(a) A council member shall hold office for a term beginning at noon on the first Monday of December next following the election of the council member and ending at noon on the first Monday of December in the fourth year thereafter, or until a successor is qualified.
(b) No council member may serve more than three consecutive terms.
(c) For purposes of the restriction imposed by subsection (b), a council member who has been appointed to fill a vacancy and who has served two or more years of that term shall be considered to have served one full term. An appointed council member who serves less than a two-year term shall be considered, solely for purposes of the subsection (b) restriction, not to have served a term as a council member.