Section 51. Public ways and places.

   The Council shall provide for the care, supervision, control and improvement of public highways, bridges, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, public grounds, aqueducts and viaducts within the City, and shall cause them to be kept open, in repair and free from nuisance, and it may order any street, alley, or public highway to be opened, straightened, altered, diverted, narrowed, widened or vacated.

Section 52. Vacating Streets and Changing Street Names.

    In vacating any street or part thereof, or in changing the name of any street, the Council may include in one ordinance the change of name or the vacation or narrowing of more than one street, avenue or alley; but before vacating any street or partthereof or narrowing any street, the Council shall first pass a resolution declaring its intention so to do. The Mayor, regardless of his or her approval of said resolution, shall cause notice of such resolution to be served, in the manner that service of summons is required to be made in civil actions, upon all persons whose property abuts upon the portion of the street affected by the proposed vacation or narrowing, and by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the City as to all persons who cannot be personally served. Said notice shall state the time and place at which objections to such change can be heard before the Board of Revision of Assessments. Upon the report by the Board of Revision of Assessments approving the proposed vacation or narrowing, the Council by ordinance may declare such vacation or narrowing which ordinance shall be subject to Sections 43A and 43B of this Charter. Such order of the Council vacating or narrowing a street or alley which has not been dedicated to public use by the proprietor, shall, to the extent to which it is vacated or narrowed, operate as a revocation of the acceptance thereof by the Council; but the right of way and easement therein of any lot owner shall not be impaired thereby.

(Amended by electors 11-7-00)

Section 53. Compensation of officers and employees - fees.

   The Council shall fix, by ordinance, the salary or compensation of all officers and employees of the City. The salary and compensation so fixed shall be uniform for like service in each grade of the service as the same shall be graded and classified by the Civil Service Commission, and all such salaries and rates of compensation shall be reported to the Civil Service Commission forthwith. The salary of any officer, employee or member of a board or commission shall not be diminished during the term for which he or she was elected or appointed, except in the case of demotion of an employee. Laborers shall be paid the highest reasonable wage paid at the time in the City for similar services. All fees pertaining to any office shall be paid into the City treasury.

(Amended by electors 11-7-00)

Section 54. Official bonds.

   In fixing the salary of any officer, clerk or employee, the Council shall determine whether such officer, clerk or employee shall have a bond, and the amount thereof. If a bond is required, the surety shall be subject to the approval of the Mayor. Premiums on such bonds may be paid by the City.

Section 54A. Negotiable bonds.

   Negotiable bonds pledging the general credit of the City for any purpose for which bonds may be lawfully issued, including the acquiring, constructing or extending of any public utility, and negotiable bonds provided for by Section 10 of Article 18 of the Constitution, and negotiable mortgage bonds provided for by Section 12 of Article 18 of the Constitution, may be authorized by ordinance initiated by electors; or any such bonds may be authorized by resolution and ordinance of Council, subject to the provisions of this Charter.

   Insofar as the initiated ordinance, if one there be, does not fix the amount, terms and form of bonds authorized, the Council, in such cases, and in all other cases, shall fix the amount, terms and form of all such bonds authorized, and shall do or authorize to be done, all other things not expressly authorized, that shall be necessary or proper to be done, to make such bonds valid and binding obligations for the purpose for which they are authorized.

   All of said bonds shall be executed in the manner authorized by the laws of the State of Ohio.

(Amended 9-13-83.)

Section 55. Maximum hours of work.

   Except in cases of extraordinary emergencies, and except as Council shall determine by ordinance for members of the Division of Fire, not to exceed eight hours shall constitute a day's work and not to exceed forty-eight hours a week's work, for any City employee of the City of Toledo in the classified service thereof, and for any workers engaged in any public work carried on or aided by the Municipality whether done by contract or otherwise. The Council shall, by ordinance, provide for the enforcement of the provisions of this section.

(Amended by electors 11-7-00)