CHAPTER IV
COUNCIL
Sections:
Section 16. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS.
Section 17. PROCEEDINGS TO BE PUBLIC.
Section 18. MAYOR’S FUNCTIONS AT COUNCIL MEETINGS.
Section 19. COUNCIL PRESIDENT.
Section 21. VACANCIES: OCCURRENCES.
Section 22. VACANCIES: FILLING.
Section 13. RULES.
The council shall, by resolution, prescribe rules to govern its meetings and proceedings.
Section 14. MEETINGS.
The council shall meet in the city regularly at least once a month at a time and place designated by council rules and may meet at other times in accordance with the rules.
Section 15. QUORUM.
A majority of the council constitutes a quorum for its business, but a smaller number may meet and compel the attendance of absent members in a manner provided by ordinance.
Section 16. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS.
A record of council proceedings shall be kept and authenticated in a manner prescribed by the council.
Section 17. PROCEEDINGS TO BE PUBLIC.
No action by the council shall have legal effect unless the motion for the action and the vote by which it is disposed of take place at proceedings open to the public.
Section 18. MAYOR’S FUNCTIONS AT COUNCIL MEETINGS.
(1) When present at council meetings the mayor shall:
(a) Preside over deliberations of the council,
(b) Preserve order,
(c) Enforce council rules, and
(d) Determine the order of business under the rules.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the mayor may temporarily cease to chair a council meeting and delegate the functions described in subsection (1) to another council member.
(3) The Mayor is a voting member of the council.
Section 19. COUNCIL PRESIDENT.
(1) At its first meeting after this charter takes effect and at its first meeting of each odd-numbered year, the council shall appoint a president from its councilors.
(2) The president shall function as mayor when the mayor is:
(a) Absent from a council meeting, or
(b) Unable to function as mayor.
Section 20. VOTE REQUIRED.
Except as this charter prescribes otherwise, the express concurrence of a majority of the council members present and constituting a quorum is necessary to decide affirmatively a question before the council.
Section 21. VACANCIES: OCCURRENCES.
The office of a member of the council becomes vacant:
(1) Upon the incumbent’s:
(a) Death,
(b) Adjudicated incompetence,
(c) Recall from the office, or
(d) Conviction of a felony.
(2) Upon declaration by the council of the vacancy in case of the incumbent’s:
(a) Failure, following election or appointment to the office, to qualify for the office within ten days after the time for their term of office to begin,
(b) Absence from the city for 30 days without the council’s consent or from all meetings of the council within a 60-day period;
(c) Ceasing to reside in the city,
(d) Ceasing to be a qualified elector under state law, or
(e) Resignation from the office.
Section 22. VACANCIES: FILLING.
A vacancy in the council shall be filled by appointment by a majority of the council. The appointee’s term of office begins at the time they qualify for the office after the appointment and until expiration of the term of the predecessor who has left the office vacant. During a council member’s inability to serve on the council during a member’s absence from the city, a majority of the other council members may by appointment fill the vacancy pro tem.