(a) Eligibility. No person shall be eligible to be a Council member unless he or she has been a resident and qualified elector of the City for at least one continuous year immediately prior to his or her filing for office or his or her appointment. Council members shall continue to be residents and qualified electors of the City during their terms of office. Except as provided by the Charter, no Council member shall hold any other elected public office or employment with the City. For the purpose of this section, "employment with the City" shall mean, employed by the City of Napoleon and being compensated from this Municipal Corporation's treasury; and, "elected public office" shall mean, "elected public office of this Municipality".
(b) Judge of Qualifications. Council shall be the sole and final judge of the qualification of its members as well as the sole and final judge in determining if there has been a violation thereof. Any Council member who ceases to possess, or who violates, any of the qualifications set forth in this Section shall forfeit his or her office. The failure of any Council member to maintain these qualifications shall not render void or ineffective any ordinance, resolution or other action of Council taken during the time he or she was not so qualified.
(c) Vacancies. Vacancies in Council shall be filled in accordance with Article II, Sec. 2.08 of the Charter.
(d) Compensation. The salary of Council members shall be established by ordinance or resolution and may be changed by ordinance or resolution; however, except as otherwise provided in Article II, Sec. 2.04(F) of the Charter, no such change shall affect any Council member's salary during his or her current term of office. Any change in the salary of Council members shall be effective commencing with the terms of office of Council members elected at the next general municipal election occurring not less than twelve months after the enactment of such change.
(e) Duties of Council. All legislative powers of the City shall be vested in Council, except as provided by the Charter and/or the Constitution of Ohio. Without limitation of the foregoing, Council shall have and possess the following powers:
(1) The power to levy taxes and assessments and incur debts subject to the limitations imposed thereon by the Constitution of Ohio;
(2) The power to adopt and to provide for the enforcement of local police, sanitary and other similar regulations as are not in conflict with the general laws of Ohio;
(3) The power to provide for the exercise of all powers of local self-government granted to the City by the Constitution of Ohio in a manner not inconsistent with the Charter and/or the Constitution of Ohio;
(4) To establish other offices, departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, agencies and commissions, and to combine, change and abolish any office, department, division, board, bureau, agency or commission established by Council;
(5) To adopt and amend an administrative code that is not in conflict with the Constitution of Ohio and/or the Charter which shall provide for the organization of City government, define the powers and duties of each organizational unit, define the administrative procedures to be followed, and establish the procedures for giving notice of all meetings and of all ordinances, resolutions and other actions of which notice is required by the Charter or the laws of Ohio;
(6) To employ an Auditor to make an audit of the financial affairs of any officer, employee or department of the City whenever such audit is decided necessary;
(7) To fix the number of employees in the various departments of the City, to fix the nature and amount of their compensation and benefits, and to require any officer, employee or member of any office, department, division, board, bureau, agency or commission of the City, whether elected or appointed, to furnish a bond at the expense of the City, which may be a bond covering all or any number of persons required to furnish a bond, for the faithful performance of his or her duties;
(8) To make or cause to be made investigations of any office, department, division, board, bureau, agency, commission or employee of the City;
(9) To compel, by the issuance of subpoenas, the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents and other evidence which are decided necessary in the conduct of any hearing or investigation;
(10) To establish by ordinance or resolution the rates, fees and other charges made to consumers of all municipal utilities and services;
(11) To adopt, amend and abolish model or standard codes, in whole or in part, prepared and published by public or private agencies on such matters as building construction, plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, electric wiring, smoke regulation, fire prevention and other similar regulatory subjects by reference to the date and source of the code without reproducing the same in full in the ordinance or resolution;
(12) To convey upon officers, departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, agencies, commissions, or employees of the City the power and authority to administer oaths, and conduct investigations and hearings; to compel, by the issuance of subpoenas, the attendance of witnesses, the production of documents and/or other evidence necessary to conduct hearings and/or investigations; and,
(13) To appoint an acting director when a director is ill, suspended, removed, or otherwise disqualified to act.
(f) Duties of Council President. The powers and duties of the Council President shall be as prescribed in Article II of the Charter, the rules and regulations of Council, and the ordinances and resolutions of the City
(g) Notice of Meetings. Where the Administrative Code is silent, notice of all meetings and notice of all ordinances, resolutions and other actions which are required by the Charter or the laws of Ohio, shall be as provided by the laws of Ohio, except as otherwise provided by the Charter or, where not so otherwise provided by the Charter, then, as Council may provide otherwise by ordinance or resolution.
(h) Council Powers to Establish Powers and Duties. Where the Administrative Code is silent, the officers and employees of the City shall have those powers and perform those duties customarily possessed and exercised by similarly situated officers and employees by the laws of Ohio, except as otherwise provided by the Charter or, where not so otherwise provided by the Charter, then, as Council may provide otherwise by ordinance or resolution.
(i) Rules and Regulations of Council. The rules and regulations of Council that have been adopted by ordinance or resolution of Council, shall have the legal affect of an ordinance or resolution.
(Ord. 70-01. Passed 6-4-01.)