[Amended 8-30-1995, approved 11-7-1995 by election; 8-9-2000, approved 11-7-2000 by election; 7-10-2002, approved 11-5-2002 by election; 11-2-2021 by election]
Except as otherwise provided in the Charter, all of the powers of the city shall be vested in a Council of nine Councilors, one Councilor from each ward, two Councilors at Large, and one Councilor to serve as Mayor, to be elected as provided in §§ C2-1 and C3-3. All Councilors shall be elected for terms of two years and shall take office on the first Monday in January following the election and shall hold office until their successors are duly elected and have made and subscribed to the oath of office.
[Amended 9-25-1985, approved 11-5-1985 by election; 11-2-2021 by election]
The Councilors so chosen shall meet in their capacity as the
City Council on the first Monday of January next following their election
for the purpose of taking their respective oaths of office, and adopting
rules for the transaction of business required by law or ordinance
to be transacted at such meeting. The City Clerk shall act as the
Clerk of the Council. In the event that the first Monday of January
is a holiday, the organization meeting shall take place on the Tuesday
immediately following the first Monday of January.
The City Council shall establish by ordinance an orientation
program for the newly elected City Council.[1] The orientation program shall inform members on their
role, appropriate ethics and the responsibilities of the City Council.
The program shall provide an understanding of the budgetary process
as well as the City Charter, city ordinances, and relevant state law.
The program shall be conducted prior to the organizational meeting. [Added 11-5-2005 by election]
[Amended 9-25-1985, approved 11-5-1985 by election; 8-30-1995, approved 11-7-1995 by election; 2-12-2003, approved 11-4-2003 by election; 11-5-2005 by election; 11-2-2021 by election]
The Mayor shall be elected by popular vote at each municipal
election. The Mayor shall serve in the capacity of a Councilor at
Large and shall have all of the powers and discharge of all the duties
of the office of City Councilor. In addition, the Mayor shall be the
official head of the city for all ceremonial purposes. Notwithstanding
RSA 49-C:12, I, which only permits a directly elected mayor to vote
for the purposes of breaking a tie, it is the voters' intent to allow
the Mayor to vote as authorized by Section II of that law. The Mayor
shall preside at all meetings of the Council and may speak and vote
in such meetings. All other duties of the Mayor prescribed by law
shall be exercised by the Manager provided for in this Charter. The
Council shall choose one of its members as Deputy Mayor, who shall
act in the absence or disability of the Mayor.
[Amended 8-26-1992, approved 11-3-1992 by election; 8-9-1995, approved 11-7-1995 by election; 8-23-2001, approved 11-6-2001 by election;[1] 11-5-2005 by election; 11-2-2021 by election]
To be qualified to be a candidate for election as Councilor
at Large, a person must be a duly qualified voter in the city and
must have been a resident of the city for at least one year immediately
preceding the election. To be a candidate for election as a Ward Councilor,
in addition to the aforementioned qualifications, a person must be
a resident of the ward from which he or she is seeking election. A
Councilor shall not be eligible to hold any other municipal office
except Mayor or Deputy Mayor. In the event that the ward boundaries
are redistricted or amended at any time during their term of office
or in conjunction with the Municipal Election which may result in
removing them from said ward, the elected candidates shall be allowed
to serve out their term as the representative of the Ward to which
they are elected.
[1]
Editor's Note: Consecutive term limitations language was removed
due to a New Hampshire Supreme Court decision in Hooksett v. Baines
(December 2002).
[Amended 9-5-1990, approved 11-6-1990 by election; 8-9-1995, approved 11-7-1995 by election; 11-2-2021 by election]
A vacancy shall exist when any member dies, resigns, is removed for just cause, is permanently physically or mentally incapacitated to the degree they are unable to perform their duties, are judicially declared to be mentally incompetent or, in those instances where residence in the city or in one of its several wards is initially required, they move from the city or ward and establish their residence in some other place. Vacancies occurring in the office of Councilor at any time shall be filled at a special election to be called by the City Council. Said election shall be held no later than 60 days following the creation of the vacancy (with a filing period to be established by the City Clerk) except in cases where such vacancies shall occur less than one year prior to the expiration of the term of office. In such case, the vacancy shall be filled by the election of a qualified person, as set forth in § C3-4 above, by a majority vote of the Council at the second regular meeting of the Council following the creation of the vacancy. Vacancies in the office of the Ward Councilor shall be filled from the same ward as the prior incumbent.
[Amended 11-5-2005 by
election; 11-2-2021 by election]
Unless otherwise fixed by ordinance, Councilors shall receive
as salary the sum of $1,000 per year; plus reimbursement for reasonable
expenses incurred in the performance of their work as approved by
affirmative vote of the Council. The Mayor shall receive an additional
$200 per year and the Deputy Mayor shall receive an additional $50
per year.
[Amended 11-5-2005 by
election]
All meetings of the Council shall be public. Regular meetings
shall be held on such day of each month at such time as the Council
shall, from time to time, by ordinance or resolution direct. The Council
shall establish its own rules and a majority shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of the business of the Council. Special meetings
may be called at the written request of the City Manager at the discretion
of the Mayor or at least five Councilors and upon such request from
at least five Councilors the Mayor shall call such special meeting.
Written notice of said meeting shall be delivered to each Councilor
at least 24 hours prior to the call of the meeting. The method of
delivery of notice for special meetings shall be by established Council
rule.
A.
Form. Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and
in the form required for final adoption. No ordinance shall contain
more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.
Each ordinance shall be identified by a number and a short title.
The enacting clause shall be "The City of Dover ordains...." Any ordinance
which repeals or amends an existing ordinance shall set out in full
the ordinance, sections or subsections to be repealed or amended and
shall indicate matter to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets or
by strikeout type and shall indicate new matter by underscoring or
by italics.
B.
Procedure. An ordinance may be introduced by any member at any regular
or special meeting of the Council. Upon introduction of any ordinance,
the City Clerk shall distribute a copy to each Council Member and
to the Manager, shall file a reasonable number of copies in the office
of the City Clerk and such other public places as the Council may
designate. As soon as practicable after adoption of any ordinance,
the Clerk shall have it published, together with a notice of its adoption.
[Amended 11-2-2021 by election]
C.
Effective date. Every ordinance shall take effect upon passage and
publication as required by law or at a later date if specified therein.
D.
Recording. All ordinances, including any amendments thereto, shall
be recorded in full, uniformly and permanently, by the City Clerk,
and each ordinance so recorded shall be approved as to form by the
City Attorney, authenticated by affixing the signatures of the Mayor,
City Clerk, and City Attorney and City Seal and kept on file in the
office of the City Clerk. The City Clerk, under the direction of the
City Manager, shall be responsible for the systematic indexing, printing,
publication and maintenance of the ordinances of the city. Copies
of any or all ordinances shall be available to the public, and the
City Clerk may charge a nominal cost to help defray the printing costs.
[Amended 9-5-1990, approved 11-6-1990 by election; 11-2-2021 by election]
To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property,
or the public peace, the Council may adopt one or more emergency ordinances,
but 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 in Subsection
A. 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 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, but the affirmative vote of those present
and voting shall be required for adoption. After its adoption the
ordinance shall be published and printed as prescribed for other adopted
ordinances. It shall become effective upon adoption or at such later
time as it may specify. Every emergency ordinance, except one made
pursuant to Subsection A, 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.
A.
Emergency appropriations.[1] To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property
or the public peace, the Council may make emergency appropriations
as part of an emergency ordinance. To the extent that there are no
available unappropriated revenues to meet such appropriations, the
Council may by such emergency ordinance authorize the issuance of
emergency notes, which may be renewed from time to time, but the emergency
notes and renewals thereof occurring in any fiscal year shall be paid
not later than the last day of the fiscal year next succeeding the
year in which the emergency appropriation was made.
[Amended 11-2-2021 by election]
B.
Recording. All ordinances, including any amendments thereto, shall
be recorded in full, uniformly and permanently, by the City Clerk,
and each ordinance so recorded shall be approved as to form by the
City Attorney, authenticated by affixing the signatures of the Mayor,
City Clerk, and City Attorney and City Seal and kept on file in the
office of the City Clerk. The City Clerk, under the direction of the
City Manager, shall be responsible for the systematic indexing, printing,
publication and maintenance of the ordinances of the city. Copies
of any or all ordinances shall be available to the public, and the
City Clerk may charge a nominal cost to help defray the printing costs.
[Amended 9-5-1990, approved 11-6-1990 by election; 11-2-2021 by election]
[Amended 11-2-2021 by election]
The City Council, not later than 45 days after the adoption
of this Charter and at least every tenth year thereafter, shall have
prepared a revision or codification of the ordinances of the city
which are appropriate for continuation as local laws of the city.
The City Council, not later than six months after the adoption of
this Charter and at least every tenth year thereafter, shall have
prepared a printed and hardbound volume containing all of the existing
official ordinances of the City of Dover. Each bound volume shall
be duly authenticated by affixing the signatures of all members of
the City Council, and the City Clerk and the City Seal. Such revision
or codification shall be prepared under the supervision of the City
Attorney, but the City Council may authorize the City Attorney to
contract for the services of persons or organizations experienced
in the revision and codification of ordinances and statutes. Copies
of the ordinances shall be available to the public, and the City Clerk
may charge a nominal cost to help defray the printing costs. Bids
for the printing and binding of the ordinances shall be in accordance
with the provisions of § C6-16 of the Charter.
The City Council shall be the governing body of the City of
Dover, shall set policies for city government and shall bear full
responsibility for the implementation of said policies through the
hiring and supervision of the City Manager. [Added 11-5-2005
by election]
Except as herein otherwise provided, the City Council shall
have all the powers and discharge all the duties conferred or imposed
upon city councils, boards of mayor and aldermen and selectmen of
towns by law. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, all boards,
commissions and committees shall be appointed by the Council.
