212~-
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ORDINANCE N0. 212
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF V1iEST MEMPHIS,
ARKANSAS ;
SECTION 1. MAYOR-OFFIGE~SEAL-VACANCY; The Mayor shall
hold his office during the term for which he shall have been
elected, and until his successor shall have been elected and
qualified. He shall keep an office at some convenient place in
the city, to be provided by the City Council,
In case of his death,
disability, resignation, or other vacation of his office, the
City Council may, by vote of a majority of all its members,
appoint some other person to act until the expiration of said
term or disability, if the unexpired term of his office is less
than six (6) months; otherwise, an election shall be ordered in
accordance with the laws of the State; a removal from the city
shall be deemed a vacation of his office.
SECTION 2. P01(~ERS AND DUTIES OF MAYOR; The Mayor of
the city shall b® its chief executive officer and conservator
of its peace, and it shall be his special duty to cause the
ordinances and regulations of the city to be faithfully and
constantly obeyed. He shall supervise the conduct of all the
officers of the city, examine the grounds of all reasonable com-
plaints made against them, and cause all their violations of
duty or other neglect to be properly punished or reported to
the proper tribunal for correction. He shall have and exercise
the power conferred on Sheriffs, within the city limits, to
suppress disorder and keep the peace; he shall perform such other
duties compatible with the nature of his office as the council
may from time to time require. He shall at the second r egular
meeting of the City Council in each year, and at such other times
as he shall deem expedient, report to the City Council the
municipal affairs of the city, and reeo~runend such measures to
them as to him may seem advisable.
SECTION 3. ADDITIONAL P01118ERS-APPOINTMENT OF POLICE
AND FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEFS-VETO POWER AS TO ORDINANCES-PASSAGE
OVER VETO-SIISPENSION OF POLICE AND FIRE CHIEFS-SALARY OF MAYOR.
The mayor of the city of West Memphis, shall in addition to the
powers and duties already pertaining to that office, be clothed
with, and exercise and perform, the following to-wit:
First. Shall have the power to choose and appoint the
chief of the police department and chief of the fire department
who shall hold his office until the following election for mayor,
and until his successor is appointed by the incoming mayor, un-
less sooner removed for cause.
Second. He shall have the power to veto, within three
(3) days after the action of the city council thereon, any
ordinance, resolution or order adopted or made by the city
council, or any part thereof which in his judgment is contrary
to the public interests, in which case he shall before the next
regular meeting of the city council, file in the office of the
city clerk, to be laid before such meeting, a written statement
of his reasons for so doing, and no such ordinance, resolution,
or order, or part thereof vetoed by the mayor, shall have any
farce or validity, unless, after such written statement is laid
before it, the city council shall, by a vote of two-thirds
(2/3? of all the aldermen elected thereto, pass the same over
such veto .
Third. He shall have the right to suspend for ineffi-
ciency, misconduct or neglect of duty any employee of the city
of West Memphis until the next regular or special meeting of the
City Council; at which time he shall lay the matter before the
Council, and unless his action be approved by the Council, by a
vote of a majority of the council elect, the suspension shall
cease; provided no person shall twice be suspended for the same
offense.
Fourth. The mayor shall have the right to suspend for
inefficiency, misconduct, or neglect of duty, the chief of the
police department and chief of the fire department until the
next regular, or adjourned, or special meeting of the city
council, at which meeting, he shall lay the matter before the
city council; and unless his action be approved and the chief
be removed from office at such meeting within five (5) days
thereafter, by a vote of a majority of the council elect, the
suspension shall cease; provided no officer shall be twice sus-
pended for the same cause.
Fifth. It shall be his duty to devote his time and
attention to looking after all matters pertaining to the inter-
ests of the city, and to see to it that all persons in the
service of the city discharge and perform their respective
du ties promptly, faithfully and efficiently, and to remove,
as hereinbefore provided, all such as do not; and the mayor for
his services shall be entitled to receive as compensation or
salary not to exceed five thousand dollars (~p5,000.00) per annum
to be fixed by the city council, and when once fixed the same
shall not be increased or diminished during the term for v~iich
he may have been elected.
PASSED AND APPROVED THIS 27T.: DAY OF
1952.
ATTESTS
~~~ e r
T.~1Y ,
G',~,
Mayor