§ 35. Election and term of office of elective officers; appointments by mayor; appointment of city clerk; appointments by manager; duties of mayor and city solicitor; fees.
The mayor, members of council, municipal judge and treasurer elected on May 16, 2015, shall serve a term beginning on the third Monday in June, 2015, and ending in January 2019 when the term of their successors begins. Their successors shall be elected on the first Tuesday in November, 2018, in conjunction with the state and county election administered by the clerk of the county court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, and shall begin their term on the first Monday of January 2019, unless said Monday is a state holiday, in which case their term shall begin on the first Tuesday of January. Thereafter, the mayor, members of council, municipal judge and treasurer shall be elected at intervals of four years in conjunction with the state and county election administered by the clerk of the county court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, and their term shall begin on the first Monday of January after their election, unless said Monday is a state holiday, in which case their term shall begin on the first Tuesday of January.
The mayor shall appoint the city solicitor, an assistant city solicitor, the chief of police, humane officer or officers, building inspector, collector, city auditor, engineer, health commissioner, lockup keeper, municipal court clerk, and the chief of the fire department, and these appointments shall not require any confirmation by the council but shall be made at the discretion of the mayor, who shall, with like discretion, have the full and complete power of removal thereof. The mayor shall appoint the manager, by and with the advice and consent of the council. The council shall, either at a regular or special meeting called for that purpose, pass upon such nomination and either confirm or reject the same, and if such nomination is rejected, then the mayor shall submit to the council a further nomination of some other person or persons until the nomination is confirmed by council, for said office of manager, but it shall be the duty of the council to pass upon all nominations without unreasonable delay; and in any event within two weeks after the submission of the same, and the failure of members of the council to pass thereon within such time shall be cause for the removal from office of such members of the council as shall have refused to act thereon.
The council shall appoint a city clerk. The manager shall appoint or employ such persons as the ordinances of the city may require or the council may authorize by proper resolution.
It shall be the duty of the mayor to attend all meetings of the council and preside over that body.
It shall be the duty of the mayor to see that all of the laws and ordinances of the city are enforced and he shall have a general oversight over the peace, health and good order of the city.
The duties of the city solicitor or assistant city solicitor shall be to attend the sessions of council (and) to prosecute all suits on behalf of the city and defend all suits against the city, to advise the council and all of the departments of the city and in general to look after the interests of the city when it shall need legal services.
All fees of every kind collected by any officer or employee, including the municipal judge when acting as a justice, shall be paid to the city treasurer.
(Ord. No. 6050, 12-5-1994; Ord. No. 7597, 10-21-2013)
Editor's note
The provisions of Charter § 35 relative to the salaries of the mayor and solicitor are superseded by W. Va. Code § 8-5-12. See W. Va. Code § 8-1-6. The provisions of Charter § 35 relative to the mayor attending council meetings and presiding at same (i.e., the fourth paragraph) are covered by W. Va. Code § 8-9-1. See W. Va. Code § 8-1-6. The fifth paragraph of Charter § 35 is covered by W. Va. Code § 8-10-1. See W. Va. Code § 8-1-6.