SECTION IX. PROCEDURE OF COUNCIL.

   A.   Council Rules and Journal. Council shall determine its own rules and order of business insofar as they are not set forth in this Charter. Council shall keep a record of its proceedings which shall be open to public inspection.

   B.   Action to be Taken by Ordinance or Resolution. All legislative action shall be by ordinance or resolution, except when otherwise required by the Constitution or the laws of the State of Ohio, but departmental procedure and administrative matters may be transacted by recorded motion.

   C.   Reading, Passage, Posting and Recording of Legislative Action.

      1.   The agenda for the next regular City Council meeting shall be made available to the general public at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the meeting, unless five (5) members of Council vote to proceed in spite of the failure to provide such notice.

      2.   No ordinance or resolution shall deal with more than one subject, and that subject shall be clearly expressed in the title. Each ordinance and resolution shall be introduced in writing in the form in which it is to be finally passed.

      3.   Every ordinance and resolution affirmed shall have been considered on three (3) different days, unless five (5) members of Council vote to suspend this rule.
(Amended November 2, 2004)

      4.   Any ordinance or resolution shall be read upon its introduction by number, title, and substantive portions, unless four (4) members of Council vote to suspend the rule and read it in full. Any ordinance or resolution shall be read by number and title only upon its second and third considerations, unless four (4) members of Council vote in favor of a fuller reading. Council may, by unanimous vote, dispense with the requirement for a reading of substantive portions of an ordinance or resolution where Council has determined that such reading is not necessary and that dispensation of the requirement would promote efficiency on the conduct of its meeting.
(Amended November 4, 2014)

      5.   After first passage, the ordinance or resolution, in the form in which it was passed, shall be posted for public inspection at City Hall and at two (2) or more public locations, and copies shall be made available at the office of the Clerk of Council. If the ordinance or resolution is subsequently amended, the amended ordinance or resolution shall similarly be made available for public inspection upon passage.

      6.   Upon due consideration of each ordinance or resolution a vote shall be taken by “ayes” and “nays” and shall be entered into the record. No ordinance or resolution shall be passed without the affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the Council. All persons interested shall be given opportunity to be heard on any ordinance or resolution before a vote is taken on any reading.

      7.   Any ordinance which amends a previously existing ordinance shall be passed in a form that will either replace the original ordinance or one or more entire sections.

      8.   All ordinances or resolutions upon their final passage shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose. The signatures of the presiding officer and of the Clerk of Council shall authenticate them, but failure to sign an ordinance or resolution for the purpose of authentication shall neither invalidate the ordinance or resolution nor impair its effectiveness.

         (Amended November 2, 2004.)

      9.   The City Council may, by Rule, provide for the electronic casting and tabulation of its votes.

         (Enacted November 4, 2014)

   D.   Revision, Rearrangement and Codification of Ordinances. Council may provide for the revision, rearrangement and codification of the ordinances of the Municipality or any portion thereof at such time as Council may determine.

   E.   Effective Date of Ordinances and Resolutions. All ordinances and resolutions of a general or permanent nature, or those involving the expenditure of money in which no emergency is declared, shall take effect thirty (30) days after their passage by Council. Emergency ordinances shall take immediate effect as provided by Section X of this Charter.

(Amended November 8, 1994)