The Council shall exercise a power only by the passage of a motion, a resolution, an amendment or an ordinance in the following manner.
(A) Approved action by Council.
(1) Passage of an ordinance, amendment or resolution requires a majority vote of all of the members of the Council, except when the Mayor may vote to break a tie vote in a city with an even number of Council members, as provided in Iowa Code § 372.4.
(2) Passage of a motion requires a majority vote of a quorum of the Council. A resolution must be passed to spend public funds in excess of $100,000 on a public improvement project, or to accept public improvements and facilities upon their completion.
(3) Each Council member’s vote on a measure must be recorded. A measure which fails to receive sufficient votes for passage shall be considered defeated. ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL refers to all of the seats of the Council including a vacant seat and a seat where the member is absent, but does not include a seat where the Council member declines to vote by reason of conflict of interest.
(4) A measure voted upon is not invalid by reason of a conflict of interest in a member of the Council, unless the vote of the member of the Council was decisive to passage of the measure. The vote must be computed on the basis of the number of members not disqualified by reason of conflict of interest.
(5) However, a majority of all members is required for a quorum. For the purpose of this section, the statement of a Council member that the Council member declines to vote by reason of conflict of interest is conclusive and must be entered of record.
(B) Over-riding Mayor’s veto. Within 30 days after the Mayor’s veto, the Council may re-pass the ordinance or resolution by a vote of not less than two-thirds of the Council members, and the ordinance or resolution becomes effective upon re-passage and publication.
(C) Measures become effective. Measures passed by the Council, other than motions, become effective in one of the following ways.
(1) If the Mayor signs the measure, a resolution becomes effective immediately upon signing and an ordinance or amendment becomes a law when published, unless a subsequent effective date is provided within the measure.
(2) If the Mayor vetoes a measure and the Council re-passes the measure after the Mayor’s veto, a resolution becomes effective immediately upon re-passage, and an ordinance or amendment becomes a law when published, unless a subsequent effective date is provided within the measure.
(3) If the Mayor takes no action on the measure a resolution becomes effective 14 days after the date of passage and an ordinance or amendment becomes law when published, but not sooner than 14 days after the day of passage, unless a subsequent effective date is provided within the measure.
(2011 Code, § 3.0303)