City Council

Contents

Meeting Materials

The City of Columbia is a charter city with a Council-Manager form of government. Under the Council-Manager form of government, the Mayor and City Council establishes policy and law, and the City Manager handles the day-to-day management of the City organization.

The City Council consists of seven (7) members, each of whom shall be elected for staggered terms of three (3) years. One of the seven (7) council members shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city at large and shall be the mayor. The other six (6) council members shall be elected to represent each of the six wards. Council members must be qualified and registered voters of the city. The six (6) council members elected by wards shall be residents and qualified voters of the respective wards from which they are elected. Council members shall hold no other lucrative public office or position in city government during their terms as council members.

Those interested in serving on the City Council should review the City Charter, particularly Article II (The Council) and Article XVI (Nominations and Elections), and the City Code, particularly Chapter 2, Article III (Officers and Employees) and Chapter 19, Article II (Administration and Enforcement).  In addition, an election packet should be picked up from the City Clerk’s Office as it includes the petition form and other documents that will need to be completed as part of the filing process.  Those packets are available toward the end of September or the beginning of October annually as the first day to file is the last Tuesday of October and the last day to file is the fourteenth day before the deadline set by state statute for notifying the election authority of an election, which varies, but is essentially in early/mid-January.  

The terms of council members, to include the mayor (council member at-large) are staggered. Upcoming elections for council members are: April 2024 for the Ward 2 Council Member and Ward 6 Council Member, April 2025 for the Ward 3 Council Member, Ward 4 Council Member, and the Mayor (Council Member At-Large), and April 2026 for the Ward 1 Council Member and Ward 5 Council Member.   Election packets for the April 2024 election should be available for pick up at the City Clerk’s Office in late September 2023/early October 2023. It is recommended the City Clerk’s Office be contacted to verify the packets are available for pick up.

Members & Terms 

Establishing Legislation

Home Rule Charter of Columbia, Missouri

Council Wards

City Council History

Principles of Community

On April 2, 2018, the Columbia City Council unanimously passed a resolution affirming and adopting the Principles of Community for the City of Columbia. Read more about them on the Principles of Community page.