The council shall consist of nine members, six of whom shall
be elected from councilmanic districts and three of whom shall be
elected form the city at large. The terms of councilmen shall be two
years from the first Monday of January following the year in which
they were elected; except, that a councilman elected to fill a vacancy
shall serve only for the balance of the unexpired term. Each councilman
shall receive a salary at the rate of twelve hundred dollars per annum,
or such other sum as the council shall from time to time ordain, and
the president of the council shall receive, in addition, a salary
at the rate of three hundred dollars per annum, or such other sum
as the council shall from time to time ordain. No ordinance increasing
the salaries of members of the council shall become effective during
the current term of office of the members of the council enacting
such ordinance.
At the municipal election held in 1953, and in every second
year thereafter, one councilman shall be elected from each councilmanic
district, and three councilmen shall be elected from the city at large.
Each elector shall have the right to vote for one councilman duly
nominated from the councilmanic district in which he shall be a qualified
elector, and for three councilmen duly nominated from the city at
large.
If a vacancy occurs in the office of councilman more than one
hundred eighty days before the time of holding the next succeeding
regular city election, the board of canvassers shall call a special
election for the purpose of filling such vacancy for the remainder
of the term, such special election to be held not less than thirty
nor more than fifty days after the date of the occurrence of such
vacancy. If any such vacancy occurs one hundred eighty days, or less,
before the time of holding the next succeeding regular city election,
the board of canvassers shall call a special election for said purpose,
to be held not less than thirty days nor more than fifty days after
the date of the occurrence of such vacancy, on demand therefor in
writing signed by at least one-third of all the members of the council,
and filed with the board of canvassers and the city clerk at least
sixty days prior to the time of holding the next succeeding regular
city election. In the event that any state election, regular or special,
or any city election for any other purpose shall be held within the
said period, the board of canvassers may in its discretion order any
special election required by the provisions of this section to be
held at the same time as such other city or state election.
There shall be six councilmanic districts. The original councilmanic
districts shall be the present established wards of the city.
For the purpose of establishing and maintaining councilmanic
districts which shall consist of contiguous voting districts and shall
contain as nearly as possible the qualified elector factor obtained
by dividing the number of qualified electors in the city by six, the
council may redistrict the city at any time, and it shall be the mandatory
duty of the council to redistrict the city within the first six months
of the year 1955 and within the first six months of every tenth year
thereafter. At the expiration of the six months period, if the council
shall have failed to redistrict the city as herein required, the councilmen
shall not receive any further salaries until the council shall have
passed and the mayor shall have approved a redistricting ordinance
as herein required or until such ordinance shall have become law without
the mayor's approval, and any qualified elector or electors of the
city shall have the right to file a petition for a writ of mandamus
or a writ in the nature of mandamus to enforce this provision. The
council shall further have the right at any time to divide any councilmanic
district into voting districts other than as now constituted for the
purpose of providing more equal subdivisions of any councilmanic district
for voting purposes.
[Amended Ref. of 11-6-1990, Sec. 7]
Council members elected from council districts shall be qualified
electors and residents of the respective council districts from which
they are elected at the time of their election, and council members
elected from the city at large shall be qualified electors and residents
of the city at the time of their election. Any council member who
ceases to meet these qualifications during his or her term of office,
shall be deemed to have forfeited council membership, provided, however,
in the event that a council member is required by some emergency circumstance
to remove temporarily from the district or from the city, the office
of that member shall not be forfeited unless the period of such removal
shall exceed sixty days.
The council shall meet for the organization at 10 o'clock, A.M.,
on the first Monday of January following its election, at which time
it shall elect a president from among its members. The council shall
further elect a president pro tempore from among its members to act
in the event of the absence or disability of the president. The council
shall adopt rules not inconsistent with this Charter providing for
committees, defining the duties of its president, and otherwise providing
for its organization and procedure. For the purpose of organizing,
the council shall meet at the city council chamber, and the temporary
presiding officer shall be the city clerk. If said council chamber
shall not be available, the city clerk shall designate any other suitable
place in the city for such meeting.
[Amended Ref. of 11-8-2016, Sec. 18]
In the event that the law department declines to advise or render
legal services to the council in any matter, and whenever the council
is conducting an investigation relating to the executive and administrative
branch of city government, the council may employ and fix compensation
of counsel of its own selection to handle such matters or to assist
in conducting such investigation. In all other cases the council shall
obtain legal advice and services from the law department; however,
nothing contained in this Charter shall prohibit the council from
employing outside legal counsel from time to time when deemed necessary
by the council.