(a) Any municipality incorporating under this charter after June 30, 1991, shall have at least one (1) ward but not more than eight (8) wards. Any municipality having a population of less than five thousand (5,000) shall upon incorporation have one (1) ward, and its board shall consist of a mayor and two (2) aldermen elected at large. Any municipality having a population of more than five thousand (5,000) shall upon incorporation have two (2) wards, and its board shall consist of a mayor to be elected at large and two (2) aldermen elected from each ward. The mayor and aldermen elected to the first board shall serve the four (4) and two (2) year terms prescribed by § 6-1-207(b). At each election thereafter the mayor and aldermen shall be elected to four (4) year terms, except in transitional elections prescribed by subsection (c). Any municipality that incorporated under this charter after June 30, 1991, and that has a population of less than five thousand (5,000) and has only one (1) ward, may by ordinance increase the number of aldermen to a maximum of four (4) without increasing the number of wards. The ordinance shall provide for staggered four (4) year terms in accordance with § 6-1-207(b), but may provide for transitional terms of less than four (4) years.
(b) (1) Any municipality incorporated after June 30, 1991 may increase or reduce the number of wards, except that municipalities having a population of more than five thousand (5,000) shall not reduce the number of wards below two (2). The board of any municipality having between one (1) and four (4) wards shall consist of a mayor elected at large and two (2) aldermen elected from each ward, except that municipalities having more than one (1) ward may reduce the number of aldermen from each ward from two (2) to one (1). The board of any municipality having between five (5) and eight (8) wards shall consist of a mayor elected at large and one (1) alderman elected from each ward. In wards having more than one (1) alderman, the aldermen shall serve staggered terms of office within their wards.
(2) Any municipality that has only one (1) ward may provide by ordinance for numerical designations for aldermanic positions. After numerical positions have been designated, candidates for alderman shall qualify by indicating on the qualifying petition the position the candidate is seeking. Ballots shall indicate the position to be filled by the selection of candidates listed under “Alderman, position 1,” “Alderman, position 2,” and so on. Any qualified person residing in the municipality may seek an open aldermanic position, but may qualify in any election for only one (1) position.
(c) All increases and reductions in the number of wards and aldermen under this section shall be accomplished only by ordinance passed by a two-third (2/3) vote of the entire membership to which the board is entitled. The ordinance shall:
(1) Take effect at the next municipal election, but shall not affect the present terms of members of the board of mayor and aldermen;
(2) Where appropriate, establish and describe the new ward boundaries;
(3) Provide for a transitional election following the adoption of the ordinance in which the mayor and/or aldermen running for office shall be elected for terms that will expire at the next municipal election;
(4) At the second municipal election following the adoption of the ordinance provide for a system of staggered terms of office under which the mayor is elected for a term of four (4) years, in cities with an even number of wards half the total number of mayor and aldermen running for office are elected to four (4) year terms, in cities with an uneven number of wards one (1) more or one (1) less than half the total number of mayor and aldermen running for office, are elected to four (4) year terms, in both classes of cities the remaining aldermen are elected to two (2) year terms, and following which all aldermen shall be elected for four (4) year terms;
(5) In the case of a ward that has been abolished provide that any alderman whose term extends past the life of a ward shall serve as an alderman at large for the remainder of the term.
[Acts 1991, ch. 154, § 1; Acts 1992, ch. 612, §§ 3, 4; Acts 1996, ch. 652, § 1; Acts 1997, ch. 77; Acts 2003, ch. 261, § 1]