Cork City Management Act , 1929

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires, the following words and expressions shall have the meanings hereinafter assigned to them respectively, that is to say:—

the word “Minister” means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health;

the expression “the Corporation” means the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Cork;

the expression “the Borough” means the county borough of Cork;

the expression “the Council” means the Council of the Borough as constituted from time to time under this Act;

the expression “the Manager” means the Cork City Manager appointed by this Act or by the Council in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

the expression “the Town Clerk” means the town clerk of the Borough;

the expression “borough election” means an election of members of the Council, and

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister.

2 Vesting of powers, etc., in the Corporation.

2.—(1) The Cork County Borough (Dissolution) Order, 1924, whereby the council of the county borough of Cork was dissolved shall remain in force until the appointed day and shall then cease to have effect.

(2) All the property of the council of the county borough of Cork which by virtue of the Cork County Borough (Dissolution) Order, 1924, was transferred to the person named in that behalf in the said Order shall on the appointed day vest in the Corporation.

(3) The powers, functions and duties of the council of the county borough of Cork which by virtue of the Order herein before mentioned are at the date of the passing of this Act exercised and performed by the person named in that behalf in the said Order shall as on and from the appointed day become and be powers, functions and duties of the Corporation and all and every of the powers, functions and duties which shall by or under the provisions of any Act passed after the passing of this Act be conferred and imposed on the said council shall as on and from the date on which such powers, functions and duties are so conferred and imposed respectively become and be powers, functions and duties of the Corporation.

(4) Whenever by or under any Act passed after the passing of this Act any powers, functions or duties are conferred or imposed on the council of a borough, county borough, or urban district such powers, functions and duties in so far as they relate to the council of the county borough of Cork, shall as on and from the date on which they are so conferred and imposed respectively become and be powers, functions and duties of the Corporation.

(5) All and every of the powers, functions and duties of the Corporation shall be exercised and performed for and on behalf of the Corporation by the council or the manager (as the case may require) subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Local Elections (Dissolved Authorities) Act, 1926 (No. 22 of 1926), no election of members of the council of the county borough of Cork shall be held in pursuance of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the said Act.

3 Borough elections.

3.—(1) A borough election shall be held in the year 1929 and in every year thereafter and at every borough election the Borough shall form one electoral area.

(2) Twenty-one members of the Council shall be elected at the borough election to be held in the year 1929 and the term of office of the members elected at that election shall, subject to the provisions of this Act in relation to persons appointed to fill casual vacancies, be as follows, that is to say:—

(a) the first seven members so elected shall hold office until the fifth day after the borough election held in the year 1932,

(b) the next seven members so elected shall hold office until the fifth day after the borough election held in the year 1931, and

(c) the remaining seven members so elected shall hold office until the fifth day after the borough election held in the year 1930.

(3) Seven members of the Council shall be elected at every borough election held after the year 1929.

(4) In the year 1929 the borough election shall be held on a day to be fixed by the Minister, and in every subsequent year the borough election shall be held on such day, not being earlier than the 23rd day of June or later than the 1st day of July, as shall be fixed by the Corporation.

(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act in relation to the persons appointed to fill casual vacancies, every member of the Council elected at a borough election held in any year subsequent to the year 1929 shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified hold his office as such member until the fifth day after the borough election held in the third year after the year in which he is elected and, unless previously re-elected, shall then retire from office as such member.

(6) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, the law for the time being in force in relation to the election of councillors of county boroughs and to the qualification of persons for such election shall apply to every borough election and to the qualification of persons for membership of the Council in like manner as it applies to the election of councillors of county boroughs and to the qualification of persons for such election.

(7) Save as is otherwise provided by this Act, the law for the time being in force in relation to the qualification of persons for membership of any committee appointed by a council of a county borough or of any joint committee partly appointed by any such council shall apply to the qualification of persons for membership of any committee appointed by the council or of any joint committee partly appointed by the council.

(8) For the purposes of the two next preceding sub-sections a contract with the Corporation shall be deemed to be a contract with the Council and with every committee and joint committee appointed or partly appointed by the Council and a contract with any such committee or joint committee shall be deemed to be also a contract with the Council.

4 Casual vacancies.

4.—(1) In this Act the expression “casual vacancy” means a vacancy in the membership of the Council caused by the death, resignation or disqualification of a member thereof.

(2) Where a casual vacancy occurs in the Council by reason of the death, resignation or disqualification of any member thereof other than a member whose term of office would, but for such death, resignation or disqualification, have continued until the fifth day following the borough election to be held under this Act next after the occurrence of such casual vacancy there shall be elected at such borough election a member of the Council additional to the seven members thereof otherwise required by this Act to be elected at such election and such additional member shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified hold office for the residue of the term for which the member whose death, resignation or disqualification occasioned the vacancy would have held office if he had not died, resigned or become disqualified.

(3) The last person elected as a member of the Council at a borough election at which a casual vacancy is by this section required to be filled shall be chosen to fill such vacancy and where more than one casual vacancy is required to be filled at such election the eighth person elected thereat shall be chosen to fill whichever of those vacancies is then to be filled for the longest period of time and so on.

(4) The Council may in their absolute discretion by resolution passed for that purpose after one week's notice to every member of the Council determine to fill by co-option in accordance with this sub-section the casual vacancy to which such resolution relates, and upon such resolution being passed the Council may either at the meeting at which such resolution was passed or any subsequent meeting thereof elect by the votes of a simple majority of the members of the Council present and voting at such meeting a person to fill such casual vacancy.

(5) Every person chosen in pursuance of the provisions of the foregoing sub-section to fill a casual vacancy shall unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified hold office until the day on which the borough election to be held under this Act next after the occurrence of the casual vacancy so filled is so held.

5 Constitution, etc., of the Borough Council.

5.—(1) The Council shall at any time and from time to time after the appointed day consist of the members thereof elected whether before or after the appointed day in accordance with the provisions of this Act whose terms of office are then unexpired.

(2) The first two members of the Council elected at the borough election to be held in the year 1929 and the first two members of the Council elected at every borough election held after the year 1929 shall be aldermen.

(3) Every member of the Council other than a member who by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section is an alderman shall be a councillor.

6 First meeting of the Council and election of Lord Mayor.

6.—(1) The first meeting of the Council shall be a quarterly meeting and shall be held at noon on the appointed day.

(2) The Council shall at their first meeting and at the quarterly meeting thereof held next after every borough election elect one of their members to be the Lord Mayor of Cork (in this Act referred to as the Lord Mayor).

(3) The Lord Mayor shall continue in office until his successor shall have been elected at the quarterly meeting of the Council at which having regard to the provisions of the foregoing sub-section a Lord Mayor may be elected by the Council and such successor shall have made the declaration accepting office which is by the law for the time being in force in relation to the election of the Lord Mayor or Mayor of a county borough required to be made by a Lord Mayor-elect or Mayor-elect.

(4) The Town Clerk shall be the chairman of the first meeting of the Council until the Lord Mayor has been elected and has made the declaration aforesaid.

(5) The Town Clerk shall not be entitled to vote on any question which is to be decided at the first meeting of the Council by a vote of the members of the Council.

(6) Subject to the provisions of this section, the law for the time being in force in relation to the holding of quarterly meetings of the council of a county borough and to the meetings so held and to the election, tenure of office, powers, duties, privileges and remuneration of the Lord Mayor or the Mayor of a county borough shall apply to the holding of quarterly meetings of the Council and to the meetings so held and to the election, tenure of office, powers, duties, privileges and remuneration of the Lord Mayor.

7 Procedure at meetings.

7.—(1) Subject to the provisions of any regulations made by the Minister under any Act and for the time being in force respecting the procedure of local authorities in connection with the business imposed on or transferred to them under any enactment the procedure of the Council at its meetings shall be conducted in accordance with standing orders made by the Council for that purpose.

(2) Ten members of the Council shall constitute a quorum at every meeting thereof.

(3) The Council may act notwithstanding a vacancy in its membership.

8 Reserved functions.

8.—(1) The Council shall directly exercise and perform all and every of the powers, functions and duties of the Corporation in relation to the following matters, that is to say:—

(a) the making of any rate or the borrowing of any moneys;

(b) the making, amending or revoking of any bye-law;

(c) the making of any order and the passing of any resolution by virtue of which any enactment is brought into operation in or made to apply to the Borough and the revoking of any such order and the rescinding of any such resolution;

(d) the application to be made to any authority in respect of the making or revoking of any such order as aforesaid;

(e) the making or revoking of any order under section 5 of the Shops Act, 1912 (in that Act referred to as a closing order);

(f) the powers conferred by section 5 of the Borough Funds (Ireland) Act, 1888, in relation to the promotion or the opposing of legislation, the prosecution and defence of legal proceedings, and the application for those purposes of the borough fund, borough rate or other the public funds and rates under the control of the Corporation;

(g) the appointment or election of any person to be a member of any public body;

(h) parliamentary and local elections;

(i) the admission of persons to the freedom of the City of Cork;

(j) subject to the provisions of this Act, the appointment, suspension and removal of the Manager and the granting of an allowance or gratuity to the Manager on his ceasing to be the Manager; and

(k) the determination of the amount of the salary and remuneration of the Lord Mayor.

(2) The Minister may, subject to the provisions of this section, by order require that the powers, functions and duties of the Corporation in relation to any matter not included in the matters referred to in the foregoing sub-section shall be exercised and performed directly by the Council and upon such order being made the said powers, functions and duties shall as on and from the date specified in that behalf in such order be exercised and performed directly by the Council and shall continue so to be exercised and performed while such order remains in force.

(3) The Minister may, subject to the provisions of this section, revoke an order made by him under this section.

(4) The Minister shall not make or revoke an order under this section save upon the application of the Council made to the Minister in pursuance of a resolution of the Council—

(a) of which not less than one month's notice shall have been given in writing by the Town Clerk to every member of the Council, and

(b) for which not less than two-thirds of the members of the Council shall have voted.

(5) Upon receipt by him of any such application as aforesaid the Minister, before (as the case may be) making or revoking an order under this section, may, if he thinks fit, hold a local inquiry into any matters which appear to him to be relevant to the purpose of (as the case may be) making or revoking such order and the provisions of Article 32 of the Schedule to the Local Government (Application of Enactments) Order, 1898, shall apply to every such local inquiry.

(6) In this Act the expression “reserved functions” means the powers, functions and duties of the Corporation which are by this section required to be exercised and performed by the Council directly and includes all other powers, functions and duties of the Corporation which are at any time required by an order made under this section and for the time being in force to be exercised and performed by the Council.

9 The Cork City Manager.

9.—(1) On and after the appointed day a person appointed for the purpose by or under this Act who shall be called and known as the Cork City Manager (in this Act referred to as the Manager) shall exercise and perform for and on behalf of the Corporation the powers, functions and duties of the Corporation in relation to the appointment and removal of officers and servants of the Corporation (including the Town Clerk, but not including the Manager) and shall also exercise and perform all other the powers, functions and duties of the Corporation other than the reserved functions.

(2) Every person appointed by or under this Act to be the Manager shall by virtue of such appointment be an officer of the Corporation.

10 Appointment, etc., of the Manager.

10.—(1) Philip Monahan, the person to whom the powers and duties and the property of the Corporation were transferred by virtue of the Cork County Borough (Dissolution) Order, 1924, shall be and is hereby appointed to be the first Manager and the said Philip Monahan shall take office as the first Manager on the appointed day.

(2) The office of the Manager shall be included in the offices to which the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (No. 39 of 1926), applies.

(3) As soon as may be after the termination of the office of the said first Manager (whether by his death, resignation or removal from office in accordance with this section) and from time to time thereafter as occasion may require the Council shall appoint a fit and proper person to be the Manager and every such appointment shall be made subject to and in accordance with the provisions of the said Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926.

(4) The Manager shall hold office until he dies, resigns or is removed from office.

(5) The Manager shall not be suspended or removed by the Council save—

(a) by a resolution of the Council passed for the purpose of such suspension or such removal (as the case may be) by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Council present and voting at a meeting thereof of which resolution not less than seven days' notice shall have been given to every member of the Council, and

(b) in the case of the removal of the Manager, with the sanction of the Minister.

(6) There shall be paid by the Council to the Manager such remuneration as the Minister shall from time to time determine and the amount of such remuneration shall be raised by the Council by the same rate as the rate by which the salary of the Town Clerk is raised.

(7) The Manager may do all such matters and things, including the making of contracts for and on behalf of the Corporation and the affixing of the official seal of the Corporation to documents, as may be necessary for or incidental to the purpose of exercising and performing the powers, functions and duties of the Corporation which are by this Act required to be exercised and performed by the Manager.

(8) The Manager shall not affix the official seal of the Corporation to any document save in the presence of the Lord Mayor.

(9) Every reference contained in this Act to the Manager save and except the reference contained in this section to the appointment of the Manager by the Council shall be construed as including the first Manager.

11 Furnishing of information to the Lord Mayor.

11.—(1) The Manager shall, whenever requested by the Lord Mayor so to do, afford to the Lord Mayor all such information as may be in the possession or procurement of the Manager in regard to any act, matter or thing appertaining to or concerning any business or transaction of the Corporation which is mentioned in such request.

(2) At the beginning of every month the Manager shall cause to be prepared and shall furnish to the Lord Mayor and every member of the Council a statement showing as nearly as may be the actual financial position of the Corporation at the end of the previous month.

12 Manager to advise the Council.