§ 2. Elections; time to be spent at duties; salaries; bonds.

[(A)]

At the times established in the Mississippi Election Code, and specifically, MISS. CODE ANN. § 23-15-171 and § 23-15-173 (Rev. 1987), municipal elections shall be held in the City of Clarksdale. At each said election, there shall be elected a mayor, elected at large, and four (4) commissioners, each elected from wards as may be established from time to time by the governing authorities of the municipality and approved under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. The mayor and each commissioner shall be qualified electors of the municipality, and in addition, the commissioners elected from and by wards shall be residents of their respective wards. If any person elected as a commissioner from a particular ward shall remove his residence from said ward, his office shall automatically be vacated. If the mayor shall remove his residence from the municipality, the office shall likewise automatically be vacated. Any such vacancy shall be declared by the Board of Mayor and Commissioners, and such vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed by law. The Board of Mayor and Commissioners shall elect from its members a mayor pro tempore, who shall serve in the place of the mayor in cases of temporary absence or disability of the mayor.

[(B)]

The mayor shall be required to devote at least eight (8) hours of his time each day, and each commissioner at least four (4) hours of his time each day, to the discharge of their duties and the service of the City, and all to serve such additional time as is required by a municipal emergency of said City. The mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Mayor and Commissioners, and in case there shall be an equal division, he shall give the deciding vote. The mayor shall have general supervision of all the affairs and departments of the City government, and shall, from time to time, as occasion may demand, report in writing to the Board of Mayor and Commissioners of any matters requiring its action. Except as limited by law, the Board of Mayor and Commissioners shall have, exercise and perform all executive, legislative and judicial powers, duties and obligations bestowed upon governing authorities of municipalities as set forth in this Charter and the applicable laws of the State of Mississippi.

[(C)]

Salaries of the Mayor and Commissioners.

(i)

Mayor's Compensation. The salary of the Mayor shall be Fifty-Six Thousand Dollars ($56,000.00) per annum, payable weekly, or at such other frequency as the Board of Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Clarksdale may, from time to time by ordinance duly adopted, designate. The Mayor shall be entitled to all such employment benefits as are lawfully available to City employees, including, without limitation, health and hospitalization insurance and participation in the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System. Beginning effective on January 1, 2000, the salary of the Mayor shall be adjusted to Sixty-Six Thousand Dollars ($66,000.00) per annum, payable as set forth herein, and subject to the other provisions hereof. Beginning effective on August 31, 2001, the Mayor's annual salary shall be payable in twelve (12) equal monthly installments, payable on the last of each month.

(ii)

Commissioners' Compensation. The salary of each Commissioner shall be Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) per annum, payable monthly, or at such other frequency as the Board of Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Clarksdale may, from time to time by ordinance duly adopted, designate. At the option of an individual Commissioner, he or she may elect to receive from the City an expense reimbursement, including expenses for maintaining an office or home office as part of his or her annual compensation, upon the express conditions (a) that the annual salary payable to such Commissioner shall be reduced by the amount of such office expense reimbursement from the City; (b) the Commissioner so electing must, in all respects, comply with the regulations and requirements set forth in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and as set forth in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 for home office deductions, and as the same may, from time to time, be amended; and (c) each Commissioner so electing shall file annually with the City Clerk notice of such election and sufficient supporting documentation so as to comply with Internal Revenue regulations relative to such expense reimbursement. In no event shall a Commissioner be entitled to receive a combination of office expense reimbursement and salary in excess of the maximum salary amount set forth herein. Each Commissioner shall also be entitled to all such employment benefits as are lawfully available to City employees, including, without limitation, health and hospitalization insurance and participation in the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System.

(iii)

Cost of Living Adjustments. In the event that all City of Clarksdale employees receive a cost of living adjustment to their annual salaries, the Mayor and the Commissioners shall be entitled to receive the same percentage adjustments as do all other City employees in order to reflect changes in the cost of living.

(iv)

Modification of Amount or Frequency. The amount of the annual compensation of the Mayor and the Commissioners and/or the frequency of payment may be modified from time by ordinance duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of MISS. CODE ANN. § 21-13-1 et seq. (Rev. 1990), as amended.

[(D)]

Bonds. The Mayor and each Commissioner shall be required to enter into bond as required by law before beginning the discharge of their duties, and throughout the term of office of each. Said bonds shall be endorsed by legal surety bond companies licensed to do business in the State of Mississippi, which meet all requirements set forth by the State. The Mayor's bond shall be in the sum of Fifty-Six Thousand Dollars ($56,000.00), or the amount of his annual salary, whichever shall be greater. Each Commissioner's bond shall be in the sum of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), or the amount of the Commissioners' annual salary, whichever is greater. All fees for such bonds shall be paid by the municipality. Said bonds shall be conditioned for the faithful discharge of all duties as mayor or commissioner, as the case may be, and against malfeasance in office. The bonds shall be approved by the Board of Mayor and Commissioners and filed with the City Clerk, and recorded by him or her in a book in the City Clerk's office, suitable for such recordation.

[(E)]

The Governor of the State of Mississippi shall issue a commission to the mayor and to each of the commissioners of election, to the effect that said mayor and commissioners have been so elected.

(Amend. of 8-2-1920; Amend. of 5-9-1968; Amend. of 8-12-1980; Amend of 2-6-1995; Amend. of 1-25-1999; Ord. No. 982, § 1, 7-23-2001)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 982 of July 23, 2001, amended subsection 2(C)(i), establishing the mayor's compensation and salary schedule.