(a) Number of Wards. There shall be three City Council wards.
(b) Ward Boundary Commission. The Council shall appoint three qualified voters, one from each of the three Council wards, determined from the registration for the last statewide general election, who shall comprise the Ward Boundary Commission. The voters chosen shall not be employed by the City in any other capacity.
(c) Report; Specifications. By the first day of January of every tenth year from the adoption of this Charter, the Ward Boundary Commission shall file with the City Clerk a report containing a recommended plan for adjustment of the ward boundaries to comply with these specifications:
(1) Each ward shall be formed of compact, contiguous territory, as nearly rectangular as possible, and its boundary lines shall follow the center lines of streets.
(2) Each ward shall contain as nearly as possible the same number of qualified voters, determined from the registration for the last statewide general election, but wards shall not differ in population by more than 10 percent of the voters in the smallest ward created.
The report shall include a map and description of the wards recommended and shall be drafted as a proposed ordinance introduced by a Council member.
(d) Procedure. The procedure of the Council's consideration of the report shall be the same as for other ordinances.
(e) Failure to Enact Ordinance. The Council shall adopt the ordinance at least 90 days before the next regular City election. If the Council fails to do so by such date, all councilmembers to be elected at such election shall be at large and shall serve as councilmembers at large until their terms of office expire. After such an election at large, the Ward Boundary Commission shall reconvene and adjust the ward boundaries in accordance with the specifications, requirements and procedures earlier provided in this section, except that the ordinance shall be enacted at least 90 days before the next regular election following such election at large.
(f) Effect of Enactment. The new Council wards and boundaries, as of the date of enactment, shall supersede previous Council wards and boundaries for all the purposes of the next regular City election, including nominations. The new wards and boundaries shall supersede previous wards and boundaries for all other purposes as of the date on which all councilmembers elected at that regular election take office.