§ 3. President.

(a) Election, qualifications, duties, etc.

At the same time that they elect the members, the voters shall elect from Baltimore City at large, a person to be the President of the City Council, who shall possess the qualifications required for the Mayor of the City. It shall be the President's duty to preside over the City Council, vote on all questions and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law. The salary of the President shall be set in the Ordinance of Estimates {read: shall be as provided in Article VII, §§ 117 through 125 of this Charter}.

(b) Removal.

The City Council, by a three-fourths vote of its members, may remove the President of the City Council from office for incompetency, misconduct in office, wilful neglect of duty, or felony or misdemeanor in office, on charges preferred by the Mayor, by the City Council's Committee on Legislative Investigations, a verified petition signed by at least 20% of the qualified voters in Baltimore City, or by the Inspector General, after notice of those charges and an opportunity to be heard by the City Council are given to the President.

The President of the City Council shall not hold office for more than 2 consecutive full terms of office and in no event shall hold the office for more than 8 years during any 12 year period. This provision shall not preclude an elected President from seeking other elected offices within Baltimore City after two consecutive terms as President. In the event that an elected President takes office as a result of a removal or vacancy described in §§ 3 or 4 of this Article, that elected President shall only be eligible to hold that office for the remainder of the predecessor's unexpired term and 1 consecutive full term thereafter.