(A) The legislative body of the town is the Town Council. The Town 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.
(B) The Clerk-Treasurer shall be the Clerk of the Town Council and shall perform the duties prescribed by I.C. 36-5-2-8 and such others as the Town Council may direct.
(C) The regular meeting time and date for the Town Council shall be at 7:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.
(D) 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.
(1) Order of business. The order of business to be followed at a meeting of the Town Council shall be as follows:
(a) Calling to order;
(b) Roll call by Clerk-Treasurer;
(c) Reading of minutes and approval;
(d) Petitions or comments of citizens;
(e) Reports from committees, boards, and commissions;
(f) Unfinished business, including ordinances or resolutions already introduced;
(g) New business, including introduction of ordinances and resolutions;
(h) Miscellaneous business, including any matters not already considered; and
(i) Adjournment.
(2) 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.
(3) Introduction and adoption of ordinances and resolutions.
(a) All ordinances shall be regularly filed with the Clerk-Treasurer at least five days before a regular meeting.
(b) All ordinances shall be read one time before being passed, and no ordinance shall pass on the same day in which it is introduced unless the provisions of I.C. 36-5-2-9.2, 36-5-2-9.4, 36-5-2-9.6, and 36-5-2-9.8 are complied with.
(c) Resolutions shall be subject to the same rule in method of introduction and adoption as ordinances.
(d) On the passage or adoption of any ordinance 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.
(4) Questions of order. The President shall decide all questions of order. He or she shall decide whether any question submitted to the Town 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.
(5) Appeal from decision of presiding officer. From any decision of the President, any member may appeal to the Town 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.
(6) Suspension of rules. The order of business may be suspended by two-thirds vote of the members of the Town Council.
(E) 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:
(1) Police Department;
(2) Utilities departments consisting of the Sewerage Collection and Disposal System, the Gas Distribution System, and Water Treatment Distribution System; and
(3) Street and Sanitation Department.
(Ord. 1993-2, passed 1-19-1993)
Statutory reference:
Local government, see I.C. 36-5-2-2