[Amended 4-8-2003 by Ord. No. 03-1]
A. 
Municipal elections for members of City Council shall be changed from May of even-numbered years to the November general elections commencing November 2, 2004, and in even-numbered years thereafter.
B. 
The terms of the four Council positions subject to expire June 30, 2004, shall be extended to December 31, 2004, and the date for the next election of those Council positions subject to election shall be extended to November 2, 2004, and then every regular November election every four years thereafter.
C. 
The terms of the three remaining Council members subject to expire June 30, 2006, shall be extended to December 31, 2006, and the date for the next election for those offices shall be the regular November election date in 2006, and then every regular November election every four years thereafter, so as to retain the staggered terms of office.
D. 
The members of Council shall continue to serve beyond the current expiration date of their respective terms of June 30 until their successors have been elected and qualified to serve.
E. 
The terms of the newly elected Council members shall commence on the first day of January following the election and shall be for four years.
F. 
The City Council shall have such powers and perform such duties with reference to the election, qualification and returns of its members as provided by Section 4.5 of the Charter and by the laws of the state. When any vacancy shall occur in the Council for any cause, the Council shall elect a qualified person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term, except that when there shall be vacancies in the majority of the Council, the Circuit Court of the city, or the Judge thereof in vacation, shall fill such vacancies as provided in §§ 15.2-1424 and 24.2-228 of the Code of Virginia.
The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of the City Council, and he shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be provided for by the Charter, this Code and other ordinances of the City and laws of the state.
[Added 12-8-1992 by Ord. No. 92-42; amended 1-12-2016 by Ord. No. 15-33]
Until July 1, 2017, the annual salary for the Mayor shall be $7,000, and for other Council members $6,500. As of July 1, 2017, the annual salary for the Mayor shall be $11,000, and for other Council members $10,000.
A. 
At all meetings of the City Council, the presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum and shall discharge all duties prescribed by the Charter and state law for presiding officers of City Council meetings and such other duties usually pertaining to presiding officers.
B. 
If any person behaves in a riotous or disorderly manner in any public meeting of the City Council or any division, committee, agency or authority thereof or causes any unnecessary disturbance therein, by force, shouting or any other action calculated to disrupt such meeting, or shall refuse to obey any ruling of the presiding officer of such meeting relative to the orderly process thereof, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,500 or confinement in jail not exceeding twelve months, or both, in the discretion of the jury or court trying the case without a jury.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: For state law as to the authority of City Council to enact this subsection and impose the penalty herein provided, see Code of Virginia, § 18.2-415. As to the penalty for commission of a Class 1 misdemeanor, see Code of Virginia, § 18.2-11.
A. 
The Clerk of the Council shall attend the meetings of the City Council, and he shall keep a journal, in the form of a book to be known as the "Minutes Book," wherein shall be kept a record of its proceedings. At the request of any person present, the yeas and nays shall be recorded on any question. In the next meeting, the proceedings shall be read and signed by the person who was presiding when the previous meeting was adjourned or, if he is not present, by the person presiding when they were read. The Clerk of the Council shall have transcribed to a book, to be known as the "Record of Ordinances," all ordinances, resolutions and orders of a permanent nature.
B. 
It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Council, immediately after the close of each session of the City Council, to make and present to the City Manager upon his request a transcript of every ordinance, or resolution having the effect of an ordinance, passed by the Council. He shall, in like manner, transmit to the Director of Finance or City Treasurer, either or both, upon request, a copy of all ordinances, resolutions or orders appropriating money or authorizing the payment of money or the issue of bonds or notes and, to the proper officials of the city, copies of all ordinances, resolutions or orders relating in any way to such officials or their duties. He shall also give notice to the parties presenting communications or petitions to the Council of the final action of the Council on such communications or petitions.
C. 
It shall be the duty of the Clerk's office to perform, subject to the supervision of the Council, such duties incidental to the legislative process as may be directed by Council, requested by Council members or initiated by the Clerk. He shall report to the members of Council any such request by any individual member which he finds, either because of the amount of time required or the subject matter, to be extraordinary, immediately upon receipt of the request. He shall not respond in any way in his official capacity to any such request which he finds not to be incidental to the legislative function or to place an extraordinary burden on the office, except by the direction of Council.
[Added 8-14-1984 by Ord. No. 84-36]
Each ordinance amendatory of this Code shall be so drafted as to indicate clearly the chapter, article, division, section, subsection or paragraph added, deleted or altered thereby, and, where feasible, chapter or article headings or section or subsection catch lines shall be supplied. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Council to maintain in his office one volume of this Code in current status at all times, with deleted portions omitted therefrom, amended portions included therein so as to replace the portions superseded by such amendments and new portions included therein, each at its proper place, and he shall amend the index accordingly. In making each insertion in or removal from such volume, the Clerk of the Council shall make an appropriate note in the margin as to the number and date of passage of the amendatory ordinance and the effective date thereof and, if publication or a public hearing was required, the date and manner of such publication and the date of such public hearing.
[1]
Editor's Note: For state law as to amendment of a City code of ordinances, see Code of Virginia, § 15.2-1433.
A. 
The City Council may from time to time adopt and amend resolutions for the transaction of its business; the establishment, jurisdiction and powers of standing and special committees; the official conduct of its members; the manner of calling and conducting hearings and investigations and the issuance of subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers; the presentation of petitions and other communications to the Council and recognition of nonmembers to address the Council thereon; and such other matters not inconsistent with state law, the Charter, this Code or other ordinance as may be deemed appropriate to facilitate the execution of its powers and the performance of its duties and may include therein such lawful penalties for the violation thereof as it may deem proper.
B. 
Robert's Rules of Order is hereby adopted for the purpose of governing the parliamentary procedures of the City Council, provided that the Council may, by resolution, make such amendments thereto as the Council may deem expedient.
[1]
Editor's Note: As to investigative powers of City councils, see Code of Virginia, § 15.2-1409.