
and agencies of government that shall be necessary. Whenever it is
not designated in this Charter what officer or employee of the city
shall exercise any power or perform any duty conferred upon or required
of the city, or any officer thereof, by general law, then any such
power shall be exercised or duty performed by that officer or employee
of the city so designated by ordinance or resolution of the council.
Any activity which is not assigned by the provisions of this Charter
to specific departments or agencies of the city government shall be
assigned by the council to the appropriate department or agency. The
council may further create, abolish, reassign, transfer, or combine
any city functions, activities, or departments.
(c)
After the close of each fiscal year the council shall cause to be
made an independent audit of the accounts, books, records, and financial
transactions of the city by the auditor of public accounts of the
commonwealth or by an independent certified public accountant or accountants
to be selected by the council. The report of such audit shall be filed
within such time as the council shall specify and one (1) copy thereof
shall be always available for public inspection in the office of the
clerk to the council during regular business hours. Either the council
or the city manager with the consent of the council may at any time
order an examination or audit of the accounts of any officer or department
of the city government. Upon the death, resignation, removal, or expiration
of the term of any officer of the city, the council may cause an audit
and investigation of the accounts of such officer to be made. In case
of the death, resignation, or removal of the director of finance,
the council may cause an audit to be made of his accounts, if as a
result of any such audit, an officer be found indebted to the city,
the council shall proceed forthwith to collect such indebtedness.
(d)
The council shall fix a schedule of compensation for all city officers
and employees. The council may by ordinance define certain classes
of city employees whose salaries shall be set by the city manager,
except that this provision shall not apply to the constitutional officers,
the heads of city departments, and judges.
(e)
To prescribe the amount and condition of surety bonds to be required
of such officers and employees of the city as the council may designate.
(f)
Commissioners of the Franklin Redevelopment and Housing Authority
shall be not less than five nor more than nine in number and shall
hold their offices at the pleasure of the council for terms not to
exceed four years; however, the council may at any time, and from
time to time, adopt an ordinance adding one or more council members
as commissioners of the Franklin Redevelopment and Housing Authority;
however, the number of council members serving on the Authority shall
not comprise a majority. The remaining members of the board shall
be appointed by council from the citizenry of the city. The board
shall possess all powers and duties granted to or imposed upon redevelopment
and housing authorities by general law. Notwithstanding any other
provision of the law to the contrary, a city council member shall
receive no compensation for serving as commissioner of such authority;
nor shall a council member continue to serve as a commissioner after
ceasing to be a member of council.
(a)
Any member of the council who is indicted for a felony shall be suspended
from office until the indictment is withdrawn or quashed or he is
tried and acquitted, and any member of the council who shall have
been convicted of a felony while in office shall thereby forfeit his
office.
(b)
Except for the purpose of inquiry, the council and its members shall,
so long as the city manager form of government obtains, deal with
the administrative service solely through the city manager; and neither
the council nor any member thereof shall have authority to give orders
to any of the subordinates of the city manager, either publicly or
privately.
[Amended by Acts 1997, ch. 196, § 1]
No employee of the city may simultaneously serve as an employee
of the city and as a member of the city council. An employee of the
city who is elected to city council shall have resigned from or otherwise
terminated his/her employment with the city before taking the oath
of office as a member of the city council. Nothing herein shall be
construed as prohibiting employees of the city or school board from
candidacy for any elected office.
