Univ.of in. Library /<^od RULES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SAVANNAH, TOGETHER WITH NAMES OF OFFICERS OF THE BOARD, AND ORGANIZATION OF COMMITTEES, FOR YEARS 1853 AND 1854. LIBRARY OF Y OR ILL!? SAVANNAH : PURSE’S PRINT. 1853. RULES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SAVANNAH, TOGETHER WITH NAMES OF OFFICERS OF THE BOARD, AND ORGANIZATION OF COMMITTEES, YEARS 1853 AND 1854. LIBRARY OF THE ^'-ERS'TY 0 ?: SAVANNAH : PURSE’S PRINT. 1853. ? ! fl 1 / ■ ’ ; .* ■ • • ;• U ' i : 'M y,< •- • 1 if A ' ■AU.Wi.i h:< . J /.!,.•! <- - A i , .8W1 ! 008 i 40 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/rulesofcitycouncOOsava NAMES OF MAYOR & ALDERMEN, FOR 1853 AND 1854. MAYOR. JOHN E. WARD. ALDERMEN. SOLOMON COHEN, Chairman, A, R. LAWTON, ISAAC BRUNNER, _ JOHN MALLERY, M. CUMMIN (£ ' DOMINICK A, O’BYRNE, CHAS. GANAHL, EDWIN E. HERTZ, JOHN N. LEWIS, J. P. SCREVEN, SAM’L SOLOMONS, R. D. WALKER. STANDING COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL. ON FINANCE. STREETS & LANES. HEALTH & CEMETERY. JAIL. DRY CULTURE. Lewis, Screven, Cohen, Lawton, Cumming. Walker, B ru nner,IIertz, O’Byrne Mallery, Walker, Solomons. Cumming, Ganahl, Walker. Screven, O’Byrne, Lawton. PUBLIC SALES & CITY LOTS . Lawton, Cohen, Lewis. MARKET. PUMPS. 1 FIRE DEPARTMENT. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. DOCKS & WHARVES. PUBLIC EDUCATION. GAS. WATER WORKS. ACCOUNTS O’Byrne, Mallery, Brunner. Brunner, Hertz, Mallery. Cohen, Cumming, Screven. Hertz, Ganahl, Brunner. Ganahl, Solomons, Cumming. The Mayor, Aldermen Screven, Cohen, Solomons, Ganahl, Lewis. Screven, Eawton, Ganahl. Cumming, Lewis, O’Byrne, LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF ltUNOlS , ... ■* T £ ■ , ’ * « %, tit, 4 v RULES OF COUNCIL. RULE r. The style of the Corporation shall be “ The Mayor and Alder- men of the City of Savannah and Hamlets thereof.” RULE II. A quorum for business shall consist of seven Aldermen and the Mayor or presiding Chairman, except in the months of July, Au- gust, September and October, when a majority of the Aldermen in the city shall suffice. RULE III. All accounts against the Corporation, except the Pay Roll of the City Guard, (which shall be paid by the Treasurer upon the order of the Mayor,) shall be left with the Clerk of Council at least two days before the regular meeting, and shall be registered by him. And it shall be the duty of the Committee on Accounts to examine every account so registered, at any time before a regular meeting, and to report upon each, to be approved or rejected by Council ; and no account or claim shall be laid before the Board, that has not previously been audited and examined by the Committee, nor paid until approved by Council, except the Pay Roll aforesaid — and the Treasurer shall keep a correct record, in a book appropriated to that purpose, of all accounts so passed, distinguishing in separate columns those paid and those unpaid. RULE IV. No member shall address the Chair sitting, nor shall speak more than twice on the same subject without permission from the Chair, nor on any account when another member has not delivered his sentiments, and wishes to be heard. RULE V. All motions shall be made in writing and seconded before debate, and every bill shall be read twice, that is, once at two distinct regular meetings of Council before it passes into an Ordinance, unless in cases of emergency, when a bill may be read twice by unanimous 6 consent on the same day and passed, and after the passage of any Ordinance, the same shall be signed by the Mayor or presiding Chairman as soon as fairly copied, and be immediately thereafter published, and no reconsideration of the minutes at the next meet- ing of Council shall operate to suspend, affect, or alter the pro- visions of the said Ordinance, and on the first reading of the bill, the question shall be “ shall the bill be read a second time ? ” All Ordinances, when passed, shall be fairly and correctly transcribed by the Clerk of Council in the Book of Ordinances, and when ex- amined by the Mayor and found correct, shall be signed by him, or the officer presiding at the time of its passing, and countersigned by the Clerk, with the seal of the City affixed. RULE VI. The Mayor (in his absence the chairman) shall appoint all com- mittees, except where a ballot is demanded by two members of Council, and shall have a vote only when the members of Council are equally divided, unless in cases of balloting for officers or the committees of this board, when he shall vote as other members. RULE VII. The Council shall meet at their chamber on Thursday, in every alternate week, at half-past seven o’clock P. M., from the 1st No- vember to the 1st May, and at half-past ten A. M., from 1st May to 1st November, and having met, no member shall absent himself without leave from the Chair, and any member absenting himself without such permission, or who shall be absent at any meeting, shall be fined in a sum not exceeding two dollars, unless excused by the Board. Any member absenting himself without leave for more than three months at one time from the city, his seat shall be de- clared vacant and a new election ordered. RULE VIII. The Messenger shall summon the members personally or by leav- ing written notices at their usual place of abode, for every meeting, regular and extra, notifying precisely the hour of meeting. RULE IX. The Clerk shall read over the minutes of the preceeding Council, 7 at the subsequent regular meeting, in order that any clerical mistake or omission may be corrected or supplied, but no alterations and amendments as to the substance shall be made or entered, unless on motion for reconsideration. RULE X. The Mayor, or in case of his absence or sickness, the Chairman, or in case of the sickness or absence of both of these officers, any three Aldermen shall have the power to call extra meetings, and any member summoned shall be subject to the same fine in case of default as for non-attendance on regular meetings, unless excused by the Board. And it shall be the duty of the Mayor or Chairman, as the case may be, to call extra meetings whenever three Aldermen shall require him, in writing, so to do — but no appropriation of money shall be made except at a regular meeting of the Board. RULE XI. It shall be in the power of this Board to expel any of its members for indecent and ungentlemanly conduct whether before Council as a member or in his capacity as an Alderman, and two-thirds of the members present may expel such member or members from Council. RULE XII. Whenever two members shall require it, the yeas and nays of the members present shall be entered on the minutes on any question taken. RULE XIII. In all cases when committees are ordered to contract for public repairs and improvements, they shall give notice in one or more of the public gazettes of the city, for a period not less than twenty days; and when proposals shall have been received by the commit- tee, they shall be reported to Council for approbation or rejection. Each Standing Committee may however, order any necessary and urgent repairs to any extent not exceeding one hundred dollars, and the same shall be reported to Council at its next regular meeting, provided, however, that Council may give general and standing di- rections to the Street and Lane Committee to provide provender for the mules, and reasonable allowance of provisions for the negroes employed in the Scavenger’s Department, and such lumber, gravel, sand, oyster-shells, or other materials as may be needed in repairing, grading, or ornamenting the streets and public squares. The same to be audited and accounted for at stated intervals, like all other accounts of the Board. RULE XIV. The Treasurer shall open a quarterly account with the Chairman of the Committee on Streets and Lanes, and shall allow him to draw upon his own warrant a sum sufficient for the subsistence of twenty-one (21) hands, not exceeding $21 per week, and the said warrant shall be consolidated by the Treasurer quarterly, and shall be audited by the Committee of Accounts in like manner with all other claims upon the Treasury. RULE XV. It shall be necessary, in all elections by Council, that a majority of the votes of the members present shall be obtained before a candidate can be elected. RULE XVI. Every Council shall, on the day of its organization, elect a Chair- man, on whom shall devolve all the duties of the Mayor during the sickness or absence of that officer, and who shall act accordingly until the Mayor shall resume his functions. RULE XVII. dSTo member of this Board shall be directly or indirectly inter- ested in any contract, office, or appointment, to be made with or derived from the Board, and which shall have annexed to it any pecuniary advantage or emolument. RULE XVIII. The only officers whose regular attendance will be required during the sittings of Council, are the Treasurer, Marshal, Clerk and Mes- senger ; but all or any other officers of the city shall be bound to attend any meeting upon the requisition of the Mayor in writing, or by special resolution of Council to that effect. RULE XIX. The doors of the Council Chamber shall on all occasions during . 9 the sittings of Council be kept open, nor shall any citizen be exclu- ded therefrom, nor shall the, doors on any occasion be closed but upon a vote of a majority of the members present. RULE XX. The Messenger and all other officers, except the City Sheriff, are required to keep their offices in the Exchange, and desks and ap- paratus shall be provided for them, and the said offices shall be attended to from 9 o’clock A. M. to 2 o’clock P. M. daily, Sundays excepted. RULE XXI. IS o Ordinance shall contain any subject matter which is not im- mediately and necessarily connected with the subject and title of the Ordinance. RULE XXII. The summons for all extra meetings of Council shall express the cause thereof, and no business shall be brought before the Board at any extra meeting which is not set forth in the summons. RULE XXIII. The Clerk of Council shall furnish each committee with copies of all resolutions relating to the concerns of said committees, which copies shall be personally served or left at the dwelling of the chair- man of such committee, within forty-eight hours after the passage of any resolution, or immediately thereafter in cases of emergency. RULE XXIV. No member of the Board shall be accepted as security on the bond of an officer appointed by its authority, nor for the fulfilment of any contracts made with Council, nor shall any officer of Council be accepted as security on the bond of any other officer appointed under it. RULE XXV, The operation of any of the Rules of this Board, except Rules II and XVI, may be dispensed with by the unanimous consent of the members present, and any proposition to alter any of the established rules for the government of this Board, or to make new ones, shall be offered one meeting at least previous to its discussion, and can 10 only thereafter be adopted by two-thirds of the members present agreeing to the same. RULE XXVI. The Mayor shall possess a superintending power over all the salaried officers of this Board, and upon any complaint against, or for neglect of duty by said officers, he shall investigate the same, and, if he thinks it necessary, report the delinquent and the charges to this Board. The Mayor shall also have power to suspend any officer, holding an appointment under Council for any flagrant viola- tion of duty, rendering it necessary to take such step, which sus- pension he shall report to Council within forty-eight hours after- wards, by whom the said alleged offence may be inquired into. ■ . ■ # * OBDEB OE BUSINESS. I. Beading of the Minutes. II. Information and Fine Docket, f III. Beports of Committees. IV. Ordinances. V. Petitions and Applications. * VI. Elections. VIL Besolutions. VIII. Miscellaneous Matter. IX. Accounts.