A. The officers of the Council shall be a council chair and a council vice-chair.
B. At the first regular council meeting of each calendar year (or after an officer vacancy occurs), or as soon thereafter as is practicable:
1. The council shall elect one (1) of its members to be council chair and another one (1) of its members to be council vice-chair, each for a one-calendar year term;
2. Officers "hold-over" until their replacements are elected; and
3. The acting council chair at the beginning of the meeting shall be the council chair from the prior calendar year or, in the alternative, the council vice-chair from the prior calendar year; otherwise, a council member temporarily appointed for this purpose by a motion approved by a majority vote of the Council.
C. All council members present at the meeting are eligible to be candidates for council chair or council vice-chair, subject to the following provisions:
1. A council member may only serve as council chair or acting council chair for two (2) consecutive calendar years (and may not serve again without a break of one (1) calendar year), except as provided in subsection D.1.d.;
2. One hundred eighty (180) days or more of a calendar year counts as one (1) calendar year and less than one hundred eighty (180) days of a calendar year counts as zero (0) calendar years;
3. There are no term limits for serving as council vice-chair; and
4. Election as council vice-chair does not mandate succession to the Office of Council Chair.
D. At the council meeting described above:
1. The acting council chair shall, in the following order and in a manner materially similar to the following:
a. Ask all the council members present, at the same time, to declare if they choose to be considered for the position of council chair;
b. State that the declarations are closed and restate the names of those who are declared as candidates and those who are not candidates, and provide an opportunity for candidates to withdraw; and then restate the names of the candidates one more time;
c. If there is only one (1) candidate, entertain a council member making a motion to elect this candidate as council chair, and comply with the procedures of subsection D.3. if the candidate receives a "majority vote" of the council (at least four (4) votes);
d. If there are no candidates, and a council member who could not be a candidate due to the term limits provision of subsection C.1. declares his/her desire to be elected as council chair, entertain a council member making a motion to elect this council member as council chair, and comply with the procedures of subsection D.3. if the council member receives a majority vote; otherwise, the council chair and council vice-chair from the last calendar year shall continue to hold over or, in the event of an officer vacancy, be replaced by an acting council chair or acting council vice-chair temporarily appointed by an approved motion until an election is held pursuant to this section resulting in the election of a new council chair and council vice-chair;
e. If there are two (2) or more candidates, direct the council office director to deliver a "closed ballot" (which may be in paper, electronic, or other form) to each council member, so that each council member may indicate on the closed ballot the candidate for whom the council member's vote is cast or that the council member abstains;
f. Direct the council office director to tally the closed ballot votes and to announce the number of votes for each candidate (in a manner that does not disclose which council members voted for which candidates);
g. Utilize the "run-off" procedures in subsection D.2., if necessary;
h. Declare the candidate receiving a majority vote to be duly elected as the council chair and comply with the procedures of subsection D.3.; and
i. If no candidate has received a majority vote after these actions (due to an absent council member, an abstaining vote, or otherwise), continue to be acting council chair for the rest of the council meeting and the next council meeting, at which time this process shall be repeated.
2. If no candidate received a majority vote as a result of the initial voting process and at least three (3) candidates received at least one (1) vote each, the two (2) candidates with the highest number of votes shall be immediately voted upon in a "run-off," using the same type of closed ballot vote. A coin or a 6-sided die may be used, at the direction of the acting council chair, to immediately reduce the number of candidates to two (2), in the event of a tie preventing the occurrence of only two (2) final candidates. See the following two (2) examples:
a. Example A: In the initial vote, there are three (3) candidates and the votes cast are three (3) for council member A, two (2) for council member B, and two (2) for council member C. Council member A is automatically in the run-off vote and the tie between the other two (2) candidates is broken by a coin toss in favor of council member C. A run-off vote is then held, and council member A is elected by four (4) votes (compared to three (3) votes for council member C); and
b. Example B: In the initial vote, there are three (3) candidates and the votes cast are two (2) for council member A, two (2) for council member B, and two (2) for council member C, with one (1) council member absent. The acting council chair declares that a six (6)-sided die will be used to break the tie, with council member A to be eliminated if a one (1) or two (2) is rolled, with council member B to be eliminated if a three (3) or four (4) is rolled, and with council member C to be eliminated if a five (5) or six (6) is rolled. The tie is broken by a roll of four (4), thus eliminating council member B and allowing for a run-off vote between the other two (2) candidates. Council member C is then elected by four (4) votes (compared to two (2) votes for council member A).
3. If a council chair was elected:
a. The newly elected council chair may immediately act as council chair for the remainder of the meeting;
b. The election of the council vice-chair shall then be immediately held using the process described above, except that the council member elected as council chair shall not be eligible to be a candidate for council vice-chair; if a council chair was not elected, an election for council vice-chair shall not be held; and
c. A resolution shall be voted upon by the city council to certify that the results of the election for council chair (and council vice-chair, if applicable) are accurate and that the process complied with state law, city code, and any other applicable rules and policies.
E. The Council, by resolution in a public meeting, may terminate the term of the council chair or council vice-chair and may proceed to fill (by election) the vacancy for the remainder of the calendar year, as set forth herein. The Council may likewise fill (by election) an officer vacancy that occurs due to change of residence, resignation, or any other reason, for the remainder of the calendar year, as set forth herein.
F. No additional oath of office or ceremony is required for the council chair or council vice-chair.
G. The council chair shall occupy the center seat. Any acting council chair may continue to occupy the regularly assigned seat. (Ord. 19-32, 10-23-2019, Effective at 12 noon on January 6, 2020; amd. Ord. 20-27, 8-26-2020; Ord. 21-06, 3-24-2021)