The members of the Charter
Commission of the City of
The Commission has sought to prepare
a new Charter which provides a structure for the effective and efficient
conduct of the City government, and which provides for the fullest possible participation
in the affairs of the City by every member of the community. The Commission has also sought to retain
those features of the prior Charter that have served the City well since
adoption.
In keeping with these goals,
existing offices and departments, boards and commissions, and officials and
employees are all continued in the new Charter.
The new Charter continues to vest all legislative powers in a City
Council composed of seven Council members elected at large. The new Charter requires the Council to
review the Charter and all ordinances of a general and permanent nature at
least once every six years, and permits the Council to establish boards an
commissions in addition to those
which now
exist.
The form of government provided by
new Charter continues to be the “Council-Mayor” form. All administrative responsibilities continue
to be exercised by the Mayor, who is elected by the voters.
The new Charter contains a Code of
Ethics establishing minimum ethical requirements for elected officials, appointed
officers, employees, and voluntary workers.
The Commission recognizes that the
Charter is a document of limitation on the home rule powers available to the
City and its citizens, and so have sought to include in the Charter important
protections for the citizens. Tax
limitations are included, as are provisions concerning the constitutional
rights of initiative, referendum, and recall.
Other citizen protections include a mandatory public hearing on the
proposed budget, the publication of ordinances, and an annual independent
audit.
Other matters covered in the new
Charter include Council procedures, powers, and duties; legal and judiciary;
elections; budget and finance administration; borrowing; improvement districts;
purchases and sales; franchises and permits; miscellaneous legal provisions;
and transitional provisions;
The Commission believes that this
new Charter continues a structure for responsible and responsive government for
the City of Edgewater; updates, improves, and clarifies the prior Charter; and
provides a blueprint for the City that will maintain and enhance the quality of
life of the citizens, continue to address the needs and concerns of the
citizens, and continue to progress of the City.
CHARTER
Articles:
Prefatory
Synopsis
I General Provisions
II Mayor
III City
Council
IV Elections
V Initiative, Referendum, and
Recall
VI Ordinances,
Resolutions, and Motions
VII Code
of Ethics
VIII Municipal Court – City Attorney
IX Personnel
X Administrative
Departments
XI Boards
and Commissions
XII Budget
XIII Finance
Administration
XIV Municipal
Borrowing
XV Improvement
Districts
XVI Purchases
and Sales
XVII Franchises and Permits
XVIII Taxation
XIX Miscellaneous
Legal Provisions
XX Definitions
XXI Transitional
Provisions
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sections:
1.1 Name
and boundaries
1.2 Purpose
of Charter
1.3 Form
of government
1.4 Power,
rights, and liabilities
1.5 Amendments
to the Charter
1.1 Name
and boundaries
The municipal corporation heretofore
existing as the City of Edgewater shall remain and continue as a body politic
and corporate under this Charter, to be known as the City of Edgewater, with
the same boundaries until changed in a manner authorized by law.
1.2 Purpose of Charter
It is the
purpose of this Charter to establish a basic governmental structure that will
provide for the effective and efficient conduct of the business of the City. It is intended that the Charter shall provide
for the fullest possible participation in the affairs of the City by every
member of the community in the manner provided for herein.
1.3 Form
of government
The
municipal government provided by this Charter shall be the “Mayor-Council” form
of government. Pursuant to the
provisions of this Charter and subject only to limitations imposed by the
Constitution, all powers of the City shall be vested in an elective Mayor and Council.
1.4 Powers,
rights, and liabilities
(1) By the name of the City of
(a) shall have perpetual succession;
(b) shall own, possess, and hold all property,
real and personal heretofore
owned, possessed, and held by the
City of Edgewater, and does
assume and shall manage and dispose of all trusts in any way connected herewith;
(c) shall retain all the rights and liabilities,
and shall acquire all benefits, and
does assume, and shall pay all bonds, obligations, and indebtedness of said City of
(d) may, in the name of the City of
(e) may purchase, receive, hold and enjoy, or sell
and dispose of real and personal
property; and
(f) may have and use a common seal and alter the
same at pleasure.
(2) The city shall have all the power of local
self-government and home rule, and
all power possible for a city to have under the Constitution. The City shall
also have all powers that now, or hereafter, may be granted to municipalities
by the statutes, and the enumeration of particular powers in this Charter is not exclusive of
others.
(3) All such powers shall be exercised in
the manner prescribed in this Charter
or, if not provided for herein, in such manner as shall be provided by ordinance of
the council of the City.
1.5 Amendments
to the Charter
(1) This
Charter may be amended in the manner provided in the Constitution and the statutes
pertaining to home rule charter amendments. Proceedings
to amend the Charter may be initiated by the filing of a petition meeting
the requirements of said statutes, or by an ordinance adopted by the City Council submitting the
proposed amendment to a vote of the registered electors.
(2) The Council shall review this
MAYOR
Sections:
2.1 Election of Mayor
2.2 Qualifications
2.3 Powers of the Mayor
2.4 Compensation
2.5 Veto power of the Mayor
2.6 Vacancies
2.1 Election
of Mayor
The Mayor shall
be elected at each regular election. The
Mayor’s term of office shall begin at the first regular City Council meeting
following certification of election results.
2.2 Qualifications
(1) No
person shall be eligible to be elected to, or to be appointed to, fill a vacancy in the
office of Mayor unless the person:
(a) is
a citizen of the
(b) is at least 23 years of age at the time
of nomination or appointment
(c) is a registered elector at the time of
nomination or appointment; and
(d) has been, for one year immediately
preceding such election or appointment, a resident of the City. Any person who is a resident of the City
or any area annexed to or consolidated with the City for the required length
of time, as herein provided, shall be deemed to meet the resident requirements of this
paragraph.
(2) No person who has been, or who is,
convicted of embezzlement, bribery, solicitation
of bribery, perjury, subornation of perjury, or any offense involving fraud,
shall be capable of holding the office of Mayor.
2.3 Powers of the Mayor
(1) The Mayor
shall have all power and authority necessary for the efficient performance of the Mayor’s duties.
(2) No
later than the first regular Council meeting after the commencement of the Mayor’s term of
office, the Mayor shall appoint a Mayor Pro Tempore, who shall be one of the members of
the Council, to act in the Mayor’s absence.
(3) The Mayor shall be the head of the
administrative branch of the City government and shall be responsible
for the proper administration of the affairs
of the City. To that end, the Mayor
shall:
(a) appoint, and when necessary for the good
of the service, remove any
or all employees of the City, subject to the provisions of Article XI of this
Charter; and make other appointments and removals as provided
in this Charter;
(b) pursuant to Article XII, prepare the
budget annually, submit it to the
Council, and be responsible for the administration after adoption;
(c) prepare and submit to the Council, as of
the end of the fiscal year, a
complete report on all the finances and administrative activities of
the City for the preceding year.
(d) retain services of independent
contractors to provide professional services as needed from time to
time; and
(e) perform such other duties as may be
prescribed by this Charter, or required by the Council and not
inconsistent with this Charter.
2.4 Compensation
The compensation of the Mayor shall
be set by ordinance, which may be changed from time to time. However, any increase in compensation may
take effect only on January 1st, and will take effect only if
approved at a regular or special election.
2.5 Veto power of the Mayor
(1) Every ordinance or resolution passed by
the Council shall be presented to the
Mayor within two business days after passage.
(2) To approve the ordinance or resolution,
the Mayor shall sign it within three
business days after receiving it.
(3) To disapprove the ordinance or
resolution, the Mayor shall return the same
to the City Council within three business days after receiving it, with the Mayor’s objections in
writing. If then, at least five members
of the City Council
vote to pass the same over the Mayor’s veto it shall become an ordinance or
resolution, notwithstanding the objections of the Mayor.
(4) If the Mayor does not return the
ordinance or resolution within the time specified,
it shall take effect as if the Mayor had approved it.
2.6 Vacancies
(1) A
vacancy shall exist when the Mayor:
(a) fails to qualify, dies, resigns, is
recalled from office, or moves from
the
City;
(b) is incapacitated, or is absent
continuously from the City for more than
three months;
(c) is convicted of embezzlement, bribery,
solicitation of bribery, perjury, subornation of
perjury, or any offense involving fraud;
or
(d) is judicially declared mentally
incompetent.
(2) That such cause of vacancy exists shall
be established by competent evidence
thereof and placed on record in the Council minutes. The Council
shall determine the validity of the evidence and, based on its determination,
decide when a vacancy exists.
(3) A vacancy in the office of Mayor shall
be filled by the Mayor Pro Tempore, or,
if the Mayor Pro Tempore is incapacitated or refuses to serve, then the Council shall promptly
choose a successor mayor from its own members.
The resulting
vacancy on the Council shall be filled in the same manner as other
vacancies.
COUNCIL
Sections:
3.1 Council
3.2 Election of Council
3.3 Compensation
3.4 Qualifications of Council
members
3.5 Council meetings
3.6 Vacancy
3.7 Powers
3.8 Council and
administrative services
3.1 Council
The legislative affairs of the City
shall be vested in a City Council consisting of seven Council members, nominated and elected at large.
3.2 Election
of Council