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8 <br /> <br />CHAPTER 1 – MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> The City Council Handbook includes rules and policies approved by the City <br />Council. <br />The objectives of the handbook are to: <br />1. Serve as a reference document for the City Council; <br />2. Provide comprehensive orientation information for new City Council <br />Members; and <br />3. Enable the City Council to effectively compile and maintain operational <br />practices that are agreed upon. <br />Administration of City Council affairs is greatly enhanced by the agreement of the City <br />Council and staff to be bound by these rules. While attempting not to be overly restrictive, <br />rules are established so that expectations and practices can be clearly articulated to guide <br />Councilmembers in their actions. <br /> <br />GENERAL POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CITY COUNCIL <br />San Leandro is a Charter City governed by a seven-member City Council. The elected <br />officers of the City consist of a Council of six members and the Mayor. All Council <br />Members and the Mayor are elected by the registered voters of the City at large. One <br />Council Member shall be elected from each Council Member district. (Section 200 <br />and 225 (a), City Charter) <br /> <br />The City Council is the legislative body of the City; its members are the community’s <br />decision makers. Power is centralized in the elected Council collectively, and not in <br />individual members of the Council. The Council approves the budget and determines <br />the public services to be provided and the taxes, fees and assessments to pay for <br />these public services. It focuses on the community’s goals, major projects and such <br />long-term considerations as community growth, general plan and land use, <br />development standards, capital improvements, financing and strategic planning. The <br />Council appoints a professional City Manager to carry out the policy and <br />administrative responsibilities. <br /> <br />Councilmembers are not full-time City officials and do not manage the day-to-day <br />activities of the City organization. This is being done by the City Manager under the <br />direction of the City Council. Members of the City Council are elected at large by the <br />electorate on a non-partisan ballot. The seven Councilmembers serve overlapping <br />four-year terms. As the governing body of the community, the City Council carries out <br />its policy making at meetings held in the City Hall Council Chambers at 835 E 14th <br />Street, the first, second and third Mondays of every month commencing at 6:30 p.m. <br />The primary purpose of City Council meetings is to conduct City business. City Council <br />Exhibit A <br />Resolution No. 2026-021 Page 54