The council shall hold regular public meetings on Tuesday of each and every week at a regular hour to be fixed by the order of the council from time to time and publicly announced. The council may hold such adjourned, called, special, or other meetings as the business of the city may require. The president of the council, when present, shall preside at all meetings of the council. Five members of the council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any and every power conferred upon the council, and the affirmative vote of at least four members of the council provided such four constitute a majority of those voting shall be sufficient for the passage of any resolution, bylaw, or ordinance, or the transaction of any business of any sort by the council, or the exercise of any of the powers conferred upon it by this part or by law, or which may hereafter be conferred upon the council. No resolution, bylaw, or ordinance granting any franchise, appropriating any money for any purpose, providing for any public improvements, any regulation concerning the public health, or of any other general or permanent nature, except the proclamation of quarantine, shall be enacted except at a regular public meeting of the council or an adjournment thereof. Every ordinance introduced at any and every meeting shall be in writing and read before any vote thereon shall be taken, and the yeas and nays thereon shall be recorded. If the vote of all council members present be unanimous, it may be so stated in the journal without recording the yeas and nays. A record of the proceedings of every meeting of the council shall be kept, and every resolution or ordinance passed by the council shall be recorded and the record of the proceedings of the meeting, when approved by the council, shall be signed by the president of the council and the city clerk. Such record shall be kept available for inspection by all citizens of such city at all reasonable times. No ordinance of permanent operation shall be passed at the meeting at which it was introduced except by unanimous consent of all members of the council present, and such unanimous consent shall be shown by the yea and nay votes entered upon the minutes of the meeting. If all members of the council present vote for the passage of the ordinance and their names are so entered of record as voting in favor thereof, it shall be construed as giving unanimous consent to the action upon such ordinance at the meeting at which it is introduced. Publication of ordinances shall be governed by Section 11-45-8. Provided all ordinances or resolutions, after having been passed by the council, shall by the clerk be transmitted within 48 hours after their passage to the mayor for his or her consideration, who, if he or she shall approve thereof, shall sign and return the same to the clerk, who shall publish them, if publication thereof is required, and such ordinances and resolutions shall thereupon become effective and have the force of law. Delivery to the office of the mayor shall constitute delivery to the mayor. An ordinance or resolution may be recalled from the mayor at any time before it has become a law, or has been acted on by him or her, by a resolution adopted by a majority of the members elected to the council, in regular or special session. If the mayor shall disapprove of any ordinance or resolution transmitted to him or her as aforesaid, the mayor, within 10 days of the time of its passage by the council, shall return the same to the clerk with his or her objections in writing, and the clerk shall make report thereof to the next regular meeting of the city council. If two-thirds of the members elected to the council shall at the meeting adhere to the ordinance or resolution, notwithstanding the objections, the vote being taken by yeas and nays and spread upon the minutes, then, and not otherwise, the ordinance or resolution shall after publication thereof, if publication is required, have the force of law. If publication of the ordinance or resolution is not required, it shall take effect upon its passage over such veto. The failure of the mayor to return to the city clerk an ordinance or resolution with his or her veto within 10 days after its passage by the council shall operate and have the same effect as an approval of the same, and the city clerk, if publication is required, shall publish the same as is herein provided for the publication of laws and ordinances of the city. And if no publication is required, the ordinance or resolution shall become effective upon the expiration of 10 days. Anything in this section to the contrary notwithstanding, the mayor shall not have the power of veto over appointments of the council, or over any action of the council relating to an investigation as provided for in Section 45-37A-52.222.
Last modified: May 3, 2021