We the people of the City of Flushing,
County of Genesee, State of Michigan pursuant to the authority granted by the
Constitution and the Statutes of the State of Michigan in order to secure the
benefits of self government and to provide for the public peace, and health and
for the safety of persons and property do hereby ordain and establish this
charter of the City of Flushing, Michigan.
ARTICLE
I
General
Provisions
BOUNDARIES:
Section 1.1
(a)
The Municipal Corporation now existing and known as the City of
(b)
The Clerk shall maintain and keep available in the City office of the
Clerk for public inspection the official description and map of the current
boundaries of the City.
FORM OF
GOVERNMENT:
Section 1.2 The
municipal government provided for in this Charter shall be the
"Council-Manager" form of government.
Pursuant to the provisions of this Charter and the general state law and
subject only to limitations imposed by the Constitution of the State of
MUNICIPAL
POWERS:
Section 1.3 This
Charter provides for the exercise of all municipal powers in the management and
control of municipal property and in the administration of the municipal
government, whether such powers be expressly enumerated or not; for any act to
advance the interests of the City, the good government and prosperity of the
municipality and its inhabitants and through its regularly constituted
authority to pass all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal concerns
subject to the constitution and general laws of this state.
AMENDMENTS:
Section 1.4 This
Charter may be amended at any time in the manner provided by statute. Should two or more amendments adopted at the
same election have conflicting provisions, the one receiving the largest
affirmative vote shall prevail as to those provisions.
ARTICLE
AND SECTION HEADINGS:
Section 1.5 The Chapter, section and sub-section headings used in this
Charter are for convenience only and shall not be considered part of the
Charter.
RECORDS
TO BE PUBLIC:
Section 1.6 All
records of the City shall be public and shall be kept in the City offices
except when required for official reasons or for purposes of safe keeping to be
elsewhere, and shall be available for inspection at all reasonable times.
VIOLATION
OF CHARTER:
Section 1.7 Any person found guilty of an act constituting misconduct in office
or a violation of this Charter may be punished by a fine not exceeding five
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed ninety days, or
both, in the discretion of the court.
This section shall not operate to limit or prejudice the power to remove
officers or discharge employees as provided in this Charter.
SEVERABILITY
OF CHARTER PROVISIONS:
Section 1.8 Should
any portion of this Charter be declared void, illegal and unconstitutional,
such finding shall not invalidate the remainder of the Charter.
CITY
LIABILITY:
Section 1.9 Any person having a claim against the City by reason of negligence
for damages to person or property shall give the City written notice of the
claim within 120 days. This notice shall
be served on the City clerk and shall contain the time and place of such
injury, the manner in which it occurred, the extent of such damages as far as
the same has become known, the names and addresses of the witnesses known at
the time by the claimant, and a statement that the person sustaining such
damages intends to hold the City liable for such damages as may have been
sustained by him/her. The 120 day notice
requirement corresponds with the current state law. If the statute is amended and the notice
requirement is changed then the notice requirement as outlined in this section
shall change to correspond with state law.
Failure to give notice as outlined in this
section may be reason to dismiss any claim for such injuries. The standard of review to dismiss the claim
for failure to give required notice shall be the same as is outlined in state
statute.
Upon receiving notice the City shall
respond promptly to each such claim under procedures established by the City
Council. The claimant may be notified
that the City is not liable because of immunity or some other defense. In addition to the defenses outlined in the
City's response to the notice of claim the City may allege other defenses if
the claim is pursued in a forum such as a court of law.
If the City recognizes the possibility of
liability, the response shall specify the appropriate procedure for the
resolution of the issue of liability and adjustment of the amount of damages by
mediation, arbitration or any other means chosen to protect the public
interest. A claimant's failure to follow
the reasonable procedures designed to allow the City to fairly investigate the
circumstances of the claim, determine liability and fix damage must be brought
to the attention of any body or official with discretionary authority over the
award of costs.
The provisions of this Charter are not
intended to waive any immunity from tort liability provided by statute or
common law.
PROCESSES
AGAINST THE CITY:
Section 1.10 All process against the City shall run by statute against the
City in the corporate name thereof, and must be served by leaving a true copy
with the mayor, City clerk, or City attorney.
ESTOPPEL:
Section 1.11 No estoppel may be created against the City.
TRUSTS:
Section 1.12 All trusts established for any municipal purpose shall be used
and continued in accordance with the terms of such trust, subject to the cy
pres doctrine. The Council may in its
discretion, receive and hold any property in trust for any municipal purpose
and shall apply the same to the execution of such trust and for no other
purposes, except in cases where the cy pres doctrine shall apply.
DEFINITIONS
AND INTERPRETATIONS:
Section 1.13 Except as otherwise specifically defined herein or indicated by
the context, words used in this Charter shall have
their ordinary dictionary meaning:
(a) "Newspaper"
- A publication generally distributed in the
(b) "City"
- The City of Flushing, Michigan, a municipal corporation.
(c) "Council"
- The City Council of the City.
(d) The
words "law" or "general laws of the State" shall denote the
Constitution and the Public Acts of the State of
(e) "Tax
day" - December 31.
FAMILIARITY
OF CITY OFFICIALS WITH CITY CHARTER:
Section 1.14 Persons serving on City Council, Boards, Commissions, City
Administrators, City Attorney and City Manager are required to read the City
Charter and indicate that they have read the City Charter by filing a signed
letter with the City Clerk indicating that he/she has read the Charter.
ARTICLE
II
Elections
QUALIFICATIONS
OF ELECTORS:
Section 2.1 The residents of the City, having qualifications of an elector in
the State of
ELECTION
PROCEDURE:
Section 2.2 The election of all City officers as provided in this Charter shall
be on a non-partisan basis. The general
election laws of the state shall apply to and control, as near as may be, all
procedures relating to registration and City elections except as such general
laws relate to political parties or partisan procedure and except as otherwise
provided in this Charter.
REGULAR
ELECTIONS:
Section 2.3 A regular City election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday of November in each odd numbered year or as may be changed from
time to time by State statute.
SPECIAL
ELECTIONS:
Section 2.4
NOTICE
OF ELECTION:
Section 2.5 Notice of the time and place of holding any City election and of the
officers to be elected and the questions to be voted upon shall be given by the
Clerk in the same manner and at the same time as provided in the general state
law for the giving of notice by City Clerks.
VOTING
HOURS:
Section 2.6 The polls of all elections shall open at such time and remain open
for the period of time as provided by general state law of the State of
COUNCIL
DISTRICTS AND ELECTION PRECINCTS:
Section 2.7
(a) For
the purpose of electing members of the Council the City of
(b) The
boundaries of the election precincts may or may not coincide with the
boundaries of the districts.
(c) The
Clerk shall maintain and keep available in his/her office for public inspection
a full description of the current boundaries of each Council District and of
each voting precinct therein.
ELECTION
COMMISSION:
Section 2.8 There is an election commission consisting of the City Clerk, who
shall be chairperson and two qualified electors of the City.
Said electors, during their tenure in office,
shall not be City officials or employees or candidates for elective office in
City elections.
(a) The
council shall make appointments to the election commission;
(b) appointment shall be for four year terms.
The election commission shall establish
precincts only after the City Council has held a public hearing on the
additional precincts requested, following which City Council can approve or
disapprove the additional precincts.
NOMINATING
PETITIONS:
Section 2.9 The persons desiring to qualify as candidates for any elective
office under this Charter shall file with the City Clerk a petition therefor
signed by not less than twenty-five (25) nor more than fifty (50) registered
electors of the District or municipality from which they seek to be elected. Such petitions shall be filed with the City
Clerk's office before 4:00 P.M. on the first Tuesday succeeding the first
Monday in August prior to the date of the Regular election. At least one week before and not more than
three weeks before the last date for filing nominating petitions, the Clerk
shall publish notice to that effect.
Official Blank nominating petitions in
substantially the same form designated by the Secretary of State for use in the
nomination of non-partisan judicial officers, shall be
prepared and furnished by the Clerk.
Before the Clerk shall furnish official blank nominating petitions to
any person, he/she shall enter thereon with typewriter or in ink the name of
the person who is to be nominated as a candidate. No petition which has been altered with
respect to such entry shall be received by the Clerk for filing. Nominating petitions for the purpose of
filling a vacancy shall so state in connection with the name of the office for
which they are to be used. No person
shall sign his/her name to a greater number of petitions for any one office
than there are candidates to be elected to said
office. Where any name
appears on more petitions than there are candidates to be elected to said
office, such name shall not be counted on any petition for that office.
APPROVAL
OF PETITIONS:
Section 2.10 The Clerk shall accept only nomination petitions which conform with the forms provided and maintained by him/her, and which
considered together contain the required number of valid signatures for
candidates having those qualifications required for the respective elective
city offices by this Charter. When a
petition is filed by persons other than the person whose name appears thereon
as a candidate, it may be accepted only when accompanied by the written consent
of the candidate. The Clerk shall within
five days after the filing of petition, notify in writing any candidate whose
petition is then known not to meet the requirements of this section, but the
failure to so notify any candidate shall in no way prevent a final
determination that the petition does not meet such requirements. If he/she finds that any petition does not
contain the required number of genuine signatures of registered electors of the
City or district involved, he/she shall immediately notify the candidate in
writing of the insufficiency of his/her petition. No additional signatures on any petition
shall be received by the Clerk after the final date and time fixed for filing
nomination petitions. Within five days
after the last date for filing petitions, the Clerk shall make his/her final
determinations as to the validity and sufficiency of each nomination petition
and whether or not the candidate has the qualifications required for the
respective City office by this Charter and shall write his/her determinations
thereof on the face of the petition and shall notify in writing the candidate
whose name appears thereon of his/her determinations.
PUBLIC
INSPECTION OF PETITIONS:
Section 2.11 All nominating petitions shall be open to public inspection
after being filed in the office of the Clerk, in accordance with such
reasonable rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by him/her.
FORM OF
BALLOTS:
Section 2.12 The form of the ballot used in any City election shall conform
as nearly as may be to that prescribed by the general laws of the state, except
that no party designation or emblem shall appear upon any City ballot. The names of qualified nominees for each
office shall be listed and shall be rotated on the ballots as prescribed by
state statute. In all other respects the
printing and numbering of ballots shall conform to the general laws of the
state, relating to elections.
ABSENTEE
BALLOTS:
Section 2.13 The electors of the City shall be entitled to vote by absentee
ballots at any City election under the circumstances and in the manner provided
by law.
TIE
VOTE:
Section 2.14 If at any City election, there shall be no choice between
candidates by reason of two (2) or more candidates having received an equal
number of votes, then the determination of the election of such candidate, by
lot, will be as provided by state statute.
RECOUNT:
Section 2.15 The recount of the votes cast at any City election for any
office, or upon any proposition, may be had in accordance with the general
election laws of the state.
RECALL:
Section 2.16 Every elective officer of the City is subject to recall by the
qualified voters of the City in the manner and at the time provided by the
general laws of the State of
ARTICLE
III
Legislative
Body
COUNCIL:
Section 3.1 The legislative affairs of the City shall be vested in a Council
consisting of seven councilpersons, including a Mayor, one to be elected Mayor
at large, one to be elected from each of four districts and the remaining two
to be elected at large. All candidates
for the Council from districts and all candidates from the City at large shall
be voted upon by the qualified voters of the City as if all candidates were
candidates at large.
DISTRICTS:
Section 3.2 The four Council Districts shall be numbered beginning with the
Southeast district and proceeding counterclockwise thus: I, II, III, IV.
(a) Each
District shall have the same boundaries as shall exist on the effective date of
this charter until changed in accordance with law.
(b) The
Election Commission shall revise the boundaries of the district within sixty
(60) days after the figures from a
(c) If
the last decennial
(d) The
Election Commission shall, to the greatest extent possible, establish districts
that are compact, contiguous, equal population and as nearly rectangular as
practicable.
(e) New
district boundaries created within (4) months of a city election shall become
effective after the City election.
(f) The
Council Districts shall be in accordance with the map made part of this Charter
and adopted by the Charter Commission.
SALARIES:
Section 3.3 The salaries of all elected officials shall be set by ordinance
within thirty (30) days following the effective date of this charter. Thereafter, no change in compensation of
elective officials shall take effect until after the ordinance is amended and
the regular council election takes place.
TERMS:
Section 3.4 Terms of Councilmembers shall begin on the first Monday following
the election. General municipal election
shall be held every two years, with councilmembers being elected for four year
terms, except for the candidate for Mayor councilmember
at large, shall be elected for a two year term.
At each general municipal election, the voters shall elect three members
to serve as City Councilpersons, plus a mayor, unless additional members are to
be elected to fill a vacancy, in accordance with the following table:
COUNCILPERSON
TERMS OF OFFICE
ELECTION I
II III IV
AT LARGE MAYOR AT LARGE
YRS.
YRS.
1995 4
4 4 2
1997 4 4
4 2
1999 4
4 4 2
ALL
FUTURE ELECTIONS SHALL CONFORM WITH THE PATTERN ABOVE.
QUALIFICATIONS
FOR COUNCILPERSONS:
Section 3.5 To be eligible for election to the City Council, a person shall be
an elector of the City, and shall have been a resident of the City for a period
of not less than one year immediately preceding the date of his/her
election. To qualify as a candidate for
the Council from a district, a candidate must be a resident of the district
from which he/she seeks election at the time he/she
files his/her petitions.
PRESIDING
OFFICER:
Section 3.6 The Council shall meet for organization on the first Monday
following each regular election at the usual place for holding Council
meetings. The Mayor is the presiding
officer. He/she shall serve for a 2-year
term. The Council shall at this meeting
review and update the Council rules.
FUNCTIONAL
DUTIES OF THE MAYOR:
Section 3.7
(a) Insofar
as required by law, and for all ceremonial purposes, the Mayor shall be
recognized as the executive head of the City.
He/she shall have an equal voice and vote in the proceedings of the
Council, but shall have no veto power.
He/she shall be the presiding officer of the Council.
(b) He/she
shall be a conservator of the peace, and may exercise within the City the
powers conferred upon sheriffs to suppress disorder, and shall have the power
to command the assistance of all able-bodied citizens to aid in the enforcement
of the ordinances of the City, and to suppress riot and disorderly conduct.
(c) He/she
shall authenticate by his/her signature such instruments as the Council, this
Charter, or the laws of the State of
MAYOR
PROTEM:
Section 3.8 At the meeting provided for in Section 3.6 there shall be elected by
ballot a Mayor pro-tem from the Members of the Council. The Mayor pro-tem shall act as Mayor during
the absence of the Mayor.
OATH OF
OFFICE:
Section 3.9 Before entering upon the duties of his/her office, every elective
and appointive officer shall take, subscribe before, and file with the City
Clerk, an oath or affirmation that he/she will support the Constitution of the
United States, the Constitution of the State of Michigan, this Charter and
ordinances of the City, and will faithfully perform the duties of the office.
COUNCIL
MEETINGS:
Section 3.10 The Council shall meet regularly at the usual meeting place, at
least once each month, at a day and hour to be fixed from time to time by the
rules and procedures of each Council.
The Council shall determine the rules of procedure governing
meetings. All meetings for the
transaction of business shall be open to the public, and that the business of
the City will be subject to the Open Meetings Act.
Special
meetings or change of location of regular meetings of the Council may be called
in the manner and at the time provided for by the rules of procedure of the
Council. Such notice shall be in writing
and may be delivered to the place of residence or to an address other than the
residence if so requested by the councilperson.
The notice of such meeting shall be given at least eighteen (18) hours
prior to the meeting and shall contain the proposed agenda to be
considered. No notice need be given if
such notice has been provided at a previous meeting at which all councilpersons
were present.
Four members of the Council shall
constitute a quorum.
VACANCIES:
Section 3.11 A Councilperson shall continue to hold his/her office until
his/her successor is duly qualified as provided in Section 3.5. A vacancy shall occur whenever any
Councilperson shall become incapacitated, or if a Councilperson shall remove
from or become a non-resident of the City or of the district in which he/she
was nominated, during the term of his/her office. In case of a vacancy, the remaining Council
shall choose, by majority vote and within thirty days after such vacancy
occurs, a duly qualified person as provided in Section 3.5 to fill such
vacancy. He/she shall serve until
his/her successor, elected for the remainder of the term at the next ensuing general
(municipal, State or Federal) election, has been duly qualified. If three or more such vacancies exist in the
Council simultaneously, such vacancies shall be filled for the respective
unexpired terms at a special election.
COUNCIL
MEMBERSHIP RULES:
Section 3.12 The Council shall be the judge of the election and
qualifications of its own members, subject to judicial review.
POWERS:
Section 3.13 The Council shall have all municipal legislative powers as
conferred by the laws of the State of
THE
COUNCIL NOT TO INTERFERE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE:
Section 3.14 Except for the City Attorney, the Council and its members shall
deal with the administrative service of the City solely through the City
Manager. No elected official shall give orders to any subordinates of the City
Manager either publicly or privately.
REMOVALS
FROM OFFICE:
Section 3.15 Officers, or members of boards or commissions, appointed by the
Council, shall serve at the pleasure of the Council.
INVESTIGATIONS:
Section 3.16
(a) The
City Council may make investigation into the affairs of the City and the
conduct of any City agency.
(b) The
City Council may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and
require the production of evidence in any matter pending before it.
(c) To
enforce a subpoena or order of introduction of evidence or to impose any
penalty prescribed for failure to obey a subpoena or order the City Council
shall apply to the appropriate court.
ARTICLE
IV
Legislation
PRIOR
LEGISLATION:
Section 4.1 All valid ordinances of the City of
The zoning regulations in effect at the
date of this charter of the City of
Those provisions of any effective
ordinance which are inconsistent with this Charter are hereby repealed.
ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS:
Section 4.2 All official action of the Council shall be by ordinance,
resolution, or order. Action by
resolution or order shall be limited to matters required or permitted to be so
done by this Charter or by state or federal law or pertaining to the internal
affairs or concerns of the City government.
All other acts of the Council and all acts carrying a penalty for the
violation thereof, shall be by ordinance. Each ordinance shall be identified by a short
title and by a number, and by a code section number.
Each proposed ordinance shall be
introduced in written or printed form.
The style of all ordinances shall be:
"The City of
ENACTMENT,
AMENDMENT, REPEAL AND EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCES:
Section 4.3 Subject to the exceptions which follow hereafter,
(a) Ordinances
may be enacted by the affirmative vote of not less than four members of the
Council;
(b) No
ordinance shall be amended or repealed except by an ordinance adopted as
aforesaid;
(c) No
ordinance shall be enacted at the meeting at which it is introduced nor shall
an ordinance become effective until after publication of the proposed ordinance
or summary thereof; and
(d) The
effective date of all ordinances shall be prescribed therein but the effective
date shall not be earlier than twenty days after enactment nor
before publication thereof.
(e) It
is provided, however, that an ordinance which is declared therein to be an
emergency ordinance which is immediately necessary for the preservation of the
public peace, health or safety or to provide for the usual daily operation of a
department or division of government may be enacted at the meeting at which it
is introduced but not having an effective date before publication, and may be
given earlier effect than twenty days after its enactment by the affirmative
votes of six members of the Council if seven members are present at the meeting
at which it is enacted, or by the affirmative votes of five members if five or
six members of the Council are present at the meeting at which it is enacted.
(f) In
case an ordinance is given effect earlier than twenty days after its enactment,
the requirements for publication before such ordinance becomes operative may be
met by posting copies thereof in conspicuous locations in three public places
in the City, other provisions of this Charter notwithstanding, and the Clerk
shall, immediately after such posting, enter in the Ordinance Book under the
record of the ordinance, a certificate under his/her hand stating the time and
place of such publication by posting, which certificate shall be prima facie
evidence of such publication by posting of the ordinance, but the failure to so
record and authenticate such ordinance shall not invalidate it nor suspend its
operation. Such ordinance shall also be
published in accordance with Section 4.4 but not as a requirement for the
effectiveness thereof.
(g) No
ordinance granting any public utility franchise shall be enacted except in
accordance with the provisions of Article IX of this Charter.
(h) No
ordinance shall be amended by reference to the title only, but the amended
section or sections of the ordinance as amended shall be re-enacted and
published. However, an ordinance or
section thereof may be repealed by references to its title and ordinance or
code number only.
PUBLICATION
AND RECORDING OF ORDINANCES:
Section 4.4 Each ordinance shall be published within fifteen days after its
enactment in one of the following methods:
(a) The
full text thereof may be published in a local newspaper, or
(b) in
those cases where authorized by law a digest, summary or statement of purpose
of the ordinance, approved by the Council may be published in a local newspaper
either separately or as part of the published Council proceedings or summary
thereof. When so done, copies of the
full text of the ordinance shall be made available for inspection at the office
of the City Clerk.
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 the Clerk to authenticate such records by their
official signatures thereon, but the failure to so record and authenticate any
such ordinance shall not invalidate it or suspend its operation.
PENALTIES
FOR VIOLATING OF ORDINANCES:
Section 4.5 The Council 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 the maximum
allowed by state law.
SPECIAL
PROCEDURE ON VOTE ON CERTAIN COUNCIL ACTIONS:
Section 4.6
(a) Action
to vacate, discontinue or abolish any highway, street, lane, alley, or other
public place or part thereof shall be by resolution. After the introduction of such resolution and
before its final adoption the Council shall hold a public hearing thereon and
shall publish notice of such hearing at least one week prior thereto.
(b) The
following actions shall require the affirmative vote of four members of the
Council for the effectiveness thereof:
(1) Vacating,
discontinuing or abolishing any highway, street, lane, alley or other public
place or part thereof;
(2) Leasing,
selling or disposing of any City owned real estate or interest therein;
(3) Authorizing
the condemnation of private property for public use;
(4) Creating
or abolishing any office;
(5) Appropriating
any money;
(6) Imposing
any tax or assessment;
(7) Reconsidering
or rescinding any vote of the Council.
TECHNICAL
CODES ADOPTED BY REFERENCE:
Section 4.7 In accordance with statute, the Council may enact technical codes by
reference thereto in an enacting ordinance and without publishing such codes in
full.
SEVERABILITY
OF ORDINANCES:
Section 4.8 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 portions or applications 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
inoperable, and to this end ordinances are declared to be severable.
COMPILATION:
Section 4.9
(a) Copies
of this Charter and all ordinances and amendments to the Charter shall be
prepared and kept on hand in the office of the Clerk, available for public
distribution at a reasonable charge.
(b) After
the effective date of this Charter and at least every ten years thereafter, the
City Council shall provide for and adopt a codification of all City
ordinances. In case the compilation or
codification of the ordinances of the City shall have been maintained current
and up to date during any ten (10) year period no re-compilation or
re-codification of the ordinances of the City shall be required during or at
the end of each period.
INITIATIVE
AND REFERENDUM:
Section 4.10 The electors of the City may initiate any ordinance or secure a
referendum on any ordinance, except annual tax levy ordinances, by petition as
hereinafter provided, subject to limitations of State law.
INITIATIVE
OR REFERENDARY PETITIONS:
Section 4.11 An initiatory or a referendary petition shall be signed by
registered electors of the City equal to not less than four percent of the
number of registered electors of the City according to the records of the Clerk
on the date the petition is filed. No
referendum shall be permitted respecting any ordinance required to be passed by
the Council by any law, except in the manner provided by such law. Such petition may be the aggregate of two or
more petition papers. Each signer of a
petition shall sign his/her name and shall, himself/herself, place thereon
after his/her name, the date and his/her place of residence by street and
number. To each petition paper there
shall be attached a sworn affidavit by the circulator thereof, stating that
each signature thereon is the genuine signature of the person whose name it
purports to be and that it was signed in the presence of the affiant. Such petition shall be filed with the Clerk
who shall, within ten days, canvass the signatures thereon to determine the
sufficiency thereof. Any signatures
obtained more than sixty days before the filing of such petition with the Clerk
shall not be counted. If found to
contain an insufficient number of signatures of registered electors, or to be
improper as to form or compliance with the requirements of this section, the
Clerk shall notify, forthwith, the person filing such petition, and ten days
from such notification shall be allowed for the filing of supplemental petition
papers. If found sufficient and proper,
the Clerk shall present the petition to the Council at its next regular
meeting. If found insufficient, the
Clerk shall report to the Council and no further action shall be held.
COUNCIL
PROCEDURE:
Section 4.12 Upon receiving an initiatory or referendary petition from the
Clerk, the Council shall:
(a) If
it be an initiatory petition, adopt the ordinance as submitted in the petition
within thirty days after the receipt thereof, or submit the proposal to the
electors within a period of ninety days after the receipt thereof.
(b) If
it be a referendary petition, the Council shall repeal the ordinance or submit
the proposal to the electors within a period of ninety days after the receipt
thereof.
SUBMISSION
TO ELECTORS:
Section 4.13 Should the Council decide to submit the proposal to the
electors, it shall be submitted at a special election or a general election
insofar as it shall comply with section 4.12 of this Charter. The result shall be determined by a majority
vote of the electors voting thereon, except in cases where otherwise required
by law.
STATUS
OF ORDINANCES ADOPTED:
Section 4.14 An ordinance adopted by the electorate through initiatory proceedings
may not be amended or repealed by the Council for a period of two years after
the date of the election at which it was adopted. Should two or more ordinances be adopted at
the same election which have conflicting provisions, the one receiving the
largest affirmative vote shall prevail as to those provisions.
ORDINANCE
SUSPENDED:
Section 4.15 The certification by the Clerk of the sufficiency of a
referendary petition within thirty days after the passage of the ordinance to
which such petition refers shall automatically suspend the operation of the
ordinance in question, pending repeal by the Council or the final determination
of the electors thereon.
HEALTH
AND SAFETY:
Section 4.16 The Council may enact such ordinances as necessary for the preservation
and protection of the health and safety of the City inhabitants to the extent
permitted by state law.
ARTICLE
V
Administrative
Service
ADMINISTRATIVE
OFFICERS:
Section 5.1 The administrative officers of the City shall be the City Manager, City
Attorney, City Clerk, City Treasurer, City Assessor and department heads. The Council may, by ordinance, upon the
recommendation of the City Manager, create additional administrative offices,
or combine any administrative offices in any manner, not inconsistent with law,
and prescribe the duties thereof as it may deem necessary for the proper
operation of the City government. No
creation of any administrative office, nor any combination thereof, shall
abolish the office of City Manager, nor diminish the duties or responsibilities
of that office, as set forth in this Charter.
(a) In
making appointments of administrative officers, the appointing authority shall
consider only the good of the public service and the fitness of the appointee
for his/her ability to discharge the duties of the office to which he/she is
appointed.
(b) In
making appointments of administrative officers, the appointing authority shall
give primary consideration to electors of the City.
(c) All
persons employed by the City, who are not elective or administrative officers,
or members of a board created by this Charter, or declared to be administrative
officers by or under authority of this section, shall be deemed to be employees
of the City, excepting independent contractors and employees thereof.
APPOINTMENTS:
Section 5.2 The City Manager and the City Attorney shall be appointed by and
hold office at the pleasure of the Council, which body shall also set their
compensation.
(a) All
other administrative officers shall be appointed by the City Manager, subject
to confirmation of the Council before any such appointment shall be final. The compensation of all administrative
officers, other than the City Manager and the City Attorney, shall be set by
the City Manager in accordance with budget appropriations.
(b) The
term of office of each such officer appointed by the City Manager shall be
indefinite. Officers appointed by the
City Manager shall be subject to removal by the City Manager upon approval of
such action by the Council.
THE
CITY MANAGER:
Section 5.3
Part I
- Qualifications
(a) No
member of the Council may be appointed to the position of City Manager during
the term of office for which he/she was elected, and one year thereafter.
(b) To
be eligible for appointment as a City Manager, a person must have had training
for, or previous experience in city, public, or business administration.
Part II
- Function
The City Manager shall be the
administrative agent of the Council, and shall be vested with all administrative
powers of the City, except as otherwise provided by this Charter, and shall
perform the duties of his/her office under the authority of, and be accountable
to the Council. Except as otherwise
provided in this Charter, or required by law, all administrative officers,
other than the City Attorney and members of City Boards, shall be responsible
to him/her for the performance of their duties.
Part
III - Duties
It shall be the duty of the City Manager
to:
(a) Supervise
and coordinate the work of the administrative officers and departments of the
City, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
(b) Supervise
and coordinate the personnel policies and practices of the City.
(c) Keep
informed and report to the Council concerning the work of the several
administrative offices and departments of the City, and to that end, he/she may
secure from the administrative officers and department heads such information
and periodic or special reports as he/she, or the Council, may deem necessary.
(d) In
case of conflict of authority between officers and administrative departments,
or in absence of administrative authority, occasioned by inadequacy of Charter
or ordinance provisions, resolve the conflict or supply the necessary authority
so far as may be consistent with law, Charter, and the ordinances of the City,
and direct the necessary action to be taken in conformance therewith, making a
full report to the Council at the next regular or special meeting thereof.
(e) Attend
all meetings of the Council, with the right to be heard in all administrative
matters before the Council, but without the right to vote.
(f) Recommend
to the Council, from time to time, such measures as he/she deems necessary or
appropriate for the improvement of the City administration or its services.
(g) Prepare
and maintain an administrative code, which, when adopted by the Council, shall
supplement this Charter in establishing the duties and functions of each
officer and department of the City.
(h) Furnish
the Council with information concerning City affairs and prepare and submit
such reports as may be required, or which shall consolidate the reports of the
several officers and departments of the City.
(i) Possess
such further powers and perform such additional duties as may be granted to or
required of him/her from time to time by the Council, so far as may be
consistent with the provisions of law, Charter, and the ordinances of the City.
CITY
ATTORNEY:
Section 5.4 The City Attorney shall be appointed by the Council and shall act as
the legal advisor of and be responsible to the Council in all respects
concerning the performance of his/her official duties as indicated. The Council shall, after an election,
reappoint or appoint the City Attorney.
(a) He/she
shall advise the City Manager concerning legal problems affecting the City
administration, the City Clerk, the Treasurer, and the Assessor, concerning
their statutory and Charter duties, when so requested, and shall file with the
Clerk a copy of all written opinions given by him/her.
(b) He/she
shall prosecute ordinance violations and shall represent the City in cases
before courts and other tribunals.
(c) He/she
shall prepare, or review, all ordinances, regulations, contracts, bonds, and
such other instruments that may be required by this Charter, or by the Council,
and shall promptly give his/her opinion as to the legality thereof.
(d) He/she
shall attend the meetings of the Council when requested.
(e) He/she
shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed for him/her by this
Charter or by the Council.
(f) Upon
the Attorney's recommendation, or upon its own initiative, the Council may
provide for an assistant to the City Attorney, and may retain special legal
counsel to handle any matter in which the City has an interest, or to assist
the City Attorney in connection therewith.
THE
CITY CLERK:
Section 5.5 The City Clerk shall be clerk of the Council.
(a) He/she,
or his/her deputy, shall attend all meetings of the Council and shall keep a
permanent journal of its proceedings in the English language. The journal shall be open to the public at
all times.
(b) He/she
shall be custodian of the City seal and shall affix it to all documents and
instruments requiring the seal, and shall attest the same. He/she shall also be custodian of all papers,
documents, and records pertaining to the City, the custody of which is not
otherwise provided by law. He/she shall
give to the proper officials ample notice of the expiration or termination of
their terms of office and of any official bonds, and of franchises, contracts,
or agreements to which the City is a party.
(c) He/she
shall keep a record of all ordinances, resolutions and actions of the Council,
and shall keep the City Manager informed with respect thereto.
(d) He/she
shall have power to administer all oaths required by law and the ordinances of
the City.
(e) He/she
shall certify all ordinances and resolutions enacted or passed by the Council.
(f) He/she
shall perform such other duties in connection with his/her office as may be
required of him/her by administrative order of the City Manager, with the
approval of the Council and by law and the ordinances or resolutions of the
Council.
(g) He/she
shall maintain a system of accounts which shall conform to the Uniform System
of Accounts as may be required by law.
(h) The
records of the City shall be made available to the general public in compliance
with the Freedom of Information Act.
THE
CITY TREASURER:
Section 5.6 The City Treasurer shall have custody of all moneys of the City and
all evidences of value belonging to or held in trust by the City.
(a) He/she
shall keep and deposit all moneys or funds in such manner and only in such
places as the Council may determine, or as may be required by law or ordinances
of the City.
(b) He/she
shall have such power, duties, and prerogatives in regard to the collection and
custody of state, county, school district, and City taxes and moneys as are
conferred by law.
(c) He/she
shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or by the City
Manager with the approval of the Council.
THE
CITY ASSESSOR:
Section 5.7 The City Assessor shall possess all the powers vested in, and shall
be charged with all the duties imposed upon assessing officers by law.
(a) He/she
shall make and prepare all regular and special assessment rolls in the manner
prescribed by or under authority of law.
(b) He/she
shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or by the City
Manager with the approval of the Council.
DEPUTIES:
Section 5.8 The Clerk, the Treasurer, and the Assessor may appoint their own
deputies, subject to the written confirmation of the City Manager, and may
terminate the status of their deputies upon written approval of the City
Manager. Such deputies shall, in each
case, possess all the powers and authority of their superior officers, except
as the same may be from time to time, limited by their superiors or by the City
Manager.
POLICE
DEPARTMENT:
Section 5.9 The Chief of Police shall be in charge of the Police
Department. To be eligible for
appointment as Chief of Police, a person must be qualified for such office by
education, training or experience. Such
qualifications shall be determined by the City Council. Police officers shall have all the powers,
immunities and privileges granted to peace officers by law for the making of
arrests, the preservation of order, and for protecting the safety of persons in
the City and on any lands and premises owned by the City outside its corporate
limits.
FIRE
DEPARTMENT:
Section 5.10 The Fire Chief shall be the administrative head of the Fire
Department and shall be accountable and responsible to the City Manager for
performance of duty. The Chief shall
perform all duties as may be prescribed by law, this Charter, the City Manager
and/or ordinances and resolutions of the City.
DEPARTMENT
OF PUBLIC WORKS:
Section 5.11 The Public Works Director shall be the administrative head of
the Department of Public Works and shall be accountable and responsible to the
City Manager for the performance of his/her duties.
The Director shall perform all duties as
prescribed by law, this Charter, the City Manager and/or ordinances or
resolutions of the Council.
EMPLOYEE
WELFARE BENEFITS:
Section 5.12 The Council shall have the power to make available to the
administrative officers and employees of the City, other than members of City
boards or commissions, any recognized standard plan of group life, hospital,
health and accident insurance, pension plan, or any of them.
SURETY
BONDS:
Section 5.13 The Council shall require appropriate surety bonds of officers
and employees in such amounts as determined by resolution and the premiums
therefor shall be paid by the City.
DELIVERY
OF OFFICE:
Section 5.14 Whenever any officer or employee shall cease to hold such
office or employment for any reason whatsoever, he/she shall within five days,
or sooner, on demand, deliver to his/her successor in office or to his/her
superior all the books, papers, moneys and effects in his/her custody as such
officer or employee. Any officer
violating this provision may be proceeded against in the manner as public
officers generally for a like offense under statute. Any employee found guilty of violating this
provision by a competent tribunal may be punished by a fine of not to exceed
five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not to exceed ninety days, or both, in
the discretion of the court.
ARTICLE
VI
BOARDS
AND COMMISSIONS
GENERAL
PROVISIONS FOR BOARDS
CITIZEN
INVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT:
Section 6.1
(a) The
people of the City of Flushing have placed the basic responsibility for the
management of this City in their elected officials. This Charter recognizes the important role
that individual citizens play in reviewing and evaluating the needs of the City
through the structure of boards and commissions. For this reason, boards, commissions and
advisory committees shall be encouraged by the City of Flushing.
(b) Citizen
involvement for the operation of the City shall be provided through review
boards and advisory boards.
TYPES
OF BOARDS:
Section 6.2
(a) Review
boards include those boards which are not administrative or advisory and whose
recommendations or decisions have legal significance. The City may create review boards by
ordinance.
(b) Advisory
boards include boards, commissions and committees established by ordinance or
this Charter and composed of citizens sharing the common goal of improving the
general welfare through their advice and assistance to the elected and
appointed full time City officials.
APPOINTMENT
OF BOARD MEMBERS:
Section 6.3
(a) Every
member of a board, commission or committee established by Charter or ordinance
shall be an officer of the City and shall possess the qualifications required
by this Charter for holding office.
(b) Except
as otherwise specifically provided in this Charter or State law, the City
Council shall appoint persons to all such boards, commissions, and committees
with Council rules set up so that each member of the Council on a rotating
basis shall appoint a member of the City boards as they become available. All districts within the City should be
represented. No such appointment shall
be effective until it has been confirmed by the Council.
(c) The
terms of the boards established in this Charter shall be set by the Council's
ordinance.
(d) The
City Clerk shall report to the City Council, prior to the first Council meeting
in January, a list of the terms on City boards and commissions which shall end
on January 31.
(e) The
City Council shall establish and make public a procedure which will provide for
receiving either applications or recommendations of individuals for membership
on City boards, commissions or committees.
(f) Appointments
to fill vacancies shall be made upon the occurrence of the vacancy and each
person so appointed shall take office immediately upon the confirmation of the
Council to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(g) Appointments
to each board, commission and committee shall be made with regard to the
diversity of Flushing citizens, their variety of interest and the experience
and expertise that each can contribute to the common good of the City.
(h) An
ordinance creating a board, commission or committee may set forth a different
size for the body or a different length of term for the members than required
in this section if the Council finds that the change is appropriate.
ARTICLE
VII
General
Finance and Taxation
FISCAL
YEAR:
Section 7.1 The fiscal and budget year of the City and all its agencies shall
begin on the first day of July of each year.
BUDGET
PROCEDURES:
Section 7.2 The City Manager of the City, or some other designated person
appointed by the Council shall be the Budget Officer. Not later than the first day of February of
each year, each officer, department, and board of the City shall submit to the
Budget Officer an itemized estimate of its expected income and expenditures
during the next fiscal year for the department or activities under its control.
The Budget Officer shall prepare and
submit to the Council on or before its first regular April meeting, a budget
document covering the next fiscal year tabulating the recommendations of the
several department heads and officials, and shall include therein at least the
following information:
(a) Detailed
estimates, with supporting explanations, of all proposed expenditures, for each
department or office of the City together with the expenditures, for
corresponding items for the last fiscal year in full and for the current fiscal
year to January 1, and estimated expenditures for the balance of the current
fiscal year;
(b) Statements
of the bonded and other indebtedness of the City, showing the debt redemption
and interest requirements, the debt authorized and unissued and the condition
of sinking funds, if any;
(c) Detailed
estimates of all anticipated revenues of the City from sources other than
taxes, with a comparative statement of the amounts received by the City from
each of the same or similar sources for the last preceding fiscal year in full
and for the current fiscal year to January 1 and estimated revenues for the
balance of the current fiscal year;
(d) A
statement of the estimated balance for the end of the current fiscal year;
(e) An
estimate of the amount of money to be raised from current and delinquent taxes
and the amount to be raised from bonds issued which, together with any
available unappropriated surplus and any revenues from other sources, will be
necessary to meet the proposed expenditures;
(f) Such
other supporting documents as the Council may request.
BUDGET
HEARING:
Section 7.3 A public hearing on the proposed budget shall be held before its
final adoption at such time and place as the Council shall direct. Notice of such public hearing shall be
published at least one week in advance of the hearing, which shall also include
notice that the proposed budget and the three preceding fiscal budgets are on
file in the office of the Clerk and the City library. The complete proposed budget and the three
preceding fiscal budgets shall be on file for public inspection during office
hours at such office for a period of not less than one week prior to such
hearing.
ADOPTION
OF BUDGET, TAX LIMIT:
Section 7.4 Not later than the third Monday of May, the Council shall by
resolution, adopt the budget for the next fiscal year and shall in such
resolution, make an appropriation for the money needed for municipal purposes
during the ensuing fiscal year of the City and provide for a levy of the amount
necessary to be raised by taxes upon real and personal property, and by rents,
tolls or excises for municipal purposes, which levy as to real and personal
property ad valorem taxes shall not exceed one and one-half percent (15 mills) of
the assessed valuation of all real and personal property, subject to taxation
in the City, unless the proposition to approve and increase above the tax rate
so limited is first approved by a majority vote of the electors of the City
voting on the proposition. No such
increase shall be for a period of more than three years. Nor shall it or any combination of such
increases cause the total tax rate in any one year, for municipal purposes, to
exceed that permitted by law.
Failure to adopt such resolution within
the time herein set, shall not invalidate either the Budget, or the tax levy
therefor.
BUDGET
CONTROL:
Section 7.5 No money shall be drawn from the treasury of the City without an
appropriation thereof, nor shall any obligation for the expenditure of money be
incurred without an appropriation covering all payments which will be due under
such obligation in the current fiscal year.
The Council may transfer any unencumbered appropriation balance, or any
portion thereof, from one department, fund or agency to another. In the case of emergency arising from a
pressing need other than a regular or recurring requirement and necessary to
protect the public health, welfare or safety, the Council may make additional
appropriations to cover unanticipated expenditures required of the City because
of such emergency.
At the beginning of each quarterly period
during the fiscal year, and at such additional times as requested by the
Council, the officer responsible for maintenance of the City accounting system
shall submit to the Council data showing the relation between the estimated and
actual revenues and expenditures to date, and if it shall appear that the
revenues are less than anticipated, the Council may reduce appropriations. The City may not operate at a deficit.
SPECIAL
ACCOUNT:
Section 7.6
(a) The
Council may, by ordinance, establish and maintain accounts for accumulating
moneys to be used for acquiring, extending, altering, constructing, or
repairing specific item or items or for future unspecified public improvements
or equipment, or both.
(b) Appropriations
to such accounts may be made by the Council either in the annual appropriation
resolution or, from time to time during the fiscal year, from available funds,
from whatever source derived. Such
accounts shall be continuing accounts and the balances therein at the end of
each fiscal year shall remain a part thereof.
(c) At
the end of each fiscal year, the Council may transfer any unencumbered balance
or any part thereof into one or more of the accounts authorized to be created
by this section.
(d) Moneys
which are accumulated for the purpose of public improvements, as set forth in
sub-section (a) hereof, shall be used only at the direction of the Council, and
only for capital improvements, unless their use for some other municipal
purpose be authorized by a majority vote of the electors of the City who vote
on the proposition to amend such ordinance to provide for a change in the use
of the moneys in such account. After the
purpose of any such account has been fulfilled, any balance remaining therein
may be transferred by the Council to any other special account or to the
general fund of the City.
(e) Moneys
which are accumulated for the purpose of purchasing equipment, as set forth in
sub-section (a) hereof, shall be expended only for the purpose provided in the
ordinance establishing any such account, or as such ordinance may be amended
from time to time, and when no longer required for such purpose, such moneys or
any part thereof, may be transferred to the general fund by an ordinance of the
Council.
PURCHASING
AGENT:
Section 7.7 The City Manager or his/her designee shall act as Purchasing Agent,
and he/she shall be responsible for the purchase of City personal property
within budget limitation. The City
Council shall by ordinance designate the purchasing power of the purchasing
agent without sealed bids.
The Council shall establish by ordinance
the bidding procedures to be followed for all purchases in excess of the
purchasing limitations granted the Purchasing Agent.
The Purchasing Agent shall also be
responsible for the sale of all City property except real estate.
INDEPENDENT
AUDIT:
Section 7.8 An independent audit shall be made annually of all City accounts,
and more frequent audits may be made if deemed necessary by the Council. Such audits shall be made by Certified Public
Accountants selected by the Council.
The results of such audits shall be made
public in such manner as the Council shall determine, but as a minimum it shall
be available for inspection at the office of the Clerk, and City library.
POWER
TO TAX:
Section 7.9 The City shall have the power to assess taxes and levy and collect
rents, tolls, and excises, excepting a flat rate on income, which to be imposed
must be first approved by a majority vote of the electors of the City voting on
the proposition.
TAXABLE
PROPERTY:
Section 7.10 The subjects of ad valorem taxation for municipal purposes
shall be the same as for state, county and school purposes under the general
law. Except as otherwise provided by
this Charter, City taxes shall be levied, collected and returned in the manner
provided by statute.
PREPARATION
OF THE ASSESSMENT ROLL:
Section 7.11
(a) On
or before the first Monday in March in each year the Assessor shall prepare and
certify an assessment roll of all property in the City subject to
taxation. Such roll shall be prepared in
accordance with the statute and this Charter.
Values shall be estimated according to recognized methods of systematic
assessment. The records of the Assessor
shall show separate figures for the value of the land, of the building
improvements and of the personal property; and the method of estimating all
such values shall be as nearly uniform as possible.
(b) Not
later than one week prior to his/her certification of the assessment roll, the
Assessor shall (1) complete to the best of his/her ability a tentative
assessment roll and make it available for public inspection in his/her office
for a period of at least one week, and (2) give a notice of any change, as
compared with the previous year, in the assessed value of any property on, or
of the addition of any property to the roll.
Such notice shall be sent by first class mail with postage thereon fully
prepaid and addressed to the owner thereof according to the records of the
Assessor. Such notice shall advise the
person to whom it is addressed that the change in valuation or addition of
property to the roll may be discussed with the Assessor at his/her office prior
to the meeting of the Board of Review.
The failure of any owner of property to receive any such notice shall
not invalidate any assessment roll or any assessment thereon.
BOARD
OF REVIEW:
Section 7.12
(a) A
Board of Review shall be composed of three members, who have the qualifications
for holding elective City office, as set forth in this Charter. No member of the Board of Review shall hold
any City office.
(b) The
members of the Board of Review shall be appointed by the Council, and may be
removed for reasons of nonfeasance or misfeasance by the vote of four members
of the Council. One member is to be
appointed during the month of January of each year, for a period of three
years, commencing on February first following.
(c) The
Board shall, annually, on the first day of its meeting, select one of its
members chairperson for the ensuing year.
The assessor shall be the Clerk of the Board, and shall be entitled to
be heard at its sessions, but shall have no vote on any proposition or question.
DUTIES
AND FUNCTION OF BOARD OF REVIEW:
Section 7.13 For the purpose of revising and correcting assessments, the
Board of Review shall have the same powers and perform like duties in all
respects as are by statute conferred upon and required of Boards of Review,
except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
It shall hear the complaints of all persons considering themselves
aggrieved by assessments, and if it shall appear that any person or property
has been wrongfully assessed or omitted from the roll, the Board shall correct
the roll in such manner as it deems just.
In all cases the roll shall be reviewed according to the facts existing
on the tax day and no change in the status of any property after said day shall
be considered by the Board in making its decisions. Except as otherwise provided by statute, no
person other than the Board of Review shall make or authorize any change upon
or additions or corrections to the assessment roll. It shall be the duty of the Assessor to keep
a permanent record of all proceedings and to enter therein all resolutions and
decisions of the Board.
MEETINGS
OF BOARD OF REVIEW:
Section 7.14
(a) The
Board of Review shall convene on the second Monday in March in each year at a
place designated by the Council, or on such other date as may subsequently be
required by law for the meeting of boards of review in cities, and continue in
session from day to day for not less than six hours on each day for not less
than three days for the purpose of considering the assessment roll of the City.
(b) The
Board of Review may examine on oath any person appearing before it respecting
the assessment of property on the assessment roll. Any member of the Board may administer the
oath.
NOTICE
OF MEETING:
Section 7.15 Notice of the time and place of the annual meeting of the Board
of Review shall be published by the Assessor not less than one week nor more
than three weeks prior thereto.
CERTIFICATION
OF ROLL:
Section 7.16 After the Board of Review has completed its review of the
assessment roll, and not later than the 1st Monday in April, or such other date
as may subsequently be required by law, the majority of its members shall sign
a certificate to the effect that the same is the assessment roll of the City
for the year in which it has been prepared, as approved by the Board of Review,
which certificate, when attached to any volume of the roll shall constitute a
conclusive presumption of the validity of the entire roll, as provided in
Section 7.11 of this article. Omission
of such endorsement shall not affect the validity of such assessment roll.
CITY
TAX ROLL:
Section 7.17 After the Board of Review has completed its review of the
assessment roll, the Assessor shall prepare a tax roll, or a combined
assessment and tax roll, to be known as the "City Tax Roll." Upon receiving the certification of the
several amounts to be raised, assessed, and charged for City taxes, as provided
in the preceding sections, the Assessor shall proceed forthwith, (1) to spread
the amounts of the general ad valorem tax according to and in proportion to the
several valuations set forth in said assessment roll, and (2) to place such
other assessments and charges upon the roll as are required and authorized by
the Council. For convenience, the City
tax roll may be divided into two or more volumes.
TAXES
LIEN:
Section 7.18 On July 1 the amounts assessed on any interest in real property
shall become a lien upon such real property for such amounts and for all
interest and charges therein and all personal taxes shall become a first lien
on all personal property of such persons so assessed.
The liens shall take precedence over all
other claims, encumbrances and liens to the extent provided by statute and
shall continue until such taxes, interest and charges are paid.
TAXES
DUE; NOTIFICATION:
Section 7.19 City taxes shall be due on the first day of July of the year
when levied. The Treasurer shall not be
required to call upon the persons named in the City tax roll, nor to make
personal demand for the payment of taxes, but he/she shall give written notice
by first class mail to the taxpayers of the City made prior to the first day of
July in each year to the owners of the property upon which taxes are assessed
according to the names of such owners and their addresses as indicated on the
tax roll, which notice shall be deemed sufficient for the payment of all taxes
on said roll. Failure on the part of the
Treasurer to give said notice shall not invalidate the taxes on said tax roll
nor release any person or property assessed from the penalty provided in this
Charter in case of non-payment of the same.
COLLECTION
OF CITY TAXES:
Section 7.20 City taxes shall be due and payable on the first day of July of
each year. From and after the 30th day
of September, there shall be added one-half of one percent per month, or
fraction thereof, to taxes remaining unpaid, together with a collection fee of
four (4) percent. The added penalties
and interest herein provided shall belong to the City and shall constitute a
charge and shall be a lien against the property to which the taxes themselves
apply, collectible in the same manner as the taxes to which they are added.
FAILURE
OR REFUSAL TO PAY PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX:
Section 7.21 If any person, firm or corporation shall neglect or refuse to
pay any personal property tax assessed to him/her or them by November first,
the Treasurer shall collect the same by seizing the personal property of such
person, firm or corporation to an amount sufficient to pay such tax, fees and
charges for subsequent sale, wherever the same be found in the state, and from
which seizure no property shall be exempt, except property subject to federal
lien. He/she may sell the property
seized to an amount sufficient to pay the taxes and all charges in accordance
with statutory provisions. The Treasurer
may, if otherwise unable to collect a tax on personal property sue, in
accordance with statute, the person, firm or corporation to whom it is assessed.
DISPOSITION
OF REAL PROPERTY HELD BY CITY:
Section 7.22 When the City has acquired any interest in property to protect
the City's tax lien thereon, the owner of any interest therein, by fee title,
as mortgagee, or as vendor or vendee under a land contract shall have the right
to purchase the City's interest therein, upon payment to the City of the amount
of money which the City has invested therein in the form of taxes, special
assessments, charges, fees, penalties, interest, and costs, paid by the City to
protect its title in such property.
After the lapse of ninety days after the date that the City acquired
title to any such property, the Council may remove the same from the market by
determining that such property is needed for and should be devoted to public
purposes, naming such purposes, or may sell the same at a price which shall be
not less than its market value, as determined and certified to the Council by
the Assessor.
GENERAL
POWERS RELATIVE TO SPECIAL ASSESSMENT:
Section 7.23 The Council shall have the power to make public improvements
within the City. As to public
improvements which are of such a nature as to benefit especially any property
or properties within a district, the Council shall have the power to determine,
by resolution, that the whole or any part of the expense of any such public
improvement shall be defrayed by special assessment upon such property, in
proportion to the benefits derived or to be derived. The cost of no improvement shall be defrayed
by the special assessment method, unless a petition be first filed with the
Clerk, requesting that such improvement be made and the cost thereof defrayed
by special assessment upon the property benefitted, and signed by 50% of the
owners of the property to be assessed for such improvement. Two or more owners of a single parcel shall
be counted as one owner.
DETAILED
PROCEDURE TO BE FIXED BY ORDINANCE:
Section 7.24 The Council shall prescribe by general ordinance the complete
special assessment procedure concerning the initiation of projects, plans and
specifications, estimates of costs, notice of hearings, making and confirming
assessment rolls in advance of starting the improvement, and the correction of
errors therein, collection of special assessments, and any other matters
concerning the making of improvements by the special assessment method, subject
to the provisions of this Charter.
DISPOSITION
OF EXCESSIVE SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS:
Section 7.25 The excess by which any special assessment proves larger than
the actual cost of the improvement and expenses incidental thereto may be
placed in the general fund of the City if such excess is five percent or less
of the assessment, but should the assessment prove larger than necessary by
more than five percent, the entire excess shall be refunded on a pro rata basis
to the owners of the property assessed.
Such refund shall be made by credit against future unpaid installments
to the extent such installments then exist and the balance of such refund shall
be in cash. No refunds may be made which
contravene the provisions of outstanding evidence of indebtedness secured in
whole or in part by such special assessment.
LIEN
AND COLLECTION OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS:
Section 7.26 Upon the confirmation of each special assessment roll, the
special assessments thereon shall become a debt to the City from the persons to
whom they are assessed and, until paid, shall be a lien upon the property
assessed for the amount of such assessments and all interest and charges
thereon. Such lien shall be of the same
character and effect as that created by this Charter for city taxes.
SPECIAL
ASSESSMENT ACCOUNTS:
Section 7.27 Moneys raised by special assessment for any public improvement
shall be credited to a special assessment account, and shall be used to pay the
special assessment portion of the cost of the improvement for which the
assessment was levied and of expenses incidental thereto, including the
repayment of the principal and interest on money borrowed therefor, and to
refund excessive assessments, if refunds be authorized.
DEFERRED
PAYMENTS ON SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS:
Section 7.28 The Commission may provide for the deferred payment of special
assessments from persons who, in the opinion of the Council and Assessor, by
reason of poverty are unable to contribute toward the cost thereof. In all such cases, as a condition to the
granting of such deferred payments, the City shall require mortgage security on
the real property of the beneficiary payable on or before his/her death or in
any event on the sale or transfer of the property.
MUNICIPAL
BORROWING POWER:
Section 7.29 Subject to the applicable provisions of law and this Charter,
the Council may by ordinance or resolution authorize the borrowing of money for
any purpose within the scope of powers vested in the City and permitted by law
and may authorize the issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness
therefor. Such bonds or other evidence
of indebtedness shall include but not be limited to the following types:
(a) General
obligations, which pledge the full faith, credit and resources of the City for
the payment of such obligations, when authorized by a three-fifths vote of the
electors voting thereon at any general or special election;
(b) Notes
issued in anticipation of the collection of taxes;
(c) In
case of fire, flood or other calamity, emergency loans due in not more than
five years for the relief of the inhabitants of the City and for the
preservation of municipal property;
(d) Special
assessment bonds issued in anticipation of the payment of special assessments
made for the purpose of defraying the cost of any public improvement, or in
anticipation of the payment of any combination of such special assessments;
such special assessment bonds may be an obligation of the special assessment
district or districts or may be both an obligation of the special assessment
district or districts and a general obligation of the City;
(e) Mortgage
bonds for the acquiring, owning, purchasing, constructing, improving, or
operating of any public utility which the City is authorized by this Charter to
acquire or operate, provided such bonds shall not impose any liability upon
such City but shall be secured only upon the property and revenues of such
public utility, including a franchise, stating the terms upon which, in case of
foreclosure the purchaser may operate the same, which franchise shall in no
case extend for a longer period than twenty years from the date or the sale of
such utility and franchise on foreclosure; such bonds shall be authorized by a
three-fifths vote of the electors voting thereon at any general or special
election; a sinking fund shall be created in the event of the issuance of such
bonds, by setting aside such percentage of the gross or net earnings of the
public utility as may be deemed sufficient for the payment of the mortgage
bonds at maturity, unless serial bonds are issued of such a nature that no
sinking fund is required;
(f) Bonds
issued at a rate of interest not to exceed that provided by law to refund money
advanced or paid on special assessments imposed for water main extensions;
(g) Bonds
for the refunding of the funded indebtedness of the City;
(h) Revenue
bonds as authorized by statute which are secured only by the revenues from a
public improvement and do not constitute a general obligation of the City.
ARTICLE
VIII
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
CONFLICTS
OF INTEREST; BOARD OF ETHICS:
Section 8.1 The use of public office for private gain is prohibited. The City Council shall implement this
prohibition by ordinance. Regulations to
this end shall include but not be limited to:
acting in an official capacity on matters in which the official has a
private financial interest clearly separate from that of the general public;
the acceptance of gifts and other things of value; acting in a private capacity
on matters dealt with as a public official, the use of confidential
information; and appearances by city officials before other city agencies on
behalf of private interests. This
ordinance shall provide for reasonable public disclosure of finances by
officials with major decision-making authority over monetary expenditures and
contractual matters and, insofar as permissible under state law, shall provide
for fines and imprisonment for violations.
The provisions of State law shall control.
BUSINESS
DEALINGS WITH CITY:
Section 8.2 An officer or employee of the City who intends to have business
dealings with the City, whereby he/she may derive any income or benefits, other
than such as are provided as remuneration for his/her official duties or
employment shall file with the Clerk a statement, under oath, setting forth the
nature of such business dealings, and his/her interest therein. The statement shall be filed with the Clerk
not less than ten days before the date when action may be taken by the Council
or any other agency of the City upon the matter involved. The statement shall be spread upon the
proceedings of the Council for the meeting at which it is received and
published in full therewith. In each
case where the type of dealings with the City is on a continuing basis,
involving more than one, or a sequence of transactions, described in the
statement, each such statement shall stand for and apply to such transactions
for a period of one year and may be renewed at the end of each one year's
period for so long as such transactions continue. Each such renewal shall be spread upon the
proceedings of the Council and published as in the case of the original
statement.
In the event that the interest of any
officer or employee of the City in any business dealings with the City changes
at any time, he/she shall file a statement thereof, which shall be spread upon
the proceedings of the Council and published as herein required. Approval of any such business dealings shall
require a concurring vote of four members of the Council. No member of the Council may vote on any
question upon which he/she has a direct or indirect financial interest. Any business dealings made in violation of
this section shall be void. The
provisions of State law shall control.
PROHIBITIONS:
Section 8.3
(a) Activities
Prohibited
(1) No
person shall be appointed to or removed from, or in any way favored or
discriminated against with respect to any city position or appointive city
administrative office because of race, gender, age, handicap, religion, country
of origin or political affiliation.
(2) No
person shall willfully make any false statement, certificate, mark, rating or
report in regard to any test, certification or appointment under the provisions
of this Charter or the rules and regulations made thereunder, or in any manner
commit or attempt to commit any fraud preventing the impartial execution of
such provisions, rules and regulations.
(3) No
person who seeks appointment or promotion with respect to any city position or
appointive city administrative office shall directly or indirectly give, render
or pay any money, service or other valuable thing to any person for or in
connection with his or her test, appointment, proposed appointment, promotion
or proposed promotion.
(4) No
person shall knowingly or willfully solicit or assist in soliciting any
assessment, subscription or contribution for any political party or political
purpose to be used in conjunction with any city election for elected office
from any city employee.
(5) No
elected official or persons running for elected office shall directly or
indirectly solicit contributions from City employees.
(b) Penalties. Any person convicted of a violation of this
section shall be ineligible for a period of five years following such
conviction to hold any city office or position and, if an officer or employee
of the city, shall immediately forfeit his or her office or position. The city council shall establish by ordinance
such further penalties as it may deem appropriate.
ABSENCE
FROM OFFICE:
Section 8.4 Whenever an elective officer of the City has failed to perform the
duties of the office for three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, the
Council shall vote to excuse or not to excuse the inability at each Council
meeting until the officer resumes the duties of the office. If the Council does not excuse the inability
at any meeting, after the second meeting, the office shall be forfeited at the
close of the meeting.
FORFEITURE
AND REMOVAL FOR CAUSE:
Section 8.5
(a) The
City Council shall declare the forfeiture of the office of any elective officer
or appointee and may remove for cause any person appointed to an office for a
fixed term. In every case there shall be
a public hearing before the City Council - with notice to the individual
involved and to the public. A Council
member charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture may not
participate in the resolution of the charge.
(b) The
position of an elective City officer or an appointee shall be forfeited if
he/she:
(1) lacks
at any time any qualifications required by this Charter;
(2) is
convicted of a felony while holding the office or appointment;
(3) violates
a provision of this Charter punishable by forfeiture.
(c) Decisions
made by the City Council under this section are subject to judicial review in a
hearing de novo. Any resident of the
City may petition an appropriate court to require the City Council to hold a
public hearing on the forfeiture of an office if the City Council has
unreasonably refused to proceed. It is
the intent of this Charter that the decision of the City Council under this
section shall be subject to the review of a court of law.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
AND CIVIL RIGHTS:
Section 8.6
(a) In
the exercise of its powers or in the performance of its duties the City and all
of its agencies shall ensure that no person or group engaged in the conduct of
official business or seeking to do business with the City is discriminated
against because of race, creed, political orientation, color, national origin,
marital status, sex, age, handicap or for any cause not reasonably related to
the accomplishment of a legitimate governmental purpose, and shall take
whatever action is necessary to accomplish this purpose.
(b) The
City and all its agencies shall ensure that the civil and constitutional rights
of all persons are not denied or abridged.
ANTI-NEPOTISM:
Section 8.7 Unless the Council shall, by an affirmative vote of four (4) or more
members, determine that the best interests of the City shall be served and the
party considered by such a vote has met requirements for such a classified
position as are specified by Council, the following relatives of any elective
or appointive officer are disqualified from holding any appointive office or
employment during the term for which said elective or appointive officer was
elected or appointed: child, parent,
grandchild, grandparent, brother, sister, half brother, half sister. This shall in no way disqualify such
relatives who are bona fide appointive officers or employees for the City at
the time of the election or appointment of said official.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
COOPERATION:
Section 8.8
(a) The
City shall, whenever it is feasible and beneficial, adopt a cooperative
intergovernmental approach to the solution of urban problems. For this purpose the City shall have the
power to join with any unit of government whether local, state, or federal, or
with any number or combination thereof, by contract or otherwise, as may be
permitted by law, in the financing, ownership, operation or performance,
jointly or by one or more on behalf of all, of any property, facility or
service which each would have the power to own, operate or perform separately.
(b) The
City may participate in organizations, both governmental and non-governmental
in or beyond the corporate limits of the City.
The participation of the City in those organizations is not subject to
any limitations of this Charter. The
City appointees to such organization shall file a report on their activities
with the City or as requested by Council.
ARTICLE
IX
UTILITY
FRANCHISES, MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP AND CONTRACTS
PUBLIC
UTILITY FRANCHISES:
Section 9.1 All public utility franchises whether it be so provided in the
granting ordinance or not, shall be subject to the right of the City:
(a) To
repeal the same of misuse, or non-use, or for failure to comply with the
provisions thereof;
(b) To
require proper and adequate extension of plant and service maintenance thereof
at the highest practical standard of efficiency;
(c) To
establish reasonable standards of service and quality of products, and prevent
unjust discrimination in service or rates;
(d) To
require continuous and uninterrupted service to the public in accordance with
the terms of the franchise throughout the entire period thereof;
(e) To
impose such other regulations as may be determined by the Council to be
conducive to the safety, welfare, and accommodation of the public;
(f) To
require the public utility to which any franchise is granted to permit joint
use of its property and appurtenances located on the streets, alleys, and
public places of the City by the City and other utilities insofar as such joint
use may be reasonably practicable and upon payment or reasonable rental
therefor; provided, that, in the absence of agreement, upon application by each
or either public utility, the Council shall provide for arbitration of the
terms and conditions of such joint use and the compensation to be paid
therefor;
(g) To
require the utility to pay such part of the cost of improvement or maintenance
of the streets, alleys, bridges, and public places of the City, as shall arise
from its use thereof, and to protect and save the City harmless from all
damages arising from said use.
LIMITATIONS
ON THE GRANTING OF FRANCHISES:
Section 9.2 An irrevocable franchise and any extension or amendment of such
franchise may not be granted by the City, unless the ordinance granting such
franchise has first received the affirmative vote of at least three-fifths of
the electors of the City voting thereon at a regular or special City
election. No franchise shall exceed
thirty (30) years. An irrevocable
franchise ordinance may be approved by the Council, for referral to the
electorate, only after a public hearing has been held thereon and after the
grantee named therein has filed with the Clerk his/her unconditional acceptance
of all the terms of the franchise. Each
franchise shall include a provision requiring the franchise to take effect
within one year after the adoption of the ordinance granting it, except in the
case of grants to take effect at the end of an existing franchise. No special election for such purpose may be
ordered by the Council, unless the expense of holding such election has first
been paid to the Treasurer by the grantee.
PROCEDURE
FOR GRANTING FRANCHISES:
Section 9.3 Every ordinance granting a franchise, or right to occupy or use
streets, alleys, bridges, or public places shall remain on file with the Clerk
for public inspection in its final form for at least thirty days before the
final adoption thereof, or the approval thereof for referral to the electorate.
SALE OR
ASSIGNMENT OF FRANCHISES:
Section 9.4 The grantee of a franchise may not sell, assign, sublet, or allow
another to use the same, unless the Council gives its consent. Nothing in this section shall limit the right
of the grantee of any public utility franchise to mortgage its property or
franchise, nor shall restrict the rights of the purchaser, upon foreclosure
sale, to operate the same, except that such mortgagee or purchaser shall be
subject to the terms of the franchise and provisions of this article.
PLANS
OF FACILITIES IN STREETS AND PUBLIC PLACES:
Section 9.5 The Council may, by ordinance, require, as a condition to the
placing or installment thereof, that each public utility conducting a business
in the City file with the City a duplicate copy of layout plans of pipes,
conduits, and other facilities which are to be placed on, under, or above the
surfaces of the City's streets, alleys, bridges, and public places.
GENERAL
POWERS RESPECTING MUNICIPAL UTILITIES AND SERVICES:
Section 9.6 The City shall possess and hereby reserves to itself all the powers
granted to cities by law to acquire, construct, own, operate, improve, enlarge,
extend, repair and maintain either within or without its corporate limits,
public utilities and services, including, but not by way of limitation, public
utilities for treating and supplying water, and for supplying light, heat,
power, gas and other public utilities and services without its corporate limits
to an amount not exceeding the limitations set by or in accordance with
law. The power to supply, as herein
possessed and reserved, shall include the power to extract and process water,
electricity, or gas from natural sources, to manufacture the same, or to
purchase the same from others.
ADMINISTRATION
AND OPERATION OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES:
Section 9.7 The Council shall be responsible for the care, protection,
preservation, control, improvement, and extension of the utility plants and
facilities of the City, and shall adopt such ordinances and resolutions as are
required therefor. Such utility plants
and facilities shall each be a department of the City, and the management
thereof shall be the duty of the City Manager.
Such public utility department shall be subject to the provisions of
this Charter relating to departments of the City, including such as relate to
annual budgets and financial accounting, and to the provisions of this article.
UTILITY
CHARGES - COLLECTIONS:
Section 9.8 The Council shall fix the rates to be charged for all public utility
services of the City. The Council shall
provide, by ordinance, for the collection of public utility charges, and for
such purpose shall have all the power granted to cities by state law.
ANNUAL
AUDIT:
Section 9.9 The cost of making annual audit of the accounts of each public
utility of the City shall be defrayed from the funds of the utility.
ANNUAL
REPORTS:
Section 9.10 The annual audit of each public utility of the City shall show,
as nearly as possible, the financial results of the City ownership and
operation of the public service works of the City.
PURCHASE
OF ELECTRICITY, WATER, SEWAGE DISPOSAL SERVICE:
Section 9.11 The City may purchase and resell electricity, water, and sewage
disposal services, or any one or more of them, from any person, municipal or
private, if such purchase may be deemed by the Council to be in the best
interests of the City and its inhabitants.
DISPOSAL
OF PLANTS:
Section 9.12 The City shall not sell, exchange, lease, or in any other way
alien or dispose of the property, easements, income, or other equipment,
privileges, or assets belonging to and appertaining to any utility which it may
own or acquire, unless and except such proposition shall first have been
submitted at an election held for that purpose in the manner provided in this
Charter, to the electors of the City and approved by them at any regular or
special City election by a three-fifths majority vote of the electors voting
thereon. All contracts, negotiations,
leases, grants, or other forms of transfer in violation of this provision,
shall be void and of no effect as against the City. The provisions of this section shall not,
however, apply to the sale or exchange of any article of equipment that is
obsolete, worn out, or useless, or which could, with advantage to the service,
be replaced by new and improved machinery or equipment, nor to real property no
longer used for public utility purposes.
CONTRACTING
AUTHORITY OF COUNCIL:
Section 9.13 The power to authorize the making of contracts on behalf of the
City is vested in the Council and shall be exercised in accordance with the
provisions of law.
All contracts, except as otherwise
provided by ordinance in accordance with the provisions of Section 9.14 hereof,
shall be authorized by the Council and shall be signed on behalf of the City by
the mayor and the clerk.
PURCHASE
AND SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY:
Section 9.14 The Council shall establish by ordinance the procedure for the
purchase and sale of personal property.
Such ordinance shall provide for centralized purchasing on behalf of the
City. The ordinance shall provide the
dollar limit within which purchases and sales of personal property may be made
without the necessity of competitive bidding and the dollar limit and
conditions within which purchases and sales of personal property may be made
without the necessity of Council approval.
No purchase of personal property shall be made unless a sufficient
unencumbered appropriation is available therefor. Moneys received from the sale of personal
property shall be placed in the general fund.
LIMITATIONS
OF CONTRACTUAL POWER:
Section 9.15 The City shall not have the power to sell, lease, or otherwise
dispose of any real estate unless:
(a) The
resolution authorizing the sale, lease or disposal thereof shall be completed
in the manner in which it is to be finally passed and has remained on file with
the Clerk for public inspection for twenty-five days before the final adoption
or passage thereof, and unless
(b) Such
action is approved by the affirmative roll call vote of four (4) or more
members of the Council, and unless
(c) It
has been determined that such sale, lease or disposal of said property will not
be made to any person who is in default to the City.
(d) A
majority vote of the electors voting on the question is required to sell any
park or cemetery or part(s) of parks or cemeteries except where a park is not
required under the official Master Plan of the City.
ARTICLE
X
PURPOSE
AND STATUS OF SCHEDULE ARTICLE:
Section 10.1 The purpose of this schedule article is to provide the
transition from the government of the City under the previous Charter to that
under this Charter. It shall constitute
a part of this Charter only to the extent and for the time required to
accomplish that end.
ELECTION
TO ADOPT CHARTER:
Section 10.2 The Charter shall be submitted to a vote of the qualified
electors of the territory comprising the City of Flushing at a general election
to be held on Tuesday, November 2, 1993, between the hours of 7:00 A.M. and
8:00 P.M. All provisions for the
submission of the question of adopting this Charter at such election shall be
made in the manner provided by law. If,
at said election, a majority of the electors voting thereon shall vote in favor
of the adoption of this Charter, then the City Clerk shall perform all other
acts required by law to carry this Charter into effect.
FORM OF
BALLOT:
Section 10.3 The form of the question of submission of this Charter shall be
as follows:
"Shall
the proposed Charter of the City of Flushing drafted by the Charter Commission
elected November 6, 1992 be adopted?"
Yes (
)
No (
)
OFFICERS
OF THE CITY:
Section 10.4
(a) The
elected officers of the City, who hold office on the effective date of this
Charter, shall continue to hold the offices to which they were elected for the
balance of the terms for which they were elected and shall conduct their
several offices subject to the provisions of this Charter. When the terms of the present elected
officials expire, they shall be selected in accordance with the provisions of
this Charter.
(b) At
the election upon the adoption of this Charter, the City Clerk for the City of
Flushing shall perform the duties required by law respecting such
elections. The Election Commission of
the City as presently constituted will choose the Election Inspectors for said
election.
(c) The
Board of Canvassers of the County of Genesee, as established by law, shall
canvass the votes cast at such election.
EFFECTIVE
DATE OF CHARTER:
Section 10.5 If the canvass of votes upon the adoption of this Charter shows
it to have been adopted, it shall take effect and become law as the Charter of
the City of Flushing for all purposes on November 8, 1993 at 8:00 A.M. local
time.
COUNCIL
ACTION:
Section 10.6 In all cases involving the transition of the City government
from that under the previous Charter to that under this Charter, which are not
covered by this schedule, the Council shall supply the necessary details and
procedures and may adopt such rules, regulations, and ordinances as may be
required therefor.
CONTINUATION
OF APPOINTIVE OFFICERS:
Section 10.7 Except as otherwise provided herein, after the effective date
of this Charter, all appointive officers and all employees of the City shall
continue in the City office or employment which they held prior to the
effective date of this Charter and they shall be subject in all respects to the
provisions of this Charter.
BOARDS
AND COMMISSIONS:
Section 10.8 The present boards and commissions now established shall
continue under the terms of the ordinance or resolution establishing them. The terms of office of the members shall
continue as established; and they shall continue in office until their
successors are appointed in accordance with the terms of office established in
the ordinance or resolution creating them.