Powers of the City.

   Section 1.   The inhabitants of the city of Shelby, as its limits now are, or hereafter may be, shall be a body politic and corporate by name The City of Shelby, and as such shall have perpetual succession; shall succeed to all the rights and liabilities, shall acquire all benefits and shall assume and pay all bonds, obligations and indebtedness of said Village of Shelby; may use a corporate seal; may sue and be sued; may acquire property in fee simple or lesser interest or estate by purchase, gift, devise, appropriation, lease or lease with privilege to purchase, for any municipal purpose; may purchase options on property for any municipal purpose; may sell, convey, lease, hold, manage and control such property; and may make any and all rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution which may be required to carry out fully all the provisions of any conveyance, deed or will, in relation to any gift or bequest, or the provision of any lease by which it may acquire property; may acquire, construct, own, lease, operate and regulate public utilities; may provide for and maintain public entertainments and amusements; may assess, levy and collect taxes for general and special purposes on all the subjects or objects which the city may lawfully tax; may borrow money on the faith and credit of the city by the issue or sale of bonds, certificates of indebtedness or notes of the city; may appropriate the money of the city for all lawful purposes; may create, provide for, construct, regulate and maintain all things of the nature of public works and improvements; may levy and collect assessments for local improvements; may license vehicles; may license and regulate the business, occupation, profession or trade of all persons, corporations and associations engaged therein, whether local or transient; may define, prohibit, abate, suppress and prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, comfort, safety, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants of the city, and all nuisances and causes thereof; may regulate the construction and height of, and the material used in, all buildings, and the maintenance and occupancy thereof; may regulate and control the use, for whatever purpose, of the streets and other public places; may create, establish, abolish and organize offices and fix the salaries and compensation of all officers and employees; may make and enforce local police, sanitary and other regulations; and may pass such ordinances as may be expedient for maintaining and promoting the peace, good government and welfare of the city, and for the performance of the functions thereof. The city shall have all powers that are now, or hereafter may be granted to municipalities by the constitution or laws of Ohio; and all such powers, whether express or implied, shall be exercised and enforced in the manner prescribed by this charter, or when not prescribed herein, in such manner as shall be provided by ordinance or resolution of the council.

   Section 2.   The enumeration of particular powers by this charter shall not be held or deemed to be exclusive, but, in addition to the powers enumerated herein, implied thereby or appropriate to the exercise thereof, the city shall have and may exercise all other powers which, under the constitution and laws of Ohio, it would be competent for this charter specifically to enumerate.

The Elective Officers of the City.

   Section 3.   The mayor, one councilmember, the director of law and the director of finance and public record shall be elected at large. One councilmember shall be elected from each of the four wards to be voted for by the electors of the ward from which each councilmember is elected, and the councilmember at large shall be vice-president of the council.

(Amended 1-1-1944; 11-5-2002)

The Council.

   Section 4.   The legislative powers of the city, except as limited by this charter, shall be vested in a council of five members, elected as hereinbefore provided. They shall be elected for a term of two years and shall serve until their successors are chosen and qualified. Vacancies in the council shall be filled by the council for the unexpired term. If council fails within thirty days to fill such vacancy, the mayor shall fill it by appointment, and such appointment shall not be subject to confirmation by the council.

(Amended 11-5-2002)

   Section 5.   Members of the council shall be resident electors of the city. Any member who ceases to possess this qualification shall forthwith forfeit his office.

   Section 6.   The salaries of all elected officers shall be fixed by the out-going council not later than February 15th in the odd-numbered years. Should any councilmember be absent from the city or permanently disabled for more than five consecutive regular meetings, the council may declare the office vacant and appoint another from the same ward or at large, as the case may be. Except councilmember at large, each councilmember must be a resident of the ward in which he is elected or appointed.

(Amended 11-5-2002)

   Section 7.   Councilmembers shall assume office on the first day of January. At seven o’clock p.m. on the first Monday in January, following a regular municipal election, the council shall meet at the usual place for holding such meetings, provided, however, that when said first Monday falls on New Years Day, the Council shall meet on the second day of January. Thereafter the council shall meet at such times as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution.

   The mayor, or the vice-president of the council in the absence of the mayor, or any three members thereof may call special meetings of the council upon written notice served personally upon each member or at the Councilmember’s usual place of residence, at least six hours previous to time fixed for such meeting. Any such request for special meeting shall state the subjects to be considered at the meeting and no other subjects shall be then considered.

(Amended 11-5-2024)

   Section 8.   The council shall be the judge of the election and qualification of its members. A majority of all the members elected shall be a quorum to do business but a less number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance. The affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the council shall be necessary to adopt any ordinance or resolution and on the passage thereof a vote shall be taken by "yeas" and "nays" and entered upon the journal. In the event of a tie vote, the presiding officer of council shall vote to break the tie unless excused by the consent of council. The council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings. All meetings of the council or committees thereof shall be conducted in accordance with State law commonly known as "The Open Meetings Act", and any citizen shall have access to the minutes and records thereof at all reasonable times.

(Amended 11-5-2002; 11-8-2011)

   Section 9.   The vice-president, in the absence of the mayor, shall preside at the meetings of the council and perform such duties as may be imposed by the council upon him, by ordinance or law.

   Section 10.   The council shall choose such officers and employees of its own body as are necessary, provided that the director of finance and public record shall be its clerk without additional compensation therefor.

    The clerk shall keep the records of the council and perform such other duties as may be required by ordinance or resolution.

    All officers and employees chosen by the council shall serve during the pleasure thereof.

   Section 11.   Each proposed ordinance or resolution shall be introduced in written or printed form, and shall not contain more than one subject which shall be clearly stated in the title; but general appropriation ordinances may contain the various subjects and accounts for which moneys are appropriated.

    The enacting clause of all ordinances passed by the council shall be, “Be it ordained by the council of the city of Shelby, Ohio.”

    The enacting clause of all ordinances submitted to the initiative shall be, “Be it ordained by the people of the city of Shelby, Ohio.”

    No ordinance or resolution or section thereof shall be revised or amended, unless the new ordinance or resolution contains the entire ordinance or resolution or section revised or amended, and the ordinance, resolution, section or sections so amended shall be repealed.

   Section 12.   Any ordinance or resolution passed by the council shall be signed by the vice-president and presented to the mayor by the clerk. If the mayor approves such ordinance or resolution he shall sign it within ten (10) days after its passage or adoption by the council; but if he does not approve it, he shall return it to the council with his objections within said ten (10) days, or if the council be not then in session, at the next regular meeting thereof, which objections the council shall cause to be entered in full on its journal. If the mayor does not sign or veto an ordinance or resolution after its passage or adoption within the time specified, it shall take effect in the same manner as if he had signed it. The mayor may approve or disapprove the whole or any item or part of any ordinance or resolution appropriating money. When the mayor refuses to sign an ordinance or resolution or part thereof and returns it to the council with his objections, the council shall, not later than the next regular meeting, proceed to reconsider it, and, if upon such consideration, the resolution or ordinance or part or item thereof disapproved by the mayor is approved by the vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to the council it shall then take effect as if it had received the signature of the mayor. In all such cases the votes shall be taken by “yeas” and “nays” and entered upon the journal.

   Section 13.   The fiscal year of the city shall begin the first day of January. A temporary appropriation ordinance to control expenditures prepared by the mayor, the director of law and the director of finance and public record shall be passed on or before the thirty-first day of December each year. An annual appropriation ordinance must be passed by April 1 of each year for the period January 1 to December 31. The mayor, the director of law, and the director of finance and public record shall present to the council their annual estimate of the expense for conducting the affairs of the city no later than March 10th of each year. The council shall prepare an appropriation ordinance and pass the same by April 1. The estimates in the appropriation ordinance shall be compiled from detailed information obtained from the various departments on uniform blanks prepared by the director of finance and public record, and shall set forth:

   (a)   an itemized estimate of the expenditures of each department;

   (b)   comparisons of such estimates with the corresponding items of expenditure for the last two complete fiscal years and with the expenditures of the current fiscal year plus an estimate of expenditures necessary to complete the current fiscal year;

   (c)   reasons for proposed increases or decreases in such items of expenditure compared with the current fiscal year;

   (d)   a separate schedule for each department showing the things necessary for the department to do during the year and which of any desirable things it ought to do if possible;

   (e)   items of pay roll increases as either additional pay to present employees, or pay for more employees;

   (f)   the amounts required for interest on the city’s debt, and for sinking funds as required by law;

   (g)   the total amount of the outstanding city debt with a schedule of maturities of bond issues;

   (h)   such other information as may be required by the council.

(Amended 11-8-11.)

   Section 14.   Upon the receipt of the estimate the council shall at once prepare an appropriation ordinance, in such manner as may be provided by ordinance or resolution, using the estimate as a basis. Provision shall be made for public hearings upon the appropriation ordinance before a committee of the council or before the entire council sitting as a committee of the whole.

   Section 15.   An accruing revenue of the city, not appropriated as hereinbefore provided, and any balance at any time remaining after the purposes of the appropriation shall have been satisfied or abandoned may from time to time be appropriated or transferred by ordinance by the council to such uses or other fund or funds as will not conflict with any uses for which specifically such revenues accrued.

   Section 16.   No money shall be drawn from the treasury of the city, nor shall any obligation for the expenditure of money be incurred, except pursuant to appropriations made by the council. At the end of each year all unexpended balances of appropriation if any shall revert to the respective funds from which the same were appropriated and shall then be subject to future appropriations; but appropriations may be made in furtherance of improvements or other objects or work of the city which will not be completed within the current year.

   Money appropriated as hereinbefore provided shall not be used for purposes other than those designated in the appropriation ordinance; provided however that the Council may from time to time appropriate or transfer such moneys so appropriated by the appropriation ordinance, by ordinance to such uses, or other fund or funds as will not conflict with any uses for which specifically such revenues accrued.

   Section 17.   Every ordinance or resolution of a general and permanent nature upon its final passage shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose, and shall be authenticated by the signature of the presiding officer and clerk of the council. Every ordinance or resolution of a general or permanent nature shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or published in an official municipal bulletin within ten days after its final passage.

   Section 18.   The council shall fix by ordinance the amount of bond to be given by each officer, clerk and employee in each department of the city government, if any be required, which bond shall be a surety bond given by such officer, clerk or employee, with surety to the approval of the mayor and council, and said council is to pay the premium on the same.

   Section 19.   The council shall create by ordinance such other officers, clerks and employees as are not in the classified service, in each department of the city government as are necessary for the transaction of the city’s business, and all such positions so created shall be filled by appointment by the mayor; and further, the council shall fix the compensation of each officer, clerk and employee so created, and such compensation shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which the said officers, clerks or employees were chosen nor at any other time except in an odd numbered year.

   Section 20.   The council shall provide by ordinance for the deposit by the director of finance and public record of all moneys coming into his hands as city treasurer in such bank or banks situated within the City of Shelby as offer at competitive bidding the highest rate of interest upon daily balances, such bank to be designated as depository of city funds, and any moneys due the City of Shelby from the County Treasurer shall be paid direct to the city depository. To secure such deposits such bank or banks shall be required to give good and sufficient bond or bonds, subject to the approval of the mayor, director of law and director of finance and public record. The total moneys on deposit in any bank shall not exceed its paid-up capital stock and surplus.

   Section 21.   The council may, by a two-thirds vote of the members elected thereto, pass emergency measures to take effect at the time indicated therein. An emergency measure is an ordinance or resolution for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health or safety, or providing for the usual daily operation of a municipal department, in which the emergency is set forth and defined in a preamble thereto. Ordinances appropriating money may be passed as emergency measures, but no measure making a grant, renewal or extension of a franchise or other special privilege, or regulating the rate to be charged for its services by any public utility, shall ever be so passed.

   Section 22.   Any power or function now or hereafter committed to the City of Shelby, which is not in this charter specifically provided for shall be vested in the council and it shall be the duty of the council by appropriate legislation to make provision for the exercise thereof.

Administrative Powers of the City.

   Section 23.   The executive and administrative powers of the city shall be vested in the mayor, director of law, director of finance and public record, and such other executive and administrative officers as are provided for in this charter or may be fixed by ordinance of council.

The Mayor.

   Section 24.   The executive and administrative powers of the City of Shelby, except as herein otherwise provided for, shall be vested in a mayor, who shall be a resident elector of the city. The mayor shall be elected for a term of four years commencing with the 1998 term, assume office on the first day of January, following their election, and serve until a successor is elected and qualified.

   The Mayor shall not hold any other public office or public employment, except that of notary public or member of the State militia, and shall not be interested in the profits or emoluments of any contract, job, work or service for the municipality.

(Amended 11-5-1996; 11-5-2024)

   Section 25.   The salary of the mayor shall be fixed by the council and it shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he was chosen nor at any other time except in an odd-numbered year. The salary of the mayor first elected under this charter shall be fixed by the outgoing council, and shall not be more than $1200.00 and not less than $1000.00 per annum.

   Section 26.   If the mayor dies, resigns or removes his residence from the city during the term of his office he shall be succeeded in office until the first day of January following the next regular municipal election, by one of the officers provided for in this charter. The order of succession in such cases shall be as follows: director of law; director of finance and public record; councilmember at large; and members of council from the wards in order based upon their total service upon council. At the next regular municipal election following the death, resignation or removal of the mayor from the city, a mayor shall be elected for a term of four years. If the mayor be temporarily absent from the city, or become temporarily disabled from any cause, his duties shall be performed during such absence or disability by the head of one of the aforesaid departments in the above order under the title of acting mayor.

(Amended 11-5-2002; 5-3-2011)

   Section 27.   The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the city and the chief conservator of the peace therein, and, besides his powers and duties as president of the council, and his powers and duties as director of public safety, and director of public service as hereinafter prescribed, it shall be his duty to see that the laws of the State of Ohio and the ordinances of the city are faithfully obeyed and enforced within the city, and to appoint all officers and employees of the city whose election or appointment is not otherwise expressly provided for by law, by this charter, or by ordinance, and he shall have such other powers and duties, not in conflict with the provisions of this charter, as are provided by law for mayors of cities.

   “And all appointments made by the mayor to be confirmed by Council; and the Chief of Police shall be responsible for his acts of misconduct to the mayor, and the patrolmen shall be responsible for their acts of misconduct to the Chief of Police.”

   Section 28.   The mayor shall be ex-officio the director of public safety and the director of public service and as such shall exercise all powers and perform all duties as have heretofore been delegated to and conferred upon the director of public safety and the director of public service by the laws of the State of Ohio.

   Section 29.   It shall be the duty of the mayor to recommend to the council for adoption such measures as he may deem necessary or expedient; to keep the council advised of the financial condition and future needs of the city; to prepare and submit to the council such reports as may be required by that body, and to exercise such powers and perform such duties as are conferred or required by this charter or by the laws of the State.

   Section 30.   Should the director of law or the director of finance and public record die, resign, or be disqualified for any cause from performing the duties of their respective offices during the term for which they were elected, the mayor shall fill said vacancy so created by appointment for the unexpired terms, subject to the confirmation of the Council.

Director of Law.

   Section 31.   The director of law shall be an attorney-at-law admitted to practice in the State of Ohio. The Director of Law shall be elected for a term of four years (a two-year term commencing in 1998, and a four- year term commencing with the year 2000), assume office on the first day of January, following their election, and serve until a successor is elected and qualified. The Director of Law shall be the legal adviser of and attorney and counsel for the city, and for all officers and departments thereof in matters relating to their official duties. The Director shall prepare all contracts, bonds and other instruments in writing in which the city is concerned and shall endorse on each the Director’s approval of the form and correctness thereof.

(Amended 11-5-1996; 11-5-2024)

   Section 32.   The director of law shall be the prosecuting attorney of the police court.* He may designate such manner of assistant prosecutors as the council by ordinance may authorize. He shall prosecute all cases brought before such court and perform the same duties so far as they are applicable thereto, as are required of the prosecuting attorney of the county.

   *No longer in existence-Ed.

   Section 33.   When required to do so by resolution of the council, the director of law shall prosecute or defend for and in behalf of the city, all complaints, suits and controversies in which the city is a party, and such other suits, matters and controversies as he shall by resolution or ordinance, be directed to prosecute or defend.

   Section 34.   In addition to the duties imposed upon the director of law by this charter or required of him by ordinance in accordance therewith, he shall perform the duties which are imposed upon city solicitors by the general laws of the State, beyond the competence of this charter to alter or require.

   Section 35.   The salary of the director of law shall be fixed by the council and it shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he was chosen, nor at any other time except in an odd-numbered year. The salary of the director of law first elected under this charter shall be fixed by the outgoing council, and be not more than $1200.00 nor less than $1000.00 per year.