City Council President Stephen J. Murphy is expected to retain the council’s top position for a third year after securing the votes of nine of his colleagues, Murphy’s office announced Thursday.

Murphy, a councilor at large who first took office in 1997, has served as council president since he was unanimously elected to the position in January 2011. The council president is not afforded additional power within the council, but in addition to a bigger office and a larger staff, Murphy is the first in the line of succession should Mayor Thomas M. Menino leave office midterm.