[R.O. 2008 § 110.080; R.O. 2007 § 110.080; Ord. No. 1184 § 6, 1-17-1985; Ord. No. 5609 § 2, 8-12-2010]
A. 
Number Of Wards. The City shall, by ordinance, divide the City into no less than five (5) wards and two (2) Council members shall be elected from each of such wards by the qualified voters thereof. Each ward shall be compact in form and composed of adjoining territory. Populations of wards shall be substantially equal.
B. 
Election By Wards. The City Council members shall be elected by the qualified voters of their respective wards. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected.
C. 
Election. At each general municipal election at which terms of Council members shall expire, City Council members shall be elected to fill the positions of those whose terms expire.
D. 
Terms. City Council members from each ward shall be elected to serve staggered three (3) year terms.
[R.O. 2008 § 110.090; R.O. 2007 § 110.090; Ord. No. 1184 § 7, 1-17-1985; Ord. No. 5609 § 2, 8-12-2010]
A. 
A City Council member shall be a registered voter of the City, shall have been a resident of the territory comprising the ward for which he or she has filed for at least one (1) year prior to his or her election and be twenty-one (21) years of age by the date of the election. No person shall be elected who shall be at the time be in arrears for any unpaid City taxes or forfeiture or defalcation in office or who has been convicted under the laws of this State of a felony or under the laws of another jurisdiction of a crime which, if committed within this State, would be a felony, or he or she pleads guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) of such crime.
B. 
Except where authorized by law, no Council member shall hold any other City office or City employment during the term for which he or she was elected or appointed and no former City Council member shall hold any appointive City office or City employment until one (1) year after the expiration of the term for which the City Council member was elected or appointed.
[R.O. 2008 § 110.100; R.O. 2007 § 110.100; Ord. No. 1184 § 15, 1-17-1985; Ord. No. 5609 § 2, 8-12-2010]
The City Council shall have the power to fix the compensation of City Council members by an ordinance. The salary of a City Council member shall not be changed during the time for which he or she was elected or appointed. City Council members may receive reasonable reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses as provided by ordinance. The use of City resources not relating to City business must be fully reimbursed.
[R.O. 2008 §  110.101; Ord. No. 5609 § 2, 8-12-2010]
A. 
Vacancy. When any vacancy shall happen in the office of a City Council member by death, resignation, removal from the City, removal from office, refusal to qualify or otherwise, a successor to the vacant office shall be selected by appointment by the Mayor with the advice and consent of a majority of the remaining members of the City Council. The City Council may adopt procedures to fill any such vacancy consistent with this Section. The successor shall serve until the next general municipal election, at which time a successor shall be elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
B. 
Forfeiture. A person holding the office of City Council member who is convicted of a crime shall, upon conviction, forfeit such office if:
1. 
The City Council member is convicted under the laws of this State of a felony or under the laws of another jurisdiction of a crime which, if committed within this State, would be a felony or he/she pleads guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) of such a crime; or
2. 
The City Council member is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) to a crime involving misconduct in office, dishonesty; or
3. 
The Missouri Constitution or a State Statute so provides.
C. 
Removal. The Mayor may, with the consent of a majority of the entire City Council, remove from office, for cause shown, any City Council member, such Council member being first given opportunity, together with his or her witnesses, to be heard before the City Council sitting as a Board of Impeachment. Any City Council member may, in like manner, for cause shown, be removed from office by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire City Council, independently of the Mayor's approval or recommendation.
[R.O. 2008 §  110.102; Ord. No. 5609 § 2, 8-12-2010]
A. 
Appointments And Removals. Neither the City Council nor any of its members shall in any manner dictate the appointment or removal of any employees whom the City Administrator or any of his or her subordinates are empowered to appoint or employ, but the City Council as a whole may express its views and fully and freely discuss with the City Administrator anything pertaining to appointment and removal of such officers and employees.
B. 
Interference With Administration. Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations as specifically provided in the City Charter, the City Council or its members shall deal with City Officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the City Administrator solely through the City Administrator, and neither the City Council nor its members shall give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately.
[R.O. 2008 §  110.103; Ord. No. 5609 § 2, 8-12-2010]
A. 
Apportionment Commission. Within sixty (60) days after the population of this State is reported to the President of the United States of America for each decennial census of the United States, the Mayor shall, with the advice and consent of a majority of the City Council members, appoint an Apportionment Commission composed of one (1) member from each of the wards existing in the City at the time of the appointment of the Apportionment Commission. The Apportionment Commission shall, at its first (1st) meeting, select one (1) of its members to serve as Chairperson. No person who holds an elective or appointive office of the City or State shall be eligible for appointment to the Apportionment Commission. Members of the Commission shall not be eligible for election as a Council member at the first (1st) election held following reapportionment.
B. 
Commission Duties. Within six (6) months of their appointment, the Apportionment Commission shall prepare a plan of wards, which plan shall include a plan for the boundaries as well as the number of wards and shall present that plan, together with a report explaining it, to the Mayor and City Council. All necessary expenses of the Apportionment Commission shall be paid by the City.
C. 
Council Hearing. Within forty-five (45) days after receiving the plan of the Apportionment Commission, the City Council shall hold a public hearing on the plan. At least fifteen (15) days' notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published in an official paper or a paper of general circulation in the City.
D. 
Adoption Of Ward Boundaries—Effective Date. The City Council shall proceed by ordinance to adopt a plan of apportionment and divide the City into at least five (5) wards having boundaries such that each ward shall be compact in form and composed of adjoining territory and substantially equal in population.
[Ord. No. 6802, 7-22-2021]
The City Council may make investigations into the affairs of the City and the conduct of any City department, office or agency, and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of evidence. Subpoenas issued in accordance with this Section or Section 3.8 of the City Charter may be issued pursuant to authority delegated by the Council or by a motion approved by a majority of the Members of the Council voting thereon and shall be signed by the Mayor, or in case of his or her absence or inability to act, by the President Pro Tempore or Acting President Pro Tempore of the City Council, and shall be attested by the City Clerk. Every such subpoena shall be served and return thereof made to the City Clerk in the same manner as provided by law for the service and return of subpoenas in civil actions in the Circuit Courts of this State. Such subpoenas may be enforced by applying to a judge of the St. Charles County Circuit Court for an order upon any witness who shall fail to obey a subpoena to show cause why such subpoena should not be enforced, which said order and a copy of the application therefor shall be served upon the witness in the same manner as a summons in a civil action, and if said court shall, after a hearing, determine that the subpoena should be sustained and enforced, said court shall proceed to enforce said subpoena in the same manner as though said subpoena had been issued in a civil case in the Circuit Court. Any person who shall, without reasonable cause, fail or refuse to comply with a subpoena or other lawful order issued pursuant to this Section or Section 3.8 of the City Charter, by or on behalf of and under the authority of the City Council, shall be guilty of an ordinance violation, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to the penalties as provided in Section 100.010.