All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations of the Village
which are consistent with the provisions of this Charter, in force
and effect at the time this Charter is adopted, shall continue in
force and effect until amended or repealed.
All Village legislation shall be by ordinance or by resolution
of the Village Council. The word "resolution" as used in this Charter
shall be an official action of the Village Council in the form of
a motion.
A.
In addition to other acts required by law or by specific provision
of this Charter to be done by ordinance, those acts of the Village
Council shall be by ordinance which:
(1)
Adopt or amend an administrative code or establish, alter, or abolish
any Village department or office;
(2)
Provide for a fine or other penalty or establish a rule or regulation
for violation of which a fine, sanction, or any other penalty is imposed;
(3)
Grant, renew, or extend a franchise;
(4)
Regulate the rate charged for its services by a public utility;
(5)
Authorize the borrowing of money;
(6)
Convey or lease or authorize the conveyance or lease of any lands of the Village except as restricted in § C-92;
(7)
Regulate land use and development; and
(8)
Amend or repeal any ordinance previously adopted.
B.
Acts other than those referred to in the preceding sentences may
be done either by ordinance or by resolution.
A.
Form. Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and
in the form required for final adoption. The enacting clause shall
be "The Village of Spring Lake hereby ordains. . . ."
B.
Procedures and publication.
(1)
An ordinance may be introduced by any member at any regular or special
meeting of the Council. Upon introduction of any ordinance, the Village
Clerk/Treasurer shall distribute a copy to each Council member and
to the Village Manager and file a reasonable number of copies in the
office of the Village Clerk/Treasurer and such other public places
as the Council may designate. The Council shall schedule a public
hearing for consideration of the proposed ordinance. The Village Clerk/Treasurer
shall publish, at least seven days in advance, a notice setting out
the time and place for a public hearing. The notice shall state that
a complete copy of the ordinance is available at the office of the
Village Clerk/Treasurer.
(2)
The public hearing shall follow the publication by at least seven
days, may be held separately or in connection with a regular or special
Council meeting, and may be adjourned from time to time; all persons
interested shall have an opportunity to be heard. After the hearing,
the Council may adopt the ordinance with or without amendment or reject
it, but if it is amended as to any matter of substance, the Council
may not adopt it until the ordinance or its amended sections have
been subjected to all the procedures herein before required in the
case of a newly introduced ordinance.
(3)
Within 15 days after adoption, the Clerk/Treasurer shall have the
ordinance or a synopsis of the ordinance and a notice of its adoption
published and available at a reasonable price. The publication of
ordinances is intended to inform citizens of developments in their
community. The Village Council may determine what form of publication
shall most effectively accomplish this objective. Publication includes
but is not limited to the use of newspapers in general circulation
in the Village, local cable access, and the Internet. In general,
publication may consist of the use of the most effective means of
communication available pursuant to ordinance adopted by Council.
C.
Amendment or repeal of ordinances. An ordinance may amend or repeal
an existing ordinance or a part or parts of an ordinance or ordinances.
It shall identify the ordinance, sections of the ordinance, sections
or subsections to be amended or repealed, and shall clearly indicate
the matter to be omitted and/or the new matter to be added.
D.
Penalties for violation of ordinances. The Council may provide in
any ordinance for the punishment of those who violate its provisions.
The punishment for the violation of any Village ordinance shall not
exceed the maximum fine and/or the maximum imprisonment allowed by
state law for the violation of local ordinances.
E.
Effective date. An ordinance shall become effective upon publication,
unless it shall provide an effective date later than the date of publication
or unless otherwise required by state statute.
A.
Purpose. An emergency ordinance may be enacted to meet a public emergency
affecting life, health, property, or the public peace. Such ordinances
may not levy taxes; grant, renew or extend a franchise; regulate the
rate charged by any public utility for its services or authorize the
borrowing of money except as provided for by state law.
B.
Introduction and adoption. An emergency ordinance shall be introduced
in the form and manner required for ordinances generally, except that
it shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration that an
emergency exists and describe it in clear and specific terms. An emergency
ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at
the meeting at which it is introduced.
C.
Publication. After its adoption, the ordinance shall be published
and printed as prescribed for other adopted ordinances. It shall become
effective upon publication or at such later time as it may specify.
D.
Repeal. Every emergency ordinance except one made pursuant to § C-57B shall automatically stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may also be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this section for adoption of emergency ordinances.
The Village may adopt a law, code, or rules that have been promulgated
and adopted by a department, board, or other authorized agency of
the state, or by an organization or association that is organized
and conducted for the purpose of developing codes, by reference to
the law, code, or rules in the adopting ordinance. The purpose of
the law, code or rules shall be clearly identified in the ordinance.
The ordinance, or a summary of the ordinance, shall be published.
The publication shall contain a notice stating that a complete copy
of the law, code or rules is available to the public at the office
of the Village Clerk/Treasurer. A sufficient number of copies of the
adopted law, code or rules shall be available for public inspection
or distribution at cost.
By petition and according to the procedures in this Charter
or established by state law, an ordinance may be initiated or a referendum
on an ordinance adopted by the Council may take place.
A.
A petition for initiative or referendum shall be signed during the
six months preceding its filing with the Clerk/Treasurer by not less
than 15% of the registered electors of the Village. Before being circulated
for signatures, a petition must be approved as to form by the Clerk/Treasurer.
Each person signing a petition shall sign the person's name in
ink or indelible pencil; the person shall also indicate the date and
the person's address. A sworn affidavit shall be attached to
each petition by the petition's circulator; the affidavit shall
state the number of petitioner signers, that each signature is the
genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be, and
that each signature was made in the presence of the circulator. The
petition shall be filed with the Clerk/Treasurer.
B.
Within 10 days, the Clerk/Treasurer shall canvass the signatures
on the petition to determine their sufficiency. If the petition is
found to contain an insufficient number of signatures of registered
electors of the Village, or to be improper as to form or compliance
with the provisions of this Charter, the Clerk/Treasurer shall promptly
notify the person filing the petition; 10 days from the notification
shall be allowed for the filing of supplemental petition papers. If
the Clerk/Treasurer finds the petition sufficient and proper, the
Clerk/Treasurer shall present it to the Council at the next regular
meeting.
Upon receiving from the Clerk/Treasurer a sufficient and proper
petition for initiative or referendum, the Council shall take action
within 30 days. Upon receipt of a petition for initiative, the Council
shall either adopt the ordinance as submitted in the petition or submit
it to the electors of the Village. Upon receipt of a petition for
referendum, the Council shall either repeal the ordinance to which
the petition refers or submit it to the electors of the Village.
If the Council submits the petition to the electors, it shall
do so at the next election held in the Village for any purpose, or,
in the discretion of the Council, at a special election. The result
shall be determined by a majority vote of the electors voting at the
election.
The Clerk/Treasurer's certification of the sufficiency
of a petition for referendum filed within 30 days after passage of
the ordinance to which the petition refers shall automatically suspend
the operation of the ordinance, pending repeal by the Council or final
determination by the electors of the Village. An ordinance adopted
by a vote of the electors of the Village following a petition for
initiative may not be amended or repealed by the Council for a period
of two years after the date of the election at which it was adopted.
The President and the Clerk/Treasurer shall authenticate by
signature, and the Clerk/Treasurer shall record, all ordinances and
resolutions in a book properly indexed and kept for that purpose.
Within two years after the effective date of this Charter, the
Council shall contract for the preparation of a general codification
of all Village ordinances and resolutions having the effect of law.
The code shall be recodified at least every 10 years thereafter. The
general codification shall be adopted by the Council by ordinance.
The ordinance adopting the code, including its purpose, as well as
subsequent ordinances repealing, amending, continuing or adding to
the code, shall be published as required by law. Printed copies of
the code shall be available in the office of the Clerk/Treasurer for
public inspection, and for sale at a reasonable charge, and shall
constitute publication.
Unless an ordinance shall expressly provide to the contrary,
if any portion of an ordinance or its application to any person or
circumstances shall be found to be invalid by a court, such invalidity
shall not affect the remaining portions or applications of the ordinance
which may be given effect without the invalid portion or applications,
provided the remaining portions are not determined by the court to
be inoperable, and to this end ordinances are declared to be severable.
