(A) Generally. The government of the town shall consist of two branches, those being:
(1) Legislative and executive branch (I.C. 36-5-2-2); and
(2) Fiscal branch (I.C. 36-5-6-2).
(B) Legislative and executive branch.
(1) The legislative body of the town is the Town Council (I.C. 36-5-2-2). The Council shall have exclusive authority to adopt ordinances and appropriate tax monies received by the town, and to perform other necessary and desirable legislative functions.
(2) The Clerk/Treasurer shall be the Clerk of the Council and shall perform the duties prescribed by I.C. 36-5-2-8 and others as the Council may direct.
(3) The regular meeting date and time for the Town Council shall be at 7:00 p.m., on the second Tuesday of each month.
(4) The President of the Town Council is the town executive pursuant to I.C. 36-5-2-2, and meetings shall be conducted pursuant to the applicable statutes and in accordance with the following rules which are hereby adopted as a part of this section.
(a) Order of business. The order of business to be followed at a meeting of the Town Council shall be as follows:
1. Calling to order;
2. Roll call by Clerk/Treasurer;
3. Reading of minutes and approval;
4. Petitions or comments of citizens;
5. Reports from committees, boards and commissions;
6. Unfinished business, including ordinances or resolutions already introduced;
7. New business, including introduction of ordinances and resolutions;
8. Miscellaneous business, including any matters not already considered; and
9. Adjournment.
(b) Public participation in public Council meetings.
1. The Town Council values information from the public concerning the business of the town. Meetings of the Town Council are open to the public except meetings permitted by law as executive sessions. Permission to speak at any Council meeting is subject to the discretion of the presiding officer.
2. Any person or group wishing to speak should make their intent known to the Clerk/Treasurer no later than three business days prior to the meeting and include:
A. Name and address;
B. Person or organization, if any; and
C. Topic of concern.
3. Such requests shall be made to the presiding officer, if he or she deemed it appropriate.
4. A maximum of five minutes may be allowed for each presentation and maximum of 20 minutes for a given topic. Under most circumstances, the Council shall take the matter under advisement, assign the matter to further study or remain silent on the matter. However, action may be taken immediately.
5. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer; no person may address or question Council members individually.
6. The presiding officer may:
A. Prohibit public comments which are frivolous, repetitive, or harassing;
B. Interrupt, warn, or terminate a person’s statement when the statement is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant;
C. Request any individual to leave the meeting when that person behaves in a manner that is disruptive of the orderly conduct of the meeting;
D. Request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when that person’s conduct interferes with the orderly progress of the meeting;
E. Call for a recess or an adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action; and
F. Waive these rules with the approval of the Board when necessary for the protection of privacy or the administration of the Council’s business.
(b) Contempt and disorder in the Council room. No person shall use violent or contemptuous language, behave in a disorderly manner or refuse to obey the orders of the President in the Council room while the Town Council is in session. The President may order the removal from the Council room of anyone who intentionally disturbs the decorum of a Town Council meeting.
(c) Introduction and adoption of ordinances and resolutions.
1. All ordinances shall be regularly filed with the Clerk/Treasurer at least five days before a regular meeting.
2. All ordinances shall be read one time before being passed, and no ordinance shall pass on same day in which it is introduced unless the provisions of I.C. 36-5-2-9.2, I.C. 36-5-2-9.4, I.C. 36-5-2-9.6 and I.C. 36-5-2-9.8 are complied with.
3. Resolutions shall be subject to the same rule in method of introduction and adoption as ordinances.
4. On the passage or adoption of any ordinances or resolution, the yeas and nays shall be taken and entered in the record, and the ordinance shall be processed in accordance with I.C. 36-5-2-10 and I.C. 36-5-2-10.2.
(d) Questions of order. The President shall decide all questions of order. He or she shall decide whether any question submitted to the Council for adoption or rejection is decided in the affirmative or negative. Robert's Rules of Order may be referred to in order to resolve issues of order.
(e) Appeal from decision of presiding officer. From any decision of the President, any member may appeal to the Council. The appeal shall be by motion duly made and seconded. A majority vote as defined in I.C. 36-4-6-11 is necessary to overrule the chair.
(f) Suspension of rules. The order of business may be suspended by two-thirds vote of the members of the Council.
(5) The Town Council shall be composed of three members, elected from districts. Redistricting of Councilmanic districts shall be done at least every ten years thereafter in accordance with I.C. 36-4-6-4 and I.C. 36-4-6-5.
(6) The Town Council shall serve as the Board of Public Works and Safety for the town and shall have control of the day to day operations of the following departments which are hereby established:
(a) Police Department; and
(b) Street and Sanitation Department.
(C) Fiscal branch.
(1) The Clerk/Treasurer is the fiscal officer of the town and the head of the fiscal branch. He or she has the powers set forth in I.C. 36-5-6-6 and shall perform the duties assigned by I.C. 36-5-6-6 and other duties as the Town Council may, by ordinance, require.
(2) The Clerk/Treasurer is hereby authorized, pursuant to I.C. 36-5-6-7, to appoint Deputy Clerks for the effective operation of the office, with the approval of the Town Council. The Deputies shall work under the exclusive direction of the Clerk/Treasurer and serve at the pleasure of the Clerk/Treasurer.
(3) The Clerk/Treasurer shall furnish space within his or her office for the administration and records of the town's utilities. The various utility clerks needed to manage the bookkeeping and administrative requirements of the utilities shall be appointed and serve at the pleasure of the Clerk/Treasurer, who shall have the power to supervise the utility personnel in his or her office, subject to the approval of the Town Council.
(Ord. 3-12-96-5, passed 3-12-1996; Res. 12-12-2022, passed 12-12-2022)