Chapter 7. CITY LEGISLATION  

Section 7.1. The Commission shall provide by resolution for the time and place of its regular meetings and shall hold at least two regular meetings each month.

Section 7.2. Special meetings shall be called by the Clerk on written request of the Mayor or any two members of the Commission on at least twenty-four hours written notice to each member of the Commission served personally or left at his usual place of residence; but a special meeting may be held on shorter notice if all members of the Commission are present or have waived notice in writing.

Section 7.3. No business shall be transacted at any special meeting of the Commission unless the same has been stated in the notice of such meeting. However, any business which may lawfully come before a regular meeting may be transacted at a special meeting if all the members of the Commission present consent thereto and all the members absent file their written consent.

Section 7.4. All regular and special meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public and citizens shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard under such rules and regulations as the Commission may prescribe.

Section 7.5. A majority of the members of the Commission in office at the time shall be a quorum for the transaction of business at all Commission meetings but in the absence of a quorum a less number may adjourn any meeting to a later time or date, and in the absence of all members, the Clerk may adjourn any meeting for not longer than one week.

Section 7.6. Any two or more members of the Commission may by vote either request or compel the attendance of its members and other officers of the city at any meeting. Any member of the Commission or other officer, who, when notified of such request for his attendance, fails to attend such meeting for reason other than those approved by the. Commission shall be deemed guilty of misconduct in office unless excused by the Commission. The presiding officer shall enforce orderly conduct at meetings and any member of the Commission or other officer who shall fail to conduct himself in an orderly manner at any meeting shall be deemed guilty of misconduct in office.

All meetings of the Commission shall be conducted according, to Robert’s Rules of Order; Provided, however, nothing herein shall contravene the provision of the statutes or this charter. The following procedure shall be adopted:

1. Call meeting to order.

2. Roll Call.

3. Reading of previous minutes.

4. Hearing citizens present.

5. Reading of correspondence.

6. City Manager’s report.

7. Committee reports.

8. Special orders.

9. Unfinished business and general orders.

10. New business.

This procedure may be suspended in accordance with parliamentary procedure.

Any police officers designated by the presiding officer of the meeting shall serve as the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Commission in the enforcement of the provisions of this section.

Section 7.7. The Commission shall determine its own organization, rules and order of business subject to the following provisions:

(a) A journal of the proceedings of each meeting shall be kept in the English language by the Clerk and shall be signed by the presiding officer and clerk of the meeting.

(b) A vote upon all ordinances and resolutions shall be taken by a roll call vote and entered upon the records, except where the vote is unanimous it shall only be necessary to so state.

(c) No member of the Commission shall vote on any question in which he has a financial interest, or on any question concerning his own conduct, but on all other questions each member who is present shall vote when his name is called unless excused by the unanimous consent of the remaining members present. Any member refusing to vote except when not so required by this paragraph shall be guilty of misconduct in office.

In all roll call votes, the names of the members of the Commission shall be called in alphabetical order and the name to be called first shall be advanced one position alphabetically in each successive roll call vote.

(d) The proceedings of the Commission, or a brief summary thereof, shall be published within fifteen days following each meeting. Any such summary shall be prepared by the Clerk and approved by the Mayor and shall show the substance of each separate proceeding of the Commission.

(e) The Commission may provide for the appointment of standing committees of its members.

Section 7.8. The Commission, or any person or committee authorized by it for the purpose, shall have power to inquire into the conduct of any department, office or officer and to make investigations as to matters in which the municipality has an interest. The Commission for the purposes stated herein, may summon witnesses, administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and other evidence.

Failure on the part of any officer to obey such summons or to produce books, papers and other evidence as ordered under the provisions of this section shall constitute misconduct in office. Failure on the part of any employee or other person to obey such summons or to produce books, papers or other evidence as ordered under the provisions of this section shall constitute a violation of this charter and such person when found guilty of such violation by a competent tribunal may be punished by a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars or imprisonment not to exceed ninety days, or both, in the discretion of the court.

It is provided further, that in case of failure on the part of any person to obey such summons or to produce such books, papers and other evidence as so ordered, the Commission may invoke the aid of the proper judicial tribunal in requiring obeyance of such summons or production of such books, papers and other evidence.

Section 7.9. The Commission shall see that provision is made for the public peace and health, and for the safety of persons and property. Unless and until a board of health is established for the city by ordinance, the Commission shall constitute the board of health of the city, and it and its officers shall possess all powers, privileges and immunities granted to boards of health by statute.

Section 7.10. All valid bylaws, ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations of the city which are not inconsistent with this charter and which are in force and effect at the time of the effective date of this charter shall continue in full force and effect until repealed or amended. If any such ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation provides for the appointment of any officers or members of any board or commission by the Mayor, such officers or members of any board or commission shall, after the effective date of this charter, be appointed by the City Commission.

Those provisions of any effective valid bylaw, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation which are inconsistent with this charter, are hereby repealed.

Section 7.11. All legislation of the City of Scottville shall be by ordinance or by resolution. The word “resolution” as used in this charter shall be the official action of the Commission in the form of a motion, and such action shall be limited to matters required or permitted to be done by resolution by this charter or by state or federal law and to matters pertaining to the internal affairs or concerns of the city government. All other acts of the Commission, and all acts carrying a penalty for the violation thereof, shall be by ordinance. Each ordinance shall be identified by a number and a short title. Each proposed ordinance shall be introduced in written or printed form. The style of all ordinances passed by the Commission shall be “The City of Scottville Ordains.”

Section 7.12. Ordinances may be enacted, amended, or repealed by the affirmative vote of not less than four Commissioners subject to the limitations of Section 7.13. Unless by the affirmative vote of five Commissioners no office shall be created or abolished; no tax assessment be imposed; no street, alley, or public ground be vacated; no real estate or any interest therein be sold or disposed of; no private property be taken for public use; nor any vote of the Commission be reconsidered or rescinded al a special meeting; nor any money appropriated except as otherwise provided by this charter.

Except in the case of ordinances which are declared to be emergency ordinances, no ordinance shall be finally passed by the Commission until one month otter the meeting at which it is introduced. A brief description of the subject and contents of the ordinance as introduced shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city at least one week before final passage, either separately or as part of the published proceedings of the Commission.

No ordinance shall be revised, altered, or amended by reference to the title only, but the section or sections of the ordinance revised, altered, or amended shall be re-enacted and published at length in a newspaper of local circulation in the city. However, an ordinance may be repealed by reference to its number and title only. This requirement shall not apply to Sections which list one-way streets, stop streets, and street intersections and of parking limitations which are contained in any traffic ordinance.

Section 7.13. Each ordinance shall be published within ten days after its enactment by publishing the full text thereof in a newspaper as defined in Section 7.18 either separately or as part of the published Commission proceedings; provided, nothing shall contravene the provisions of 7.12.

All ordinances shall be recorded by the Clerk in a book to be called “The Ordinance Book”, and it shall be the duty of the Mayor and Clerk to authenticate such records by their official signatures thereon, but the failure to so record and authenticate such ordinance shall not invalidate it or suspend its operation.

Section 7.14. The effective date of all ordinances shall be prescribed therein but the effective date shall not be less than fifteen days after enactment nor before publication thereof.

Section 7.15. The Commission may provide in any ordinance for the punishment of those who violate its provisions. The punishment for the violation of any city ordinance shall not exceed a fine of five hundred dollars or imprisonment for ninety days, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Section 7.16. The Commission may adopt in whole or in part any provision of state law or any detailed technical regulations as a city ordinance or code by citation of such provision of state law or by reference to any recognized standard code, official or unofficial, provided that any such provision of state law or recognized official or unofficial standard code shall be clearly identified in the ordinance adopting the same as an ordinance of the city. Where any code, or amendment thereto is so adopted, all requirements for its publication may be met, other provisions of this charter notwithstanding, by (1) publishing the ordinance citing such code in manner provided for the publication of other ordinances and (2) by making available to the public, copies of the code cited therein in book or booklet form at a reasonable charge.

Section 7.17. Unless an ordinance shall expressly provide to the contrary, if any portion of an ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be found to be invalid by a court, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portion or application of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid portion or application, provided such remaining portions or applications are not determined by the court to be inoperative, and to this end ordinances are declared to be severable.

Section 7.18. Within five years after the effective date of this charter, the Commission shall direct the compilation or codification and printing in looseleaf or pamphlet form of all ordinances of the city then in force. Such compilation or codification shall be completed within one year thereafter. If a codification is completed it shall be maintained thereafter in current form; if a compilation is completed a recompilation shall be completed at least once in every five years thereafter. Any codification may include provisions not previously contained in ordinances of the city.

All requirements for publication of such compilation on codification, and of the ordinances contained therein, other provisions of this charter notwithstanding, may be met by making copies thereof available for inspection by, and distribution to, the public at a reasonable charge and by publishing notice of the printing and availability thereof before the effective date thereof.

The copies of the ordinances and of any compilation, code or codes referred to in the charter may be certified by the Clerk and when so certified shall be competent evidence in all courts and legally established tribunals as to the matter contained therein.

Section 7.19. An ordinance may be initiated by petition, or referendum on an ordinance enacted by the Commission may be had by petition, as hereinafter provided.

Section 7.20. An initiatory petition shall be signed by not less than ten per cent of the registered electors of the city, as of the date of the last regular city election, and all signatures on said petition shall be obtained within twenty-one days before the date of filing the petition with the Clerk. A referendary petition shall be signed by not less than twenty-five per cent of the registered electors of the city, as of the date of the last regular city election, and all signatures on said petition shall be obtained within twenty-one days before the date of filing the petition with the Clerk. Any such petition, either initiatory or referendary, shall be addressed to the Commission, and may be the aggregate of two or more petition papers identical in contents. An initiatory petition shall set forth in full the ordinance it proposes to initiate and no petition shall propose to initiate more than one ordinance. A referendary petition shall identify the ordinance or code sections it proposes to have repealed.

Each signer of a petition shall sign his name, and shall place thereon after his name, the date and his place of residence by street and number or by other customary designation. To each petition paper there shall be attached a sworn affidavit by the circulator thereof, stating the number of signers thereof and that each signature thereon is a genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be, and that it was made in the presence of the affiant. Such petition shall be filed with the Clerk who shall, within fifteen days, canvass the signatures thereon. If the petition does not contain a sufficient number of signatures of registered electors of the city, the Clerk shall notify forthwith the person filing such petition and fifteen days from such notification shall be allowed for the filing of supplemental petition papers. When a petition with sufficient signatures is filed within the time allowed by this section, the Clerk shall present the petition to the Commission at its next regular meeting.

Section 7.21. Upon receiving an initiatory or referendary petition from the Clerk, the Commission shall either, within thirty days, unless otherwise provided by statute:

(a) Adopt the ordinance as submitted by an initiatory petition;

(b) Repeal the ordinance referred to by a referendary petition; or,

(c) Determine to submit the proposal provided for in the petition to the electors.

Section 7.22 Should the Commission decide to submit the proposal to the electors, it shall be submitted at the next election held in the city for any other purpose, or, in the discretion of the Commission, at a special election called for the specific purpose. In case of an initiatory petition, if no electon is to be held in the city for any other purpose within one hundred and fifty days from the time the petition is presented to the Commission and the Commission does not adopt the ordinance, then the Commission shall call a special election within sixty days from such time for the submission of the initiatory proposal. The results shall be determined by a majority vote of the electors voting thereon, except in cases where otherwise required by statute or the Constitution.

Section 7.23. An ordinance adopted by the electorate through initiatory proceedings may not be amended or repealed for a period of six months after the date of the election at which it was adopted, and an ordinance repealed by the electorate may not be re-enacted for a period of six months after the date of the election at which it was repealed. It is provided, however, that any ordinance may be adopted, amended or repealed at any time by appropriate referendum or initiatory procedure in accordance with provisions of this chapter or if submitted to the electorate by the Commission on its own motion.

If two or more ordinances adopted at the same election shall have conflicting provisions, the provisions in the ordinance receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall govern.