City of Troy, NY Article I City Council

§ C-1 City Council membership, terms, and vacancies.

A. Composition and election. The City Council shall be composed of seven members. Six of the seven shall be elected by qualified electors resident in each of the City's six Council districts. The seventh shall be elected from the City at large and serve as the President of the Council, that title being specified on the general election ballot. Council district members shall be at the time of nomination, election, and during their terms of office, qualified electors resident in the district from which each is elected. The President shall be an elector of the City at the time of nomination, election and during any term of office. All Council members shall be paid an annual salary of $15,000, with payments to be made in biweekly installments.

B. Terms of office for Council district members. Each Council district member shall be elected for a two-year term, with such term beginning on January 1 of the year immediately following the election. No district member shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms of office, totaling eight years, except as otherwise specified herein. Should an elector of the City be appointed by the Council to fill a vacant Council district seat and subsequently win that Council district seat in a general election held pursuant to this paragraph, said member shall not serve longer than nine consecutive years.

C. Terms of office for President of the Council. The President of the Council shall be elected for a two-year term, with such term beginning on January 1 of the year following the election. However, effective with the election of November 2019, the term of President of the Council shall become four years, with such term beginning on January 1 of the year following the election. Because the maximum number of consecutive years that may be served on the Council is eight, except as specified herein, no one is eligible for election to the office of President who has served more than four consecutive years on the Council immediately preceding the election of November 2019.

D. Vacancies. In the event a Council member dies, ceases to be an elector of the City, or, in the case of district Council members, ceases to be a resident of the district from which the member was elected, or is otherwise unable to serve as a Council member, a vacancy in the office shall exist and shall be filled by a vote of the remaining Council members. In the event of a tie vote, the Mayor of the City of Troy shall cast the deciding vote. Any vacancy filled by the procedures herein shall be for a term expiring on December 31 of the first year at which the vacancy can be filled in a general election. The balance of the term, if any, shall be filled by the person receiving the most votes at such general election. City elections shall be in accordance with election laws of the State of New York. If the office of President of the Council becomes vacant by any of the causes herein, the President Pro Tempore shall assume all the powers and duties of the office of President until an election shall be called and held for the purpose of electing a President. Said election shall be held within 90 days of the occurrence of a vacancy, except when the vacancy occurs within six months preceding a general election in a nonpresidential election year and the state election law timetable permits placing that matter on that general election ballot, in which case the vacancy shall be filled at that general election. If the vacancy occurs within six months preceding a general election in a normal presidential election year, then there shall be no election to fill the vacancy. Instead, the election to fill the next full term of President shall be held in due course. If the office of President Pro Tempore becomes vacant by any of the causes herein, said vacancy may be filled at any regular or special meeting of the Council following the date upon which the office becomes vacant. The person selected to fill such vacancy shall serve the unexpired term of the person whose office was vacated.

§ C-2 Drawing of district boundaries; redistricting.

The Council, as soon as is practicable and not later than six months after the availability of population data on a census tract basis from each decennial census taken by the U.S. Census Bureau, shall appoint an independent commission of seven members who are electors of the City to examine the population within the boundaries of the six council districts of the City. Each district must contain neither less than 13% nor more than 18% of the population of the City and, to the greatest extent possible, shall be compact, contiguous, convenient and preserve neighborhood characteristics. If such districts are found not to be in compliance with this requirement, based on the census data, the Council shall direct the independent commission to devise and recommend to it a plan to redistrict the City in accordance with the population percentages described herein, and in compliance with all pertinent legal requirements. The Council shall use such recommendation to the greatest extent possible to proceed by ordinance to redistrict the City. No more than four members of the commission may be registered members of the same political party.

§ C-3 President of City Council.

The office of President of the City Council shall be filled by a citywide vote in the general election. The President shall be the presiding officer of the Council, shall be the chair of the standing committee on finance, and shall be, ex officio, a nonvoting member of all other standing committees. The President, as an elected Council member, shall have a vote on all matters coming before the Council. The President shall have the salary of a Council member and, in addition, such further amount as may be set each year by the Council.

§ C-4 President pro tempore.

The President Pro Tempore of the City Council shall be selected by the City Council at its organizational meeting from among its elected district members to serve until a successor is chosen at the following organizational meeting. The President Pro Tempore shall perform the duties of the President of the City Council in the case of the absence of the President of the City Council or in the case of a vacancy in the office of the President of the City Council. The President Pro Tempore shall have the salary of a Council member, and in addition, such further amount as may be set by the Council.

§ C-5 Legislative employees.

The City Council may establish such positions within the Legislative Branch as shall be necessary for it to carry out its duties as prescribed in the Charter. The Council shall by ordinance or resolution declare each such position to be in the Legislative Branch, provide for the method of selection and appointment of the person holding such position, prescribe the duties thereof, establish the terms and conditions of employment, and, within the amounts allocated in the adopted budget, establish the amount of compensation for the position. Included within the authority granted by this paragraph shall be the authority to establish the positions of Legislative Assistant, Legislative Counsel or Counsels, and consultants for special services to the Council, provided compensation for said services has been approved by the Council. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the Council to establish a position or prescribe duties of a Legislative employee that would usurp the powers and duties given to the Executive Branch under this Charter.