§ 3-107. Organization of the Council; Officers; Rules; Employees.

(1)

The members of the Council shall take office on the same day as the Mayor in accordance with Section 4-201 of this Charter. The Council shall meet in the Council Chamber at the City Hall for organization at noon on the day its members take office, at which time it shall elect one at-large member as President and any one of its other members as Vice-President, both of whom shall serve at pleasure of the Council. It shall also elect a Clerk of Council who shall not be selected from its own membership. In the event of the President's absence or disability, the Vice-President shall act as President. All councilmembers, including the President, shall have the right to vote in the Council at all times, except when a councilmember-at-large is serving as Acting Mayor, in which case the councilmember-at-large may vote on such matters and for the limited purposes as provided in Section 4-204 of this Charter. Five members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.

(2)

The Council shall adopt rules governing its officers and employees, the organization of committees, and the transaction of its business.

(3)

The Council shall adopt such reasonable rules and regulations, which are used herein synonymously, affecting the public, including regulations relating to petitions or applications to be presented to it and the hearing and determination thereof, as are not inconsistent with applicable law and as are necessary to the performance of the functions assigned to it, provided that no such regulations shall become effective until they shall have been published in the official journal at least one week prior to their adoption and shall have been subsequently adopted by the Council. The regulations shall also be published in the official journal after adoption by the Council. Such regulations shall be kept and indexed by the Clerk of Council, who shall make them available to members of the public upon request.

(4)

Consistent with civil service law and regulations, the Council may employ such employees as may be necessary for the proper discharge of its functions and shall establish by ordinance a pay plan for all its employees who are in the unclassified service.

(5)

The rules of the Council shall provide for regular meetings, which shall be held twice a month, provided that the Council may call additional regular meetings during the months of November and December by giving at least seventy-two hours advance public notice of an additional regular meeting. The Council's rules shall fix the time, date, and place of all regular meetings. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Mayor or President of the Council and shall be called by the President upon petition of a majority of all members of the Council.

(6)

Any person shall be entitled upon request in writing to the Clerk of Council and subject to such regulation as the Council may have prescribed, to a reasonable hearing on any proposed ordinance. The Council may in its discretion provide for such hearing by the entire Council or a Committee thereof.

(7)

The Clerk of Council shall maintain a current and comprehensive index of all ordinances, resolutions, motions, rules, and regulations. Further, the Clerk of Council shall publish or cause to be published a current City Charter.