Council shall consist of nine members. All members shall be elected by districts. Each of the districts shall be represented by one member who shall reside in that district.
A council member shall have been a resident of his or her respective district one year next before his or her election, unless absent on the public business of the United States or this Commonwealth, and shall reside in said district of the City while serving as a council member.
Council members shall serve for a term of four years from the first Monday of January following their election. Terms of council members shall be staggered so that four are elected at the same time as the mayor.
Council shall organize on the first Monday of January following each municipal election. At its organization meeting, council shall, by a majority vote of all council members, elect one member to serve as president for the ensuing legislative term of council. Council shall have the power to remove the president by a 2/3 majority vote in the event of misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance, after due notice and an opportunity to be heard. Council shall fill any vacancy in the office of President by a like vote.
The powers of the council president shall be:
a. 
to preside at all meetings of council and to refer all proposed legislation to the proper committee;
b. 
to establish and appoint all committees of council and appoint the chairperson of all committees;
c. 
to dissolve a committee at any time;
d. 
to schedule public hearings of council and preside at them;
e. 
to endorse all rules adopted for the government of council; and,
f. 
to perform other duties which council may assign to the office.
The president of council shall promptly following election appoint any necessary committees. Committees shall be composed of at least three members, who shall serve for the term of the council president unless the committee is earlier dissolved by the president. All members of council may attend and participate in committee meetings, but only committee members shall be permitted a vote.
Members of council shall not:
a. 
hold any office, position or employment in any corporation holding or applying for franchises from the City;
b. 
have a personal or private interest in any legislation proposed or pending before council, unless they;
1. 
disclose the fact to council; and,
2. 
refrain from voting or participating in the discussion of the matter;
c. 
hold any other office, position or employment in the government of the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Pittsburgh or Allegheny County; except:
1. 
officer of member in the federal reserve;
2. 
officer or member in the National Guard of Pennsylvania; or
3. 
member of any authority as limited by section 220. Members of council who violate any of the above provisions shall immediately forfeit their office.
A vacancy on Council shall be filled in a special election within one hundred twenty (120) days of the filing of a Writ of Election.
Within three (3) calendar days of the death, resignation, or removal of a Member of Council, the Council President shall instruct the City Clerk to issue a Writ of Election.
The Clerk shall issue the Writ of Election within four (4) calendar days for a special election to be held within sixty (60) days of the issuance of the writ,
Providing that:
The Writ of Election shall not be issued on the day of a primary, municipal or general election.
A Writ of Election shall not be issued less than sixty (60) days prior to primary, municipal or general election.
A Writ of Election issued to fill a vacancy occurring less than one-hundred (120) days but more than fifty-nine (59) days prior to a primary, municipal or general election shall direct that the special election shall coincide with said primary, municipal, or general election.
The special election shall be held on any day other than a weekend or an official federal, state, or local holiday.
The person elected shall take office as soon as possible after certification of election and shall serve the unexpired portion of the vacated term.
Council shall have the following additional powers:
a. 
to employ or retain its own staff and consultants including a city clerk and an attorney qualified to practice law before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, who may act as legal advisor to council, and may represent council as a body in legal proceedings. Council's attorney shall not represent the City as a municipal corporation in any legal proceeding;
b. 
to conduct investigations in accordance with the provisions of this charter;
c. 
to approve appointments as provided by this charter, except as otherwise mandated by law;
d. 
to exercise the power of removal as provided by this charter;
e. 
to override the veto of the mayor by a two-thirds vote of all the members;
f. 
to call a meeting at any time between council and the mayor jointly to discuss legislation or the business of the City in general, and to compel the attendance of the mayor at a council hearing;
g. 
to authorize the sale of city services outside the City so long as services to the City are not impaired;
h. 
to fix, by resolution, the salary of all elected city officials, but no elected city official shall receive a salary increase that exceed the average percentage of increase in salaries and wages paid to all city employees as based on the previous year's salary. Further, the salary paid to elected city officeholders shall not be diminished during their term of office.
i. 
to exercise other powers conferred by this charter, by law or ordinance, consistent with the provisions of this charter.
Council shall have the power to remove from office for cause any person appointed to office with the required approval of council. Commission of any corrupt act or practice, malfeasance, or the willful commission of any fraud upon the City shall constitute cause for removal. Council shall give any person charged due notice and an opportunity to be heard. Removal shall be effective upon passage of a resolution which receives the affirmative vote of a majority of all council members.
Council shall have the power, by resolution, to authorize investigations to be conducted by council or by a committee of council. Investigations may deal with legislative or administrative matters. The subject of the investigation shall be stated in the resolution authorizing the investigation. Council may reopen the budget to provide funds for the investigation. The presiding officer of council or the committee shall have the power to administer oaths to witnesses.
Council and its committees shall exercise its powers only at meetings which shall be open for public attendance.
All final action in adopting legislation shall be by roll call vote, and the vote of each member of council shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting.
Council shall conduct and hold meetings at which legislation may be introduced and passed at least fifty weeks during the calendar year.
Council may legislate by ordinance or resolution. Ordinances shall deal with general rules of continuing effect. Resolutions shall deal with specific matters such as authorization of contracts, salaries, appropriations and budget transfers. All ordinances and resolutions introduced shall be kept in a place accessible to the public at all reasonable times.
Every ordinance shall have a title clearly expressing its subject. Every ordinance and resolution shall contain only one main subject, shall contain the date of its enactment and shall be signed by the presiding officer of the meeting at which final action is taken. Failure of the presiding officer to sign an ordinance or resolution shall not in any way invalidate an otherwise valid ordinance or resolution.
Council shall not take final action on any legislation until a minimum of seven days has elapsed from the date of its introduction, unless council finds and declares that an urgent reason exists requiring earlier final action. Council shall give public notice of the introduction of legislation within twenty-four hours after it is introduced. Notice shall consist of posting the proposed legislation or its title in a conspicuous public place readily observable by citizens entering the building occupied by council and also by posting in the office of the city clerk.
Council shall not take final action on the following types of legislation without a public hearing which shall be held not less than ten days following public notice published in a newspaper circulated generally in the City:
a. 
salary;
b. 
appropriation or budget matter;
c. 
land use control, such as zoning, subdivision or planning;
d. 
new taxes or increases in the rate of existing taxes;
e. 
creation of an authority or quasi-public agency;
f. 
increase in the amount making a sealed bid procedure unnecessary on contracts; or
g. 
election of all council members at large or by district.
Council shall grant a public hearing to residents of the City:
a. 
on pending legislation, if they deliver a petition requesting a public hearing to the city clerk o later than three days, after notice of the introduction of the proposed legislation, signed by at least twenty-five qualified electors who reside in the City which includes a statement that all petitioners intend to attend the public hearing. Council shall not vote on the proposed legislation until a public hearing is held in response to a properly submitted petition.
b. 
on any matter other than pending legislation providing they deliver a petition meeting all of the above requirements to the city clerk. Council shall schedule the public hearing within a reasonable time after the petition is received by the city clerk.
Council shall submit all proposed legislation to the mayor for approval prior to its effective date. The mayor shall sign the legislation within ten days if approved, but if not, shall return it to council stating objections. Council, at its next meeting, shall reconsider any legislation disapproved by the mayor and may pass it in spite of the mayor's disapproval by a two-thirds vote of all the members. If the mayor fails to sign or return legislation to council with reasons for disapproval, it shall become law as of its effective date, ten days after submission to the mayor. The mayor may disapprove any item in the operating budget or capital budget, subject to reconsideration by council in the same manner as other legislation.
The effective date of an ordinance or resolution shall be the date or recording in the permanent ordinance or resolution record book. Provided, however, that the effective date may be a later date if specifically provided in the ordinance or resolution. Within thirty days after passage, the title or a general summary of each ordinance, conditional use and historic preservation resolution shall be published once in a newspaper circulating generally within the City.
All ordinances and resolutions shall be contained verbatim in permanent separate record books. However, any ordinance may incorporate by reference any standard technical regulation or code or part thereof provided that at least one copy is kept with the permanent record books. The ordinance book and resolution book shall be open and available for inspection by the public during regular business hours.
Within two years after the effective date of this charter, the city solicitor shall review all general ordinances of the City and submit recommendations to council for change or repeal. The city solicitor shall also submit a proposed city code to council for adoption based on the review and recommendations. Following adoption of the code, council shall, with the assistance of the city solicitor, classify all proposed ordinances for inclusion in the code.
Council, after approval, shall publish the city code. Council shall at least annually thereafter publish supplements to the code. Council shall make the code and its supplements available for distribution to any interested citizen. Council shall supply a copy of the city's charter upon request without charge to any citizen of the City.