The Council shall be composed of Mayor and six Councilmembers, elected by a place system at large, each of whom unless sooner removed under the provisions of this Charter, shall serve for a term of three years and until his/her successor has been elected and duly qualified, beginning in 2024. Places 1, 3, and 5 shall be elected every three years beginning in 2024. The Mayor and Place 2 shall be elected every three years beginning in 2025. Places 4 and 6 shall not be elected in 2025 and shall carryover until 2026 and be elected every three years thereafter beginning in 2026.
An individual elected after the effective date of this provision shall serve no more than three (3) consecutive three (3) year terms on City Council, whether as Councilmember, Mayor, or a combination thereof. A member who has served the maximum number of consecutive terms may serve additional terms subject to the same limitations after a break in service of more than two and one-half (2 1/2) years.
In addition to any other qualification prescribed by law, the Mayor and each City Council member shall meet the qualifications set forth in Section 5.02 of this Charter while in office. If the Mayor or any City Council member fails to maintain the qualifications, or shall be absent from three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without explanation acceptable to a majority of the remaining City Council members, the City Council shall at its next regular meeting declare a vacancy to exist and shall fill said vacancy as set forth in Section 3.05 of this Charter.
The City Council shall fix the compensation to be received by its members for attendance at its meetings, but no increase in such compensation shall take effect until commencement of the terms of Mayor and/or Councilmembers elected at the next regular election.
The Mayor shall be the chairman of the City government. He/She shall preside at all meetings of the Council. The Mayor shall have the right to vote only in the event of a tie vote among the councilmembers present and shall have no power of veto. He/She shall perform duties consistent with this Charter as may be imposed upon him/her by the Council.
The Mayor Pro-Tem may be elected by the City Council from its membership. The Mayor Pro-Tem shall act as Mayor in case of the absence or inability of the Mayor to perform the duties of office and in this capacity shall be vested with all of the duties conferred upon the Mayor.
The office of a Councilmember or the Mayor shall become vacant upon his/her death, resignation, forfeiture of, or removal from office or by any manner authorized by law.
Any member of the Council who ceases to possess the required qualifications for office or who is convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or is convicted of violating Chapter 171 of the Local Government Code concerning conflict of interest, shall forfeit his/her office. Every forfeiture shall be declared and enforced by a majority of the Council.
Vacancies in the Council, or the Mayor, must be filled at a special election unless a general election that would fill the vacant place is scheduled to occur within 120 days after the vacancy occurred. Any vacancies in the Council or the Mayor that occur less than 120 days before an election shall, within 30 days, be filled by a majority vote of the remaining Councilmembers, for the unexpired term only, and provided the successor shall possess all qualifications for the position.
Without limitation of the foregoing and among the other powers that may be exercised by the Council, the following are hereby enumerated for greater certainty:
(a) 
Appoint and remove the City Manager.
(b) 
Appoint and remove the Municipal Judge.
(c) 
Appoint and remove the City Attorney.
(d) 
Appoint and remove the City Secretary.
(e) 
Establish administrative departments.
(f) 
Adopt the City budget.
(g) 
Inquire into the conduct of any office, department or agency of the City and make investigations as to municipal affairs upon the decision of a majority of the full City Council.
(h) 
Provide for a planning and zoning commission, board of adjustment, and other boards and commissions as deemed necessary.
(i) 
Adopt and modify the official map of the City.
(j) 
Adopt, modify and carry out plans in cooperation with the Planning Commission for the replanning, reconstruction or redevelopment of any area or district, which may have been destroyed in whole or in part by disaster.
(k) 
Provide for the establishment and designation of fire limits and prescribe the kind and character of buildings or structures or improvements to be erected therein; provide for the erection of fireproof buildings within certain limits; and provide for the condemnation of dangerous structures or buildings or dilapidated building or buildings calculated to increase the fire hazard, and the manner of their removal or destruction.
(l) 
Fix and regulate rates and charges of all City owned utilities and public services.
Except where authorized by law or by this Charter, no Mayor or Councilmember shall hold any other city office or city employment during his/her term as Mayor or Councilmember. No former Mayor or Councilmember shall hold any compensated appointive office or city employment within one year after the expiration of his/her term as Mayor or Councilmember.
Neither the City Council nor any of its members shall direct the City Manager or any of his/her subordinates to appoint any person to any office or employment of the City.
Except for the purpose of inquiry, the City Council and its members shall deal solely with the administration services through the City Manager and neither the City Council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately.
The City Council shall hold at least one regular meeting each month and as many additional meetings as it deems necessary to transact the business of the City. The City Council shall fix by ordinance the date and time of the regular meetings. Special meetings of the City Council shall be held at the call of the mayor or a majority of the Councilmembers upon provision of public notice in accordance with State Law.
A majority of members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transaction of business. No action of the City Council, except as specifically provided in this Charter, shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of Councilmembers present.
The City Council shall determine its own rules of order and business. The City Council shall provide for minutes to be taken and recorded for all meetings, except for closed meetings, as required by law. Such minutes shall be a public record and shall be kept and maintained by the City Secretary.
The City Council shall legislate by ordinance only, the enacting clause of every ordinance shall be: "Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Forney, Texas...". Each proposed ordinance shall be introduced in the written or printed form required for adoption. The subject matter of every ordinance shall be briefly described in the caption. General appropriation ordinances may contain various subjects and accounts for which monies are to be appropriated. After adoption, an ordinance shall not be amended or repealed except by the adoption of another ordinance amending or repealing the original ordinance.
Any member of the City Council may offer any ordinance in writing that has been placed on the agenda at a regular City Council meeting. Copies of the proposed ordinances, in the form required for adoption, shall be furnished to members of the City Council before the meeting.
Every ordinance shall become effective upon adoption or any later time specified in the ordinance, except that every ordinance imposing any penalty, fine or forfeiture shall become effective only after having been published once in its entirety or summary form, after adoption, in a newspaper designated as the official newspaper of the City.
The reading aloud of a title and caption of the ordinance shall suffice as a reading, provided copies of the ordinance in the form required for adoption are in front of all members of the City Council and a reasonable number of additional copies are available to citizens present at the meeting. If a majority of the members present request that the ordinance be read in its entirety, it must be read.
The City Secretary shall authenticate by signature and record in full in a properly indexed book kept for the purpose all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council.
The general codification shall be bound in looseleaf form, together with this Charter and any amendments thereto, and such codes of technical regulations and other rules and regulations as the Council may specify. This compilation shall be known and cited officially as Forney City Codes. Copies of the codes shall be furnished to City officers, placed in public offices for free public reference and made available for purchase by the public at a reasonable price fixed by the Council.
Following publication of the first Forney City Codes and at all times thereafter, the ordinances and Charter amendments shall be printed in substantially the same style as the code currently in effect and shall be in form for integration therein. The Council shall make such further arrangements as it deems desirable with respect to reproduction and distribution of any current changes in or additions to the provisions of the Constitution and other law of the State of Texas, or the codes of technical regulations and other rules and regulations included in the Code.
The City Council shall have the power to inquire into the official conduct of any department, agency, office, officer or employee of the City. For that purpose, the Council shall have the power to administer oaths, subpoena witnesses and compel the production of books, papers or other evidence material to the inquiry. The City Council shall provide by ordinance, penalties for contempt for failing or refusing to obey any such subpoena or to produce any such books, papers, or other evidence, and shall have the power to punish any such contempt in the manner provided by the ordinance.
The Council shall require bonds of all municipal officers and employees who receive or pay out any monies of the City. The amount of such bonds shall be determined by the Council and the cost thereof shall be borne by the City.