Section 48. City clerk; duties

a. The council shall appoint a clerk, who
  shall perform such duties as may be prescribed  by  law.  The  clerk  so
  appointed  shall  be  the  city  clerk and the clerk of the council, and
  shall hold office for six years and until such clerk's  successor  shall
  be  appointed and has qualified. The city clerk shall have charge of all
  the papers and documents  of  the  city,  except  such  as  are  by  law
  committed  to  the  keeping  of  the  several  departments  or  of other
  officers. The city clerk shall keep the record of the proceedings of the
  council and shall also keep a separate record of all the local  laws  of
  the city in a book to be provided for that purpose, with proper indices,
  which  book shall be deemed a public record of such local laws, and each
  local law shall be attested by said clerk. Copies  of  all  papers  duly
  filed  in  the  office of the city clerk, and transcripts thereof and of
  the records of proceedings of  the  council  and  copies  of  the  laws,
  ordinances and local laws of the city, certified by the city clerk under
  the  corporate  seal of the city, shall be admissible in evidence in all
  courts and places in the same manner and for the same purposes as papers
  or documents similarly authenticated by the clerk of a county. The  city
  clerk  may  be removed on charges by a two-third vote of all the council
  members, subject, however, to judicial  review.  The  city  clerk  shall
  collect such fees as shall be fixed by law.
    b.  It shall be the duty of the city clerk to keep open for inspection
  at all reasonable times the records and minutes of  the  proceedings  of
  the  council. The city clerk shall keep the seal of the city, and his or
  her signature shall be necessary to  all  grants  and  other  documents,
  except  as  otherwise  provided  by  law. In the absence of the clerk by
  sickness or otherwise, the first deputy clerk shall be vested  with  and
  possessed  of  all  the  rights  and  powers and be charged with all the
  duties by law imposed upon the clerk. In the absence of the first deputy
  clerk, the city clerk by an instrument in writing may designate  one  of
  his  or  her  clerks,  who shall be vested with and possessed of all the
  rights and powers and charged with all the duties by  law  imposed  upon
  said  clerk. The signature of the person so designated shall be in place
  of and of the same force and effect as the signature of the city  clerk.
  Such designation shall be made in triplicate and shall be duly filed and
  remain  of  record  in the city clerk's office and in the offices of the
  mayor and of the comptroller, but the designation shall be for a  period
  not  exceeding three months and shall not extend beyond the city clerk's
  term of office and shall be at all times revocable by the city clerk.