The Porto Alegre City Council is the Legislative branch of Porto Alegre. It is composed of 36 councilors who are elected by an open list election. The Council serves as a balance of power against the mayor, as Porto Alegre has a strong mayor-council type of government. Porto Alegre City Council oversees all Executive agencies, departments, and audits municipal public accounts. It has sole authority to decide if Mayor or Deputy Mayor may leave Porto Alegre for a period longer than five days. The Council also approves the Budget Bill. There is no term limit. Current Speaker of the Council is Humberto Goulart (PDT). There also are following offices: First Deputy Speaker, Luiz Braz (PSDB); Second Deputy Speaker, Margarete Moraes (PT); First Secretary of the Council, Haroldo de Souza (PMDB); Second Secretary, Elias Nunes Vidal (PPS); and Third Secretary, Valdir Caetano da Silva (PL). Current Majority Leader is Clênia Maranhão, PPS. There are six committees overseeing several subjects of the city. Committee membership is defined by party breakdown. Members of committees are assigned by party leaders. Committees generally meet in the morning, as afternoons are reserved to floor sessions. History The very first City Council meeting was on September 6, 1773, when members of the Viamão Council met in the Vila de Nossa Senhora da Madre de Deus de Porto Alegre, former name of Porto Alegre, ordered by then-governor José Marcelino de Figueiredo. Members of the first Porto Alegre City Council were Domingos Moreira (Speaker), Manoel Velloso Tavares, Domingos Gomes Ribeiro, José Alves Velludo, and Ventura Pereira Maciel. In the early years, the City Council had both judicial and legislative powers. In 1828, there had been a major change the way City Council was set up. Porto Alegre had 10,000 inhabitants, and 400 voters, who elected the new nine-member City Council. Under the rule of the Empire of Brazil, there was no mayor-like office, and activities of City Council were scrutinized by the Provincial Assembly. At that time, City Council had attributions that today are mayor's ones, like public works, police services, and tax collection. In 1864, it had begun the building of the first Council Hall in an open lot between Rua da Ponte (currently Riachuelo Street) and Pedro II Square (currently Marshall Deodoro Square). This building was destroyed by fire on November 19, 1949 and the lot is now the seat of Rio Grande do Sul Court of