Title 9 — Cities and Towns

A. The common council may, by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the city voting thereon, provide by ordinance or resolution, that the members of the council be divided by lot into two classes. The first class shall consist of three councilmen and the second class of fo…

The common council may, by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the city voting thereon either at a regular or special election, provide by ordinance that the mayor shall be directly elected by the electors rather than selected by the common council.

A. Upon the change from town to city government, the city, by a majority vote of the qualified electors, may elect to be governed by a district system of municipal government, and in accordance with the election the common council by a majority vote shall adopt such resolution or…

A. When the change from town to city government is made, the council of the city may: 1. Appoint and remove city officers, board members and employees not expressly made elective in accordance with civil service regulations, or in absence of such regulations, as the council deems…

A. The provisions of sections 9-271 to 9-274, inclusive, shall not apply to a city operating under a special act or special charter or which has been organized prior to June 12, 1929 and is operating under the provisions of article 1, chapter 2 of this title, or any other state l…

A. In addition to the powers already vested in cities by their respective charters and by general law, cities and their governing bodies may: 1. Lay out and establish, regulate the use, open, vacate, alter, widen, extend, grade, pave, plant trees or otherwise improve streets, all…

A. A city containing a population of more than three thousand five hundred inhabitants may frame a charter for its own government consistent with the constitution and the laws of the state, by causing a board of freeholders, composed of fourteen qualified electors of the city, to…

A. The board shall, within ninety days after the election, prepare and propose a charter for the city. The proposed charter shall be approved and signed in duplicate by the members of the board, or a majority of them, who shall file one copy with the chief executive officer of th…

A. On approval the charter shall become the organic law of the city and supersede any charter then existing and all ordinances inconsistent with the new charter. B. A copy of the charter, certified by the chief executive officer of the city, and authenticated by the seal of the c…

A. When the charter has been framed, adopted and approved, and any of its provisions are in conflict with any law relating to cities containing a population of more than three thousand five hundred inhabitants in force at the time of the adoption and approval of the charter, the …

When a city has adopted a charter under the provisions of this article, the chief executive and the legislative authority of the city may provide for the payment of the expenses of the board of freeholders necessarily incurred in the framing of the charter, including clerical ass…

In incorporated cities and towns which elect a mayor, other than those specifically provided for, councilmen and other officers shall hold their respective offices for two years.

A. Unless bonded pursuant to the provisions of subsection B of this section, every officer of a city or town shall execute and file an official bond, enforceable against the principal and his sureties, conditioned on the due and faithful performance of his official duties, payabl…

A. The governing body of a city or town, in addition to the officers already specified by law, may, by ordinance, create the office of city or town manager, and appoint a person thereto to be known as the city or town manager. B. The city or town manager shall have and exercise t…

A. No mayor, alderman or councilman of any city or town shall, during the term for which he has been elected, knowingly accept, take or receive for his own use from the city or town, any money or other thing of value other than that which is provided to be paid him for his servic…

A. If a city or town has established the office of city or town auditor, the city or town, by ordinance, may provide that the city or town auditor or the auditor's authorized representative, in the performance of their official duties, examine the minutes of executive sessions of…

A. A city or town may purchase, lease or rent land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, lying outside its corporate limits, for its purposes and uses, and any violation of an ordinance of the city or town occurring within the territorial limits of the land may be punished by the…

A. A city or town may sell and convey all or any part of its real or personal property, whether or not the property is devoted exclusively to public use. B. The sale shall not be made until an invitation for bids for the purchase of the property has been published as provided by …

A. Real property of a city or town, the value of which is more than $1,500,000 but less than $15,000,000, may not be sold unless the governing body of the city or town does both of the following: 1. Holds at least one public hearing to take public comment on the proposed sale aft…

A. If a city or town acquires real or personal property, whether by purchase, exchange, condemnation, gift or otherwise, the city or town shall pay to the county treasurer any taxes on the property that were unpaid as of the date of acquisition, including penalties and interest. …

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-402, 9-403 or 9-241, the governing body of a city or town may sell, lease or otherwise grant to the United States for governmental purposes any real property owned by it and surplus to its needs. The determination of the governing bo…

A city or town which has incorporated under the laws of the state of Arizona pursuant to enabling legislation of the Congress of the United States and which upon incorporation acquires ownership of land in excess of one section from the United States may provide by ordinance for …

A. Any incorporated city or town may by ordinance authorize an exchange of a parcel of real property owned by that city or town for any other parcel of real property if the parcels of real property are of substantially equal value and the exchange meets the terms and conditions p…

A. A city or town, by ordinance, may offer a home equity conversion program for persons sixty years of age or older. B. A city or town shall use any monies obtained from a home equity conversion program, after payment of all costs and expenses, on programs for senior citizens.

Interest on a judgment in a condemnation proceeding instituted by the city or town, including interest that is payable pursuant to section 12-1123, subsection B, shall be calculated for each month or portion of a month that interest is owed and shall be either: 1. The prime rate …

A city or town may levy annually, in addition to all other taxes, a tax not to exceed one and one-half mills on the assessed value of all property in the city or town, exclusive of the valuation of property exempt from taxation, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining the…

Cities or towns may receive, hold or dispose of gifts made to them for library purposes and may apply them in a manner which will best promote the uses of the library, subject to the terms of the gift.

All money received for library purposes, whether by taxation or otherwise, shall belong to and be designated as the library fund, shall be paid into the city or town treasury, kept separate and apart from other funds, and shall be drawn therefrom as provided in this article, but …

A. The governing body of a city or town may appoint residents of the city or town as trustees of its library. B. In cities or towns of less than three thousand inhabitants there may be six trustees, and in other cities or towns there may be nine trustees. Trustees shall hold offi…

A. The trustees shall have charge of the library and all library property. They shall meet for business purposes each month, and at such other times as they shall appoint, at a place to be provided for the purpose. They may elect from their body a president and secretary, and may…

The trustees, by a majority vote of their members recorded in the minutes with the ayes and nays at length, may: 1. Make and enforce all rules, regulations and by-laws necessary for the administration and government of the library and all library property. 2. Exercise and adminis…

The warrant of the trustees, when made and authenticated as provided in section 9-416, shall be verified and audited by the auditing officer, and paid by the treasurer of the city or town from the library fund.

A. The trustees, on or before the first Monday of July of each year, shall make a report to the governing body of the city or town containing: 1. A full statement of all property and money received, where derived and how used and expended. 2. The number of books, journals and oth…

A. A city or town in which a public library is established may pass ordinances for the protection of the library and library property, and imposing penalties for punishment of persons committing injury to the library or its property or books, or for failure to return a book or ot…

The governing body of a city or town having a free library, or a library established under this article, may enter into a contract with the Arizona state library, archives and public records to provide supervision by the state library of expenditures of all monies involved in fin…

The ownership by cities and towns of tracts of land in counties other than the county in which the city or town is located from which water is or may be withdrawn or diverted and transported that causes the removal of the municipal property from the tax roll of the county in whic…

A. In exercising the powers granted by this title or by charter, a city, town or successor political subdivision, acting through its governing body, may make voluntary contributions of money to this state in lieu of taxes otherwise levied by taxing jurisdictions on any of the cit…

A. On or before April 1 of each year each city, town or successor political subdivision that elects to make voluntary contributions under section 9-432 shall notify the county assessor of the county in which the property is located of its election to make a contribution under thi…

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Housing" means any structure suitable for residence by an individual or family. 2. "Housing development area" means an area within a municipality that is declared by the local governing body to be in serious need of hous…

A. It is a valid public purpose of municipalities to assist in providing for the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of housing and other facilities necessary or incidental to the housing and primarily for the use of those residing in the housing, in areas that are declar…

A. A municipality has the authority to carry out the provisions of this article, including the following: 1. Enter into contracts or leases with developers of housing development projects containing covenants, restrictions and conditions regarding the use of the property for resi…

A. A municipality may issue bonds to finance any housing development project under this article, including the payment of principal and interest on any advances for surveys and plans for housing development projects, and may also issue refunding bonds for the payment or retiremen…

A. In connection with the issuance of bonds pursuant to section 9-441.03, or the incurring of obligations under leases, and in order to secure the payment of these bonds or obligations, a municipality, in addition to its other powers, may: 1. Prescribe the procedure, if any, by w…

This article without reference to other statutes, constitutes full authority for the authorization and issuance of bonds under section 9-441.03. Except as provided in section 9-441.07, bonds authorized under this article are not subject to the provisions of any other state law or…

A. Any bonds to be issued under section 9-441.03 may be submitted to the attorney general after all proceedings for issuance of the bonds have been taken. On submission of the proceedings to the attorney general, the attorney general shall examine into and pass upon the validity …

Every municipality may use its monies for the purposes of aiding in the planning, undertaking or carrying out of a housing development project in its area of operations. To obtain monies for this purpose, every municipality, in addition to other powers set forth in this article, …

A. When a cemetery or ground used as a cemetery within the corporate limits of a city or town has been abandoned and ceases to be used for such purposes, or when in the judgment of the governing body of the city or town, the cemetery or ground so used is unfit or unsuited for cem…

When the title to the cemetery or ground vacated is vested in the townsite trustee, or in a trustee for cemetery purposes, it shall be conveyed to the city or town, and used for such public purposes as the common council may direct.

A. The governing body of a city or town having and maintaining a cemetery may establish a maintenance fund to provide for the maintenance and care of such cemetery. Such maintenance fund shall consist of all amounts received by the city or town in the form of bequests, donations,…

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Aggregate" means cinder, crushed rock or stone, decomposed granite, gravel, pumice, pumicite and sand. 2. "General plan" means a municipal statement of land development policies, that may include maps, charts, graphs and…