Pine Bluff has a Mayor-Council form of government. The mayor, city attorney, city clerk and treasurer are all elected at large. All city elected offices have four-year terms.
Qualifications for Mayor: Mayoral candidates and mayors must be 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a qualified elector of Pine Bluff, a resident of Pine Bluff, and free of a felony conviction. Failure to meet these qualifications will result in a disqualification to hold the office of mayor.
Basic Powers of Mayor: The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city. The mayor has the special duty to cause the ordinances and regulations of the city to be faithfully and constantly obeyed and supervises the conduct of all the officers of the city. The mayor has veto power over actions of the city council. The mayor must veto a council action within five days of that action, excepting Sunday. To perfect the veto, the mayor must file a written statement of the reasons for the veto in the office of the city clerk before the next regular meeting of the city council. The mayor has the power to appoint, remove or discipline most department heads, but the city council may override such an action with six votes, or a two-thirds majority of the council’s total membership. The mayor is ex officio president of the council and presides at its meetings, voting if he desires only when his vote is needed to pass any ordinance, bylaw, resolution, order or motion. The mayor may also propose and sponsor legislation either in the form of an ordinance or resolution.
The Pine Bluff City Council meets the first and third Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers (basement of Pine Bluff City Hall). When a holiday occurs on the first or third Monday of a month, the meeting will be held the Tuesday following the routinely scheduled Monday. The council is comprised of eight members, known as council members or aldermen.
The City is divided into four aldermanic wards (Wards 1- 4). Two aldermen are elected to the Pine Bluff City Council from each ward. One aldermanic seat on the council from each ward is up for election every two years.
An aldermanic candidate requires a majority vote to be elected. If there are more than two aldermanic candidates and no candidate receives a majority of votes, there will be a runoff election.
Qualifications for Aldermen: Aldermanic candidates and aldermen must be 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a qualified elector of Pine Bluff, a resident of the ward they (will) represent at least one month prior to that ward’s aldermanic election, and free of a felony conviction. Failure to meet these qualifications will result in a disqualification to hold the office of alderman.
Duties of Aldermen: Aldermen, or council members, propose and sponsor legislation either in the form of an ordinance or resolution. A quorum of five aldermen is required for the council to take action and a majority vote (six of eight) is required to pass legislation. Aldermen are charged with the management and control of city finances and all real and personal property belonging to the city. Aldermen set the salaries of the mayor, aldermen, and other municipal officials and employees. Aldermen may fill an aldermanic vacancy by appointment when the remainder of the un-expired term is less than a year. Aldermen may fill a vacancy in the office of mayor by appointment when the remainder of the un-expired term is less than six months.
Ordinance: An ordinance is legislation of a general or permanent nature. It is more formal and authoritative than a resolution, i.e., an ordinance agreeing to a lease of city property, an ordinance banning smoking in restaurants or an ordinance setting a fine for leaving trash carts at the curb. An ordinance, barring special circumstances, will be read three times, once at each of three separate council meetings before it is voted on by the council. Before that third and final reading, the ordinance must have gone before the appropriate committee of the city council.
Resolution: A resolution is a statement of desire or intent of the council, or a one-time order, i.e., a resolution commending the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions for winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship or a resolution condemning certain houses as nuisances as opposed to an ordinance establishing the condemnation procedure.
Referendum: A referendum is when qualified electors of the city cause an issue passed by the city council to be referred to the citizens for a vote by getting the signatures of 15 percent of all who voted in the last mayor’s election (general election) on a petition. The petition has to be filed within 30 days of the council’s action and will cause the council to call a special election.
Initiative: An initiative is when voters initiate their own legislation by the same process as a referendum.
The mayor and city council work together to appoint members to boards and commissions. Facilities boards and the Cemetery Committee are self-perpetuating, meaning they fill their own vacancies.
Civil Service Commission
Wastewater Utility Commission
Advertising and Promotion Commission
Aviation Commission
Civic Auditorium Complex Commission
Parks and Recreation Commission
Planning Commission
Pine Bluff / Jefferson County Port Authority
Library Board
Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas Board of Trustees
Historical Railroad Preservation Commission
Cemetery Committee
Taylor Field Operations Facilities Board
Arkansas River Regional Intermodal Facilities Board
Historic District Commission