Agenda - Council - 02/12/1979 - Laserfiche WebLink

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may be appoinled to fill a vacancy in an elective o,fic-, if he would be eligible for election to that office. The council is not obliged 1o appoint any candidale p~eviously defeated in an eleclion for the office. Thc length of the appointee's term depends on whcn the vacancy occurs. If the vacancy occurs before lhe elected officer assumes his duties, the appoinlcc% term runs from January 1 until theterm of office expires. If the vacancy occurs duringa term, the appointee's term is for the remainder of the lelm of the person replaced. A retiring councilmember is prohibited from voting on the appointment of the successor but if he d~2~,s so the appointee is at least a de facto officer,au If the council voles on an appointment, .and the vote results in a tie, the mayor may make the ap- pointment without council approval. In so doing he may select any eligible person for the position; he is not restricted in his choice to those persons whose appointment was considered by the council. Such an appointment should be made in writing and filed by the mayor with the city clerk.31 When the vacancy being filled is that of mayor and the council casts a tie vote, the acting mayor should make the appointment as by law he may perform all duties of the mayor in case of a vacancy.32 Councihnembers Ineligible to Fill Certain ya_ cancies City councilmembers including mayors and elec- ted clerks, may not be appointed to fill vacancies in other elective offices in thecity.33 This ruleap- plies even though a councilmember resigns the posi- tion on the council, before the appointment is made. There are only two exceptions to this gene- ral rule. In the first place, councilmembers may be appointed by the governor to the office of munici- pal judge. In the second place, any member of the council may be appointed to the office of either mayor or clerk, but in such a case the person being appointed may not vote on the appointment. B. APPOINTED OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES Each council has complete freedom to create whatever positions it feels are needed over and a- bove those required by statute (see later paragraphs) and to assign duties so long as such actions promote the public welfare and are consistent with state law. Non-elective officers and employees in cities can be divided into several groups. In the first place, there are officials such as the attorney, health officer, auditor, architect, and others often hired as con- 67 sullants. Their compensation is frequently based on a retainer, a contract, or some other fee basis. In the second place, there are the full- and part- time officials and employees paid either a salary or a wage. Some of these latter officials are em- ployed on the basis of a merit syslem or under civil service in some cities. Civil service systems are explained in section C of this chapter. Non-Statut ory Offices Although not required by taw, most cities ap- point an attorney, police chief and health officer. Other positions most frequently found are: lib- rarian, liquor store manager, recreation director, street superintendent, engineer and utilities sup- erintendent. Small cities often hire several per- sons on a part-time basis, or one or two full-time people to perform many duties, or share services of an employee with other small cities under the joint powers act. While the positions named above are common to large and small cities alike, the actual duties of some employees are often determined by the size of a city and the complexity of its organizational structure. A supervisory administrative official may or may not devote part of his time to direct participation in the functional activities of his de- partment. For example, the street superintendent may be a department head charged with directing the activities of nearly 30 subordinate employees. In other cities, his duties would include such tasks as sweeping the sidewalks on the main street each morning. Also, police chiefs in smaller cities may spend a major portion of their time working in patrol cars, devoting only a few hours per week to supervisory activities. A dministrator A position much like that of city manager in Plan B cities may be established in standard plan and Plan A cities by assigning coordinating duties to the city clerk, deputy clerk, or a special admin- istrative officer. The. duties so delegated must be purely ministerial; the courts will not permit the delegation of legislative discretion. The duties which may be delegated are: the supervision of workers, accounting, preparation of reports, factual determination and execution of council policies. The power to hire and fire ~mployees may not be delegated nor may the administrator make purchases and let contracts without specific standards set by the council governing this action.34 (See' League memo "The City Administrator".) A new concept in. city administration involves the "circuit riding" administrator concept. Several 1977