Articles of Incorporation For the Town of Adel, Iowa

ADEL PERKINS, BURNS, SMITH

Posted By: SMC (email)
Date: 8/26/2004 at 14:35:44

"ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION FOR THE TOWN OF ADEL."

ART. 1. All that tract of land being in township seventy-nine (79), north of range twenty-seven (27), west of the fifth principal meridian, in the county of Dallas, and State of Iowa, which is comprised in the original town plat of Adel; together with all additions heretofore made and recorded, and all additions that may hereafter be made and recorded according to law, be, and the same is hereby, declared a town corporation, by the name and style of Adel, and the inhabitants thereof are created a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of the town of Adel, and shall have and exercise the rights, powers and duties of a corporation, from and after the tenth day of April, A. D. 1856.

ART. 2. The legal voters. who have resided within the limits of said corporation twenty days immediately preceding any such election, shall meet at some suitable place within said corporation, on the first Saturday in April, A. D. 1856, and annually thereafter, and then and there proceed to elect, by ballot, one mayor, four councilmen and one recorder, who shall hold their offices for one year and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

ART. 3. At the first election there shall be chosen, by the electors present, two judges and a clerk of election, and at subsequent elections the councilmen, or any two of them, shall be the judges of election, and the recorder shall be the clerk of election. The judges and clerk of elections, at all elections, shall be governed by the laws of Iowa governing- general elections so far as applicable, except that the polls shall be opened at any time before twelve o'clock at noon, and closed at four o'clock in the afternoon, after which the votes shall be canvassed and the judges shall declare the election and the clerk shall, within three days, notify the persons elected.

ART. 4. The mayor shall be the presiding officer of the council when present, and shall give the casting vote when there is a tie. In his absence, the council may appoint a president pro tern from their own body.

ART. 5. The regular meeting of the council shall be held on the first Saturday in each month, and the council may provide by ordinance for calling special meetings.

ART. 6. Ordinances passed by the council shall be signed by the mayor and attested by the recorder, and before they take effect shall be posted up in three public places in said town, or published in some newspaper printed in said town, and shall also be recorded in a book kept for this purpose, attested by the mayor and recorder.

ART. 7. It shall be the duty of the recorded to keep a true record of all the official proceedings of the council, which records shall be open at all times to public inspection.

ART. 8. The mayor, councilmen and recorder, before entering upon the duties of their offices, shall each take an oath, or affirmation to support the constitution 3f the United States, and the constitution of Iowa, and faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of their office.

ART. 9. The council shall have authority to make and establish such by-laws and ordinances as may be necessary and proper for the good regulations, safety and health of the town and citizens thereof; to levy and collect taxes on all property within the limits of the corporation, 'which, by the laws of the State, is not exempt from taxation, which tax shall not exceed one per cent per annum on the assessed value thereof, and its collection may be enforced by such measures as may be deemed expedient. provided these measures be not more stringent and summary than those used for the collection of State and county taxes; to improve the streets and alleys; to provide drains, sewers, public wells, and keep them in repairs; to license, regulate, or prohibit all shows or public exhibitions, if the laws of the State are thereby not interfered with; to provide against gambling and drunkenness, and disorderly conduct; and for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, and to make all ordinary, proper and suitable regulations for the government and well-being of the town, and impose penalties for the violation of such regulations, which penalties may be collected by civil action, in the name of the town before any justice of the peace having jurisdiction.

ART. 10. The mayor, recorder and councilmen shall receive a compensation for their services, such compensation to be fixed by the council.

ART. 11. The board of councilmen may create such offices as they may deem necessary to carry out the intent of any ordinance passed by said town, prescribe their duties, declare their qualifications and mode of election, and may require them to give security, if they deem it necessary.

ART. 12. Ten days' notice of all town elections shall be given, by posting- written notices in three public places in said town, or by publication in some newspaper printed therein.

ART. 13. These articles of incorporation shall be subject to alteration or amendment by a vote of two-thirds of all the votes cast at a special election called for that purpose.

Done at Adel, Dallas county, Iowa, this 21st day of March, A. D. 1856.
JEREMIAH PERKINS,
E. D. SMITH,
Recorded this 9th day of April, A. D. 1856.
Draftsmen.
L. D. BURNS,
County Judge.

(source History of Dallas County, Iowa its Cities and Towns by Union Historical Company in 1880. Published by Mills & Company, Des Moines, IA.