[Effective December 15, 2010, Section 2.01 shall read as follows:]
The legislative body of said City shall consist of five (5)
persons elected at large, which body shall be known as the Council.
The members of the Council shall be elected by the qualified
voters of said City at a general Municipal Election to be held therein
every even-numbered year as hereinafter provided. At the meeting when
the election results of a general Municipal election are presented
to the Council as being duly canvassed and certified by the county,
the qualified persons shall then be inducted into office. A person
elected to the City Council shall hold office for a period of four
(4) years from the day of their induction and until their successors
are elected and qualified. A person elected, unless otherwise removed
from office, is entitled to serve a four-year term from the date of
induction.
The Council as thus newly constituted shall then elect one of
its members as its presiding officer, who shall have the title of
Mayor. The Council shall also designate one of its members as Vice-Mayor.
The Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties of the Mayor during his or
her absence or disability. The officials so chosen shall hold their
respective offices subject to the pleasure of the Council.
Members of the Council shall not be eligible to any other office
or employment with the City, other than as in this Charter expressly
provides.
No person not an elector of the City shall be eligible to hold
office as a member of the City Council, and no person shall be eligible
for nomination for such office without having been a resident of the
city for thirty (30) days immediately preceding nomination. (Amended,
ratified, April 13, 1976; November 5, 1996; November 4, 2008)
Any person who shall have served two (2) successive terms as
a member of the Council shall be ineligible to serve again in the
office until an intervening period of two (2) years has elapsed. For
the purposes hereof, any person who serves as a Councilmember for
two (2) years or more of an unexpired term, or two (2) years or more
of an elected term, shall be considered to have served a term. (Amended,
ratified, November 5, 1974; April 21, 1981)
This section shall be implemented as of May, 1981. (Added, ratified,
April 21, 1981)
The order of names and candidates for council shall be determined
by lot, conducted by the City Clerk, and the names placed on the ballot
as determined by the said lot drawing. (Added, ratified, November
5, 1974)
The regular meetings of the Council shall be held on the first
and third Mondays of each month, at a time set by resolution or ordinance
passed by the City Council, except in case Monday is a holiday, in
which event the Council may select another day for the meeting during
that week. But any regular meeting may be adjourned to a date certain,
which adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes.
Special meetings may be called in a manner consistent with the laws
of the State of California.
All meetings of the Council shall be convened in the Council
Chambers of the City Hall but may thereafter be adjourned to such
other location as may be selected by the Council. All meetings of
the Council shall be open to the public. If, by reason of fire, flood
or other emergency, it shall be unsafe to meet at the City Hall, the
meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such place
as is designated by the Mayor, or, if the Mayor should fail to act,
by four (4) members of the Council. (Amended, ratified, August 7,
1952; April 21, 1981; June 7, 1994; November 5, 1996; November 4,
2008)
A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of any business, but a less number may adjourn from time
to time and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner
and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance.
The affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall be necessary
to adopt any ordinances, resolutions or claims against the City, which
vote shall be taken by ayes and noes and entered upon the record.
All proposed ordinances introduced in the Council shall be in
printed or typewritten form. The enacting clause of all ordinances
passed by the Council shall read as follows: "The Council of the City
of Albany does ordain as follows": The enacting clause of all ordinances
initiated by the people shall read as follows: "The people of the
City of Albany do ordain as follows":
No ordinance shall be passed by the Council on the day of its
introduction, nor within five (5) days thereafter. A proposed ordinance
may be amended or modified between the time of its introduction and
the time of its passage, providing its general scope and original
purpose is retained. All ordinances shall be signed by the Mayor and
attested by the City Clerk, and shall be published at least once in
an official newspaper of the City of Albany, of general circulation,
or posted at three (3) public places within the City, before becoming
effective; provided, any ordinance declared by the Council to be necessary
as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health or
safety, and containing the reasons for its urgency, may be introduced
and passed at one and the same meeting, and, if passed by a four-fifths
vote, shall become effective immediately.
The Council, by resolution, shall designate three (3) public
places within the City of Albany where said ordinances may be posted.
(Ratified February 20, 1940)
The Mayor shall be the executive head of the City. In case of
riot, insurrection or extraordinary emergency, the Mayor shall assume
general control of the City government and all of its branches, and
be responsible for the suppression of disorders and the restoration
of normal conditions. In the name and on behalf of the City, the Mayor
shall sign all contracts, deeds, bonds and other legal instruments
in which the City is a party. The Mayor shall represent the City in
all ceremonial functions of a social or patriotic character where
it is desirable or appropriate to have the City represented officially
thereat. (Amended, ratified November 8, 2016)
Effective December 15, 2010, each member of the City Council
shall receive the amount of three hundred dollars ($300.00) per month
in salary as authorized for general law cities by
Government Code
Section 36516(a), or as the same may be amended from time to time.
(Ratified November 4, 2008)