USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A directory of the cities of Cleveland & Ohio, for the years 1837- 38 : comprising historical and descriptive sketches of each place > Part 4
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SEC. IX. That the council shall have power to levy a special tax to defray the expense of grading, paving, or otherwise improving any road, street, alley, lane, square, market place or common, within said city, by a discrimi- nating assessment upon the land and ground, bounding and abutting on such road, street, alley, lane, market place, square. or common, or near thereto, in proportion to the benefit, accruing therefrom to such land or ground; and the city council shall appoint a committee of three disin- terested judicious freeholders of said city, to estimate the cost of any such projected improvement, and to assess the expense on the land and ground as aforesaid ; and it shall be the duty of the city council to provide, by ordinance, for the correction and equalization of such assessment ; and the city council shall give notice in one or more of the newspapers published in said city, for six consecutive weeks, of the improvement to be made, in order that any one, damaged by reason of such improvement, may file his claim, in writing, in the office of the city clerk, within ten days after the expiration of the said six weeks' notice ; and the said committee shall assess the damages, if any, of such claimants, and shall add the same to the cost of the improvement, as a part of the expense thereof, to be assessed as aforesaid ; and said committee, within twenty days after the time shall have expired for filing claims for damages, (unless for good cause the council shall grant them further time,) shall make return to the office of the city clerk, setting forth the ultimate cost of such projected improvement, including the damages awarded by them to the claimants, together with the names of such claimants and ground of claim, with the amount awarded them sev. erally, set opposite their respective names; and also a brief description of the lands and grounds upon which they shall have assessed the expense of the improvement, with the names of the owners or persons, liable to pay the assessment, respectively annexed, and the amount thereon assessed, set opposite their respective names ; and if the name of the person owning, or liable for the tax, is un. known, the fact shall be stated, by writing "unknown.
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owner," in place of the name; and the city council, if they order and direct the improvement to be made, shall direct the city clerk, whose duty it shall be to annex a duplicate of taxes, so assessed, to the annual assessment roll, hereinafter specified, and to deliver it therewith, on or before the first Monday in July following, to the city collector, to be by him collected, at the same time, and in. the same manner, as the annual taxes, and the proceed- ings of said collector shall, in all respects, be the same as in the collection of the annual taxes of said city, and he shall, in like manner, pay the same into the city treasury ; and in case of any tax being returned unpaid and delin- quent, the proceedings shall, in all respects, be the same as in cases of delinquency in the payment of the annual taxes, with the addition of like interest and penalty ; and when the improvement, so ordered, shall be completed, cach claimant shall be entitled to receive from the city treasury, the amount of damages so, by the return of said committee, awarded him.
SEC. X. That the city council shall appoint a city clerk, and any other agents or officers necessary for the interest of said city, not herein provided for, and prescribe the duties and compensation of the same, and to remove the same at pleasure; and when the office of any person appointed under the provision of this act, shall become vacant, the city council shall fill such vacancy ; and the person appointed to fill such vacancy, shall continue in office the remainder of the term of his predecessor ; and when the office of any person elected under the provisions of this act, by the qualified voters of this city or any ward thereof, shall become vacant, the mayor, by order of the city council, shall issue an order for a special election to fill such vacancy ; and the person elected shall continue in office during the remainder of the term of his prede- cessor ; and in case of vacancy in the office of mayor, the president of the city council shall give notice for hold- ing a special election. to fill such vacancy ; and until the same is filled, shall have power and authority to do and perform all the duties appertaining to tho office of mayor ;
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and in case of the absence or inability, at any time, of the mayor, he shall have like power and authority ; and all the officers elected or appointed under the provisions of this act, shall, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, take an oath or affirmation, faithfully and impartially to perform the several duties of the office to which such person is respectively elected or appointed ; and when required, shall give bond, with good and suffi. cient security, to said city, in such sum or sums, and with such conditions, as the city council may from time to time determine ; and in all cases not in this act provided for, shall receive such fees and compensation for their servi- ces, and be liable to such fines, penalties and forfeitures, for negligence, carelessness, misconduct in office, and positive violations of duty, as the city council shall by ordinance order and determine : and the city council may grant to the mayor, such compensation as shall be approved by the concurring vote of two-thirds of all the members, and to members of their own body, such sum not exceeding one dollar per day to each member, for his attendance at any regular or special meeting of the board, as by a like vote shall be approved ; and in all cases when a vacancy shall happen in the office of any officer elected by the provi- sions of this act, the city council shall, by appointment, fill such vacancy ; and the person so appointed, shall hold such office until a person shall be clected and qualified to execute the duties thereof.
SEC. XI. That it shall be the duty of the marshal to execute and return all writs and process, to him directed by the mayor ; and when necessary in criminal cases, or for a violation of any ordinance of said city, he may serve the same in any part of Cuyahoga county ; it shall be his duty to suppress all riots, disturbances, and breaches of the peace ; to apprehend all disorderly persons in said city, and to pursue and arrest any person fleeing from justice in any part of the State of Ohio ; to apprehend any person in the act of committing any offence against' the laws of the State, or ordinances of the city, and forth- with to bring such person or persons before competent
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authority, for examination ; and to do and perform all such duties as may lawfully be enjoined on him by the ordinances of said city ; and he shall have power to ap- point one or more deputies, to be approved by the city council, but for whose official acts he shall be responsible, and of whom he may require bail for the faithful perfor- mance of their duties.
SEC. XII. That the treasurer of said city shall peform such duties, and exercise such powers, as may be lawfully required of him by the ordinances of said city ; all mon- eys raised, received, recovered and collected, by means of any tax, license, penalty, fine, forfeiture or otherwise, un- der the authority of this act, or which may belong to said. city, shall be paid into the city treasury, and shall not be drawn therefrom except by a written order, under the au- thority of the city council, specifying the object of the appropriation ; and it shall be the duty of the city coun- cil to settle all claims and demands against said city, and publish accounts of the receipts and expenditures of said city, annually, for public information.
SEC. XIII. That the city council shall, when the pub- lic good may require it, erect a city prison, and regulate the police and internal government thereof; may author- ise solitary confinement, or hard labor therein, for a viola- tion of any of the ordinances of said city, punishable by imprisonment ; and until such prison is prepared for the 'reception of prisoners, the said city shall be allowed the use of the jail of Cuyahoga county, for the confinement of all persons convicted by the mayor, and sentenced under any of the laws of this State, or ordinances of said city ; and all persons so imprisoned, shall be under the charge of the sheriff of said county, who shall receive and dis- charge such prisoners in and from jail, in such manner as shall be prescribed by the ordinances of said city, or oth- erwise by due course of law : the city council shall also erect an alms-house, when the public good may require, and such other buildings as may be necessary for the con- venience of the city.
SEC. XIV. That the city council shall have power to
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CITY CHARTER.
borrow money for the dischage and liquidation of any debt of the city, either present or prospective, and to pro- vide for the redemption of any loan by them made, and the payment of the interest thereon ; and to pledge the revenues and property of the city therefor, in such man- ner, and upon such terms and conditions as said council may by ordinance prescribe; and any ordinance for ob- taining a loan of money, shall be considered and adopted by a vote of said city council, two-thirds of all the mem- bers concurring, by yeas and nays, and be entered at large on their journal ; the proceedings shall then be post- poned, for at least two weeks, to a subsequent meeting of said council, and shall then be passed by a like majority concurring, and the vote thereon shall be entered as aforesaid.
SEC. XV. That for the discharge of any debt against said city, or expenditure authorised by the city council, under the provisions of this act. or any ordinance of said city, or to defray the current expenses of said city, the city council shall have power, annually, to levy and collect tax. es on all the real and personal property, or capital of any kind, within said city, subject to taxation by the laws for levying the taxes of this State, for the time being ; which property shall be listed and assessed annually for taxation, by assessors appointed by the city council, one from each ward, who shall make return of their assessment roll to the office of the city clerk, at such times and in such form as the city council shall, by ordinance, direct ; and it shall be the duty of the city council to make provision, by or- dinance, for the listing and ascertaining the property to be assessed, for the valuation of such portions thereof, as by the laws levying the taxes of this State, shall, for the time being, be required to be valued, and for the correction and equalization of such assessment ; and the city council, on or before the first Monday in June, annually, shall levy upon the whole amount of such assessment as corrected and equalized, such per centage, as by the concurring vote of two-thirds of all the members, shall be deemed necessa- ry and it shall be the duty of the city clerk, on or before
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the first Monday in July, annually, to deliver to the city collector, a duplicate of the assessment roll, with the amount of taxes therein specified to be paid by each indi- vidual, with a warrant annexed thereto, under the hand of said clerk, and the mayor of said city, commanding said collector to collect from the several persons named in said assessment roll, the several sums set opposite their respec. tive names ; and in case such persons shall refuse or neg- lect to pay such tax, then to levy the same by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such person, in the same manner as constables are required to do on execution, and the collector shall tax and collect, in such cases, the like fees ; and it shall be the duty of such collector, and by such warrant he shall be directed, to make return on the first Monday in October thereafter, to the office of the city clerk, of his proceedings thereon, and to pay into the city treasury the amount by him collected, after deducting therefrom such amount as the city council, by ordinance, shall allow him as compensation ; and when any tax, im- posed by the city council pursuant to law, shall be returned as unpaid, or shall not be paid within the time required by law, the said city council may maintain an action there- for, in the name of the city, against any person liable for the payment of the same, as owner of the real estate, or as owner of the personal property charged with said tax, in any court having cognizance thereof, with interest from the time such tax was returned unpaid, and costs of suit ; and when any tax, charged upon any real estate within the city, shall be returned as unpaid, by the officer authorized to collect the same, the city council may direct the city treasurer to advertise and sell such real estate, as hereinafter provided : the city treasurer shall cause a no. tice to be published in a newspaper of the said city, for six successive weeks, describing the real estate charged with such tax remaining unpaid, notifying all persons con- cerned, that unless the said tax, with interest, and twenty- five per cent. penalty thereon, shall be paid before the time of sale in such notice specified, he will, on a day and place therein to be stated, expose the said real estate to
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sale at public auction ; if such tax, with the interest and penalty thereon, be not paid by the time of sale, the said treasurer shall proceed to sell the same, for the shortest time any bidder will take the said premises, and pay the said tax, and interest and penalty thereon ; and on such sale, he shall execute to the bidder a certificate of sale. in which the property purchased shall be described, the amount for which it was sold, and the time for which the premises were purchased, shall be specified : also, the time when the purchaser will be entitled to receive the lease hereinafter mentioned; and said treasurer shall cause a copy of said certificate, to be filed in the office of the city clerk ; the grantee in such certificate, shall, at the expira- tion of one year after such sale, be entitled to a lease of such premises, for the term he so bid off the same, which term shall commence at the day of the date of said lease ; said lease shall be given by the mayor of said city, under the corporate seal of said city, and shall be presumptive evidence in all courts and places, that such tax and assess- ment were legally imposed, and the proceedings touching such sale were correct ; and such grantee may obtain pos- session thereof in the manner prescribed by law, in cases of forcible detaincr; and shall have, hold, and enjoy the said premises during the term for which the same were granted to him, free and clear from all claims and demands of any other owner or occupant of the same, but subject to any tax that may be charged thereon, during said term ; and at the expiration of said term, such grantce, his heirs or assigns, may remove any building or fixture that may have been erected on the said premises, during the said term ; any owner or claimant of the premises so sold, may, within one year arter such sale, redeem the same, by paying to such grantee, his heirs or assigns, or into the city treasury, for his or their benefit, the amount paid by such purchaser, with the addition of twenty-five per cent. on the amount ; and on such payment being made, the title of such grantee shall absolutely cease and determine: the mayor, by direction of the city council, may renew
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any warrants that may be lawfully issued for the collec- tion of any tax, from time to time, as often as any tax shall be returned uncollected, or may issue a new warrant for the collection of such tax, and in such warrant shall specify the time when the same shall be returned ; and the same proceedings shall, in all respects, be had on such re- newed warrants, as are herein authorized upon the first warrant.
SEC. XVI. That every law or ordinance of said city, before it shall be of any force or validity, shall be ordered to be engrossed for its final passage, by a majority of all the members of the city council concurring ; it shall then be reconsidered by the city council, and if at its final pas- sage, it shall be adopted by a majority of all the members concurring, it shall become a law for said city; and all questions on the engrossment or final passage of any law or ordinance, or on the appointment of any officer of said city, shall be decided by yeas and nays ; and the names of the persons voting for or against the same, shall be en- tered in the journals of said council ; and all laws and or- dinances framed as aforesaid, shall be signed by the presi. ding officer of the council and the city clerk, and forthwith published in one or more newspapers of said city.
SEC. XVII. That all qualified electors for members of the General Assembly of this State, who have resided within the bounds of said city one year next preceding the election, shall be deemed qualified voters of said city, and shall be entitled to vote in the ward in which they re- spectively reside, for any officer in the city required by this act to be elected by the qualified voters of said city ; and in all elections for city officers, after the organization of said city government under this act, the mayor shall is- sue his proclamation to the qualified voters of said city, setting forth the time of such election, the place or places where the same is to be held in the several wards, and the several officers to be chosen ; and said proclamation shall be published in one or more newspapers, printed, or in general circulation in said city, for at least ten days pre.
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vious to said election ; and after the organization of the city government under this act, it shall be the duty of the city council to provide the place or places of holding all elections in said city for city officers, the hour of the day the same shall be opened, the time the same shall continue open, to appoint the judges thereof, provide for the making and directing the returns of elcctions, the time and manner of opening the returns and of making an abstract thereof, and of keeping a journal of the same ; and may make such other arrangements respecting said elections, as may be lawful and convenient for the citizens of the several wards ; and the person or persons having the highest number of votes, shall be declared duly elected.
SEC. XVIII. That in all cases brought before the may. or, for the violation of any of the ordinances of the city, when the defendant is adjudged to pay a fine or penalty, the defendant shall have a right, within ten days, to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga county, upon giving bond with such security as the mayor shall approve, in double the amount of the debt and costs ; and if double the amount of such judgment do not amount to fifty dollars, such bond shall be fifty dollars, conditioned to pay the judgment and cost which may be rendered against him, her or them in said Court of Common Pleas; and in all cases appealed under the provisions of this act, the prose- cution may be by action of debt or by indictment, as the case may require, and may proceed in the same manner as offences against the laws of the State are prosecuted ; and the prosecution shall be managed and conducted by such counsel as for that purpose shall be authorized by the city council; and all fines imposed or penalties recovered shall, when collected, be paid into the city treasury ; and whenever bail from appeal as aforesaid, shall have been perfected as above provided, the mayor shall recall any ex- ecution which may have issued on any judgment as afore- said.
SEC. XIX. That the city council be, and they are bereby authorized, at the expense of said city, to provide.
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for the support of common schools; and for that purpose each of the wards of said city shall constitute a school district, until such time as the city council may divide each ward into two or more school districts, which they are hereby authorized to do, in such manner as they may deem most convenient, having due regard to present and future population ; and they are hereby authorized to pur- chase in fee simple, or to receive as a donation for the use of the city, a suitable lot of ground in each school district, as a site for a school house therein ; and they are hereby authorized to erect in each district a good and substantial school house, of such dimensions as shall be convenient for the use of the common schools in said city, and to defray the necessary expenses of the building and con- structing such school houses, and also to pay the purchase money for the lots of land on which the same shall be erected : it shall be lawful for the city council, annually, to levy, in addition to the other taxes in said city, a tax, not exceeding one mill on the dollar, upon all property in the city subject to the payment of annual taxes by the provisions of this act, until a sufficient sum shall be raised and collected from such tax to meet all the expenses which shall be incurred, for the purchase of lots of land and the erection of the school houses aforesaid : Provided, It shall be lawful for said city to borrow such sum or sums of mo- ney as may be sufficient and necessary for purchasing or building as aforesaid, and to refund or pay the same as the tax aforesaid shall be collected ; and the said tax is hereby made a special fund to be appropriated to no other purpose ..
SEC. XX. That for the support of common schools in" said city, and to secure the benefits of education to all the white children therein, it shall be the duty of the city council, annually, to levy and collect a tax not exceeding one mill on the dollar, upon all the property in said city subject to the payment of annual taxes by the provisions of this act, which shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as is provided for the collection of the annual taxes; which tax, together with such as may be
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collected by the county treasurer for school purposes, with- in such part of the county of Cuyahoga as is within the limits of said city, shall be exclusively appropriated to defray the expenses of instructors and fuel for said schools, and for no other purpose whatsoever; which schools shall be accessible to all white children, not under four years of age, who mnay reside in said city, subject only to such re- gulations for their government and instruction, as the board of managers, hereinafter mentioned, may from time to time prescribe.
SEC. XXI. . That the city council shall, annually, se: lect one judicious and competent person from each school district in the city as a manager of common schools in. said city, which managers shall constitute and be denom. inated " The Board of Managers of Common Schools in the city of Cleveland;" who shall hold their office for one year, and until their successors are appointed and quali- fied, and shall fill all vacancies which may occur in their own body, during the time for which they shall be ap- pointed.
SEC. XXII. That the said board of managers shall have the general superintendance of all common schools in said city, and from time to time shall make such regu- lations for the government and instruction of the white children therein, as to them shall appear proper and expe- dient, and shall examine and employ instructors for the same ; and shall cause a school to be kept in each district for at least six months in each year, and shall cause an accurate census to be taken annually, in cach district, of all the white children therein, between the ages of four and twenty-one years ; and require of the several instruct- ors thereof, to keep a record of the names and ages of all persons by them respectively instructed, and the time each shall have attended said schools, and return a copy fo such record to the board of managers, at the close of each and every current year; and said board shall certify to the city council the correctness of all accounts for ex. penses incurred in support of said schools, and give cer.
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tificates thereof, to the persons entitled to receive the same : they shall, at the close of every current year, re- port to the city council the state and condition of the several common schools in said city, as well the fiscal as the other concerns in relation thereto, and a particular account of their administration thereof; and they shall do and perform all other matters and things pertaining to the duties of their said office, which may be necessary and proper to be done, to promote the education and mor- als of the children instructed in said schools, or which may be required of them by the ordinances of said city, not inconsistent with this act : Provided, That no person shall be employed as instructor in any of said schools, who has not first been examined by the board of managers, and received a certificate of qualifications, as to his or her competency and moral character.
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