There shall be a council of seven members. Only qualified voters of the city who, at the time of their election or choice to fill a vacancy, have resided within the city at least one year, shall be qualified for the office of councilmember. No councilmember may hold other office or position with compensation in the city government. If any councilmember ceases to be a resident of this city, that councilmember shall thereupon cease to hold office.
(previously amended by Res. 1591 § 2, approved by voters October 3, 1989; Amended by Res. No. 02-2039, approved by voters October 1, 2002)
There shall be a mayor who shall have all the qualifications of a councilman, and in addition must be at least thirty (30) years of age at the time of his election or choice to fill a vacancy. The mayor shall preside at meetings of the council, and shall certify the passage of all ordinances and resolutions passed by it. He shall have no regular administrative duties except that he shall sign such written obligations of the city as the council may require. If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor, the council shall elect a qualified person, who may or may not be a councilman at the time, to be mayor for completion of the unexpired term or until the vacancy is filled by election. If a councilman is elected mayor, his office as councilman shall be vacated upon his taking office as mayor, and then be filled as prescribed elsewhere by this charter.
At the first meeting after the time prescribed for the beginning of the terms of newly elected councilmen or as soon thereafter as practicable, the council shall elect one of its members vice mayor, who shall serve as such until the next such first meeting. The vice mayor shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor, or, if a vacancy occur in the office of mayor, until another mayor is elected by the council and qualifies. If the office of vice mayor becomes vacant, the council shall elect from its members another vice mayor for the completion of the unexpired term. The vice mayor, when acting as mayor, shall continue to have a vote as councilman; but he shall not have veto power.
Should both the mayor and vice mayor be absent from a council meeting, a temporary mayor shall be appointed by the council to serve during such absence.
The compensation of the mayor and councilmen shall be determined by a nonemergency or initiated ordinance; but no increase in the compensation, except when made by ordinance enacted by the qualified voters by initiative, shall become effective until after a regular city election has been held. The mayor and councilmen shall not receive any other compensation for any personal service rendered the city, but may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties.
(Amended by Res. 1591 § 2, approved by voters October 3, 1989)
Except as otherwise provided in this charter, all powers of the city, including the determination of all matters of policy, shall be vested in the council. Without limitation of the foregoing, the council shall have power:
(1) 
To appoint and remove the city manager as provided in this charter;
(2) 
By ordinance to enact legislation relating to any or all subjects and matters not prohibited by the state constitution or by law or by this charter;
(3) 
To adopt the budget, raise revenue and make appropriations, and regulate salaries and wages, and all other fiscal affairs of the city;
(4) 
To inquire into the conduct of any office, department or agency of the city, and investigate municipal affairs;
(5) 
To appoint or elect and remove its own subordinates, personnel in the department of law, the members of the personnel board, and other quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial or advisory officers and authorities, or prescribe the method of appointing or electing and removing them;
(6) 
To create, change and abolish all offices, departments and agencies of the city government other than the offices, departments and agencies created by this charter; and to assign additional powers, duties and functions to offices, departments and agencies created by this charter.
Neither the council, any councilman nor the mayor, may participate in any manner, except as provided in this charter, in the appointment or removal of officers and employees of the city. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the council and the mayor shall deal with the administrative service solely through the city manager.
There shall be a city clerk, who shall be an officer of the city appointed by the council for an indefinite term.
The city clerk shall serve as clerical officer of the council. He shall keep the journal of the proceedings of the council, and shall enroll in a book or books kept for the purpose all ordinances and resolutions passed by it. He shall be custodian of such documents, records and archives as may be provided by law or ordinance; shall be custodian of the seal of the city, and shall attest, and affix the seal to, documents when required in accordance with this charter, law or ordinance; shall keep a correct and up-to-date record of the city boundaries and changes therein; and shall supervise municipal elections and such other elections as may be required by law or ordinance, including voter registration and records; provided that the council by ordinance may vest the supervision of elections in a board.
The council shall hold at least two regular meetings every month at such time and place as it may prescribe by ordinance, resolution or rules of the council. The mayor or any four councilmen may call special meetings. All meetings of the council shall be open to the public, and the journal of its proceedings shall be open to public inspection; but the council may hold executive sessions in the manner allowed by law. All actions of the council shall be taken at public meetings.
(Amended by Res. 1591 § 2, approved by voters October 3, 1989)
If the mayor or any member of the council shall be absent from four consecutive regular meetings of the council, the council may declare his office vacant; and his office shall be automatically vacated if he is absent from more than one-half of all regular meetings held within any six-month period.
The mayor or any councilman may be removed from office for any cause specified by applicable state law, and in the manner prescribed thereby, or by recall as provided in this charter.
The council shall fill vacancies in its own membership, and in the office of mayor for the unexpired terms or until the vacancies are filled at elections as provided herein; provided that, if the number of vacancies is such that the council no longer has enough members to constitute a quorum, then the mayor or the remaining councilmen shall call a special election to fill the vacancies.
If a vacancy occurs before the beginning of a regular filing period for candidates for councilmen, and the unexpired term extends beyond the time when the terms of councilmen elected that year begin, then a mayor or councilman for that place shall be elected at the regular election of that year to serve the rest of the unexpired term beginning at the time the terms of councilmen elected that year begin.
A majority of all of the members of the council shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day or from time to time. The council shall determine its own rules. On the demand of any member, the vote on any question shall be by yeas and nays, and shall be entered in the journal; provided that the council by rules or ordinance may require the vote on any or all questions to be by yeas and nays. A vote of at least a majority of all the councilpersons shall be required for the adoption of every motion. The mayor shall not have a vote except in the case of a tie. The mayor shall vote in the case of a tie. This amendment shall become effective on October 2, 1991.
(Amended by Res. 1633, approved by voters Oct. 2, 1990)
The enacting clause of all ordinances passed by the council shall be, "Be it ordained by the Council of the City of Ketchikan, Alaska", and of all ordinances proposed by the voters under their power of initiative, "Be it ordained by the People of the City of Ketchikan, Alaska".
A proposed ordinance shall be read, and a vote of a majority of all councilmen present shall be required for advancing to second reading. Before a vote on final passage, a proposed ordinance shall be read by title or in full, and a vote of a majority of all the councilmen shall be required for its final passage.
The mayor shall have the power to veto ordinances and resolutions passed by the council; provided that such power is exercised at the meeting of the council at which the ordinance or resolution is finally passed. The mayor shall advise the council in writing no later than the beginning of the next regular meeting of his reasons for vetoing an ordinance or resolution. The council may finally pass an ordinance or resolution over the veto of the mayor at such meeting, whether or not the mayor submits his reasons. An affirmative vote of five members of the council shall be required to pass an ordinance or resolution which has been vetoed by the mayor, and the vote shall be by yeas and nays and shall be entered in the journal.
No ordinance except an emergency ordinance may be finally passed on the same day that it is introduced. Within ten days after its final passage without a veto or final passage over the veto of the mayor, as the case may be, every ordinance shall be published in full or by number and title with a brief summary. All ordinances shall go into effect immediately after such final passage and publication unless they specify a later date.
(Amended by Res. 25-2975 § 2, approved by voters October 7, 2025)
An emergency ordinance is an ordinance which, in the judgment of the council, is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, and which should become effective before an ordinary ordinance would become effective. Every such ordinance shall contain, as a part of its title, the words, "and declaring an emergency"; and in a separate section, herein called the emergency section, shall declare the emergency. An affirmative vote of at least five members of the council shall be required for the final passage of an emergency ordinance.
The council by ordinance may adopt by reference, codes, ordinances, standards and regulations relating to matters which it has power to regulate otherwise. Such code, ordinance, standard or regulation so adopted need not be enrolled in the book of ordinances; but a copy shall be filed and kept in the office of the city clerk. The city clerk shall keep copies of all such codes, ordinances, standards and regulations in force for distribution or sale at their approximate cost.
The ordinances of the city shall be codified and published in book or pamphlet form at least every ten years unless the council, by use of a loose-leaf system, provides for keeping the code up-to-date. Titles, enacting clauses and emergency sections may be omitted from the code; and temporary and special ordinances and parts of ordinances may be omitted. Permanent general ordinances and parts of ordinances which are to be repealed by the code, shall be omitted from the code. The ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the code may be revised, rearranged and reorganized; and the code may contain new matter, provisions of the state constitution and law applicable to the city, and this charter. The council by non-emergency ordinance shall adopt the code. A copy of the code shall be filed and kept in the office of the city clerk after adoption, but the code need not be enrolled in the book of ordinances.
The manager, candidates for elective city office, and elected city officers shall file statements giving income sources and business interests under oath and on penalty of perjury. The statements shall be in a form prescribed by ordinance and shall contain substantially the same information, as may be adjusted for inflation, which the manager, candidates for elective city office, and elected city officers were required to disclose under the Alaska Public Officials' Financial Disclosure Act and regulations in 2006. Candidates for city elective office shall file the statements at the time of filing a nominating petition, declaration of candidacy, or other required filing for appointment or election to elective office. Elected city officials shall file current statements annually by a date set by ordinance. The manager shall file current statements within thirty days of taking office and annually thereafter by a date set by ordinance. All forms shall be filed with the city clerk and shall be made available to the public upon request and without deletions. City officers and candidates for city elective offices shall be exempt from the requirements of the Alaska Public Officials Financial Disclosure Law (Alaska Statutes 39.50) and any amendments thereto.