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The first meeting of the council in each year shall be held on the first Wednesday after the first Monday of January at noon. All meetings of the council shall be held as provided by its rules; provided, however, that at least two stated meetings shall be held each month, except in its discretion in July and August. A majority of the council members shall constitute a quorum. At least thirty-six hours prior to a stated meeting of the council, or as soon as practicable prior to a special meeting, the council shall publish and make publicly available a proposed agenda for such meeting, including a list of all proposed local laws or resolutions to be considered at such meetings.
The mayor may at any time call special meetings of the council. He shall also call a special meeting when a requisition for that purpose signed by five council members has been presented to him. Not less than one day before a special meeting is held, notice of the time thereof and of the business proposed to be transacted, signed by the mayor, shall be published in the City Record, and at the same time the city clerk shall cause a copy of such notice to be left at or sent by post to the usual place of abode or of business of each council member; but want of service of a notice upon any council member shall not affect the validity of the meeting. No business shall be transacted at such special meetings other than that specified in the notice relating thereto.
The council shall elect from among its members a speaker and such other officers as it deems appropriate. The speaker shall preside over the meetings of the council. During any period when the public advocate is acting as mayor, or when a vacancy exists in the office of the public advocate, the speaker shall act as public advocate pending the filling of the vacancy pursuant to subdivision c of section twenty-four, and shall be a member of every board of which the public advocate is a member by virtue of his or her office.
The council may elect a sergeant-at-arms and such research, drafting, clerical and other assistants as are needful to its purposes, within the appropriation provided therefor. It may appoint committees and shall appoint a finance committee properly staffed to consider budgetary and related matters and a land use committee consisting of at least one council member from each borough; shall be the judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members, subject, however, to review by any court of competent jurisdiction; shall keep a public journal of its proceedings; shall make a complete transcript of each of its meetings and committee hearings available for public inspection free of charge within sixty days after such meeting or hearing and provide a copy of any requested pages of such transcript at a reasonable fee to cover copying and, if relevant, mailing costs; shall sit with open doors; shall have authority to compel the attendance of absent members and to punish its members for disorderly behavior, and to expel any member, after charges and a hearing, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the council members.
The council shall determine the rules of its own proceedings at the first stated meeting of the council in each year and shall file a copy with the city clerk. Such rules shall include, but not be limited to, rules that the chairs of all standing committees be elected by the council as a whole; that the first-named sponsor of a proposed local law or resolution be able to require a committee vote on such proposed local law or resolution; that a majority of the members of the council be able to discharge a proposed local law or resolution from committee; that committees shall provide reasonable advance notice of committee meetings to the public; that all committee votes be recorded and made available to the public; that for council members, earning outside income, as defined in such rules, is prohibited.
(Am. L.L. 2016/020, 2/19/2016, eff. 2/19/2016)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 2016/020.
Within appropriations for such purpose, the council shall establish a structure within the City Council and retain professional staff to review and analyze proposed budgets and departmental estimates, requests for new taxes or changes in taxes, budget modifications, capital borrowings and mayoral management reports. Such staff shall assist the committees of the council and Council Members in their analysis of proposed legislation and in review of the performance and management of city agencies.
a. The council shall appoint a clerk, who shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law. The clerk so appointed shall be the city clerk and the clerk of the council, and shall hold office for six years and until such clerk's successor shall be appointed and has qualified. The city clerk shall have charge of all the papers and documents of the city, except such as are by law committed to the keeping of the several departments or of other officers. The city clerk shall keep the record of the proceedings of the council and shall also keep a separate record of all the local laws of the city in a book to be provided for that purpose, with proper indices, which book shall be deemed a public record of such local laws, and each local law shall be attested by said clerk. Copies of all papers duly filed in the office of the city clerk, and transcripts thereof and of the records of proceedings of the council and copies of the laws, ordinances and local laws of the city, certified by the city clerk under the corporate seal of the city, shall be admissible in evidence in all courts and places in the same manner and for the same purposes as papers or documents similarly authenticated by the clerk of a county. The city clerk may be removed on charges by a two-third vote of all the council members, subject, however, to judicial review. The city clerk shall collect such fees as shall be fixed by law.
b. It shall be the duty of the city clerk to keep open for inspection at all reasonable times the records and minutes of the proceedings of the council. The city clerk shall keep the seal of the city, and his or her signature shall be necessary to all grants and other documents, except as otherwise provided by law. In the absence of the clerk by sickness or otherwise, the first deputy clerk shall be vested with and possessed of all the rights and powers and be charged with all the duties by law imposed upon the clerk. In the absence of the first deputy clerk, the city clerk by an instrument in writing may designate one of his or her clerks, who shall be vested with and possessed of all the rights and powers and charged with all the duties by law imposed upon said clerk. The signature of the person so designated shall be in place of and of the same force and effect as the signature of the city clerk. Such designation shall be made in triplicate and shall be duly filed and remain of record in the city clerk's office and in the offices of the mayor and of the comptroller, but the designation shall be for a period not exceeding three months and shall not extend beyond the city clerk's term of office and shall be at all times revocable by the city clerk.