Medford's governing body is composed of the Mayor and eight Council members. The City is divided into four wards with two Council members elected from each ward. The boundaries of the four wards are fixed by City ordinance. The Mayor is elected from the City at large.



The Mayor and Council members do not receive a salary for services rendered in that capacity except for reimbursement of actual expenses incurred in carrying out their duties.



To be eligible for an elective City office, at the time of his or her election the person must be a registered voter and must have resided in the City during the six months immediately preceding the election. To qualify for election and to hold office, a Council member must also be a resident of his or her ward.



At each biennial general election, the Mayor is elected to serve a two-year term, and four council members, one from each ward, are elected to serve four-year terms. The biennial election of Council members provides that members in each ward serve overlapping terms. Beginning in the year 2000 the Mayor will be elected to a four-year term.



The Mayor is the presiding officer of the City Council but does not vote except in the case of a tie, and then casts the deciding vote.



The Medford City Council holds regular meetings twice each month on the first and third Thursdays in the Council Chambers, room 300, City Hall. Each meeting consists of two sessions, the first begins at noon and the second begins at 7:00 p.m. Although all of the proceedings are open to the public, scheduled public hearings are placed on the evening agenda. A record of the proceedings of regular Council meetings is maintained by the City Recorder.



Regular City Council meetings are broadcast live on Charter Cablevision, Channel 14, the local government access channel.