Chapter 2.08
ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

Sections:

2.08.010    Acts required to be by ordinance.

2.08.020    Ordinance enactment procedure.

2.08.030    Form of ordinance.

2.08.040    Non-code ordinances.

2.08.050    Emergency ordinances.

2.08.060    Codes of technical regulations.

2.08.070    Resolution form and procedure.

2.08.075    Forms of action by council.

2.08.080    Codification.

2.08.090    Revisor of ordinances.

2.08.010 Acts required to be by ordinance.

A.    Those acts of the council shall be by ordinance which:

1.    Establish, alter or abolish any city department;

2.    Fix the compensation of the members of the council;

3.    Provide for a fine or other penalty, or establish a rule or regulation for violation of which a fine or other penalty is imposed;

4.    Levy taxes;

5.    Make appropriations, supplemental appropriations or transfer of appropriations;

6.    Grant, renew or extend a franchise;

7.    Regulate the rate charged for its services by any public utility;

8.    Adopt, modify or repeal the comprehensive plan, zoning and subdivision ordinances, building and housing codes and the official map;

9.    Approve the transfer of a power to the borough from the city;

10.    Adopt codes of technical regulations;

11.    Provide for licensing, impounding and disposition of animals;

12.    Control water pollution;

13.    Control air pollution;

14.    Exempt contractors from compliance with general requirements relating to payment and performance bonds in the construction or repair of municipal public works projects within the limitations set out in AS 36.25.025; and

15.    Such additional acts of the council as provisions of law require to be by ordinance. (Prior code § 1.20.010)

2.08.020 Ordinance enactment procedure.

A.    The following procedure shall govern the enactment of all ordinances, except emergency ordinances:

1.    Introduction. An ordinance may be introduced by the mayor or a member or committee of the council, at any regular or special meeting. An ordinance shall be set for public hearing by the affirmative vote of a majority of the council.

2.    Publication. The ordinance shall be published by title, with a brief summary and with a notice setting out the date, time and location of the public hearing on the ordinance. Copies of the ordinance shall be made available to the public at the meeting and at the office of the clerk.

3.    Hearing. The public hearing shall follow the publication by at least five calendar days. All interested persons present shall have an opportunity to be heard. The hearing shall be only for the purpose of receiving testimony and comments concerning the ordinance. The public hearing may be held separately or in connection with a regular or special meeting and may be adjourned as necessary.

4.    Adoption. After the public hearing, the council shall consider the ordinance. By an affirmative vote of a majority of the council, the ordinance may be adopted with or without amendments; provided, any amendments do not change the general scope and original intent of the ordinance, or they may reject the ordinance. (Prior code § 1.20.025)

2.08.030 Form of ordinance.

A.    To be eligible for introduction, all ordinances shall be in a form to be determined by the clerk. Each ordinance must contain the following elements:

1.    Heading: “City of Wasilla”;

2.    The space for the serial number to be assigned, “Ordinance Serial No.”;

3.    A descriptive title broad enough to cover all of the provisions included in the ordinance, including references to penalties if imposed by ordinance;

4.    As may be necessary, whereas clauses may be used to describe the reason for the ordinance;

5.    Section one of the ordinance shall classify the contents of the ordinance as between those of general and permanent nature, intended to be listed as a part of the city code of ordinances, and contents of a less permanent nature not intended for filing as part of the code. If of a permanent nature, the ordinance shall state: “This ordinance is of a general and permanent nature and shall become a part of the Wasilla Municipal Code.”

6.    Where the ordinance is classified as of a permanent nature intended for code filing, subsequent sections shall be numbered consecutively and contain all formal clauses, such as, savings and severability clauses, penalty clauses, except where penalties are less than the maximum provided for first class cities, and in which case such penalties are to become a part of the code, effective date, and repealer sections.

7.    The last numbered section of an ordinance shall contain the language as follows: “Effective date. Ordinance Serial No. ___ shall take effect upon adoption by the Wasilla City Council.”

8.    An appropriate place shall be provided for the signature of the mayor.

9.    Appropriate places shall be provided for “attest” and “seal” by the clerk.

10.    Amendments to an existing ordinance or code provision shall be shown by underlining in bold material which is added, and by bracketing and capitalizing material which is to be deleted. (Prior code § 1.20.035)

2.08.040 Non-code ordinances.

A.    Ordinances of less than general and permanent nature, and not intended to become a part of the code, shall conform to the requirements of Section 2.08.030(A) excluding provisions of code ordinances.

B.    Section one of the ordinance shall classify the contents as non-code. Subsequent sections shall contain the appropriate text. (Prior code § 1.20.040)

2.08.050 Emergency ordinances.

A.    To meet a public emergency the council may adopt emergency ordinances that become effective upon the same date as introduction. Every emergency ordinance must contain a finding by the council that an emergency exists

and a statement of the facts upon which the finding is based. The ordinance may be adopted, amended and adopted, or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced. The affirmative vote of all members present, or the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the total membership, whichever is less, is required for adoption. Copies of adopted emergency ordinances must be available to the public at the meeting or the office of the clerk.

B.    An emergency ordinance may not be used to levy taxes, to grant, renew or extend a franchise, or to regulate the rate charged by a public utility for its services.

C.    Emergency ordinances are effective for a period sixty (60) days. (Prior code § 1.20.050)

2.08.060 Codes of technical regulations.

A.    The council may adopt any standard published code of technical regulations in a single ordinance which shall be governed, except as otherwise provided in this section, by the procedure and requirements prescribed for ordinances generally. Upon introduction of the ordinance, the council shall make available at least five copies for public inspection for fifteen (15) calendar days before adoption.

B.    As provided by Section 2.08.020, the council shall publish notice of the hearing, setting out the purpose of the ordinance and the time and place for the hearing, and the time and place the code is available for public inspection. No other publication is necessary before adoption.

C.    The ordinance and its amendments need not be distributed to the public or read in full at the hearings.

D.    The council shall provide for an adopted code of regulations to be made available to the public at no more than cost. (Prior code § 1.20.080)

2.08.070 Resolution form and procedure.

A.    The form of resolution shall include:

1.    Heading: “City of Wasilla”;

2.    The space for the serial number to be assigned “Resolution Serial No.”;

3.    A short and concise title descriptive of its subject and purpose;

4.    Short premises or whereas clauses descriptive of the reasons for the resolution, if necessary;

5.    The resolving clause “NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Wasilla City Council”;

6.    Provisions for the signature after the text ADOPTED by the Wasilla City Council on (date);

7.    An appropriate place shall be provided for the signature of the mayor;

8.    Appropriate places shall be provided for “attest” and “seal” by the clerk.

B.    The council has the option to call for a public hearing on a particular resolution. Whether a public hearing is held or not, all persons who appear shall be given an opportunity to be heard. After the hearing the council may pass or reject the resolution with or without amendments. The first reading of a resolution shall also be final reading unless a public hearing is requested, at which time action shall be final.

C.    Resolutions take effect upon adoption or at a later effective date as specified in the resolution. Any resolution not signed or vetoed by the mayor within ten (10) days of its passage by the council becomes effective upon the expiration of the ten days following its passage. (Ord. 00-52 § 3, 2000; prior code § 1.20.090)

2.08.075 Forms of action by council.*

A.    Subject to provisions of state law or this code that require council action to be taken in a particular form:

1.    The mayor may propose council action by ordinance, resolution, council memorandum, or motion; and

2.    The council may take action in the form of an ordinance, resolution, council memorandum, or motion. (Ord. 00-52 § 2, 2000)

*    Code reviser’s note: Ordinance 00-52 adds the provisions of this section as Section 2.08.055. The section was editorially renumbered during codification.

2.08.080 Codification.

A.    Each ordinance shall be codified after it is adopted, by being assigned a serial number or other permanent identifying number, together with the date of adoption and the designation of the adopting authority, and entered by the clerk into an indexed system maintained to organize and record the ordinances.

B.    The clerk, with the advice and assistance of the attorney, shall revise and republish the city code at least every five years unless the code is kept current by regular supplements.

C.    The clerk, with advice and assistance of the attorney, shall cause each ordinance having the force and effect of the law to be printed as promptly as possible following its adoption. The printed ordinances shall be sold to the public at no more than cost. (Prior code § 1.20.110)

2.08.090 Revisor of ordinances.

A.    The clerk, with advice and assistance of the attorney, is the revisor of ordinances and shall revise for consolidation into the city code all ordinance of a general and permanent nature.

B.    The revisor shall edit and revise the ordinances for consolidation, without changing the meaning of any ordinance, in the following manner:

1.    Assign numbers to sections, renumber sections, parts of sections, articles, chapters and titles;

2.    Change the wording of section or subsection titles, or delete subsection titles, and change or provide new titles or articles, chapters and titles;

3.    Change capitalization for the purpose of uniformity;

4.    Substitute the proper designation for the terms “the preceding section,” “this act,” and like terms;

5.    Substitute the proper calendar date for “effective date of this ordinance,” “date of passage of this ordinance,” and other phrases of similar import;

6.    Strike out figures if they are merely repetition of written words or vice versa, or substitute figures for written words or vice versa for the purpose of uniformity;

7.    Correct manifest errors which are clerical, typographical or errors in spelling or errors by way of additions or omissions;

8.    Correct manifest errors in references to ordinances;

9.    Rearrange sections, combine sections or parts of sections with other sections or parts of sections, divide long sections into two or more sections, and rearrange the order of sections to confirm to a logical arrangement of subject matter as may most generally to be followed in the code;

10.    Change all sections when possible to read the present tense, indicative mood, active voice and, if the use of personal pronouns cannot be avoided in a section, change the section to read in the third person, and singular number, or any other necessary grammatical change in the manner generally followed in the code;

11.    Delete or change sections or parts of section if a deletion or change is necessary because of other council amendments, which did not specifically amend or repeal them;

12.    Omit all temporary ordinances, all titles to ordinances, all enacting, amending and repealing clauses, all declarations of emergency, and all purpose, validity, whereas and construction clauses unless, from their nature, it may be necessary to retain some of them to preserve the full meaning and intent of the ordinance.

C.    The revisor shall edit and revise the ordinances as they are enacted by the council, without changing the meaning of any law, so as to avoid the use of pronouns denoting masculine or feminine gender.

D.    Any changes made by the revisor of ordinances pursuant to subsection (B)(11) of this section shall be reported to the council in an informational memorandum. (Prior code § 1.20.120)