Nebraska § 17-616 - Ordinances; contracts; appointments; vote; record.

§ 17-616. Ordinances; contracts; appointments; vote; record.

On the passage or adoption of every bylaw or ordinance, and every resolution or order to enter into a contract by the city council of a city of the second class or village board of trustees, the yeas and nays shall be called and recorded. To pass or adopt any bylaw, any ordinance, or any such resolution or order, a concurrence of a majority of the whole number of members elected to the city council or village board of trustees shall be required. All appointments of the officers by the city council or village board of trustees shall be made viva voce; and the concurrence of a like majority shall be required, and the names of those, and for whom they voted, on the vote resulting in an appointment, shall be recorded. The requirements of a roll call or viva voce vote shall be satisfied by a city or village which utilizes an electronic voting device which allows the yeas and nays of each city council member or member of the village board of trustees to be readily seen by the public.

Where no record of the proceedings of the city council with reference to a purported contract can be shown, there is a presumption that no such contract was entered into. Wightman v. City of Wayne, 144 Neb. 871, 15 N.W.2d 78 (1944).

Where the record of a city council does not show the mayor signed an ordinance or that the yea and nay vote was taken and recorded at the time enacted, a nunc pro tunc order by new council eighteen months later cannot be permitted. Beverly Land Co. v. City of South Sioux City, 117 Neb. 47, 219 N.W. 385 (1928).

Where record shows that ordinance was passed and shows the vote thereon, and does not show it was not read, it will be presumed that the ordinance was duly read before adoption, though record does not affirmatively so show. Hull v. City of Humboldt, 107 Neb. 326, 186 N.W. 78 (1921).

Provisions of this section are mandatory. Payne v. Ryan, 79 Neb. 414, 112 N.W. 599 (1907).

Where half the members voted for and the remaining members failed to vote, the mayor's vote added nothing and the ordinance is invalid. State ex rel. Grosshans v. Gray, 23 Neb. 365, 36 N.W. 577 (1888).