The Council shall consist of the Mayor and the eight Councilmen. The Council shall exercise all of the legislative and policy-making powers of the city, except as otherwise provided by law. The Council shall provide for the public peace, health, and recreation, and for the safety of persons and property through the established offices, departments, and agencies of the city government. The compensation of each member of the Council, other than that of the Mayor, shall be $300 per year.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 276, Local Officers Compensation Commission.
(a) 
The Mayor shall, in addition to any powers and duties otherwise provided or required of him by law, have powers and duties as follows:
(1) 
He shall be the ceremonial head and chief officer of the city;
(2) 
He shall be the presiding officer of the Council;
(3) 
He shall have all of the powers and duties of a Councilman including the power and duty to vote;
(4) 
He shall give the Council information concerning matters pertaining to the legislative and policy functions of the Council and give his recommendations therein;
(5) 
He shall, in emergencies, have the powers conferred by law upon peace officers and shall exercise such powers to correlate the work of the city's officers and departments to prevent disorder, to preserve the public peace and health, and to provide for the safety of persons and property;
(6) 
He shall execute or authenticate by his signature such instruments of the city as the Council, this charter, or any State or Federal law may require; and
(7) 
He shall make appointments of members of committees, and boards of the city which are authorized by law or direction of the Council;
(b) 
The compensation of the Mayor shall be $500 per year.
The Council shall meet and organize on the first Monday following each regular city election. At such meeting, or within one week thereafter, the Council shall elect a Mayor Pro Tem and do such other acts as may be required for its organization and the conduct of its business.
The Mayor Pro Tem shall act in the stead of the Mayor during the temporary absence or disability of the Mayor, and shall succeed to the office of the Mayor in case of a vacancy in that office. The Council shall provide by ordinance for the interim order of the succession of its members to the office of Mayor Pro-tem in the event that the office becomes vacant through advancement to the office of Mayor or otherwise.
(a) 
The Council shall meet in regular session in the established Council chamber or in such other place as shall be established by ordinance not less than twice in each calendar month.
(b) 
Special meetings of the Council shall be held at its regular meeting place. Special meetings shall be called by the Clerk on the written request of the Mayor, the City Manager, or any two members of the Council, on at least six hours' notice to each member of the Council. Such notice shall state the time and purpose of such meeting, and shall be delivered to each member of the Council or left at his place of residence or business by the Clerk or by someone designated by him. In case of emergency, any special meeting at which all members of the Council are present or, in writing either before or after the holding of such meeting, waive the requirement that written notice be given as above required shall be a legal and proper meeting whether or not notice of the meeting has been given as herein required. Proof of the giving of notices required by this section shall be entered in the journal of such meeting.
(c) 
No business shall be transacted at any special meeting of the Council, except that stated in the notice of the meeting.
(d) 
All regular and special meetings of the Council shall be public meetings and the public shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The Council shall keep a journal, in the English language, of its meetings, and its proceedings, or a synopsis thereof prepared by the Clerk and approved by the Mayor, shall be published within 15 days after the date of the meeting at which the same occurred. The public shall have access to the minutes and records of all meetings of the Council.
(e) 
Five members of the Council shall be a quorum for the transaction of business at all of its meetings. In the absence of a quorum, any number less than a quorum may adjourn a meeting to a later date.
(f) 
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business. The vote upon the passage of all ordinances, and upon the adoption of all resolutions, shall be taken by "Yes" or "No" votes and shall be entered in the journal of the meeting, except that, where the vote is unanimous, it shall only be necessary to so state.
(g) 
There shall be no standing committees of the Council, except there may be an auditing committee to review bills to be presented to the Council for approval of the payment thereof.
(h) 
Each member shall vote on each question before the Council for a determination, unless excused therefrom by the affirmative vote of at least six of the members. No member of the Council shall vote on any question upon which he has a private or financial interest other than as a citizen of the city. If a question is raised under this section at any Council meeting, such question shall be determined before the main question shall be voted on, but the Council member affected shall not vote on such determination.
(i) 
Except in those cases where a larger majority is required by law, no ordinance or resolution shall be adopted or passed by the Council, nor shall any other official action be taken, except by the affirmative vote of at least five members.
To the extent and during the time that the health functions of the city are joined with or absorbed by the health department of the County of Branch or of any district health department of which that county may be a part, as provided or permitted by law, the powers normally exercised by boards of health in cities shall be exercised and performed by the said county or district health department. To the extent that the county or district does not exercise and perform any of such health functions of cities, the Council shall constitute the Board of Health of the city and shall exercise and perform such functions.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The health functions of Council are now exercised by the District Health Department. The City no longer exercises any Health Department functions.
The Council shall, by ordinance, prescribe the terms and conditions upon which licenses may be granted, suspended, or revoked; and may require and exact payment of such reasonable sums for any license, as it may deem proper, of persons receiving any license from the city. The person or persons receiving any such license shall, before the issuing thereof, execute a bond to the city, when required by ordinance, in such sum and with such securities as prescribed in such ordinance, conditioned by the faithful observance of this charter of the city and the ordinance under which the license is granted.
The Council shall not have the power to make any contract with or give any official position to any person who is in default to the city. The Council shall not have the power to sell any park, cemetery or any part thereof, except where such park is not required under an official master plan of the city, or to engage in any business enterprise requiring an investment of money in excess of $0.10 per capita, except in accordance with the restrictions imposed by law. The contacts of the members of the Council with the administrative officers and employees of the city shall be through the City Manager or his office, and neither the Council nor any committee or member thereof shall direct the acts of any administrative officer or employee, except through the City Manager or his office.