Sections of the Ohio Revised Code as
it applies to municipalities
Highlights
added by BFG - [The way I
understand it, if the City Charter does not agree with the ORC, the ORC takes
precedence? Wouldn't it be nice for Sandusky to have reference material, such as
this, on their website? - comments added by BFG are in light blue.]
The commission can
only discuss certain subjects and exclude the public.
§ 705.43
Meetings of commission; legislative and administrative sessions.
Text of Statute
The commission shall meet at the regular place for holding such meetings, at
ten a.m. on the first day of January after its election, at which time the newly
elected commissioners shall assume the duties of their office. Thereafter the
commission shall meet in legislative session at least twice each month and in
administrative session at least once each week, at such times as are prescribed
by ordinance or resolution, but no
legislative business shall be considered or acted upon at administrative
sessions. Upon written request of the chairman or of any two members,
special legislative sessions of the commission shall be called by the clerk. Any
such request shall state the subjects to be considered at such special meeting, and
no other subject shall be considered.
Does this apply to
us??!??
§ 705.58 Appointment and term of city manager; vacancy.
Text of Statute
The council shall appoint a city manager who shall be the administrative head
of the municipal government under the direction and supervision of the council
and who shall hold office at the pleasure of the council.
In the event that the city manager is
absent from his office by reason of illness, death, vacation, resignation, or
removal, the member of council serving as chairman shall act as city manager
and
perform all the duties of such office, until such time as the city manager
returns to his duties or the council appoints a new city manager to fill the
vacancy.
§ 718.07 Electronic
versions of rules, ordinances, blanks and instructions to be available on
internet.
Text of Statute
As used in this section, "internet" means the international
computer network of both federal and nonfederal interoperable packet switched
data networks, including the graphical subnetwork known as the world wide web.
On and after January 1, 2002, each municipal corporation that imposes a tax
on income shall make electronic versions of any rules or ordinances governing
the tax available to the public through the internet, including, but not limited
to, ordinances or rules governing the rate of tax; payment and withholding of
taxes; filing any prescribed returns, reports, or other documents; dates for
filing or paying taxes, including estimated taxes; penalties, interest,
assessment, and other collection remedies; rights of taxpayers to appeal; and
procedures for filing appeals. On and after that date, any municipal corporation
that requires taxpayers to file income tax returns, reports, or other documents
shall make blanks of such returns, reports, or documents, and any instructions
pertaining thereto, available to the public electronically through the internet.
Electronic versions of rules, ordinances, blanks, and instructions shall be made
available either by posting them on the electronic site established by the tax
commissioner under section 5703.49
of the Revised Code or by posting them on an electronic site established by the
municipal corporation that is accessible through the internet. If a municipal
corporation establishes such an electronic site, the municipal corporation shall
incorporate an electronic link between that site and the site established
pursuant to section 5703.49
of the Revised Code, and shall provide to the tax commissioner the uniform
resource locator of the site established pursuant to this division.
You
can now go to the Internet and download the tax forms for any city in Ohio -
that is, if it works. I tried Toledo (on two different computers) with no
success. I contacted them and they said there have been alot of complaints of
the same problem. I also tried Sandusky's and also had no success - since I
tried it during tax season, I have been able to get Sandusky's forms off the
Internet.
§
731.01 Members of legislative authority.
Text of Statute
(A) Except as provided
in divisions (B) and (D) of this section, the legislative power of each city
shall be vested in, and exercised by, a legislative authority, composed of not
fewer than seven members, four of whom
shall be elected by wards and three of whom shall be elected by electors of the
city at large.
For the first twenty thousand inhabitants in any city, in
addition to the original five thousand, there shall be two additional members of
such legislative authority, elected by wards, and for every fifteen thousand
inhabitants thereafter there shall be one additional member similarly elected.
The total number of members of such legislative authority shall not exceed
seventeen.
[So actually, what
Sanduskians for mayor/ward want is to return to what is written in the ORC for
most municipalities to follow....]
(B) The legislative
power of a city may be vested in, and exercised by, a legislative authority
composed of not fewer than five nor more than seventeen members, to be
determined in the manner provided in this division, and in lieu of the number
required in division (A) of this section. Under the alternative plan for the
composition of the legislative authority, the number of members shall be fixed
in a resolution which may be submitted to the electors for their approval or
rejection by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative authority, or
by the people through an initiative petition in accordance with section 731.28
of the Revised Code. Such a resolution passed by the legislative authority shall
not be subject to veto by the mayor, need not be published, and shall be
immediately effective for purposes of placing such issue on the ballot. The
resolution shall be submitted to the electors at the next general or primary
election occurring not less than seventy-five days after its passage by the
legislative authority, or the certification of the text of a resolution proposed
by initiative petition to the board of elections. The resolution shall specify
the total number of members, the number to be elected from the city at large,
and the number to be elected from wards. Members
may all be elected from the city at large or all elected from wards, or some may
be elected from the city at large and the remainder elected from wards, as
determined by the resolution. A resolution that changes the total number
of members shall specify the method by which the change in number is to take
effect, but no reduction in the number of members shall terminate the term of an
incumbent. When the number of members elected from wards is changed, new ward
boundaries shall be determined as provided in section 731.06
of the Revised Code.
[Section B is how
we can have our current system and still follow the ORC.]
(C) The number of
members of the legislative authority determined under an alternative plan for
the composition of the legislative authority under division (B) of this section
may be changed or abandoned by a resolution submitted to the electors in the
same manner as provided in division (B) of this section for a resolution to
institute such an alternative plan. When the alternative plan for determining
the number of members of the legislative authority under
division (B) of this section is abandoned, the number of members of the
legislative authority shall be determined by division (A) of this section.
[The writers of the ORC obviously preferred the mayor/ward system for cities.]
(D) When a city has
just been incorporated from township territory pursuant to Chapter 707.
of the Revised Code, the legislative authority of the city initially shall be
vested in and exercised by a legislative authority composed of not fewer than
seven members elected by electors of the city at large. In all subsequent
elections for the city legislative authority, the members shall be elected as
provided in division (A) of this section.
§
731.02 Qualifications of members of legislative authority.
Text of Statute
Members
of the legislative authority at large shall have resided in their respective
cities, and members from wards shall have resided in their respective wards, for
at least one year immediately preceding their election. Each member of
the legislative authority shall be an elector of the city, shall not hold any
other public office, except that of notary public or member of the state
militia, and shall not be interested in
any contract with the city, and no such member may hold employment with said
city.
[This is not as
strict as our City Charter. When the City hired an outside attorney to advise
the commissioners about this, he only advised them about the ORC. He should have
read our City Charter which is much stricter.] A member who ceases to possess any of such qualifications, or
removes from the member's ward, if elected from a ward, or from the city, if
elected from the city at large, shall forthwith forfeit the member's office.
The purpose of
establishing a one-year residency requirement in this section is to recognize
that the state has a substantial and compelling interest in encouraging
qualified candidacies for election to the office of member of the legislative
authority of a city by ensuring that a candidate for such office has every
opportunity to become knowledgeable with and concerned about the problems and
needs of the area the candidate seeks to represent.
In enacting this
requirement, the general assembly finds that the one-year period is reasonably
related to this purpose, while leaving unimpaired a person's right to travel, to
vote, and to be a candidate for public office.
[So
how can a city manager brought in from Wisconsin have much of an
"opportunity to become knowledgeable with and concerned about the problems
and needs of the area"?]
§
731.03 Election and term of members of legislative authority.
Text of Statute
(A) Except as otherwise
provided in division (B) of this section, one member of the legislative
authority of a city from each ward and such number of members thereof at large
as is provided by section 731.01
of the Revised Code shall be chosen in each odd-numbered year. Members shall
serve for a term of two years
commencing on the first day of January next after their election.
(B) A city legislative
authority may, by majority vote, adopt a resolution causing the board of
elections to submit to the city electors the question of whether the terms of
office of the members of the legislative authority should be changed from two
to four years.
[There are lots
of rules in the Ohio Revised Code about how the city must be run. The way I read
this is that we don't have
a choice of having 6 year terms for our commissioners. I have heard that brought
up. We can't do it because the ORC doesn't allow it? Some attorney out there -
explain this to me if I don't understand this right...]
The question may also ask whether the legislative
authority should be authorized to establish staggered four-year terms of office
among members of the legislative authority by fixing certain terms of office at
two years for one term of office but then at four years thereafter. If the
resolution calls for submission of the question about staggered terms, the
resolution shall specify the number of members to be elected for four-year terms
and the number to be elected for two-year terms at the next election for such
members. The resolution shall also specify how many of those members elected to
four-year terms and how many of those members elected to two-year terms shall be
elected from the city at large, and how many from wards. If staggered terms of
office are established, the legislative authority shall fix the length of the
terms of office prior to the last day fixed by law for filing as a candidate for
such office. The question shall be voted upon at the next general election
occurring not less than seventy-five days after the certification of the
resolution to the board of elections. If a majority of the votes cast on the
question is in the affirmative, the terms of office of the members of the
legislative authority shall be four years effective on the first day of January
following the next regular municipal election, except as may otherwise be
provided by the legislative authority to establish staggered terms of office
among members of the legislative authority.
A city legislative
authority whose members' terms of office are four years may, by a majority vote,
adopt a resolution establishing staggered four-year terms of office among
members of the legislative authority by fixing certain terms of office at two
years for one term of office but then at four years thereafter. The resolution
shall specify the number of members to be elected for four-year terms and the
number to be elected for two-year terms, and shall specify how many of those
members elected to four-year terms and how many of those members elected to
two-year terms shall be elected from the city at large, and how many from wards.
If staggered terms of office are established, the legislative authority shall
fix the length of the terms of office prior to the last day fixed by law for
filing as a candidate for such office.
A city legislative
authority whose members' terms of office are four years may, by majority vote,
adopt a resolution causing the board of elections to submit to the city electors
the question of whether the members' terms should be changed back from four to
two years. The question shall be voted upon at the next general election
occurring not less than seventy-five days after the certification of the
resolution to the board of elections. If a majority of the votes cast on the
question is in the affirmative, the terms of office of the members of the
legislative authority shall be two years effective on the first day of January
following the next regular municipal election.
§
731.04 Officers of legislative authority.
Text of Statute
Within ten days from
the commencement of their term, the members of the legislative authority of a
city shall elect a president pro tempore, a clerk, and such other employees as
are necessary, and fix their duties, bonds, and compensation. Such officers and
employees shall serve for two years, unless the members of the legislative
authority serve terms of four years pursuant to division (B) of section 731.03
of the Revised Code, in which case these officers and employees shall serve for
four years, but may be removed at any time for cause, at a regular meeting of
the legislative authority by a two-thirds vote of the members elected.
§
731.05 Powers of legislative authority.
Text of Statute
The
powers of the legislative authority of a city shall be legislative only, it
shall perform no administrative duties, and it shall neither appoint nor confirm
any officer or employee in the city government except those of its own body,
unless otherwise provided in Title VII [7] of the Revised Code.
All
contracts requiring the authority of the legislative authority for their
execution shall be entered into and conducted to performance by the board or
officers having charge of the matters to which they relate. After the authority
to make such contracts has been given and the necessary appropriation made, the
legislative authority shall take no further action thereon.
§
731.06 Division of city into wards.
Text of Statute
(A) The legislative
authority of a city shall subdivide the city into wards, equal in number to the
members of the legislative authority to be elected from wards, within
ninety days after:
(1) The first day of
October of the year following the decennial census year;
(2) The approval of the
adoption, change, or abandonment of an alternative plan for the composition of
the legislative authority of the city under division (B) or (C) of section 731.01
of the Revised Code, if the number of wards is changed;
(3) The annexation of
territory containing, according to the last federal census or a census
authorized by the legislative authority, such population as will entitle the
city to an additional member of the legislative authority under division (A) of
section 731.01
of the Revised Code.
(B) If the legislative
authority fails to make such subdivision within the time required, it shall be
made by the director of public service.
(C) In order to provide
substantially equal population in each of the wards, the legislative authority
may redivide the city into wards at any time.
(D) All wards shall be
bounded, as far as practicable, by county lines, streets, alleys, lot lines,
avenues, public grounds, canals, watercourses, municipal corporation lines,
center lines of platted streets, or railroads, and shall be composed of adjacent
and compact territory, and substantially equal in population.
(E) The legislative
authority may authorize and provide for conducting a census of the population of
the city at any time in order to carry out the powers granted by this section.
(F) Action of the
legislative authority to divide the city into wards shall be taken by ordinance
and shall be effective for the first municipal primary election occurring at
least one hundred fifty days after the passage of the ordinance.
§
731.07 Salaries shall not be changed during term.
Text of Statute
The
salary of any officer of a city shall not be increased or diminished during the
term for which he was elected or appointed.
This section does not
prohibit the payment of any increased costs of continuing to provide the
identical benefits provided to an officer at the commencement of his term of
office.
Unless otherwise
provided, all fees pertaining to any office shall be paid into the city
treasury.
§
731.08 Power of legislative authority as to salaries and bonds.
Text of Statute
Except
as otherwise provided in Title VII [7] of the Revised Code, the legislative
authority of a city, by ordinance or resolution, shall determine the number of
officers, clerks, and employees in each department of the city government, and
shall fix, by ordinance or resolution, their respective salaries and
compensation, and the amount of bond to be given for each officer, clerk, or
employee in each department of the government, if any is required. Such bond
shall be made by such officer, clerk, or employee, with surety subject to the
approval of the mayor.
§
731.17 Passage of ordinances and resolutions.
Text of Statute
(A) The following
procedures shall apply to the passage of ordinances and resolutions of a
municipal corporation:
(1)
Each ordinance and resolution shall be read by title only, provided the
legislative authority may require any reading to be in full by a majority vote
of its members.
(2)
Each ordinance or resolution shall be read on three different days, provided the
legislative authority may dispense with this rule by a vote of at least
three-fourths of its members.
[I
don't get this. Does this differ from our City Charter? My copy of the charter
says two different days. (Is my copy of the city charter erroneous?) But the
city has to follow the ORC on this, doesn't it?]
(3) The vote on the
passage of each ordinance or resolution shall be taken by yeas and nays and
entered upon the journal.
(4) Each ordinance or
resolution shall be passed, except as otherwise provided by law, by a vote of at
least a majority of all the members of the legislative authority.
(B) Action by the
legislative authority, not required by law to be by ordinance or resolution, may
be taken by motion approved by at least a majority vote of the members present
at the meeting when the action is taken.
§
731.18 Style of ordinances.
Text of Statute
The style of all
ordinances shall be, "Be it ordained by the . . . . . . . . . . (filling
the blank with the name of the legislative authority of the city or village) of
. . . . . . . . . ., state of Ohio," (filling the blank with the name of
the city or village.)
§
731.19 Subject and amendment of bylaws, ordinances, and resolutions.
Text of Statute
No ordinance,
resolution, or bylaw shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly
expressed in its title. No bylaw or ordinance, or section thereof, shall be
revived or amended, unless the new bylaw or ordinance contains the entire bylaw,
ordinance, or section revived or amended, and the bylaw, ordinance, or section
so amended shall be repealed. Each such bylaw, resolution, and ordinance shall
be adopted or passed by a separate vote of the legislative authority of a
municipal corporation and the yeas and nays shall be entered upon the journal.
§
731.20 Authentication and recording.
Text of Statute
Ordinances,
resolutions, and bylaws shall be authenticated by the signature of the presiding
officer and clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation.
Ordinances of a general nature or providing for improvements shall be published
as provided by sections 731.21
and 731.22
of the Revised Code before going into operation. No ordinance shall take effect
until the expiration of ten days after the first publication of such notice. As
soon as a bylaw, resolution, or ordinance is passed and signed, it shall be
recorded by the clerk in a book furnished by the legislative authority for that
purpose.
§
731.21 Publication of ordinance, resolution or summary; proof; charge for
copies; posting.
Text of Statute
(A)
Notwithstanding any conflicting provision of section 7.12
of the Revised Code, each municipal ordinance or resolution, or a succinct
summary of each municipal ordinance and resolution, and all statements, orders,
proclamations, notices, and reports required by law or ordinance to be published
shall be published as follows:
(1)
In two English language newspapers of opposite politics,
published and of
general circulation in the municipal corporation, if there are any such
newspapers;
(2) If two English
language newspapers of opposite politics are not published and of general
circulation in the municipal corporation, then in one such political newspaper
and one other English language newspaper published and of general circulation
therein;
(3)
If only one English language newspaper is published and of general circulation
in the municipal corporation, then in that newspaper;
(4) If no English
language newspaper is published and of general circulation in the municipal
corporation, then in any English language newspaper of general circulation
therein or by posting as provided in section 731.25
of the Revised Code, at the option of the legislative authority of such
municipal corporation. Proof of the publication and required circulation of any
newspaper used as a medium of publication as provided by this section shall be
made by affidavit of the proprietor of either of such newspapers, and shall be
filed with the clerk of the legislative authority.
(B)
If a summary of an ordinance or resolution is published under division (A) of
this section, the publication shall contain notice that the complete text of
each such ordinance or resolution may be obtained or viewed at the office of the
clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation and may be
viewed at any other location designated by the legislative authority of the
municipal corporation.
The city director of law, village solicitor, or
other chief legal officer of the municipal corporation shall review any summary
of an ordinance or resolution published under this section prior to forwarding
it to the clerk for publication, to ensure that the summary is legally accurate
and sufficient.
[This topic has come up
with our commission. It was recently in the news. It does cost alot to publish
the ordinances and resolutions in the newspaper. The newspaper is the most accessible record of the business of our
city. The Internet is also a place where ordinances and resolutions should
appear - the public should have easy access to these records. The archives of the paper are available at the library.
(I would also like to
see the Sandusky Register have a big on-line archive. Other newspapers
charge a small fee for getting old newspaper articles.)]
(C) Upon publication of
a summary of an ordinance or resolution in accordance with this section, the
clerk of the legislative authority shall supply a copy of the complete text of
each such ordinance or resolution to any person, upon request, and may charge a
reasonable fee, set by the legislative authority, for each copy supplied. The
clerk shall post a copy of the text at his office and at every other location
designated by the legislative authority.
[§ 731.21.1]
§ 731.211 Notice for proposed amendments to municipal charters.
Text of Statute
In accordance with
Section 9 of Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, notice of proposed amendments to
municipal charters shall be given in one
of the following ways:
(A)
Not less than thirty days prior to the election at which the amendment is to be
submitted to the electors, the clerk of the municipality shall mail a copy of
the proposed charter amendment to each elector whose name appears upon the poll
or registration books of the last regular or general election held therein.
(B)
The full text of the proposed charter amendment shall be published once a week
for not less than two consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the
municipal corporation, with the first publication being at least fifteen days
prior to the election at which the amendment is to be submitted to the electors.
If no newspaper is published in the municipal corporation, then such publication
shall be made in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipal
corporation.
§
731.22 Times of publication required.
Text of Statute
The publication
required in section 731.21
of the Revised Code shall be for the following times:
(A) Ordinances and
resolutions, or summaries of ordinances or resolutions, and proclamations of
elections, once a week for two consecutive weeks;
(B) Notices, not less
than two nor more than four consecutive weeks;
(C) All other matters
shall be published once.
§
731.23 Publication and certification of ordinances in book form.
Text of Statute
When ordinances are
revised, codified, rearranged, published in book form, and certified as correct
by the clerk of the legislative authority of a municipal corporation and the
mayor, such publication shall be a sufficient publication, and the ordinances so
published, under appropriate titles, chapters, and sections, shall be held the
same in law as though they had been published in a newspaper. A new ordinance so
published in book form, which has not been published as required by sections 731.21
and 731.22
of the Revised Code, and which contains entirely new matter, shall be published
as required by such sections. If such revision or codification is made by a
municipal corporation and contains new matter, it shall be a sufficient
publication of such codification, including the new matter, to publish, in the
manner required by such sections, a notice of the enactment of such codifying
ordinance, containing the title of the ordinance and a summary of the new
matters covered by it. Such revision and codification may be made under
appropriate titles, chapters, and sections and in one ordinance containing one
or more subjects.
Except as provided by
this section, all ordinances, including emergency ordinances, shall be published
in accordance with section 731.21
of the Revised Code.
[§ 731.23.1]
§ 731.231 Adoption of technical ordinances and codes.
Text of Statute
The legislative
authority of a municipality may adopt standard ordinances and codes, prepared
and promulgated by the state, or any department, board, or other agency thereof
or any code prepared and promulgated by a public or private organization which
publishes a model or standard code, including but not limited to codes and
regulations pertaining to fire, fire hazards, fire prevention, plumbing code,
electrical code, building code, refrigeration machinery code, piping code,
boiler code, heating code, or air conditioning code, by incorporation by
reference.
The publication
required by sections 731.21
to 731.25,
inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall clearly identify such code, shall state
the purpose of the code, shall state that a complete copy of such code is on
file with the clerk of the legislative authority for inspection by the public
and also on file in the law library of the county or counties in which the
municipality is located and that said clerk has copies available for
distribution to the public at cost. If the adopting municipality amends or
deletes any provisions of such code, the publication shall contain a brief
summary of such deletion or amendment.
If the agency which
originally promulgated or published the code thereafter amends said code, any
municipality which has adopted a code by the provisions of this section may
adopt such amendment or change by incorporation by reference in an amending
ordinance by the same procedure as required for the adoption of the original
code without the necessity of setting forth in full in the amending ordinance
the provisions of the original ordinance or code.
Ordinances or codes
adopted by a municipality under the provisions of this section shall be deemed
to be a full and complete compliance with sections 731.21
to 731.25,
inclusive, of the Revised Code, and no other publication is necessary.
§
731.24 Certificate of clerk as to publication.
Text of Statute
Immediately after the
expiration of the period of publication for ordinances or summaries of
ordinances required by section 731.22
of the Revised Code, the clerk of the legislative authority of a municipal
corporation shall enter on the record of ordinances, in a blank to be left for
such purpose under the recorded ordinance, a certificate stating in which
newspaper and on what dates such publication was made, and shall sign his name
thereto officially. Such certificate shall be prima-facie evidence that legal
publication of the ordinance or summary of the ordinance was made.
§
731.26 Effect of not making publication.
Text of Statute
It is a sufficient
defense to any suit or prosecution under an ordinance, to show that no
publication or posting was made as required by sections 731.21
to 731.25,
inclusive, of the Revised Code.
§
731.27 Mayor's veto in cities.
Text of Statute
Every ordinance or
resolution of a legislative authority of a city shall, before it goes into
effect, be presented to the mayor for approval. The mayor, if he approves such
ordinance or resolution, shall sign and return it forthwith to the legislative
authority. If he does not approve it, he shall, within ten days after its
passage or adoption, return it, with his objections, to the legislative
authority, or, if it is not in session, to the next regular meeting thereof,
which objections shall be entered upon its journal. The
mayor may approve or disapprove the whole or any item of an ordinance
appropriating money. If he does not return such ordinance or resolution
within the time limited in this section, it shall take effect in the same manner
as if he had signed it, unless the legislative authority, by adjournment,
prevents its return. When the mayor disapproves an ordinance or resolution, or
any part thereof, and returns it with his objections, the legislative authority
may, after ten days, reconsider it, and if such ordinance, resolution, or item,
upon such reconsideration, is approved by a two-thirds vote of all the members
elected, it shall then take effect as if signed by the mayor.
[We
don't have these "checks and balances" operating in Sandusky
currently.]
§
731.42 Bylaws and ordinances as evidence.
Text of Statute
The printed copies of
the bylaws or ordinances of a municipal corporation, published under its
authority, and transcripts of any bylaws, resolutions, or ordinances, or of any
act or proceeding of a municipal corporation, recorded in any book or entered on
any minutes or journal kept under the direction of such municipal corporation,
and certified by its clerk, shall be received in evidence throughout the state
for any purpose for which the original books, ordinances, minutes, or journals
would be received.
§
731.43 Vacancy in legislative authority.
Text of Statute
(A)(1) Except as
otherwise provided in division (A)(2) of this section, when the office of a
member of the legislative authority of a village becomes vacant, the vacancy
shall be filled by election by the legislative authority for the unexpired term.
If the legislative authority fails within thirty days to fill such vacancy, the
mayor shall fill it by appointment except that, subject to division (A)(2) of
this section, when the vacancy occurs because of the operation of section 733.25
of the Revised Code, the successor shall hold office only for the period the
president pro tempore of the legislative authority holds the office of mayor.
(B) Except as otherwise
provided in this division, when the office of a member of the legislative
authority of a city becomes vacant either because a member ceases to hold the
office before the end of the member's term or because a member-elect fails to
take office, the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term
by a person chosen by the residents of that city who are members of the county
central committee of the political party by which the last occupant of that
office or the member-elect was nominated. If the vacancy occurs in the office of
a ward representative in a city where the political party which nominated the
last occupant of that office is organized into a city controlling committee with
more than one member from the ward where the vacancy exists, the members of the
city controlling committee representing that ward shall choose the person to
fill the vacancy.
(C) Not less than five
nor more than forty-five days after a vacancy occurs, the specified members of
the city or county committee shall meet to make an appointment to fill the
vacancy. At least four days before the date of such meeting the chairperson or
secretary of the city or county committee shall notify each committee member
eligible to vote on filling the vacancy by first class mail of the date, time,
and place of the meeting and its purpose. A majority of all eligible committee
members constitutes a quorum, and a majority of the quorum is required to make
the appointment. If election to the office so vacated took place at a
nonpartisan election, or if the office was occupied by, or was to be occupied by
a person not nominated at a primary election, or if the appointment was not made
by the committee members in accordance with this section, the vacancy shall be
filled in the same manner as a vacancy in the legislative authority of a
village, as provided in this section.
§
731.44 Judge of election and qualification of members; quorum and special
meetings.
Text of Statute
The
legislative authority of a municipal corporation shall be the judge of the
election and qualification of its members.
A majority of all the members
elected shall be a quorum, but a less number may adjourn from day to day and
compel attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as
are prescribed by ordinance. The legislative authority shall provide rules for
the manner of calling special meetings.
[So
the way I understand it, if a commissioner says "I resign" but didn't
mean it, it would be the "legislative authority" or the city
commission that would decide if they thought the commissioner had
resigned?]
§
731.45 Rules; journal; expulsion of members.
Text of Statute
The legislative
authority of a municipal corporation shall determine its own rules
and keep a
journal of its proceedings. It may punish or expel any member for disorderly
conduct or violation of its rules, and declare his seat vacant for absence
without valid excuse, where such absence has continued for two months. No
expulsion shall take place without the concurrence of two thirds of all the
members elected, and until the delinquent member has been notified of the charge
against him and has had an opportunity to be heard.
[See,
here again, the legislative authority determines its own rules. So it can decide
that a commissioner must submit his resignation in writing for it to be
official. Or they can decide anything they want on this. It is not subject to precedents
of other city commissions. It would only be subject to its own
precedents. Do I have it right?]
§
731.46 Meetings of legislative authority.
Text of Statute
The
legislative authority of a municipal corporation shall not be required to hold
more than one regular meeting in each week. The meetings may be held at
such time and place as is prescribed by ordinance and shall, at all times, be
open to the public. The mayor, or any three members of the legislative authority
may call special meetings upon at least twelve hours' notice to each member,
served personally or left at his usual place of residence.
§
731.47 General powers.
Text of Statute
The legislative
authority shall have the management and control of the finances and property of
the municipal corporation, except as otherwise provided.
§
731.48 Contract restrictions.
Text of Statute
The
legislative authority of a municipal corporation shall not enter into any
contract which is not to go into full operation during the term for which all
the members of such legislative authority are elected.
2001
