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The City of Muscatine is governed by a mayor and seven council members. The mayor serves for a two year term and is elected at large by the citizens of Muscatine. The seven council members are elected from five separate wards in the City of Muscatine and two are elected at large representing the entire community. The council members are elected for four-year staggered terms. Each odd number year, the mayor and council members are elected by the voters. All legislative and policy forming powers of the city are vested in, exercised and determined by the city council. The city council appoints a city administrator to carry out the policies formulated by the council, in addition to other duties prescribed by the City Code. Order of Business By necessity, at each meeting, the council follows a regular order of business. Since there are generally many matters for the council to consider, the agenda is prepared in advance. Items must be received in the city clerk's office the Monday prior to each council meeting in order to appear on the agenda and to be considered at that particular meeting. The city council meets the first and third Thursday of each month in regular session, and on the second Thursday of the month, the council meets in an in-depth session at which time they study and investigate various problems and projects of the city. Subjects on the agenda usually have been investigated so the council can have all available facts at the meeting prior to making a decision. Actions of the Council Business presented to the city council is disposed by one of the following actions: Motions - A motion is ordinarily used to indicated the majority of procedural actions, such as an application for license. Referral - When council is not prepared to take definite action or when further study is needed, they may refer a matter to a committee, board, or administrative official for study and report. Resolution - A resolution is broader in scope than a motion and usually covers more items than can be included in a motion; however, a resolution is usually adapted by a motion on a roll call vote. Ordinance - An ordinance or an amendment to an ordinance is a "legislative act" and requires readings at three separate meetings before it can finally be adopted. An ordinance is the most binding and permanent type of council action and can be appealed or amended only by a subsequent ordinance. Depending on the type of ordinance, the council may hold a public hearing which provides the community with official notice that comments will be accepted by council prior to making a decision on the ordinance. Citizen Participation At hearings held by council, residents who are directly involved are invited to attend and are urged to express their views on the subject under discussion. Hearings on all matters are always held under public hearings on the agenda. Citizen participation is also invited at all regular meetings, however, experiences have shown that routine matters often could be handled faster if taken up directly with the department providing the service. Opportunity is provided for citizens to address Council under item #5 of the agenda. The Rules of Council require that a person address Council by giving their name and address and may present the matter either verbally or in writing, and if in writing, a copy should be furnished to the city clerk. Time allotted is five minutes. Form of Agenda
All meetings start at 7:00 p.m.
Iowa voter registration qualification require a person to be a United States citizen, a resident of the state and be at least 18 years of age. Persons may register to vote, change their voting address, or change their legal voting name, at the county auditor's office. City ordinance provides municipal elections be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd numbered years. At each election the office of the mayor is elected for a two-year term. The five council members from the city's five wards and two council members at large are elected for four-year staggered terms. An eligible elector may become a candidate for a city office by filing with the city clerk a valid petition requesting that his name be placed on the ballot for that office. The petition must be filed not more than 65 days nor less than 40 days before the date of the election and must be signed by not less than 25 eligible electors. The petition of a person seeking election from a ward must contain signatures of persons who are residents of the ward both at the time he files the petition and at the time of the election. To be an eligible elector either for candidacy or for signing nomination petitions, a person must posses all the qualifications necessary to entitle him to register to vote, whether or not he is in fact registered. City ordinance provides that nomination be made in the manner provided by chapter 45 of the Code of Iowa, in lieu of a primary election or run-off election system. |