All powers of the City shall be vested in the Council except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
The Council shall consist of five (5) Councilmembers as provided in this Charter. One (1) of the Councilmembers shall be Mayor. Each Councilmember, including the Mayor, shall have the right to vote on all questions coming before the Council. The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of the Council.
(Passed by the voters as Measure X at the election of November 5, 2024)
The Council shall elect one (1) of its members to act as Mayor. Said election shall be by roll call vote.
The Mayor, in addition to the powers and duties prescribed and allowed by the State law of the State of California and as prescribed elsewhere in this Charter, shall have the power and duty:
A.
To report to the Council from time to time on the affairs of the City and to recommend for its consideration such matters as he/she may deem expedient.
B.
To assume the primary but not the exclusive responsibility for interpreting to the people the policies, programs and needs of the City government and for informing the people of any major change in policy or program.
C.
To exercise and perform such other powers and duties as may be delegated to or required of him/her by this Charter or by the Council if not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter or the State of California.
The Council shall elect one of its members to act as Mayor Pro Tempore. Said election shall be by roll call vote.
In the event of temporary absence or disability of the Mayor or during such period as a vacancy exists, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall preside at Council meetings, shall perform the other duties of the Mayor and perform such other duties as the Council may assign to him/her.
The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore shall serve at the pleasure of the Council; however, the position of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore shall be reviewed after each general election.
The Council shall hold regular meetings at such times as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution and may adjourn or readjourn any regular meeting to a date and hour fixed in the order of adjournment and when so adjourned each adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes. Special meetings may be held as provided by law.
All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, and shall be held in the Council Chambers in the City Hall or in such place to which any such meeting may be adjourned; provided, that if by reason of fire, flood or other emergency it shall be unsafe or impractical to meet at the regular meeting place, the Council may for the duration of the emergency meet at some other place designated in writing by the Mayor, or if he/she fails to act, by a majority of the Council.
A majority of the then members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting, but a lesser number may adjourn from time to time and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as the Council may by ordinance prescribe. In the event all members of the Council are absent from any meeting, the City Clerk may declare the same adjourned to a stated day and hour in the manner provided by law. The Council shall judge all returns of City elections. It shall establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings and may evict any member or any other person for disorderly conduct at any meeting and may prosecute any member or other person for such conduct.
Each member of the Council and the City Clerk shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations in any investigation or proceedings pending before the Council. The Council shall have the power to issue subpoenas, to compel by subpoena the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents and other evidence, to examine witnesses under oath and to take and hear evidence, in relation to any matter pending before it. Subpoenas shall be issued in the name of the City and be attested by the City Clerk. Disobedience of any subpoena or the refusal to testify upon other than legal grounds shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable in the same manner as violations of this Charter are punishable.
No action for the payment of money shall be taken at other than a regular or adjourned regular meeting.
The City Clerk shall call the roll and cause the ayes and noes to be entered in the minutes upon demand of any member or in the case of any action for the adoption of an ordinance, the payment of any money, the incurring of any debts, the appointment or removal of any officer, the granting of any franchise, the disposing of or leasing of City property, and the ordering or confirmation of any assessment for public improvements.
At each meeting the Council shall, if requested, grant any person, personally or through Counsel, reasonable opportunity to present grievances or offer suggestions for the betterment of City affairs, subject to such rules for orderly procedure as the Council or its Presiding Officer may prescribe.
The enacting clause of ordinances adopted by the Council shall be substantially as follows: "The City Council of the City of Los Alamitos does ordain as follows:"
All ordinances and resolutions shall be signed by the Mayor or in his/her absence the Mayor Pro Tempore, and attested by the City Clerk or in his/her absence, the Deputy City Clerk.
The adoption of ordinances and resolutions, the publication of ordinances and resolutions, the effective date of ordinances and resolutions, including urgency ordinances shall be governed by the State law of the State of California.
Any or all ordinances of the City which have been adopted and published in the manner required at the time of their adoption may at any time be compiled, consolidated, and rearranged as an Ordinance Code, and such Code may be adopted by reference, with the same effect as an ordinance, by the adoption of an ordinance for that purpose. Such Code need not be published in the manner prescribed for other ordinances, but not less than three (3) copies thereof shall be on file in the office of the City Clerk, for the use and examination of the public, for at least ten (10) days prior to the adoption of such Code. Ordinances or portions of ordinances so codified shall be deemed repealed as of the effective date of such Code. Following the adoption of such Code, amendments to the Code shall be adopted and published as ordinances. The codification of some ordinances pursuant to this section shall not prevent the later codification of other ordinances in the same manner.
Detailed regulations pertaining to any subject such as the construction of buildings, plumbing, wiring or other subjects which require extensive regulations, when arranged as a comprehensive code, may likewise be adopted by reference in the manner provided in this section. Maps, charts, diagrams and similar material pertaining to or a part of any ordinance may also be adopted by reference in the same manner.