The presiding officer of the Council shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Merged Government, to be known as the "Mayor." As presiding officer, the Mayor shall have a vote on all matters, substantive and procedural, only in the case of a tie vote among the elected members of the Council. In no case shall the Mayor, as presiding officer, be denied the right of introducing, presenting or otherwise inserting into the record of the Council any resolution, recommendation, or proposed ordinance.
In the absence of the Mayor, the presiding officer of the Council shall be the Vice-Mayor, who shall be the at-large member of the Council who received the highest number of votes in the last preceding general election of the Merged Government at which at-large Council members were elected. In the event the at-large member receiving the highest number of votes in the general election should be or become unwilling, unqualified or unable to serve, the at-large member who received the next highest number of votes and who is willing and qualified to serve shall become Vice-Mayor. In the event of a tie between at-large members as to the highest number of votes received in the general election, the Vice-Mayor shall be chosen by a majority vote of the Council from among the tied at-large members of the Council at a special meeting of the Council immediately following the installation of the Council members elected in the general election of the Merged Government at which at-large Council members were elected. The Vice-Mayor shall serve for a term of four (4) years and shall assume office on the first Monday in January following his or her election. The powers of the Vice-Mayor as presiding officer of the Council shall be the same as those prescribed for the Mayor, except that the Vice-Mayor shall be entitled to vote on all matters, substantive and procedural, when serving as presiding officer of the Council.
Official action by the Council shall be by the adoption of ordinances and resolutions only. No ordinance or resolution shall be passed until it has been read on at least two (2) separate days; except that the Council may, by two-thirds (
2/3
) vote of the members, vote to suspend the rules and proceed with the second reading, except in matters pertaining to appropriations, taxation or finance. All official actions by the Council, except as otherwise provided in this Charter, shall be by a vote of a majority of all Council members. Voting, except on procedural motions, shall be by roll call and the yeas and nays shall be recorded in the official record of the Council.
No official action shall be taken by the Council except in meetings open to the public; and the Council shall meet in regular, public meetings at least twice a month. The Council shall prescribe the time and place of all public meetings, provided that the time and place prescribed for regular public meetings shall not be changed except by a vote of two-thirds (
2/3
) of the members of the Council. All changes in the prescribed time and place of regular Council meetings must be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in the area served by the Merged Government at least seven (7) days prior to the implementation of such change. A quorum for all meetings of the Council shall consist of not fewer than ten (10) of the fifteen (15) members of the Council.
Special meetings may be held on call of the Mayor, or a majority of the members of the Council, provided that: All members of the Council shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours written notice; and the time and place of special meetings shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to convening any special meeting.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall provide for keeping a record of its proceedings. This record shall be a public record.
Annotation—(1) The portion of this section relating to the selection of a vice-mayor was proposed for amendment by petition of the voters; the amendment was adopted by the voters on November 3, 1987; and accordingly this section was amended effective January 1, 1990. The role of the vice-mayor is addressed in the council rules adopted by Resolution No. 55-79, as amended.
(2) The portions of this section relating to the time, place, notice and call of meetings have in some instances been superseded by KRS 61.805 et seq. The schedule for regular, public meetings of the council is set in Code of Ordinances Section 2-1.
(3) See also KRS 67A.070(3) relating to requirements for reading ordinances and resolutions; KRS 67A.070(3) relating to suspension of the rules and second reading of ordinances and resolutions; and Charter Section 5.05 and KRS 67A.070(4) relating to mayoral vetoes.