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The Council shall fix the place and time for holding its regular meetings, one of which shall be held each month; may provide for special and adjourned meetings; shall have power to compel the attendance of its members; and may prescribe rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter, for the transaction of business and for its own guidance and government. A majority of the Council elected shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Upon call of any member, the yeas and nays on any question shall be taken and recorded in the Council Record. No member of the Council shall vote upon, or take part in the consideration of any proposition in which he is or may be interested otherwise than as a resident of the City. It is recommended that each meeting of the Council be opened by a prayer.
The Council shall cause to be kept by the Clerk, in a well bound book to be called the "Council Record", an accurate record of all of its proceedings, ordinances, acts, orders and resolutions, and in another to be called the "Ordinance Book, " accurate copies of all the ordinances adopted by the Council, except ordinances concerning public improvements. Both of the books shall be fully indexed and open to the inspection of anyone required to pay taxes to the City or who may be otherwise interested. All oaths and bonds of officers of the City and all papers of the Council shall be endorsed, filed and securely kept by the Clerk, except the bond of the Clerk, which shall be filed with the Mayor. All printed copies of such ordinances purporting to be published, under authority of the Council, and transcripts of such ordinances, acts, orders and resolutions, certified by the Clerk under the seal of the City, shall be deemed prima facie correct, when sought to be used as evidence in any court or before any justice.
In the following enumerated cases the action of the Council shall be by ordinances:
(1) Levying taxes or providing for the collection of fees of any kind;
(2) Requiring a license to do business;
(3) Relating to offenses and penalties;
(4) Authorizing the issuance of bonds or other forms of indebtedness;
(5) Providing for a public improvement;
(6) Providing for the purchase of private property by the City or for the sale of property belonging to the City;
(7) Laying out or vacating a public street, alley, or other way;
(8) Relating to zoning;
(9) Granting franchises to public utilities;
(10) Providing for a contractual or other agreement with another jurisdiction;
(11) Relating to such other matters as the Charter may require.
The Council shall enact an ordinance in all cases specified by this Charter in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) An ordinance shall be read at not less than two meetings, regular or special, which need not be consecutive, with at least one week intervening between each meeting;
(2) Before final passage, notice of such ordinance shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. Such notice shall state the following:
A. General title or titles of the ordinance.
B. The date, time and place of the proposed final vote on adoption.
C. The place or places within the Municipality where such proposed ordinance may be inspected by the public.
D. Said notice shall also advise that interested parties may appear at the meeting and be heard with respect to the proposed ordinance.
A reasonable number of copies of the proposed ordinance shall be kept at such place or places as mentioned in such notice and be made available for public inspection.
(3) An ordinance shall not be finally passed until after ten days have elapsed after the date of publication of the aforementioned notice and persons interested have been given an opportunity to attend a meeting of the Council and be heard with respect to the ordinance.
(4) An ordinance shall not be materially amended at the same meeting at which it is finally passed. If materially amended after publication of the aforementioned notice, notice as to the intended passage of such ordinance shall be republished and considered as though publication of such notice had not taken place. The Council may enact an ordinance under suspension of the rules prescribed by this section only in the case of a pressing emergency making a procedure in accordance with this section dangerous to the public health, safety, or morals, and by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all of the members of the Council. The nature of the emergency shall be set out in full in the ordinance.
(2-16-88)
The City shall be divided into wards, the future boundaries of which may be determined by the Council. Each ward shall contain at least four hundred and fifty, and not more than twelve hundred registered voters. In fixing ward boundaries, the Council shall take into consideration the boundaries of the voting precincts as determined by the County Court of Kanawha County. The Council may establish new wards, and define and change the boundaries of all wards; provided, however, that each ward must be composed of contiguous territory. Each new ward shall be entitled to choose one new member of the Council. Councilmen at large shall be added to the Council in the proportion of one for each four ward Councilmen or fraction thereof, and only one Councilman at large shall be elected from any one ward.
The number of City wards and the composition thereof are set forth and established in Section 103.08 of the Administrative Code of the Codified Ordinances of the City of St. Albans. (11-3-08)
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