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.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The councilmanic districts were redistricted 5-10-2012 by Ch. No. 2993 and 4-21-2022 by Ch. No. 3254. Ch. Nos. 2993 and 3254 also required the depiction of said districts on a City-wide map. Said map is on file with the Board of Canvassers.
[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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Council rules are on file in the office of the City Clerk.
[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.