All nominating petitions must be filed by 5 p.m. Aug. 28 in the City Clerk’s Office, according to City Clerk Dawn Siebken.

This year, city voters will be picking a mayor and six of the seven council members, including two at-large members and representatives from each of the four wards. Councilwoman Megan Secor is the only member of the council whose term does not expire at the end of this year.

The general election will be held Nov. 4.

To get on the ballot, candidates must file an affidavit of candidacy and nominating petitions at the City Clerk’s office, 819 First Ave. S. Those forms can be picked up in person at the office or they can be downloaded from the city’s website. To download the forms, go to fortdodgeiowa.org, On the home page, select Your Government then click on City Clerk in the dropdown menu.

Siebken said candidates must fill out the top half of the nominating petition forms before collecting signatures so that people will know which office the candidate is seeking.

The number of required signatures depends on the office.

Siebken said these are the minimum required number of signatures for each office:

Mayor — 27

Council at-large — 58

Council, Ward 1 — 10

Council, Ward 2 — 10

Council, Ward 3 — 20

Council, Ward 4 — 19

If more than two people file nominating petitions for a position, a primary election will be held on Oct. 7 to narrow down the field. But for the two at-large seats a primary will be needed only if more than four candidates get on the ballot.

At-large council members serve four-year terms. Those elected to represent the wards serve two-year terms.

The mayor is paid $15,000 a year. City Council members are paid $4,800 per year.

Mayor Matt Bemrich and at-large council members Quennel McCaleb and Lydia Schuur are not seeking reelection.

Those who have announced their candidacies so far are Councilman Dave Flattery, who is running for mayor, and council candidates Michael Haubrich (at-large), former Councilman Terry Moehnke (at-large), Councilwoman Jen Crimmins (Ward 1), Councilman Cameron Nelson (Ward 2), Todd McCubbin (Ward 3) and Councilman Kim Alstott (Ward 4).