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| Home > Statutes > Usa Arizona |
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USA Statutes : arizona
Title : Cities and Towns
Chapter : FORM OF GOVERNMENT
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9-201 Elective officers in cities and towns ofless than six hundred voters; duties
A. In cities or towns that are not organized under article 2, 3 or 4 of this
chapter and in which at the next preceding municipal election less than six hundred votes
were cast, the only officers shall be a mayor, a councilman from each district and a
marshal or chief of police.
B. The chief of police or marshal shall be ex officio city or town license tax
collector, pound-master, street commissioner and fire warden shall perform all duties as
such and shall receive in full compensation for all services a sum not exceeding one
hundred twenty-five dollars per month.
9-202 Appointive officers; compensation
A. The mayor and common council shall appoint a clerk who shall keep the minutes of
their proceedings and the accounts of the city or town finances, and whose compensation
is fixed at fifteen dollars per month.
B. The mayor and common council shall appoint one of their number as city or town
treasurer to perform all the duties of the office, and he shall receive the sum of ten
dollars per month in full for all services.
C. The compensation for performing the duties of chief of police, clerk and
treasurer shall be in full for all services rendered either by them or by their deputies,
should they appoint any. The mayor and councilmen, other than the treasurer appointed
from the council, shall receive no compensation.
9-203 Vacancies; bonds
A. In case of the death, resignation or removal of the chief of police or marshal,
city clerk or treasurer, the mayor and common council may fill the vacancy by appointment
until the next general municipal election, at which time the office of chief of police or
marshal shall be filled by election.
B. The chief of police and treasurer shall give bond in a sum to be fixed and
approved by the mayor and common council for the faithful performance of their duties.
9-204 Officers in cities and towns of sixhundred to eight hundred fifty voters; terms of office; elections;removal
A. In all cities or towns not organized under article 2, 3 or 4 of this chapter, in
which at the next preceding municipal election not more than eight hundred fifty nor less
than six hundred votes were cast, the only officers shall be a mayor, four councilmen, a
chief of police, a recorder who shall also be ex officio city auditor and police judge,
and a treasurer.
B. The term of office of each officer, except councilmen, shall be two years. Each
councilman shall hold office for a term of four years. The recorder shall be elected as
other city or town officers.
C. Elections shall be held on the third Tuesday in May of each odd-numbered year at
which all officers whose terms have then expired shall be elected.
D. The mayor and common council may remove an officer for malfeasance in office.
9-211 Disincorporation and reincorporation byboard of supervisors
The board of supervisors of a county may disincorporate a city or town incorporated
within the county and establish instead a new corporate government, upon the conditions
and in the manner prescribed in this article.
9-212 Disincorporation; petition; notice;publication
A. When one half or more of the property taxpayers who are bona fide residents and
electors appearing on the last assessment roll of an incorporated city or town present a
petition in writing to the board of supervisors for the disincorporation of the city or
town, the board shall receive, and the clerk shall file the petition and record it at
length in the record of the proceedings of the board.
B. Thereupon the board shall immediately publish, as provided by section 39-204, a
notice which shall contain the petition at length, and designate a time and place within
the corporation when and where a vote will be taken by the qualified electors of the
corporation who are property taxpayers therein upon the question of granting or refusing
the petition for disincorporation.
C. If there is no newspaper published as often as once a week in the corporation,
then notice shall be given by the board of supervisors by posting notice in three public
places in the corporation, at least thirty days before the designated election day.
D. After the expiration of the time of publication or posting notice, and proof by
affidavit to the satisfaction of the board is made of the publication or posting, the
notice and proof of publication shall be recorded at length on the record of proceedings
of the board, and the record shall be conclusive evidence of the facts contained therein.
9-213 Order for election; election officers;oath
A. The board shall thereupon, by written order entered at length of record, appoint
from the bona fide resident electors of the corporation, who shall be property taxpayers
therein, officers, inspectors and clerks of election, to take the vote on the question of
granting or rejecting the petition.
B. The inspectors, election officers and clerks shall be the same in number, take
the same oath, receive the same compensation and in all other respects be governed by the
law prescribing the duties of officers of general elections, or county elections, except
as otherwise provided in this article.
C. The oath of the election officers shall be entered of record and filed in the
office of the board of supervisors.
9-214 Election; ballots; procedure
A. On the day and at the place designated the officers shall open the polls and
conduct the election. The board of supervisors shall provide a sufficient number of
ballots of uniform size and printed on white paper on which shall be printed the words
"For disincorporation--YES;" "For disincorporation--NO."
B. The manner of conducting and voting at the election, of keeping the poll list,
canvassing the votes and certifying the returns, shall be as nearly the same as is
provided by law for the general election of county officers, except as herein otherwise
prescribed.
C. The board of supervisors shall record at length on their records and file in
their office the certificate of election.
9-215 Qualifications of electors
Electors in order to vote at the election shall possess the qualifications of
electors for county officers, and shall have resided in the corporation six months next
preceding the election, and shall be property taxpayers in the corporation, and their
names shall appear upon the assessment or tax rolls of the corporation next preceding the
day of election.
9-216 Determination of election results;establishment of new corporation
A. Within ten days after the election, the board of supervisors shall meet and
canvass the returns.
B. If it appears from the certificate of the officers of the election that a
majority of the votes cast at the election were against disincorporation, the board shall
by order, entered on their record, declare the petition for disincorporation denied, and
no new election shall be held on the question submitted until after the expiration of one
year from the date of the election.
C. If it appears that the vote at the election was a tie vote, the board may
immediately order another election in the same manner as the first election.
D. If it appears that a majority of the votes cast were in favor of
disincorporation, the board shall cause to be entered upon their record an order that the
petition for disincorporation is granted, and declaring that the corporation is
disincorporated, the order to take effect after the organization of the corporate
government created and organized pursuant to this article to succeed the corporation so
disincorporated.
E. The corporation so created to succeed the disincorporated corporation shall not
exist until the trustees provided for in this article make a certificate of the
qualification of the trustees and the appointment and qualification of the officers
provided in this article to be appointed by the trustees for the new corporation. The
certificate shall be filed in the office of the board and entered upon their
record. Thereupon the old corporation shall be disincorporated, and the new corporation
shall have perpetual existence as a body corporate and politic under and by such name as
the board may, by order to be entered upon their record, give to it.
9-217 Trustees; appointment; terms; oath;bond
A. The board of supervisors, at the same meeting, shall, after recording the order
declaring the petition granted, by order entered of record, appoint from the qualified
electors of the corporation three persons as trustees of the corporation, designating one
of the trustees to hold office for one year, one for two years and one for three
years. The trustee whose term of office first expires shall be president of the board of
trustees.
B. Each trustee, before entering upon the duties of his office and within ten days
after notice of his appointment given by the clerk of the board of supervisors, shall
take the oath of office, and enter into a bond to the state for the use and benefit of
the corporation, to be approved by the board of supervisors, in the penal sum of five
thousand dollars, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duty.
C. The term of office of trustees shall begin on the day of filing the official
oath and bond.
9-218 Election of trustees and officers;vacancies
A. There shall be elected in each year after the first year of the corporate
existence of the town one trustee as successor to the trustee whose term of office will
expire as provided in this article. The first election shall be held on Monday of the
week preceding the week in which the term of office of the trustee appointed by the board
of supervisors will expire. The election of all other elective officers of the
corporation shall be on the same day. An election for all the elective officers of the
corporation shall be held annually thereafter. The board by ordinance shall change the
time for holding the annual election after the first election to a date prescribed by
section 16-204.
B. In case of a vacancy in the office of trustee, the vacancy shall, on certificate
of the fact by the clerk of the board of trustees to the board of supervisors of the
proper county, be filled by the board of supervisors for the unexpired term.
9-219 General powers of trustees; publicationof ordinance; sale of property
A. The board of trustees may:
1. Pass ordinances for the government of the corporation, its officers and the
people within its corporate limits not inconsistent or in conflict with the laws of this
state.
2. Provide for preserving the peace, and define the punishment by fine,
imprisonment, or both, for the violation of ordinances so passed.
3. Establish a board of health and establish and maintain pest houses, and guard
against the introduction or spread of contagious diseases, and preserve a sanitary
condition of all places within the corporate limits.
4. Employ legal counsel at a stated salary or fee.
5. Restrain, under penalties, the running at large of cattle or other animals, and
provide rules for impounding them, and provide for taxing dogs and penalties for the
nonpayment of such taxes, or the killing of dogs running at large in the corporate
limits.
6. Prohibit, by fine or imprisonment, or both, any theatrical or other performance,
show or exhibition it deems injurious to the morals or good order of the corporation.
7. Fix the amount of license to be paid for carrying on any business, game or
amusement, and prescribe the manner of collection or payment of the license for stated
periods in advance, and fix penalties for nonpayment by fine, imprisonment, or both.
8. Regulate, by ordinance, the days and the hours that places where any kind of
amusement is carried on shall be closed.
9. Prohibit, with proper penalty, by fine or imprisonment, or both, the sale,
furnishing, or giving away of spirituous or malt liquors.
B. The board may, by ordinance, in all cases not enumerated in this section,
protect the public health and preserve the public peace, and prescribe punishment by fine
or imprisonment, or both, for the violation of such ordinances, and it may designate the
place of imprisonment in a jail or prison in the county for violations of the ordinances
of the corporation.
C. The board may provide for the deposit of all monies received for licenses and
fines to such fund as may be necessary to pay the expenses of the government of the
corporation or its indebtedness, or the indebtedness of the disincorporated corporation.
D. Before any general ordinance of the corporation shall take effect, it shall be
passed by a vote of a majority of the board of trustees, be recorded by the clerk in a
book provided for that purpose, and be published at least once a week for two successive
weeks in a newspaper published in the corporation, to be designated by the board. If
there is no newspaper published in the corporation, the ordinance shall be published by
posting copies thereof in three public places in the corporation two weeks before it
shall be operative. Proof of the publication or posting shall be made by affidavit and
recorded by the clerk.
E. The board of trustees may sell and convey, lease or rent real or personal
property belonging to the corporation for a price and on terms it deems expedient and
advantageous to the interest of the corporation, but no sale of any property shall be
entered into or made by the trustees until a resolution of intention has been published
in some newspaper in the corporation, if there is one, in the manner provided by section
9-402, or by posting a notice in at least three conspicuous public places for a period of
two weeks before such sale.
F. Before exercising the powers enumerated in paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of
section 9-220, the board shall cause a resolution of intention to be spread on their
minutes, and publish it in some daily or weekly newspaper at least two weeks, or post it
for the same period, as the board deems to the best interest of the corporation, prior to
the time of hearing the petition or ordering such improvement or expenditure.
9-220 Taxing power
The board of trustees may levy upon the taxable property within the corporation a
general tax not exceeding three quarters of one per cent in any one year of its assessed
valuation, for the following purposes:
1. Paying the expenses of disincorporation and incorporation of the corporation.
2. Lighting the streets and the public buildings of the corporation.
3. Constructing and maintaining public water wells, cisterns or other reservoirs,
and procuring necessary fixtures therefor.
4. Procuring ground for erecting necessary pounds and buildings and fences thereon,
upon a petition of at least twenty-five taxpayers of the corporation.
5. Purchasing, fencing and improving grounds necessary for cemetery and burial
places.
6. Laying out, opening, improving, making and maintaining highways, streets, lanes,
alleys and bridges in the corporation, and making and maintaining sidewalks and
crosswalks.
7. Purchasing land and erecting and maintaining buildings thereon, where none exist
in the corporation, for use of the corporation.
8. Creating and maintaining a fire department.
9. Paying the incidental expenses of the corporation and compensation of its
officers.
9-221 Transfer of books and records;classification
A. The custodians or any person in possession or having control of books, records
or property belonging to or which were used by the disincorporated city or town or any
officer thereof, shall immediately upon demand deliver such books, records or property to
the board of trustees for the use of the new corporation.
B. Any person who knowingly fails or refuses to deliver immediately upon demand the
books, records or property in his possession or control, is guilty of a class 5 felony.
9-222 Clerk; salary; duties
A. The board shall appoint from the electors of the city or town a clerk of the
board. The clerk shall receive an annual salary not exceeding five hundred dollars, to
be fixed by the board at the time of his appointment, which shall not be increased during
the year next following his appointment. All money collected by him shall be paid at the
close of each calendar month into the treasury of the corporation with a statement
verified by his oath.
B. The clerk shall:
1. Keep a record of all the proceedings of the board of trustees and of the several
boards of which he may be made the clerk by the order of the board of trustees.
2. Keep and preserve all books and papers pertaining to the board.
3. File and record in his office oaths of office and bonds given by the officers of
the city or town.
4. Draw warrants on the treasurer, which shall be signed by the president of the
board and countersigned by himself.
5. Submit to the board a written financial statement, correctly showing the affairs
of the corporation at their first regular meeting in July and January of each year,
which, upon proper authentication by the board, shall be published or posted as the board
may direct.
6. Perform such other service as may be required of him by the board of trustees or
imposed by law.
9-223 Marshal; deputies; oath; bond;compensation; duties
A. The board of trustees shall appoint from the electors of the corporation a
marshal who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board. He shall take an
oath of office and execute a bond to the state for the use and benefit of the
corporation, with such conditions and in such sum, and with such sureties, to be approved
by the board, as the board may direct.
B. The marshal shall be chief of police of the corporation. He may appoint such
number of deputy marshals, not exceeding two, as may be ordered by the board, whose
appointment shall be approved by the board, except for special temporary service, when
the number may be increased by order and direction of the board. The order shall define
the duties and fix the compensation of the temporary deputies.
C. The deputy marshals shall take the oath and execute the bond as required of the
marshal, except the temporary deputies who may, in the discretion of the board, act
without bond.
D. The compensation of the marshal shall not exceed one hundred dollars per month
for all services as marshal and street commissioner. The compensation of the deputy and
temporary marshals shall not exceed seventy-five dollars per month, to be fixed at the
time of appointment.
E. The marshal or either of his regular deputies shall execute all process in
behalf of the corporation and do and perform all service required by the board.
F. In case of riot or extraordinary emergency the marshal may exercise the same
power and authority within the corporate limits of a city or town as is given to sheriffs
by general law.
G. The marshal shall be ex officio street commissioner, and as such shall perform
such service and duty as may be imposed upon him by resolution or ordinance of the board.
9-224 Treasurer; term; oath; bond;compensation; duties
A. The board of trustees shall appoint from the qualified electors of the
corporation a treasurer, who shall hold office at the pleasure of the board, take the
oath of office and execute a bond to the state for the use and benefit of the
corporation, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties as treasurer. The
bond shall be for not less than twenty thousand dollars, and in such sum in excess of
that amount as the board may order. The board shall approve the bond and the sureties
thereon by endorsement thereon, and may at any time require a new or additional
bond. The bond with all endorsements shall be recorded at length in the records of the
proceedings of the board, and filed in the office of the clerk.
B. The compensation of the treasurer shall be fixed by the board at the time of his
appointment in a sum not to exceed two hundred dollars per year, to be paid at such times
as the board may, by order or resolution, direct at the time of fixing the amount
thereof.
C. The treasurer shall perform such duties and be subject to the same liability for
misfeasance or malfeasance in office as may be prescribed by law for treasurers of
municipal corporations, or for their punishment for dereliction or failure to perform
official duty. He shall, in addition, be subject to the ordinances of the corporation
and the resolutions and orders of the board of trustees.
D. The treasurer may be required by an order of the board to make settlement at
such times and as often as the board shall direct. All settlements of the treasurer
shall be based upon an actual exhibit and count of the funds in his possession. Failure
or neglect to accompany settlement with an exhibit and count of the funds shall be a
breach of the official bond of the treasurer.
E. No person shall be eligible to the office of treasurer for more than two
consecutive years.
9-225 Registration of voters; specialelections
The board may by ordinance provide for and regulate the registration of voters, and
for holding special elections for corporation officers not in conflict with this article.
9-226 Effect of dissolution on existingrights
A. The dissolution of a corporation shall not invalidate or affect any right,
penalty or forfeiture accruing to the corporation, nor invalidate or affect any contract
entered into or imposed upon the corporation, but all the contracted indebtedness and
obligations shall remain unimpaired by reason of the disincorporation of the corporation,
and the board of trustees of the municipality succeeding the disincorporated city or town
shall provide for the payment and discharge in good faith of all the indebtedness and
obligations according to the tenor of the contract or obligation by which they were
contracted or the indebtedness incurred, and for the collection of any indebtedness due
the corporation.
B. Nothing in this section shall be construed as compelling recognition of
contracts made by the mayor or common council subsequent to the petition for
disincorporation made to the board of supervisors, as provided by this article, and prior
to a vote being taken thereon.
9-231 Common council; date of election
A. The corporate powers of a town incorporated under the provisions of section
9-101 shall be vested in a common council. The first common council shall be appointed
by the board of supervisors, upon declaring the town incorporated, and the members shall
continue in office until their successors are elected and qualified. The successors
shall be elected by qualified electors residing in the town at an election held for that
purpose on the third Tuesday in May following, and on the third Tuesday in May each two
years thereafter, unless and until the date of such election is changed pursuant to the
provisions of subsection C of this section.
B. The common council of every town shall consist of five members if the population
is fifteen hundred persons or less, or seven members if the population exceeds fifteen
hundred persons at the time of incorporation. If thereafter the population of such town
exceeds fifteen hundred persons as determined by the latest official United States
census, the council may pass an ordinance increasing the membership to seven, with the
additional two members to be elected at the first election subsequent to the passage of
the ordinance.
C. A city or town may only hold a general election on a date prescribed by section
16-204.
9-232.01 Salaries
The common council may by ordinance or resolution prescribe a daily compensation or
salary to be paid the mayor, councilmen and administrative board members for the
performance of official duties.
9-232.02 Permitting town councilmen to hold office for four-year staggered terms
The common council may, by majority vote of the qualified electors of the town
voting thereon, provide for four-year staggered terms for members of the town council in
the manner provided in section 9-272, with respect to cities. In the event the common
council consists of five members only, the first class shall consist of two councilmen
and the second class shall consist of three councilmen.
9-232.03 Alternative procedure for mayor to be directly elected by electors
The common council may, by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the town
voting thereon either at a regular or special election, provide by ordinance that the
mayor shall be directly elected by the electors rather than selected by the common
council.
9-232.04 District system as alternative organization
A. The common council, by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the town who
vote on that issue, may elect to be governed by a district system of municipal
government. In accordance with that election, the common council by a majority vote shall
adopt a resolution or ordinance that divides the town into not more than six districts,
and the council members shall thereafter be elected from districts by the residents of
the district.
B. A mayor of the town shall be elected, who is the chief executive officer of the
town.
9-232 Council; qualifications of members; oath;selection of mayor
A. A person shall not be a member of a city or town council unless, at the time of
the election, the person is eighteen years old, is a qualified elector residing within
the city or town at the time of the election, and has resided in the city or town for one
year next preceding the election, or if an area has been annexed to the city or town for
a period of less than one year next preceding the election has resided in such area for
one year next preceding the election. If an annexed area is subject to the provisions of
this subsection, a person may meet the residency requirements if he has resided within
the existing limits of the city or town for the one year period.
B. Every member of the council shall hold the office for the term of two years,
except the members of the council first appointed, and before entering upon the duties of
the office, the member shall take and subscribe the oath of office.
C. The common council shall assemble within twenty days after their appointment or
election, and choose a mayor from among their number.
9-233 Council meetings; quorum;adjournment
The common council shall, by ordinance, fix the time and place of holding stated
meetings, and the council may be convened at any time by the mayor. A majority of the
councilmen shall constitute a quorum for transacting business but a lesser number may
adjourn from time to time and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and
under such penalty as the council may, by ordinance, have previously prescribed. No such
adjournment shall be to a day beyond the next stated meeting of the council.
9-234 Power of council to regulate proceedings;records
A. The common council shall judge the elections, qualifications and returns of its
members. It may prescribe rules for the government of its proceedings, may punish any
member or other person for disorderly conduct at any meeting of the council by a fine not
exceeding twenty dollars, and by imprisonment until the payment of the fine, and with the
concurrence of four councilmen may expel any member, but not a second time for the same
cause.
B. The common council shall cause the clerk to keep a journal of its proceedings
and a record of all ordinances adopted, and at the request of any member shall cause the
ayes and nays upon any question to be taken and entered upon its journals.
C. The proceedings of the common council shall be public.
9-235 Vacancies in council
A. The council shall fill a vacancy that may occur by either of the following:
1. Appointment for the unexpired term.
2. Appointment until the next regularly scheduled council election if the vacancy
occurs more than thirty days before the nomination petition deadline.
B. The member appointed shall meet the qualifications established in section 9-232.
9-236 Mayor; duties
The mayor of the common council shall be the chief executive officer of the town,
and shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law and ordinance. In case of the
absence of the mayor the council may appoint one of their number to act in his stead.
9-237 Appointive officers
In addition to the common council, the officers of every town shall be a town clerk,
town marshal, town engineer and other officers deemed necessary by the common council,
who shall be appointed as provided by ordinance of the town.
9-238 Duties of appointive officers
A. The town clerk shall also be treasurer of the town. The town marshal shall be
collector of all taxes of the town. The town engineer shall have charge of the town
streets, sewers and water works, and in towns of three thousand or more inhabitants,
shall be a competent engineer.
B. In towns of less than three thousand inhabitants the town marshal, in addition
to his duties as town marshal, may act as town engineer.
9-239 Council powers relating to appointiveofficers
A. The common council may prescribe the duties and compensation of all officers of
the town, and provide, by ordinance, the manner of filling vacancies in such
offices. The council may appoint, from time to time, officers and agents of the town
whose appointment is not provided for in this article, and remove them.
B. The common council may require all officers to give bond for the due discharge
of their duties in such sums and with such security as it may direct and approve, and for
default of giving security, may declare an office vacant.
C. The common council may provide severance pay for town officers by ordinance or
by contract with an individual officer.
9-240 General powers of common council
A. The common council shall have control of the finances and property of the
corporation.
B. The common council shall also have power within the limits of the town:
1. To erect, purchase or lease necessary buildings for the purposes of the
corporation.
2. To appropriate money and provide for the payment of its debts and expenses.
3. (a) To exercise exclusive control over the streets, alleys, avenues and
sidewalks of the town and to give and change the names thereof.
(b) To prevent and punish for the encumbering thereof, and to abate and remove all
encumbrances and obstructions thereon.
(c) To widen, extend, straighten, regulate, grade, clean or otherwise improve the
same.
(d) To open, lay out and improve new streets, avenues and alleys.
(e) To vacate or abandon any street, avenue, alley, park, public place or sidewalk
in such town or to abolish them, provided that rights-of-way or easements of existing
sewer, gas, water or similar pipelines and appurtenances and for canals, laterals or
ditches and appurtenances, and for electric, telephone, and similar lines and
appurtenances shall continue as they existed prior to the vacating, abandonment, or
abolishment thereof.
(f) To protect the same from encroachment and injury.
4. To erect and maintain bridges, culverts, sidewalks and crossways, and prevent
and punish for injuries thereto or obstructions thereon.
5. (a) To construct and maintain sewers and drains, and prevent and punish for any
obstruction thereof, or thereto.
(b) To change the channels of natural watercourses, to wall the same and cover them
over, and regulate the same as sewers.
(c) To prevent and punish for the filling up, altering or changing of natural
watercourses by private persons.
(d) To regulate the bridging of all millraces, irrigating and other ditches at the
crossings of public highways, by the owners of such millraces and ditches, and after such
bridge or ford is built according to the street commissioner's instructions, the crossing
shall thereafter be a public charge.
6. To provide the town with water, to construct public wells, cisterns and
reservoirs in the streets and other public and private places within the town, or beyond
the limits thereof, and to supply the same with pumps and conducting pipes or ditches.
7. (a) To provide regulations for the prevention and extinguishment of fires.
(b) To prevent the erection of wooden buildings within prescribed limits.
(c) To regulate the construction of chimneys, furnaces and fireplaces.
(d) To regulate the storage of explosives, tar, pitch, resin and other combustible
or inflammable materials, and to prescribe the places and manner of storing the same.
8. To provide for lighting the streets and other public places of the town, and to
exclusively regulate and control the laying and repairing of gas pipes and other
appurtenances therein.
9. To provide for enclosing, improving and protecting the public grounds and
cemeteries of the town, and to direct and regulate the planting of ornamental and shade
trees therein and in the streets of the town.
10. To establish markets and marketplaces for the town and to regulate the same.
11. (a) To establish and maintain necessary cemeteries and burial places for the
town beyond the limits thereof.
(b) To regulate the burial of the dead.
(c) To require a registration of the deaths and births, and to impose penalties
upon physicians and surgeons for any default in the premises.
12. To establish and regulate the police of the town, to appoint watchmen and
policemen, and to remove them, and to prescribe their powers and duties.
13. To prevent, suppress and punish any riot, rout, affray, disorderly noise or
disturbance in any public or private place within the town.
14. To prevent, suppress and punish racing or immoderate riding or driving through
the streets.
15. (a) To prohibit and punish any amusements or practice tending to annoy or
obstruct persons passing upon the streets or sidewalks, or frighten horses or other
animals being ridden or driven thereon.
(b) To restrain and punish the ringing of bells, blowing of horns, crying of goods
or other noises, performances and practices tending to cause the collection of persons
upon the streets or sidewalks and the obstruction thereof.
16. (a) To prohibit the roaming at large of animals within the town.
(b) To authorize the impounding and summary sale thereof when found roaming at
large contrary to ordinance.
(c) To impose penalties upon the owners thereof for a violation of any ordinance in
relation thereto.
(d) To regulate, restrain and prohibit the running at large of dogs and to
authorize their destruction when at large contrary to any ordinance of the town, and to
impose penalties upon the owners thereof.
17. (a) To suppress and prohibit prostitution and unlawful sexual intercourse and
to punish persons guilty thereof.
(b) To suppress and prohibit the operation of disorderly houses and to punish the
owners, managers, lessees, agents, keepers and inmates thereof.
(c) To suppress and prohibit gambling and the operating of gambling houses and to
punish the owners, managers and employees thereof and players at such games.
18. To fix the amount of license taxes to be paid by any person, firm, corporation
or association for carrying on any business, game or amusement, calling, profession or
occupation, and prescribe the method of collection or payment of the same, for a stated
period in advance, and fix penalties for failure to comply by fine or imprisonment, or
both. Nothing in this article shall be construed as authorizing any town or city to levy
an occupational license or fee on any activity when the general law of the state
precludes levying such a license or fee.
19. To authorize the clerk to issue licenses, to direct the manner of issuing and
registering the same, and the fees of the clerk therefor. No license shall be granted
for more than one year, and not less than ten dollars nor more than five thousand dollars
shall be charged for any license so issued.
20. (a) To provide regulations to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious,
loathsome or infectious diseases within the town.
(b) To make quarantine laws and enforce them within the town and within two miles
thereof, and to provide pest houses and hospitals necessary therefor.
21. (a) To define, abate and remove nuisances, and punish persons committing
nuisances.
(b) To compel the owner or any occupant of any house or premises to clean the
grounds, stables, alleys, streets and walks appurtenant and adjacent thereto.
(c) To prohibit within the town and within two miles beyond the limits thereof
slaughterhouses, tanneries, soap factories, establishments for the steaming or rendering
of tallow, lard or offal, and all other establishments and places where any nauseous,
offensive or unwholesome business may be carried on.
22. To perform other acts, and prescribe other regulations, which may be necessary
or expedient for the prevention or suppression of disease.
23. To establish and maintain a workhouse or houses of correction, to make
regulations for the government thereof and to appoint the officers and keepers thereof.
24. To authorize the arrest and punishment of vagrants, stragglers and idle and
disorderly persons found loitering or strolling about in public places, leading an
immoral or profligate life, and to authorize the confinement of any such person, and
persons who fail to pay any fine, in the workhouse or house of correction for a period
not exceeding three months.
25. (a) To direct and control the laying and construction of railroad tracks,
bridges, switches and sidetracks in the streets, alleys and other public places of the
town.
(b) To require the same to be so laid and constructed as to interfere as little as
possible with the ordinary travel and use of the streets, and other public places.
(c) To authorize the construction of tramways, electric, steam or cable roads and
railways in the town, and to regulate the operation thereof, and the fares to be charged
thereon and to require the owners thereof to keep in repair the streets wherein the same
may be laid, and to construct and keep in repair all bridges, culverts, crossways,
ditches and sewers.
(d) To regulate the speed of locomotives.
26. To levy taxes as hereinafter mentioned in this article.
27. To apply any surplus money in the treasury of the town to the extinguishment of
the debt of the town, or to provide a sinking fund for that purpose.
28. (a) To make, amend or repeal all ordinances necessary or proper for the
carrying into effect of the powers vested in the corporation, or any department or
officer thereof.
(b) To enforce the observance of such ordinances, and to punish violations thereof
by fine or imprisonment, or both, and by confinement at hard labor, in the discretion of
the magistrate or court before whom a conviction may be had, but no fine shall be imposed
exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars, nor imprisonment or confinement at hard
labor exceeding six months.
(c) Unless specifically prohibited by statute, to classify ordinance violations as
criminal or civil offenses.
29. To adopt ordinances for the government of the corporation, its officers and
persons within its corporate limits needful for the good government and order of the
municipalities, and to provide the manner of prosecution and define the punishment for
the violation of such ordinance.
9-241 Purchase and sale of property
A. The corporation may purchase, receive, hold, lease and convey property, real and
personal, necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of the corporation, within or
without its limits.
B. Every conveyance of real property to the corporation shall be in its corporate
name. Conveyances by the corporation shall be executed by the mayor with the advice and
consent of the council, at a regular meeting thereof.
C. Real property of the corporation shall be sold as provided by section 9-402.
9-242 Hospitals
A. The corporation may own, operate and control hospitals in the interest of the
general welfare.
B. The council may lease a hospital to a nonprofit association or corporation
organized under state law, on such terms and conditions, and for such consideration, as
the council may prescribe.
9-243 Construction of streets and sidewalks;default of property owner; abatement of assessment; appeal;definitions
A. The common council may require the proprietor of any block, lot or part of a lot
within the town to construct a sidewalk in front thereof of a width and type of
construction as it may direct, and may by ordinance provide that upon failure of the
proprietor to construct the sidewalk within a time to be prescribed after notice so to do
it may be constructed by the town, and the expense thereof assessed against the block,
lot or part thereof. The council may provide the manner of making the assessment, may
approve the same and provide the manner of collecting the assessment.
B. The council may by ordinance require the proprietor or owner of any property
within the town at the time of the development of the property to construct streets
within and adjacent to the property. If the council determines that such streets are
necessary before the development of the property, the council may order these
improvements to be constructed by the town at its expense and the expense shall be
assessed against the property. The council may provide and approve the manner of
assessing the property at the time of development and provide the manner of collecting
unpaid assessments at the time of development of the property subject to the following
limitations:
1. The assessment of property, if adjacent arterial streets are involved, shall not
exceed the cost of improving more than one-half of the width or more than one thousand
lineal feet of such adjacent arterial street, except that if any parcel of land is
presently being used for single family residential use and the width of such does not
exceed two hundred lineal feet, such property shall not be assessed greater than one-half
the cost of the average residential street within such city or town.
2. The assessment of property shall not exceed the actual expense incurred by the
town at the time of construction.
C. Any assessment under this section shall abate if the property has not been
developed within ten years of the assessment.
D. The determination of necessity by the council resulting in the assessing of
property under this section may be appealed by any aggrieved party to the superior court.
E. As used in this section:
1. "Development" includes construction of residential, commercial or industrial
buildings or structures or major additions or alterations to existing structures and
includes new buildings or structures on property having existing buildings or structures
situated on such property. When such property is zoned for agricultural or single family
residential use at the time of assessment, development shall also require a change of use
or purpose.
2. "Streets" may include asphaltic concrete surfacing, aggregate base, curb and
gutter, valley gutter, concrete sidewalks and tiling of irrigation ditches and storm
drainage facilities if required.
9-244 Levy of taxes
A. The common council may levy and collect annually, upon the assessed value of the
real and personal property within the town, as shown by the equalized assessment roll of
the current year, except such as is, or may be, exempt from taxation under the laws of
the state, property taxes to defray the salaries of officers, and the ordinary and
contingent expenses of the corporation, not herein otherwise provided for, and for
constructing and repairing streets, sewers, sidewalks and crosswalks, or bridges and
culverts upon such streets and sidewalks.
B. The limitation imposed by this section shall not prohibit the right to levy and
collect amounts necessary to defray the charges of the public debt of the corporation.
C. Nothing contained in this section shall be held to repeal, modify or affect the
provisions of title 42, chapter 17, article 2.
9-246 Publication of financialstatement
The common council shall, at least ten days before the biennial election, publish in
a newspaper published in the town, or if there is none, then post in three or more public
places in the town, a full and correct statement of all monies received into the treasury
of the town since the last report, and the sources from which they were severally
derived, and also of all disbursements and expenditures and the account upon which the
disbursement was made.
9-247 Claims; warrants and vouchers
When a town organized under this article is indebted on an account, the official
having power to audit and allow claims against the town shall draw a warrant or voucher
upon the treasurer for the amount due. The official shall not draw more than one warrant
or voucher for the amount allowed.
9-248 Warrants and vouchers; payee;form
No warrant or voucher drawn on the treasurer of any town shall be drawn in favor of
a person other than the one to whom it is due. The warrant or voucher shall be in the
form prescribed by ordinance.
9-249 Warrants and vouchers; presentment;payment; registry
A. The treasurer of the town shall not pay any warrant or voucher unless presented
for payment by the person in whose favor it is drawn, his assignee, executor or
administrator. When a warrant on the treasurer is properly presented for payment, he
shall pay it and write or stamp on the face thereof "paid," the date of payment, and sign
his name thereto. If he cannot pay the warrant for want of funds he shall endorse
thereon "not paid for want of funds," the date of presentation, and sign his name
thereto, and from that date until paid the warrant shall bear interest at a rate to be
determined by the town council, but in no case to exceed six per cent.
B. The treasurer shall keep a registry of warrants presented for payment.
9-250 Violation of provisions relating towarrants; classification
An officer of a town who violates any provision of sections 9-247, 9-248 or 9-249 is
guilty of a petty offense.
9-251 Survey and recording of townplats
When a town is laid out, the proprietors of the town shall cause to be made an
accurate plat or map thereof, setting forth:
l. Streets, alleys, avenues and highways and the width thereof.
2. Parks, squares and other grounds reserved for other uses, with the boundaries
and dimensions thereof.
3. Lots and blocks, with their boundaries, designating the lots and blocks by
numbers, and giving the dimensions of the lots.
9-252 Acknowledgment and filing of maps
The maps required by section 9-251 shall be acknowledged by the proprietor, or some
person for him duly authorized by deed, and a copy thereof, so acknowledged, shall be
filed in the office of the county recorder, and also in the office of the clerk of the
town.
9-253 Recording of maps and plats; preservationof originals
A. The county recorder shall record the plats in a book to be kept for that
purpose, and, when necessary, may reduce the scale of the plat, and upon each record in
the book, shall endorse his certificate that the plat is recorded from the original plat
filed in his office.
B. The original plat shall be preserved by the county recorder, and the clerk of
the city or town, among the records of their offices respectively.
9-254 Title to streets
Upon filing a map or plat, the fee of the streets, alleys, avenues, highways, parks
and other parcels of ground reserved therein to the use of the public vests in the town,
in trust, for the uses therein expressed. If the town is not incorporated, then the fee
vests in the county until the town becomes incorporated.
9-255 Unlawful act of officer; liability ofcouncil
A member of the common council of a town incorporated under the provisions of this
article shall not be personally liable in damages or otherwise for an unlawful act of an
officer or employee of the town, unless the act is committed by the authority of the
member, or he has notice or knowledge thereof, or unless the act is committed under
circumstances which would cause, or would have caused, a reasonable or prudent person to
have knowledge of the act.
9-271 Procedure for change; cityofficers
A. When a town has acquired a population of three thousand or over and the council
shall by resolution so declare, the town may by majority vote of the qualified electors
voting thereon assume a city organization having and exercising all rights, powers,
authority, duties and privileges of a city under such name as the council may designate.
B. Upon making the change from a town to a city organization the officers of the
city shall consist of:
l. Seven councilmen elected at large by the qualified electors residing in the city
at the regular election which would have been held had the change not been made.
2. A mayor elected by and from among the members of the council.
3. The following officers appointed by the mayor and city council:
(a) A city clerk and ex officio treasurer.
(b) A city attorney.
(c) A city marshal or chief of police.
(d) A city physician.
(e) A city engineer.
(f) When provided by ordinance, a city health or sanitary officer, a superintendent
of streets, a fire chief and such other officers as the council deems necessary.
C. The same person may hold two or more of the appointive offices enumerated in
paragraph 3 of subsection B.
D. Pending the holding of the first regular election after the change, the officers
of the municipality and their terms of office shall continue as though the change from
town to city government had not been made.
9-272.01 Alternative procedure for mayor to be directly elected by electors
The common council may, by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the city
voting thereon either at a regular or special election, provide by ordinance that the
mayor shall be directly elected by the electors rather than selected by the common
council.
9-272 Classification of councilmen for purposesof election; terms of office
A. The common council may, by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the city
voting thereon, provide by ordinance or resolution, that the members of the council be
divided by lot into two classes. The first class shall consist of three councilmen and
the second class of four. Those of the first class shall hold office until the next
regular election, and those of the second class until the second regular election. At
the first regular election held after the change, three councilmen shall be elected, and
at the second regular election four councilmen shall be elected.
B. Thereafter councilmen shall be elected in classes of three and four at
successive, regular elections and shall hold their office for terms of four years each
and until their successors are elected and qualified.
9-273 District system as alternativeorganization
A. Upon the change from town to city government, the city, by a majority vote of
the qualified electors, may elect to be governed by a district system of municipal
government, and in accordance with the election the common council by a majority vote
shall adopt such resolution or ordinance, dividing the city into districts, not exceeding
six in number, and the councilmen shall thereafter be elected from districts by the
residents of the district.
B. There shall be elected a mayor of such city, who shall be the chief executive
officer of the city.
9-274 Powers of council; salaries
A. When the change from town to city government is made, the council of the city
may:
1. Appoint and remove city officers, board members and employees not expressly made
elective in accordance with civil service regulations, or in absence of such regulations,
as the council deems advisable.
2. Fix the salaries of officers, board members and employees, and of the mayor and
councilmen.
3. Require and fix official bonds.
4. Prescribe the duties of officers, board members and employees.
5. Fill by appointment vacancies in the office of mayor or councilmen and other
vacancies occurring in any other city office, board or employment.
B. In fixing salaries the city council may by ordinance or resolution prescribe a
daily compensation to be paid to the mayor, councilmen and administrative board members
for performance of official duties.
C. The city council may by ordinance or resolution establish or alter salaries or
compensation of the mayor and councilmen.
9-275 Applicability of certain provisions tospecified cities
A. The provisions of sections 9-271 to 9-274, inclusive, shall not apply to a city
operating under a special act or special charter or which has been organized prior to
June 12, 1929 and is operating under the provisions of article 1, chapter 2 of this
title, or any other state law or statute enacted prior to June 12, 1929, but the officers
of such city, their manner of election or appointment, their term of office, duties,
salaries, bonds and the filling of vacancies shall remain as provided by the special
acts, charter, laws or statutes enacted prior to June 12, 1929.
B. A city or town operating under any act, special charter, law or statute of the
state enacted prior to June 12, 1929, may by majority vote of its council avail itself of
the benefits, privileges and provisions of this article to take effect at the holding of
the next regular election in the municipality.
C. Pending the holding of the first regular election after such decision and
action, the officers of the municipality and their tenure of office shall continue as
theretofore, and as though such change of municipal government had not been made.
9-276 Additional powers of cities
A. In addition to the powers already vested in cities by their respective charters
and by general law, cities and their governing bodies may:
1. Lay out and establish, regulate the use, open, vacate, alter, widen, extend,
grade, pave, plant trees or otherwise improve streets, alleys, avenues, sidewalks, parks,
public grounds and off-street parking sites and acquire any property necessary or
convenient for that purpose by the exercise of the right of eminent domain.
2. Prevent and remove encroachments or obstructions, provide for lighting and
cleaning, and regulate the openings for the laying of gas and water pipes and mains on
streets, alleys, avenues, sidewalks, parks and public grounds.
3. Build and repair sewers, tunnels and drains.
4. Erect lights, gas or otherwise.
5. Regulate the erection of poles and wires, the laying of street railway tracks,
and the operating of street railways in and upon its streets, alleys, public grounds and
plazas.
6. Regulate the use of sidewalks and all structures thereunder, and require the
owner or occupant of premises to keep the sidewalks in front of or along the premises
free from obstruction.
7. Regulate and prevent the throwing of offensive material in and prevent injury to
any street, way, alley or public grounds.
8. Construct and keep in repair bridges, viaducts, tunnels, culverts, drains,
sewers and cesspools, and regulate their use.
9. Provide for the cleaning and purification of waters, watercourses and canals,
and the draining or filling of ponds on private property when necessary to prevent or
abate nuisances.
10. Establish markets and market houses, and regulate their use.
11. Regulate the sale of meats, poultry, fish, butter, cheese, lard, fruit,
vegetables and other provisions, and provide for and regulate the inspection and the
place and manner of selling them, and provide for the inspection of hay, grain, flour,
meal and other provisions.
12. Regulate the construction, repair and use of vaults, cisterns, areas, hydrants,
pumps, sewers and gutters.
13. Regulate partition fences and party walls and regulate the construction and
location of buildings, walls and fences on the line of a street, way or alley.
14. Prescribe the thickness, strength and manner of constructing stone, brick and
other buildings, and construction of fire escapes.
15. Fix and designate by ordinance fire limits within which no buildings having
outside wooden walls shall be constructed or repaired so as to increase their value
beyond a percentage to be fixed in the ordinance, and, by ordinance, prescribe special
fire limits, within the general fire limits, requiring therein building material to be
used and additional precautions to be observed in the construction of new buildings, and
in the repairing and maintenance of buildings, as may from time to time be designated,
for the prevention of fires and the spread thereof, and provide for the enforcement of
the ordinance and for the appointment of a building inspector, his authority, his term of
office and his compensation.
16. Define nuisances and abate them, and impose fines upon persons creating or
continuing nuisances.
17. Appoint a board of health, and prescribe its powers and duties.
18. Prohibit an offensive or unwholesome business or establishment within two miles
of the limits of the corporation.
19. Compel the owner of any unwholesome or nauseous house or place to clean, abate
or remove it, and regulate the location thereof.
20. Extend by condemnation or otherwise any street, alley or highway over or across,
or construct a sewer under or through, any railroad track, right-of-way or land of a
railroad within its corporate limits, but where no just compensation is made to the
railroad company, the city shall restore the railroad track, right-of-way or land to its
former state, or in a manner so as not to impair its usefulness.
21. Establish and define sewer districts and construct sewers therein.
22. Establish and alter the grade of streets, alleys and sidewalks, and regulate the
manner of using the streets and pavements in the city to protect them from injury by
vehicles driven thereon. No street or sidewalk grade shall be altered after it has once
been established and built unless compensation is made to abutting owners for damages
done to their property by the change.
23. Make local improvements by special assessments, by special taxation or
otherwise, as they shall by ordinance prescribe.
24. Adopt and enforce standards for shielding and filtration of commercial or public
outdoor portable or permanent light fixtures in proximity to astronomical or
meteorological laboratories.
B. A domestic corporation or association organized for the purpose of manufacturing
gas to supply cities, or their inhabitants, or to supply cities, or their inhabitants,
with water, or for the purpose of furnishing cities and the inhabitants with a sewer
system, may, by consent of the governing body, erect and establish gas factories,
waterworks and sewer plants, and lay down pipes in the streets, alleys, plazas and ways
of a city, subject to such rules and regulations as the city shall by ordinance impose.
9-281 Adoption procedure; board of freeholders;election
A. A city containing a population of more than three thousand five hundred
inhabitants may frame a charter for its own government consistent with the constitution
and the laws of the state, by causing a board of freeholders, composed of fourteen
qualified electors of the city, to be elected at large by the qualified electors thereof,
at a general or special election.
B. An election of the board of freeholders may be called at any time by the
legislative authority of the city. The election shall be called by the chief executive
officer of the city within ten days after there has been filed with him a petition
demanding the election, signed by a number of qualified electors residing within the city
equal to twenty-five per cent of the total number of votes cast at the next preceding
general municipal election.
C. The election shall be held not later than thirty days after the call
therefor. At the election a vote shall be taken upon the question whether further
proceedings toward adopting a charter shall be had in pursuance to the call, and unless a
majority of the qualified electors voting thereon shall vote to proceed further, no
further proceedings shall be had.
9-282 Proposed charter; publication; election;approval by governor
A. The board shall, within ninety days after the election, prepare and propose a
charter for the city. The proposed charter shall be approved and signed in duplicate by
the members of the board, or a majority of them, who shall file one copy with the chief
executive officer of the city and the other with the county recorder of the county in
which the city is located.
B. The proposed charter shall then be published in one or more newspapers of
general circulation published within the city for at least twenty-one days if in a daily
paper, or in three consecutive issues if in a weekly paper, and the first publication
shall be made within twenty days after completion of the proposed charter.
C. The proposed charter shall be submitted within thirty days and not earlier than
twenty days after the publication to the vote of the qualified electors of the city at a
general or special election. If a majority of the electors voting thereon ratify the
proposed charter, it shall be submitted to the governor for his approval, who shall
approve it if not in conflict with the constitution or the laws of the state.
9-283 Approval of charter; recording andfiling; amendment
A. Upon approval the charter shall become the organic law of the city and supersede
any charter then existing and all ordinances inconsistent with the new charter.
B. A copy of the charter, certified by the chief executive officer of the city, and
authenticated by the seal of the city, together with a statement similarly certified and
authenticated setting forth the submission of the charter to the electors and its
ratification by them, shall, after approval of the charter by the governor, be made in
duplicate, and one copy shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state and the
other in the archives of the city, after being recorded in the office of the county
recorder, and thereafter all courts shall take judicial notice of the charter.
C. The charter so ratified may be amended by amendments proposed and submitted by
the legislative authority of the city to the qualified electors thereof, or by petition
as provided in this article, at a general or special election, and ratified by a majority
of the qualified electors voting thereon, and approved by the governor as provided in
this article for the approval of the charter.
9-284 Effect of charter on inconsistentlaws
A. When the charter has been framed, adopted and approved, and any of its
provisions are in conflict with any law relating to cities containing a population of
more than three thousand five hundred inhabitants in force at the time of the adoption
and approval of the charter, the provisions of the charter shall prevail notwithstanding
the conflict, and shall operate as a repeal or suspension of the law to the extent of
conflict, and the law shall not thereafter be operative as to such conflict.
B. The charter shall be consistent with and subject to the state constitution, and
not in conflict with the constitution and laws relating to the exercise of the initiative
and referendum and other general laws of the state not relating to cities.
C. Notwithstanding any statute, the charter may authorize agreements setting wages
and salaries which extend not more than two years beyond the term of the contracting
council.
9-285 Expenses of board
When a city has adopted a charter under the provisions of this article, the chief
executive and the legislative authority of the city may provide for the payment of the
expenses of the board of freeholders necessarily incurred in the framing of the charter,
including clerical assistance which shall not exceed three dollars per day for the time
actually employed.
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