CHAPTER 4 Council
Section 12. Rules.
The council shall, by ordinance, prescribe rules to govern its meetings and proceedings.
Section 13. 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 14. Quorum.
A majority of the council constitutes a quorum for its business, but a smaller number of the council may meet and compel attendance of absent councilors as prescribed in council rules.
Section 15. Record of Proceedings.
A record of council proceedings shall be kept and authenticated in a manner prescribed by council rules.
Section 16. 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 council rules.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the mayor may temporarily cease to chair the 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 17. Council President.
(1) The term of office of the council president in office when this charter is adopted is the term of office for which the president has been elected. At the first meeting after each general election after the adoption, the council shall elect a president from its councilors.
(2) Except in voting on questions before the council, the president shall function as mayor when the mayor is:
(a) Absent from a council meeting or
(b) Unable to function as mayor.
Section 18. Vote Required.
Except as Sections 11, 20, 22, and 32 of this charter prescribe 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 19. Vacancies: Occurrence.
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
(2) Upon the council’s declaration of a vacancy in case of the incumbent’s:
(a) Failure, following election or appointment to the office, to qualify for the office within 3 days after the time for his or her term of office to begin,
(b) Absence from meetings of the council for 30 days without consent of the council,
(c) Ceasing to reside in the city,
(d) Ceasing to be a qualified elector under state law,
(e) Conviction of a public offense punishable by loss of liberty, or
(f) Resignation from the office.
Section 20. Vacancies: Filling.
(1) A vacancy in the council shall be filled by appointment by a majority of the council. The appointee’s term of office shall run from the time of his or her qualifying for the office after the appointment and until expiration of the term of the predecessor who has left the office vacant.
(2) During a council member’s disability to serve on the council or during a member’s absence from the city, a majority of the other council members may by appointment fill the vacancy pro tem.