Common Council

The Marion Common Council is both the City’s legislative and financial body.

Members of the Common Council or “City Council” are part-time elected officials who serve for a term of four years. They are not subject to term limits and may run for reelection as many times as they wish. As the City’s legislative body, the Council uses many of the powers given to cities through the passage of ordinances and appropriation of monies.

The Council fixes the annual salaries of all elected officials of the City, which may not be changed in the year for which they are fixed, or reduced below the previous year’s level.

The Council also establishes the salaries of members of the City’s police and fire departments. It also has the authority to reduce, but not increase, any other items in the City budget as submitted by the mayor for its approval.

A Council member must have been a resident of the district from which he or she is elected, if any, for at least six months before the election, and must have been a resident of the city for at least one year before the election. If the Council member ceases to be a resident of the city or a resident of the district from which the council member was elected, the member forfeits his or her office.

Three members of the Common Council represent the city at-large (citywide), and six members represent six individual districts or wards, to make the city an even better place to live and work.