[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)