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8 CHAPTER 1 – MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL GENERAL POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CITY COUNCIL San Leandro is a Charter City governed by a seven-member City Council. The elected officers of the City consist of a Council of six members and the Mayor. All Council Members and the Mayor are elected by the registered voters of the City at large. One Council Member shall be elected from each Council Member district. (Section 200 and 225 (a), City Charter) The City Council is the legislative body of the City; its members are the community’s decision makers. Power is centralized in the elected Council collectively, and not in individual members of the Council. The Council approves the budget and determines the public services to be provided and the taxes, fees and assessments to pay for these public services. It focuses on the community’s goals, major projects and such long-term considerations as community growth, general plan and land use, development standards, capital improvements, financing and strategic planning. The Council appoints a professional City Manager to carry out the policy and administrative responsibilities. Councilmembers are not full-time City officials and do not manage the day-to-day activities of the City organization. This is being done by the City Manager under the direction of the City Council. Members of the City Council are elected at large by the electorate on a non-partisan ballot. The seven Councilmembers serve overlapping four-year terms. As the governing body of the community, the City Council carries out its policy making at meetings held in the City Hall Council Chambers at 835 E 14th Street, the first, second and thirds Mondays of every month commencing at 6:30 p.m. The primary purpose of the City Council meetings is to conduct City business in compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Ca Gov Code §54950) which requires City Council meetings to be open to the public except under specific circumstances where closed session meetings are authorized. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE MAYOR San Leandro Charter Section 305 sets forth the duties of the Mayor. The Mayor shall be the political head of the City. The Mayor shall: (a) Recommend City policy; (b) Recommend to the Council appropriate and necessary legislation; (c) Recommend programs for the physical, economic, social and cultural development of the City; (d) Be responsible for public relations activities and represent the City for ceremonial purposes; (e) Represent the City in intergovernmental relations, personally or by delegated representative, at the direction of the Council; (f) Preside at meetings of the Council; (g) Establish and dissolve ad hoc committees, subject to approval by the Council; (h) Possess the authority to suspend implementation of any action taken by the