ARTICLE IX

Local Governments

Bill of rights for local governments.

Section 1. Effective local self-government and intergovernmental
cooperation are purposes of the people of the state. In furtherance
thereof, local governments shall have the following rights, powers,
privileges and immunities in addition to those granted by other
provisions of this constitution:

(a) Every local government, except a county wholly included within a
city, shall have a legislative body elective by the people thereof.
Every local government shall have power to adopt local laws as provided
by this article.

(b) All officers of every local government whose election or
appointment is not provided for by this constitution shall be elected by
the people of the local government, or of some division thereof, or
appointed by such officers of the local government as may be provided by
law.

(c) Local governments shall have power to agree, as authorized by act
of the legislature, with the federal government, a state or one or more
other governments within or without the state, to provide cooperatively,
jointly or by contract any facility, service, activity or undertaking
which each participating local government has the power to provide
separately. Each such local government shall have power to apportion its
share of the cost thereof upon such portion of its area as may be
authorized by act of the legislature.

(d) No local government or any part of the territory thereof shall be
annexed to another until the people, if any, of the territory proposed
to be annexed shall have consented thereto by majority vote on a
referendum and until the governing board of each local government, the
area of which is affected, shall have consented thereto upon the basis
of a determination that the annexation is in the over-all public
interest. The consent of the governing board of a county shall be
required only where a boundary of the county is affected. On or before
July first, nineteen hundred sixty-four, the legislature shall provide,
where such consent of a governing board is not granted, for adjudication
and determination, on the law and the facts, in a proceeding initiated
in the supreme court, of the issue of whether the annexation is in the
over-all public interest.

(e) Local governments shall have power to take by eminent domain
private property within their boundaries for public use together with
excess land or property but no more than is sufficient to provide for
appropriate disposition or use of land or property which abuts on that
necessary for such public use, and to sell or lease that not devoted to
such use. The legislature may authorize and regulate the exercise of the
power of eminent domain and excess condemnation by a local government
outside its boundaries.

(f) No local government shall be prohibited by the legislature (1)
from making a fair return on the value of the property used and useful
in its operation of a gas, electric or water public utility service,
over and above costs of operation and maintenance and necessary and
proper reserves, in addition to an amount equivalent to taxes which such
service, if privately owned, would pay to such local government, or (2)
from using such profits for payment of refunds to consumers or for any
other lawful purpose.

(g) A local government shall have power to apportion its cost of a
governmental service or function upon any portion of its area, as
authorized by act of the legislature.

(h) (1) Counties, other than those wholly included within a city,
shall be empowered by general law, or by special law enacted upon county
request pursuant to section two of this article, to adopt, amend or
repeal alternative forms of county government provided by the
legislature or to prepare, adopt, amend or repeal alternative forms of
their own. Any such form of government or any amendment thereof, by act
of the legislature or by local law, may transfer one or more functions
or duties of the county or of the cities, towns, villages, districts or
other units of government wholly contained in such county to each other
or when authorized by the legislature to the state, or may abolish one
or more offices, departments, agencies or units of government provided,
however, that no such form or amendment, except as provided in paragraph
(2) of this subdivision, shall become effective unless approved on a
referendum by a majority of the votes cast thereon in the area of the
county outside of cities, and in the cities of the county, if any,
considered as one unit. Where an alternative form of county government
or any amendment thereof, by act of the legislature or by local law,
provides for the transfer of any function or duty to or from any village
or the abolition of any office, department, agency or unit of government
of a village wholly contained in such county, such form or amendment
shall not become effective unless it shall also be approved on the
referendum by a majority of the votes cast thereon in all the villages
so affected considered as one unit.

(2) After the adoption of an alternative form of county government by
a county, any amendment thereof by act of the legislature or by local
law which abolishes or creates an elective county office, changes the
voting or veto power of or the method of removing an elective county
officer during his or her term of office, abolishes, curtails or
transfers to another county officer or agency any power of an elective
county officer or changes the form or composition of the county
legislative body shall be subject to a permissive referendum as provided
by the legislature.