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It shall be the duty of the President of Council to preside at all meetings of Council, appoint various Council Committees, and perform such other duties as may be imposed by Council upon its presiding officer and such other duties as are imposed upon him by this Charter, coordinating the work of the various committees appointed by him. The President of Council shall have the right to vote on all ordinances, resolutions, or motions coming before the Council only in the event of a tie vote.
(a) Within five (5) days after the commencement of their term, at the call of the President of Council, members of the Council shall meet in the Council Chambers and organize.
(b) The Council shall elect, from among its members, a President Pro Tem, who shall preside at meetings of Council in the absence of the President of Council.
(c) The Council shall appoint a Clerk of Council, and may appoint any other such officers as it may deem necessary, to serve at the pleasure of Council. The Clerk of Council shall not be a member of Council.
(d) The Clerk of Council shall keep an accurate and complete journal of the proceedings of Council, authenticate by his signature and have custody of and properly file and index all laws, ordinances and resolutions of Council and shall have custody of other official documents, reports, papers and communications received by the Council, and have custody and control of all files of Council, and perform such other duties as Council shall require.
(Amended November 6, 2001)
(e) The City shall use a codified ordinance system. All ordinances and resolutions shall be codified in a loose leaf binder.
The Council shall fix compensation, sick leave, and annual vacation time for each employee of the City, whether elected, appointed, or chosen and establish bond for the faithful discharge of the duties of the office. Any ordinance or resolution providing for any increase in salary or compensation for any Councilman, the Mayor, the Law Director, the Finance Director, or any other elective office, of more than three percent (3%) shall not become effective, after passage thereof, until Council submits such ordinance or resolution to the electorate at a regular Municipal or general election occurring more than sixty (60) days after the passage of the ordinance or resolution, and such ordinance or resolution is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in the City.
The compensation of all elected officials shall be fixed at least thirty (30) days prior to the filing date of nominating petitions for the terms beginning on the next succeeding first day of January, and shall not thereafter be changed in any respect during any such term or any part thereof. The Council may authorize any officer of the City to make such travel as the Council deems to be in the public interest, and may provide that the expense of such travel be paid by the City.
(Amended November 7, 2000)
(a) Regular Meetings. The Council shall meet in the Council Chambers at such times as may be prescribed by its rules, regulations, ordinances or by-laws, except that it shall hold regular meetings at least twice each calendar month, provided, however, that it may recess during the months of July and August, subject to the call of the Mayor. Meetings of the Council, whether regular or special, shall he open to the public, with the exception of executive sessions, which shall only be permitted in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Codified Ordinances of the City of Brook Park, or in the laws of the State of Ohio.
(Amended November 7, 1989)
(b) Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Council may be called in accordance with and as provided for by the rules, regulations or, by-laws adopted by the Council. In the absence of such provisions, special meetings may be called by a vote of the Council taken at any regular or special meeting thereof, or shall be called by the Clerk of Council upon the written request of the Mayor or President of Council, or three (3) members of Council. Any such request shall state the tune, place and date thereof, and the subject or subjects to be considered at the meeting, and no other subject or subjects shall be considered. Notice in writing of each such special meeting called at the request of the Mayor, President of Council, or three (3) members of Council, shall be given to each member of Council and the Mayor, by serving on each of them personally or electronically or as otherwise determined by Council Rules, not less than twenty-four (24) hours preceding the date and hour of such meeting. Service of such notice may be waived in writing. (Amended November 5, 2019)
A majority of the members of Council eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Council but a lesser number may adjourn the meeting from time to time and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution.
Council shall adopt its own rules, regulations of by-laws and shall keep a journal of all of its proceedings. The journal shall be open for public inspection at all reasonable times. The voting upon any ordinance or resolution shall be by roll call, and the vote of each Councilman shall be entered upon the journal.
All legislative action by Council shall be by ordinance or resolution introduced in written or printed form, except when otherwise required by the constitution or the laws of the State of Ohio. An affirmative vote of at least a majority of the members of Council eligible to vote shall be required for passage or enactment of every ordinance or resolution.
The procedures for enacting ordinances or resolutions shall follow the laws of the State of Ohio, any additional stipulations as may be found elsewhere in this Charter, and any provisions adopted by a majority vote of Council, provided, however, that each ordinance or resolution shall be read by title only on three (3) different days unless three-fourths (3/4) of the members of Council eligible to vote, vote to dispense with the rule to read ordinances or resolutions on three (3) different days, and no other provisions of this Charter nor the general laws of Ohio shall impair or limit this rule. It shall be the expressed intent of this Section that all ordinances and resolutions shall be read by title only, unless there is necessity to read an ordinance or resolution fully and distinctly at least once at any time before passage, as determined by a majority of the members elected to Council.
In keeping with the aforesaid provision, regarding the reading of ordinances and resolutions by title only, the Clerk of Council shall provide, forty-eight (48) hours (two business days) prior to the Council meeting, the following:
1. Provide in a conspicuous place in or near the Council Chambers, a copy of all ordinances or resolutions to be read by title only, for inspection by the public.
2. Provide in a conspicuous place in or near the Council Chambers, a copy of the Council meeting agenda which shall contain a short synopsis, prepared by the Law Department, of each ordinance and resolution to be read by title only for inspection by the public.
Nothing in this section shall preclude any member of Council, the President of Council, or the Mayor of the City from introducing emergency legislation on the floor of the Council meeting. In addition, nothing shall preclude such an ordinance or resolution from being passed at said Council meeting; provided, however, that it shall be fully and distinctly read once and the rule of three readings shall have been dispensed with by a vote of three-fourths (3/4) of the members of Council eligible to vote.
No ordinance or resolution shall contain more than one subject, which subject shall be clearly expressed in its title; and no ordinance or resolution shall be revised or amended unless the ordinance or resolution superseding it contains the entire ordinance or resolution so revised or amended or the section or sections so revised or amended, and the original ordinance, resolution, or section or sections shall be expressly repealed.
All ordinances, resolutions, statements, orders, proclamations and reports required by law or by this Charter or by ordinance to be published or posted, shall be posted for a period of not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the taking effect thereof. Any emergency ordinance or resolution shall also be published or posted as aforesaid, but this requirement shall not postpone the immediate taking effect thereof as provided in Section 4.09 of this article. Council shall provide for not less than five (5) public posting boards, at least one (1) of which shall be at the City Hall.
(Amended November 8, 1983)
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