§ 2-32. Special meetings and emergency meetings; notice; procedures.

(a)

Special meetings of the mayor and board of aldermen may be called by the mayor or a majority of the members of the board.

(b)

The notice for a special meeting shall specify the business to be considered at the special meeting, shall be signed by the mayor or members of the board calling the meeting, and shall be served by any police officer or marshal of the city on the mayor and members of the board. The notice may be served either personally or at the domicile of the officer to be notified and shall be served in either event at least eight hours prior to the hour fixed in the call for the special meeting. The police officer or city marshal serving the notice shall make his return on the back of a copy of the call, reciting the time and manner of service thus made by him upon the mayor and each member of the board. This return, together with the call for the special meeting, shall be transcribed upon the minutes of the special meeting by the clerk. The mayor or any member of the board may waive notice of the meeting in writing. Public notice shall be given as provided in R.S. 42:7.

(c)

No business, except that specified in the notice of the special meeting, shall be considered at the meeting unless approved by two-thirds of the aldermen present at the meeting.

(d)

In cases of extraordinary emergency, which shall be limited to natural disaster, threat of epidemic, civil disturbances, suppression of insurrections, the repelling of invasions, or other matters of similar magnitude, the mayor or any alderman may call an emergency meeting of the board of aldermen. The members of the board and mayor shall be notified of the meeting in the most practical manner available, and the purpose of the meeting may be stated in general terms. Notice of the meeting shall be given as provided in R.S. 42:7. The board may adopt an ordinance at an emergency meeting that it has not previously considered. The ordinance shall specify the nature of the emergency, and a two-thirds vote of members of the board shall be required for its adoption. No emergency ordinance shall continue in force for more than 60 days, and any emergency ordinance that specifies a longer duration or no duration shall become void 60 days after it becomes effective.

(e)

A majority of the members of the board of aldermen shall constitute a quorum of the board at any meeting whether regular, special or emergency.

(f)

A meeting, whether regular, special or emergency may be continued to another date announced at the meeting with the consent of a majority of the members of the board. A regular, special or emergency meeting that fails for want of a quorum may be continued to a date announced at the meeting with the consent of the majority of aldermen present or, if only one alderman is present, to the date he announces, but a meeting that fails for want of a quorum shall not be continued but once.

(g)

The board of aldermen shall by ordinance fix the compensation of the mayor, aldermen, clerk, chief of police, and all other municipal officers. The board of aldermen may by ordinance increase or decrease their compensation and the compensation of any non-elected municipal officer and may increase the compensation of other elected officials. However, the board of aldermen shall not reduce the compensation of any elected official during the term for which he is elected.

(h)

All meetings of the board of aldermen shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 42:4.1 et seq.

(Code 1958, § 2-16; Ord. No. 982, 2-10-03)

State law reference

Similar provisions, R.S. 33:405.