Clovis Municipal Code Art. 1 City Manager

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Article 1 entitled “Official Bonds,” consisting of Sections 2.2.101 and 2.2.102, codified from Ordinance No. 92, repealed by Section 1, Ordinance No. 440, effective March 20, 1968.

The City Manager form of government for the City is hereby adopted. The City Manager shall be appointed by the Council solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications and shall hold office during the pleasure of the Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

No person elected to membership on the Council shall be eligible for appointment as City Manager until one year shall have elapsed after such Council member shall have ceased to be a member of the Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971; as amended by § 1, Ord. 06-44, eff. December 6, 2006)

The City Manager shall be the administrative head of the City government under the direction and control of the Council. He or she shall be responsible to the Council for the efficient administration of all the affairs of the City which are under his control. In addition to his general powers as administrative head, and not as a limitation thereon, it shall be the duty of the City Manager and he or she shall have the power:

(a) Enforcement of laws. To see that the provisions of this Code and all other laws and ordinances are properly enforced within the City;

(b) Personnel and department administration. Subject to the provisions of Article 2 of this chapter and to any rules and regulations promulgated by the Council thereunder:

(1) To appoint, discipline, and dismiss all subordinate employees of the City, except the City Attorney, and the department heads;

(2) To appoint, discipline, and dismiss all heads of departments, subject to Council confirmation;

(3) To appoint the City Clerk, subject to Council ratification;

(4) To discipline and dismiss the City Clerk without the need for Council confirmation;

(5) To appoint the City Treasurer as part of the position of the Director of Finance;

(6) To give notice to the Council of the recommended findings of the Personnel Commission in regard to new employees and their appointment by the City Manager and to keep the Council fully informed of all actions of the City Manager and the Personnel Commission in regard to the suspension, discipline, and dismissal of any City employee;

(7) To transfer employees from one department to another; and

(8) To consolidate or combine offices, positions, departments, or units under his jurisdiction;

(c) Control of officers and departments. To exercise control over all departments and divisions of the City government and over all appointive officers and employees thereof save and except the City Attorney, who is excluded from such control by law;

(d) Attend Council meetings. To attend all meetings of the Council and its committees, unless excused therefrom by the Council, except when his removal is under consideration by the Council;

(e) Recommend adoption of ordinances. To recommend to the Council for adoption such measures and ordinances as he or she deems necessary or expedient;

(f) Advice as to finances. To keep the Council at all times fully advised as to the financial condition and needs of the City;

(g) Prepare budget. To prepare and submit to the Council the annual budget;

(h) Prepare salary plan. To prepare and recommend to the Council a salary plan;

(i) Establish purchasing system. To establish a centralized purchasing system for all City offices, departments, and agencies, to act as purchasing agent for the City, and to give preference to local merchants, quality and price being equal. No expenditure shall be submitted or recommended to the Council except upon the report or approval of the City Manager;

(j) Investigate City affairs. To make investigations into the affairs of the City, any department or division thereof, any contract, or the proper performance of any obligation running to the City;

(k) Investigate complaints. To investigate all complaints in relation to matters concerning the administration of the government of the City and in regard to the service maintained by public utilities in the City, and to see that all franchises, permits, and privileges granted by the City are faithfully observed;

(l) Supervise public property. To exercise general supervision over all public buildings, public parks, and other public property which are under the control and jurisdiction of the Council and not specifically delegated to a particular board or officer, and to control, supervise, and inspect all public work being done by the City;

(m) Take inventories. To compile and preserve inventories of all City real and personal property upon taking office and annually thereafter to the end that the same may be kept current;

(n) To devote entire time to duties. To devote his entire time to the duties and interests of the City; and

(o) To perform additional duties. To perform such other duties and exercise such other powers as may be delegated to him from time to time by the provisions of this Code and other ordinances and resolutions of the Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971; as amended by § 1, Ord. 74-35, eff. January 1, 1975; § 1, Ord. 75-28, eff. June 4, 1975; § 1, Ord. 21-03, eff. June 16, 2021)

The Council shall have the right to instruct the City Manager in matters of policy, and any action, determination, or omission of the City Manager shall be subject to review by the Council, but no such action, determination, or omission shall be overruled or modified by a vote of less than three-fifths (3/5) of the members of the Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

The Council and its members shall deal with the administrative services of the City only through the City Manager, except for the purposes of inquiry, and neither the Council, nor any member thereof, shall give orders to any of the subordinates of the City Manager.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

The City Manager shall receive such salary as the Council shall from time to time determine and fix by resolution.

The City Manager shall be reimbursed for all sums necessarily incurred or paid by him in the performance of his duties or incurred when traveling on business pertaining to the City under the direction of the Council. Reimbursement shall only be made, however, when a verified itemized claim, setting forth the sums expended for which the reimbursement is requested, has been presented to and duly approved and allowed by the Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

It shall be the duty of all the subordinate officers and the City Clerk, the City Attorney, and the City Treasurer to cooperate with and assist the City Manager in administering the affairs of the City most efficiently, economically, and harmoniously so far as may be consistent with their duties as prescribed by law, this Code, and other laws of the City.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971; repealed by § 2, Ord. 74-35, eff. January 1, 1975)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the City Manager shall not be removed from office during or within a period of ninety (90) days next succeeding any general municipal election held in the City at which election a member of the Council is elected. The purpose of this provision is to allow any newly-elected member of the Council or a reorganized Council to observe the actions and ability of the City Manager in the performance of the powers and duties of his office. After the expiration of said ninety (90) day period, the provisions of Section 2.2.101 of this article shall apply and be effective.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

The City Manager shall furnish a corporate surety bond, to be approved by the Council, in such sum as may be determined by the Council. Such bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties imposed upon the City Manager as set forth in this article. Any premium for such bond shall be a proper charge against the City.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

The City Manager shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Council, one of the other officers or department heads of the City to serve as Manager Pro Tempore during any temporary absence or disability of the City Manager. In case of the absence or disability of the City Manager and his failure to so appoint a Manager Pro Tempore, the Council may designate some duly qualified person to perform the duties of the City Manager during the period of absence or disability of the City Manager, subject, however, to such person’s furnishing a corporate surety bond conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties required to be performed as set forth in Section 2.2.103 of this article.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

The City Manager may attend any and all meetings of the Planning Commission, the Recreation Commission, and the Parking Commission, and any other commission or board heretofore or hereafter created by the Council, upon his own volition or upon the direction of the Council. At any such meetings at which the City Manager attends, he shall be heard by such commissions and boards as to all matters upon which he wishes to address them.

(§ 1, Ord. 71-2, eff. February 17, 1971)

(a) City Manager. The City Manager is authorized to sign routine contracts, conveyances, warrants, and other instruments necessary for the day-to-day operation of the City, including instruments requiring the City seal. The City Manager is also authorized to sign those contracts, conveyances, and other instruments, including instruments requiring the City seal, which the Council has specifically delegated by ordinance, resolution, or other official action that the City Manager sign, including the following:

(1) Purchases and contracts for equipment, supplies, services, and public projects in accordance with the authorizations set forth in this Code;

(2) Secured agreements to provide improvements as a condition of a subdivision or development project (subdivision agreements), the standard form for which has been approved by Council or is otherwise established by statute, ordinance or resolution;

(3) Approving and signing contract change order. The City Manager is authorized to approve and sign contract change orders pursuant to a policy adopted by the City Council; provided, that the change order amount is within budget authorization and the change is required to accomplish the scope of work of the contract or project.

(b) Other City officials. Other City officials are authorized to sign those contracts, conveyances, and other instruments, including instruments requiring the City seal, which the Council has specifically delegated by ordinance, resolution, or other official action that the stated City official sign.

(c) Approval authority. Except for the approval authority specifically delegated herein and elsewhere in this Code, this section is not intended to change any requirement for obtaining City Council approval or ratification of contracts, conveyances, warrants, and other instruments.

(§ 1, Ord. 13-24, eff. December 4, 2013)