(a) Qualifications. Each member of council shall have been for at least one year immediately prior to the date of taking office both a resident and registered voter of the city. Each member of council elected from a ward of the city shall be a resident of the ward from which the member was elected. All members of council shall continue to be residents and registered voters of the city and, if elected or appointed from a ward, shall be and continue to be a resident of that ward.
Any member who ceases to possess those qualifications shall immediately forfeit his or her office. Council shall be the judge of the election and qualification of its members.
(b) Vacancy. Vacancies in council shall be filled by appointment made by the remaining councilmembers. In the event council does not appoint a successor within 60 days of the occurrence of a vacancy, the mayor may fill the vacancy. If the vacancy occurs more than two years and 120 days before the municipal primary election for the next term of that office, the appointee shall serve only until his or her successor is elected and qualified at the next regular municipal election. If the vacancy occurs afterward, the appointee shall serve until the end of the unexpired term of the former councilmember. Any vacancy that results from a recall election shall be filled in the manner provided by Article Nine.