CHAPTER 30: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL; ORDINANCES
Section
Mayor
   30.01   Selection and duties
   30.02   Vacancy
City Council
   30.15   Selection and duties
   30.16   President; Acting President
   30.17   Organization
   30.18   Vacancy
   30.19   Restrictions on other employment or elective office
   30.20   Standing committees
Ordinances, Resolutions and Motions
   30.30   Grant of power
   30.31   Introduction to ordinances
   30.32   Style
   30.33   Title
   30.34   Reading and passage of ordinances, resolutions, orders, bylaws
   30.35   Publication or posting
   30.36   Certificate of publication or posting
   30.37   Effective date; emergency ordinances
   30.38   Amendments and revisions
   30.39   Procedure for resolutions and motions
MAYOR
§ 30.01 SELECTION AND DUTIES.
   (A)   (1)   The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the City Council. The Mayor may vote on any matter that requires either a majority vote of the City Council or a majority vote of all the elected members of the City Council if:
         (a)   The Mayor's vote is required due to the City Council members being equally divided, or
         (b)   A majority of the City Council members or majority vote of all the elected members cannot be reached due to absence, vacancy, or abstention of one or more City Council members. For purposes of such vote, the Mayor is deemed to be a member of the City Council.
      (2)   The Mayor shall have superintendence and control of all the officers and affairs of the city and shall take care that the ordinances of the city and all laws governing cities of the second class are complied with.
   (B)   The Mayor shall have the power to veto or sign any ordinance passed by the City Council and to approve or veto any order, bylaw, resolution, award of or vote to enter into any contract, or the allowance of any claim. If the Mayor approves the ordinance, order, bylaw, resolution, contract, or claim, he or she shall sign it, and it shall become effective. If the Mayor vetoes the ordinance, order, bylaw, resolution, contract, or any item or items of appropriations or claims, he or she shall return it to the City Council stating that the measure is vetoed. The Mayor may issue the veto at the meeting at which the measure passed or within seven calendar days after the meeting. If the Mayor issues the veto after the meeting, the Mayor shall notify the City Clerk of the veto in writing. The Clerk shall notify the City Council in writing of the Mayor's veto. Any order, bylaw, resolution, award of or vote to enter into any contract, or the allowance of any claim vetoed by the Mayor may be passed over his or her veto by a vote of 2/3 of the members of the Council. If the Mayor neglects or refuses to sign any ordinance, order, bylaw, resolution, award of or vote to enter into any contract, or the allowance of any claim, but fails to veto the measure within the time required by this section, the measure shall become effective without his or her signature. The Mayor may veto any item or items of any appropriation bill or any claims bill, and approve the remainder thereof, and the item or items vetoed may be passed by the Council over the veto as in other cases.
   (C)   The Mayor shall, from time to time, communicate to the City Council such information and recommend such measures as, in his or her opinion, may tend to the improvement of the finances, the police, health, security, ornament, comfort, and general prosperity of the city.
   (D)   The Mayor shall have the power, when he or she deems it necessary, to require any officer of the city to exhibit his or her accounts or other papers, and to make reports to the Council, in writing, touching any subject or matter pertaining to his or her office.
   (E)   The Mayor shall have such jurisdiction as may be vested in him or her by ordinance, over all places within five miles of the corporate limits of the city, for the enforcement of any health or quarantine ordinance and regulation thereof and shall have jurisdiction in all matters vested in him or her by ordinance, excepting taxation, within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of the city.
   (F)   The Mayor shall have the power to remit fines and forfeitures, and to grant reprieves and pardons for all offenses arising under the ordinances of the city.
   (G)   The Mayor shall hold no other elective or appointive office or employment with the city.
   (H)   The Mayor shall sign the City Clerk's minutes of all meetings of the City Council, and he or she shall sign all resolutions that have been passed and warrants for the payment of money when ordered by the Council.
   (I)   The Mayor shall have such other duties as are reposed on the Mayor by the laws of the State of Nebraska or as the Council may by resolution confer upon the Mayor.
(’72 Code, § 1-101) (Am. Ord. 1045, passed 12-11-75; Am. Ord. 1246, passed 10-10-85; Am. Ord. 2452, passed 1-23-24)
Statutory reference:
   Authorizing and similar provisions, see Neb. RS 17-107, 17-110 through 17-117 and 32-533
§ 30.02 VACANCY.
   (A)   Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor, or in case of his or her disability or absence, the President of the Council shall exercise the office of Mayor until the vacancy is filled or the disability is removed, or in case of temporary absence, until the Mayor returns.
   (B)   When the successful candidate for Mayor shall be prevented from assuming office, the incumbent Mayor shall not be entitled to hold over the term, but the office shall automatically become vacant and the President of the Council shall exercise the office of Mayor until the vacancy is filled.
   (C)   If the President of the Council shall for any cause assume the office of Mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term, there shall be a vacancy on the Council which shall be filled as provided in § 30.18.
('72 Code, § 1-106) (Ord. 1047, passed 12-11-75)
CITY COUNCIL
§ 30.15 SELECTION AND DUTIES.
   The City Council shall consist of six members, who shall be elected and serve for a four-year term. The City Council shall be the legislative division of the city government and shall perform such duties and have such powers as may be authorized by law. The City Council shall maintain the peace, regulate business, protect the public health and safety, and assess such taxes and fees as are necessary and appropriate in the exercise of these functions.
('72 Code, § 1-103)
Statutory reference:
   Additional provisions, see Neb. RS 32-533
§ 30.16 PRESIDENT; ACTING PRESIDENT.
   The City Council shall elect one of its own body each year who shall be styled the President of the Council and who shall preside at all meetings of the City Council in the absence of the Mayor. In the absence of the Mayor and the President of the Council, the City Council shall elect one of its own body to occupy that place temporarily, who shall be styled Acting President of the Council. Both the President of the Council and the Acting President of the Council, when occupying the position of the Mayor, shall have the same privileges as the other members of the City Council, and all acts of the President of the Council, or Acting President of the Council, while so acting, shall be as binding upon the City Council, and upon the city as if done by the elected Mayor.
(Neb. RS 17-148) ('72 Code, § 1-102)
§ 30.17 ORGANIZATION.
   City Council members of this city shall take office and commence their duties on the first regular meeting in December following their election. The newly elected Council members who have qualified as prescribed by law, together with the members of the City Council holding over, shall assemble in a regular meeting at the hour and place hereinafter prescribed and perfect the reorganization of the City Council as herein provided, and all appointive offices in which the terms of incumbents are expired shall be filled by appointment. After the meeting has been called to order, the City Clerk shall report to the City Council the names of all City Council members-elect who have qualified for their respective offices, and this report shall be spread upon the minutes of the meeting preceding the roll call. Each ward of the city shall be represented by at least two Council members. No person shall be eligible who is not at the time of election an actual resident of the ward for which the person is qualified and a registered voter. If any City Council member moves from the ward from which the Council member was elected, his or her office shall thereby become vacant.
('72 Code, § 1-104) (Am. Ord. 1046, passed 12-11-75)
Statutory reference:
   Council member qualifications, see Neb. RS 17-104
Cross-reference:
   Division into wards, see § 36.12
§ 30.18 VACANCY.
   (A)    (1)   Every elective office shall be vacant upon the happening of any of the events specified in Neb. RS 32-560 except as provided in Neb. RS 32-561.
(Neb. RS 32-560)
      (2)   After notice and hearing, a vacancy on the City Council shall exist if a member is absent for more than five consecutive regular meetings of the Council unless the absences are excused by majority vote of the remaining members.
(Neb. RS 19-1301)
   (B)   In the case of any vacancy in the office of Mayor, or in case of his or her disability or absence, the President of the Council shall exercise the office of Mayor for the unexpired term until such vacancy is filled or such disability is removed, or in case of temporary absence, until the Mayor returns. If the President of the Council assumes the office of Mayor for the unexpired term, there shall be a vacancy on the Council.
(Neb. RS 32-568(4))
   (C)   (a)   Except as otherwise provided in subsection (B), (D), or (E) of this section, vacancies in city elected offices shall be filled by the Mayor and City Council for the balance of the unexpired term. Notice of a vacancy, except a vacancy resulting from the death of the incumbent, shall be in writing and presented to the Council at a regular or special meeting and shall appear as a part of the minutes of such meeting. The Council shall at once give public notice of the vacancy by causing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city or by posting in three public places in the city the office vacated and the length of the unexpired term.
      (b)   The Mayor shall, within four weeks after the meeting at which such notice of vacancy has been presented or upon the death of the incumbent, call a special meeting of the Council or place the issue of filling such vacancy on the agenda at the next regular meeting at which time the Mayor shall submit the name of a qualified registered voter to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired term. The Council shall vote upon such nominee, and if a majority votes in favor of such nominee, the vacancy shall be declared filled. If the nominee fails to receive a majority of the votes, the nomination shall be rejected and the Mayor shall, at the next regular or special meeting, submit the name of another qualified registered voter to fill the vacancy. If the subsequent nominee fails to receive a majority of the votes, the Mayor shall continue at such meeting to submit the names of qualified registered voters in nomination and the Council shall continue to vote upon such nominations until the vacancy is filled. The Mayor shall cast his or her vote for or against the nominee in the case of a tie vote of the Council. All Council members present shall cast a ballot for or against the nominee. Any member of the Council who has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Council shall have the same rights, including voting, as if such person were elected.
   (D)   The Mayor and Council may, in lieu of filling a vacancy in a city elected office as provided in subsection (C) of this section, call a special city election to fill such vacancy.
   (E)   If vacancies exist in the offices of a majority of the members of the City Council, the Secretary of State shall conduct a special city election to fill such vacancies.
(Neb. RS 32-569)
(’72 Code, § 1-105) (Am. Ord. 1047, passed 12-11-75; Am. Ord. 1261, passed 11-13-86; Am. Ord. 1361, passed 1-24-91; Am. Ord. 1862, passed 1-8-04; Am. Ord. 2021, passed 7-23-09)
Statutory reference:
   Additional and similar provisions, see Neb. RS 32-567 through 32-572
§ 30.19 RESTRICTIONS ON OTHER EMPLOYMENT OR ELECTIVE OFFICE.
   (A)   The Mayor and members of the City Council shall hold no other elective or appointive office or employment with the city.
   (B)   For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      ELECTIVE OFFICE means any office which has candidates nominated or elected at the time of a statewide primary election, any office which has candidates nominated at the time of a statewide primary election and elected at the time of a statewide general election, any office which has candidates elected at the time of a statewide general election, any office which has candidates nominated or elected at a city or village election, and any office created by an act of the Legislature which has candidates elected at an election and includes an office which is filled at an election held in conjunction with the annual meeting of a public body created by an act of the Legislature.
      HIGH ELECTIVE OFFICE means a member of the Legislature, an elective office described in article IV, section 1 or 20, or article VII, section 3 or 10, of the Constitution of Nebraska, or a county, city, or school district elective office.
(Neb. RS 32-109)
   (C)   No candidate for member of the Legislature or an elective office described in article IV, section 1 or 20, or article VII, section 3 or 10, of the Constitution of Nebraska shall be eligible to file as a candidate, to petition on the ballot as a candidate, to accept a nomination by a political party or by party convention, caucus, or committee to fill a vacancy, or to be a declared write-in candidate for more than one elective office to be filled at the same election except for the position of delegate to a county, state, or national political party convention. No candidate for any other high elective office shall be eligible to file as a candidate, to petition on the ballot as a candidate, to accept a nomination by a political party or by party convention, caucus, or committee to fill a vacancy, or to be declared a write-in candidate for more than one high elective office to be filled at the same election.
(Neb. RS 32-603)
   (D)   Except as provided in divisions (E) or (G) of this section, no person shall be precluded from being elected or appointed to or holding an elective office for the reason that he or she has been elected or appointed to or holds another elective office.
   (E)   No person serving as a member of the legislature or in an elective office described in article IV, section 1 or 20, or article VII, section 3 or 10, of the Constitution of Nebraska shall simultaneously serve in any other elective office, except that such a person may simultaneously serve in another elective office which is filled at an election held in conjunction with the annual meeting of a public body.
   (F)   Whenever an incumbent serving as a member of the Legislature or in an elective office described in article IV, section 1 or 20, or article VII, section 3 or 10, of the Constitution of Nebraska assumes another elective office, except an elective office filled at an election held in conjunction with the annual meeting of a public body, the office first held by the incumbent shall be deemed vacant.
   (G)   No person serving in a high elective office shall simultaneously serve in any other high elective office.
   (H)   Notwithstanding divisions (E) through (G) of this section, any person holding more than one high elective office upon September 13, 1997, shall be entitled to serve the remainder of all terms for which he or she was elected or appointed.
(Neb. RS 32-604) ('72 Code, § 1-107) (Ord. 1635, passed 7-23-98)
Statutory reference:
   Merger of offices or employment, see Neb. RS 17-108.02
§ 30.20 STANDING COMMITTEES.
   (A)   At the annual organizational meeting of the Mayor and City Council, the Mayor shall appoint members to such standing committees as the City Council may by ordinance or resolution create. Except as provided in § 33.07 of this title, membership of each standing committee shall consist of three Council members. The Mayor shall attempt, through appointment, though it shall not be mandatory that there be one Council member from each of the three wards of the city on each Council committee. The Mayor shall be an ex-officio member of each standing committee. Members of the standing committees shall serve a term of office of two years. The purposes of the various standing committees shall be to recommend policy for consideration by the City Council; to allow the various Council persons on the committees to develop expertise in a specified area; to review specific problems or situations with the assigned areas; to provide recommendations to the Mayor and Council, as a whole. It is not the purpose of the committees to usurp the administrative powers of the Mayor or City Administrator. The various standing committees shall meet on a periodic basis and shall keep accurate minutes and records of their meetings. Staff of the city shall be available to lend assistance to the various committees. The minutes and records of the various committee meetings shall be presented to the Mayor and Council at a regular monthly meeting. (’72 Code, § 2-101)
   (B)   The following shall constitute the standing committees of the Council of the city and their statement of purpose.
      (1)   General Committee. This committee's responsibility shall be to serve as a liaison with the City Planning Commission, Board of Adjustment, and Police Department, fire Department and Emergency Medical Services Department. City staff to assist this committee shall consist of the Building Inspector, the Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and/or EMS Director, and City Administrator.
      (2)   Personnel and Finance Committee. This committee's responsibility shall be to review the nonproprietary city budget, recommend financing, taxes and fees, review the nonproprietary funds audits, recommend investment policies, review the Mayor's recommendations regarding employee wage and benefit packages, and review personnel policies which are city-wide in scope. City staff to assist this committee shall consist of the City Clerk, City Treasurer, and City Administrator.
      (3)   Park, Recreation and Cultural Committee. This committee's responsibility shall be to serve as a liaison with the Parks and Recreation Departments, and Library Board. City staff to assist this committee shall consist of the Clerk Parks and Recreation Director, Librarian and City Administrator.
      (4)   Streets and Sanitation Committee. This committee's responsibility shall be to review capital improvement projects, operating policies, and procedures regarding streets, cemeteries, solid waste disposal, and storm sewers. City staff to assist this committee shall consist of the Street Commissioner and/or Cemetery Sexton, and the City Administrator.
(’72 Code, § 2-102)
      (5)   Economic Development Committee.
         (a)   The duties of the members of this committee shall be to review and recommend policies regarding housing and economic development in the city. In addition, two members of this committee shall serve on the Wahoo Economic Development Committee as described in division (b) of this section. City staff to assist this committee shall consist of the Utility General Manager and City Administrator.
         (b)   The Wahoo Economic Development Committee shall be a committee of the Board of Directors of the Greater Wahoo Development Foundation, a Nebraska nonprofit corporation, and shall be comprised of two representatives of the Council of the city, two representatives appointed by the Greater Wahoo Development Foundation, one representative appointed by the Wahoo Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and one representative appointed by the Board of Directors of Wahoo Industries, Inc., a Nebraska profit corporation. Said individuals shall constitute the governing body of the Wahoo Economic Development Committee whose purpose shall be to promote economic development in the city and surrounding area. At the annual organizational meeting of the City Council, the Mayor, subject to the approval of the City Council, shall appoint two voting representatives and one alternate representative of the Mayor and Council of the city to serve on the Wahoo Economic Development Committee. The alternate representative may vote only in the absence of one of the other representatives of the Mayor and Council of the city.
(’72 Code, § 2-103) (Ord. 1445, passed 12-9-93; Am. Ord. 1815, passed 10-24-02; Am. Ord. 2269, passed 2-8-18; Am. Ord. 2302, passed 3-14-19)
ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
§ 30.30 GRANT OF POWER.
   The City Council may make all ordinances, bylaws, rules, regulations, and resolutions, not inconsistent with the laws of the state of Nebraska, as may be expedient for maintaining the peace, good government, and welfare of the city and its trade, commerce, and manufactories.
(Neb. RS 17-505) ('72 Code, § 1-601) (Am. Ord. 1595, passed 9-25-97)
§ 30.31 INTRODUCTION TO ORDINANCES.
   Ordinances shall be introduced by members of the Council Body in one of the following ways:
   (A)   With the recognition of the Mayor, a member may, in the presence and hearing of a majority of the members elected to the Council, read aloud the substance of the proposed ordinance and file a copy with the City Clerk for future consideration; or
   (B)   With the recognition of the Mayor, a member may present the proposed ordinance to the Clerk who, in the presence and hearing of a majority of the members elected to the Council, shall read aloud the substance of the ordinance and file it for future consideration.
('72 Code, § 1-602) (Am. Ord. 1596, 9-25-97)
§ 30.32 STYLE.
   The style of all city ordinances shall be:
   "Be it ordained by the Mayor and Council of the City of Wahoo, Nebraska:…."
(Neb. RS 17-613) ('72 Code, § 1-605)
§ 30.33 TITLE.
   No ordinance shall contain a subject which is not clearly expressed in the title.
(Neb. RS 17-614) ('72 Code, § 1-606)
Statutory reference:
   Additional requirements, see Neb. RS 17-614
§ 30.34 READING AND PASSAGE OF ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, ORDERS, BYLAWS.
   (A)   (1) All ordinances and resolutions or orders for the appropriation or payment of money shall require for their passage or adoption the concurrence of a majority of all elected members of the City Council. The Mayor may vote on any such matter if (i) the Mayor's vote is required due to the City Council members being equally divided or (ii) a majority vote of all the elected members of the City Council cannot be reached due to absence, vacancy, or abstention of one or more City Council members. For purposes of such vote, the Mayor is deemed to be a member of the City Council.
      (2)   Ordinances of a general or permanent nature shall be read by title on three different days unless ¾ of the City Council vote to suspend this requirement. Such requirement shall not be suspended (i) for any ordinance for the annexation of territory, or the redrawing of boundaries for City Council election districts or wards or (ii) as otherwise provided by law.
      (3)   In case this requirement is suspended, the ordinance shall be read by title and then moved for final passage.
      (4)   Three-fourths of the City Council may require a reading of any such ordinance in full before enactment under either procedure set out in this section.
   (B)   On the passage or adoption of every bylaw or ordinance, and every resolution or order to enter into a contract by the City Council, the yeas and nays shall be called and recorded. To pass or adopt any bylaw, ordinance, or any such resolution or order, a concurrence of a majority of the whole number of members elected to the City Council shall be required. All appointments of the officers by the City Council shall be made viva voce, and the concurrence of a like majority shall be required, and the names of those, and for whom they voted, on the vote resulting in an appointment, shall be recorded. The requirements of a roll call or viva voce vote shall be satisfied by a city which utilizes an electronic voting device which allows the yeas and nays of each member of the City Council to be readily seen by the public.
(’72 Code, § 1-603) (Am. Ord. 1482, passed 3-9-95; Am. Ord. 1597, passed 9-25-97; Am. Ord. 2451, passed 1-23-24)
Statutory reference:
   Similar state law, see Neb. RS 17-614 and 17-616
§ 30.35 PUBLICATION OR POSTING.
   All ordinances of a general nature shall, before they take effect, be published one time, within 15 days after they are passed:
   (A)   In some newspaper published in the city or, if no paper is published in the city, then by posting a written or printed copy in each of three public places in the city; or
   (B)   In book or pamphlet form.
(Neb. RS 17-613) ('72 Code, § 1-604) (Am. Ord. 1266, passed 11-13-86; Am. Ord. 1598, passed 9-25-97)
Statutory reference:
   Emergency ordinance, see Neb. RS 17-613
§ 30.36 CERTIFICATE OF PUBLICATION OR POSTING.
   The passage, approval, and publication or posting of an ordinance shall be sufficiently proved by a certificate under the seal of the city from the City Clerk showing that the ordinance was passed and approved, and when and in what paper the ordinance was published, or when and by whom and where the ordinance was posted.
(Neb. RS 17-613) ('72 Code, § 1-608)
Statutory reference:
   Passage, rules, and regulations, see Neb. RS 17-615
§ 30.37 EFFECTIVE DATE; EMERGENCY ORDINANCES.
   (A)   Except as provided in § 30.35 and division (B) of this section, an ordinance for the government of the city which has been adopted by the City Council without submission to the voters of the city shall not go into effect until 15 days after the passage of the ordinance.
(Neb. RS 19-3701)
   (B)   In the case of riot, infectious or contagious diseases, or other impending danger, failure of a public utility, or any other emergency requiring its immediate operation, an ordinance shall take effect upon the proclamation of the Mayor and the posting thereof in at least three of the most public places in the city. Such emergency ordinance shall recite the emergency, be passed by a ¾ vote of the City Council, and be entered of record on the City Clerk's minutes.
(Neb. RS 17-613) ('72 Code, § 1-607) (Am. Ord. 1599, passed 9-25-97)
§ 30.38 AMENDMENTS AND REVISIONS.
   No ordinance or section thereof shall be revised or amended unless the new ordinance contains the entire ordinance or section as revised or amended and the ordinance or section so amended is repealed, except that an ordinance revising all the ordinances of the city and modifications to zoning or building districts may be adopted as otherwise provided by law.
(Neb. RS 17-614) ('72 Code, § 1-609) (Am. Ord. 1600, passed 9-25-97)
§ 30.39 PROCEDURE FOR RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS.
   (A)   Resolutions and motions shall be introduced in one of the methods prescribed for the introduction of ordinances. After their introduction, they shall be fully and distinctly read one time in the presence and hearing of a majority of the members elected to the Council. The issue raised by said resolutions or motions shall be disposed of in accordance with the usage of parliamentary law adopted for the guidance of the Council. A majority vote shall be required to pass any resolution or motion. The vote on any resolution or motion shall be by roll call vote.
('72 Code, § 1-610)
   (B)   A question to reconsider shall be in order when made by a member voting with the majority, or who was absent when the vote was taken, but such motion to reconsider must be made before the expiration of the third regular meeting after the initial consideration of the question. When any question is under debate, no motion shall be made, entertained or seconded, except the previous question, a motion to table, and to adjourn. Each of said motions shall be decided without debate. Any of the rules of the Governing Body for meetings may be suspended by a 2/3 vote of the members present. In all cases in which provisions are not made by these rules, Roberts Rules of Order is the authority by which the Governing Body shall decide all procedural disputes that may arise.