The City Attorney, when appointed, shall be legal advisor to the Mayor and the City Council and shall undertake all legal matters of the city as set forth by state statutes. He or she shall commence, prosecute and defend all suits and actions necessary to be commenced, prosecuted or defended on behalf of the city, or that may be ordered by the Council. When requested, he or she shall attend meetings of the Council and give it his or her opinion upon any matters submitted to him or her either orally or in writing as may be required. He or she shall draft or review for legal correctness ordinances, contracts, franchises and other instruments as may be required, and he or she shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him or her by general law or ordinance. He or she shall prepare complaints, attend and prosecute violations of the city ordinances when directed to do so by the City Council. The city may, from time to time, hire a special prosecutor to prosecute violations of the city ordinances. When such special prosecutor is appointed, the City Attorney will be relieved of prosecuting such violations. In the event that a special prosecutor is not retained by the city, the City Attorney shall appear and prosecute all cases for violation of the city ordinances that have been appealed to and are pending in any higher court. He or she shall also examine, when requested to do so by the City Council, the ordinance records and advise and assist the City Clerk as much as may be necessary to the end that each procedural step will be taken in the passage of each ordinance to ensure that they will be valid and subsisting local laws in so far as their passage and approval are concerned. The City Council shall have the right to pay the City Attorney compensation for legal services performed by him or her for it on such terms as the City Council and attorney may agree and to employ additional legal assistance and to pay for such legal assistance out of the funds of the city.