Livingston Municipal Code Ch. 6 City Manager

This chapter is enacted by the City Council pursuant to the provisions of Cal. Gov’t Code Title 4, Division 2, Part 1, Chapter 4, Article 1, being Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 34851 through 34859.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

The office of City Manager is hereby created and established. The City Manager shall be appointed by the City Council solely on the basis of his or her executive and administrative qualifications. He or she shall hold office for an indefinite term at the pleasure of the City Council and shall receive such compensation as the Council may provide.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

The City Manager shall be the chief executive of the city government under the direction and control of the Council, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, he or she shall have authority over all other officers and employees except the City Clerk, City Treasurer and City Attorney.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

The City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative services of the city only through the City Manager, except for the purpose of inquiry. Should any Council member make an inquiry, it shall be for the purpose of compiling facts and data for possible future action by the Council. In no event shall action be taken after completion of the inquiry without Council approval. The City Manager shall take his or her orders and instructions from the City Council as a body, and no individual Council member shall give any orders or instructions to the City Manager or his or her subordinates. When a decision has been made by the City Council as a body, it shall be final and conclusive. Further reference to any such decision of the Council shall not be made by the City Manager except to the Council as a whole.

(A) The City Manager shall attend all meetings of the City Council unless excused therefrom by the Mayor or the City Council, except when his or her removal is under consideration by the City Council.

(B) The City Manager may take part in Council discussions but may not vote. He or she shall have the power to appear and address the Council or any of its boards or commissions at any meeting.

(C) The City Manager shall recommend to the City Council for adoption such measures and ordinances as he or she deems necessary. He or she shall keep the City Council at all times fully advised as to the financial conditions and needs of the city and shall make such reports as may be desirable or as requested by the City Council.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

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

(A) Enforcement of laws. See that the laws of the state pertaining to the city and all laws and ordinances of the city are duly enforced, and that all franchises, contracts, permits and privileges granted by the city are faithfully observed;

(B) Appoint, dismiss officers and employees.

1. Appoint and promote, discipline, suspend or dismiss all officers and employees of the city except the City Clerk, City Attorney and City Treasurer. No department head shall be appointed or removed until the City Manager shall have first reviewed such appointment or removal with the City Council in executive session; and

2. The City Manager shall provide one merit principle personnel system for all officers and employees of the city except the City Clerk, City Attorney and City Treasurer, and may designate an officer responsible to him or her to administer said personnel system.

(C) Appoint to acting capacity. Designate himself, herself or some other officer or employee to perform the duties of any office or position in the administrative service under his or her control which is vacant or which lacks administration due to the absence or disability of the incumbent;

(D) Purchases. Purchase or cause to be purchased by some officer designated by him or her, all services, supplies and equipment for all of the departments or divisions of the city. All with procedures established by ordinance;

(E) General services. Provide for the proper administration and management of all other city affairs and properties which are not otherwise reserved to the Mayor and/or City Council;

(F) Annual report. Prepare and present to the Council an annual report of the city’s affairs, including a summary of reports of department heads and such other reports as the Council shall require;

(G) Annual budget and capital program. Prepare and submit to the Council an annual budget and capital program for each ensuing fiscal year, based upon estimates of financial needs and resources of the city;

(H) Miscellaneous duties.

1. Serve in any appointed office within the city government to which he or she may be qualified when appointed thereto by the City Council and to hold and perform duties thereof at the pleasure of the City Council;

2. Investigate all complaints related to matters concerning the administration of the city government or services of public utilities in the city; and

3. Perform such other duties and exercise such other powers as may be delegated to him or her, from time to time, by action of the City Council.

(I) Contracts waiving or delaying payments to the city. The City Manager shall not enter, on behalf of the city, into contracts waiving or delaying payments due to the city, unless the City Manager has first obtained the expressed consent and approval of a majority of the City Council sitting in regular session. Any violation of this requirement shall make the contract voidable by a majority vote of the City Council sitting in regular session.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987; Ord. 409, passed 9-1-1992)

The City Manager shall have the power and authority to properly perform any duty assigned to him or her by the City Council or by other process of law. In general his or her powers shall include:

(A) Prescribe rules. Have the power to prescribe such rules and regulations as he or she shall deem necessary for the conduct of administrative agencies subject to his or her authority and he or she shall have the power to revoke, suspend or amend any rule or regulation of the administrative service by whomever prescribed;

(B) Investigate. Have the power, either by himself, herself or by any person designated by him or her, to investigate and to examine or inquire into the affairs or operations of any department, division or office and any contract, or the proper performance of any obligations of or to the city; and when so authorized by the Council, he or she shall have the power to employ consultants and professional counsel to aid in such investigations, examinations or inquiries;

(C) Overrule officials. Have the power to set aside any action taken by a department head and may supersede him or her in the functions of his or her office;

(D) Delegate duties. Have the power to direct any department, division or bureau or perform the work for any other department, division or bureau;

(E) Appoint administrative committees. Have the power to designate from the administrative service such committees and the officers thereof as he or she shall find necessary for the proper consideration of administrative problems; and

(F) Administrative claims settlement. The City Manager shall have the power to settle any claim against the city up to the amount of $10,000.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987; Ord. 464, passed 5-20-1997)

(A) Acting City Manager. During any period of his or her temporary absence or disability, the City Manager shall designate an officer or employee of the city to serve as the administrative head of the city for that period. In the event of failure to make such designation, the City Council may appoint an acting City Manager.

(B) Bond. The City Manager and acting City Manager shall be bonded to assure the faithful performance of the duties imposed on them as herein prescribed. Such bond may be part of a blanket surety bond and the premium for same shall be a proper charge against the city.

(C) Expenses. The City Manager shall be reimbursed for all sums necessarily incurred by him or her in the performance of his or her duties or incurred while traveling on business pertaining to the city under direction of the City Council. Reimbursement shall only be made, however, when an itemized claim, setting forth the sums expended and for which reimbursement is requested, has been presented to the City Council for approval.

(D) Eligibility. No City Council member shall be eligible for appointment as City Manager until one year has elapsed after such Council member has ceased to be a member of the City Council.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

The removal of the City Manager shall be only upon a three member vote of the whole Council in the city in regular Council meeting, subject, however, to the provisions of the next succeeding subsections. In case of his or her intended removal by the City Council, the City Manager shall be furnished with written notice stating the Council’s intention to remove him or her, at least 30 days before the effective date of his or her removal, which shall be shown upon the written notice.

(A) Hearing. Within seven days after the delivery to the City Manager of such notice, he or she may, by written notification to the City Council, request a hearing before the City Council. Thereafter, the City Council shall fix a time for the hearing which shall be held at its usual meeting place, at which the City Manager may appear and be heard.

(B) Discretion of Council. In removing the City Manager, the City Council shall use its uncontrolled discretion and its action shall be final and shall not depend upon any particular showing or degree of proof at the hearing, the purpose of which is to allow the City Manager to present his or her grounds of opposition to his or her removal.

(C) Limitations. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter hereinbefore enumerated, the City Manager shall not be removed from office during or within a period of 90 days next succeeding any general municipal election held in the city at which election a member of the City Council is elected. The purpose of this provision is to allow any newly elected member of the City Council or a reorganized City Council to observe the actions and ability of the City Manager in the performance of the duties of his or her office. After the expiration of said 90 days aforementioned, the provisions of the preceding subsection as to the removal of said City Manager shall apply and be effective, except where the City Manager has committed acts of moral turpitude or a violation of any law which would bring disrepute upon his or her office or where he or she has committed any acts of dishonesty, the Council may forthwith discharge the City Manager upon a majority vote of the Council.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

The office of Director of Finance is hereby created and established. The City Manager shall be the Director of Finance or designate a Director of Finance in his or her place.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

Before entering upon the duties of this office, the Director of Finance shall be bonded to assure the faithful and honest performance of his or her duties as herein prescribed. The penal sum of the bond shall be in the amount provided in § 1-7-1 of this title.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

It shall be the duty of the Director of Finance to act in all cases to promote, secure and preserve the financial and property interests of the city and he or she shall have the power and duty to:

(A) Perform the duties imposed upon the City Clerk by Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 37201 to 37209 and 40802, 40804 and 40805: and

(B) Exercise general supervision over all city officers regarding proper management of the fiscal concerns of their respective offices, prescribe the form of accounts and reports to be rendered to him or her and ensure that budget appropriations are not exceeded. He or she shall also:

1. Examine and audit from time to time the accounts of all officers and departments;

2. See that all officers and employees receiving money pay the same into the treasury as required and that all necessary financial reports are made by officers and shall report all delinquencies or defaults in payments or in reports to the City Council, and the City Attorney who shall take immediate legal measures for the recovery of the amount of any such default or delinquency;

3. Demand and receive all monies and fees owing to the city whenever the means of collection of such is not otherwise prescribed by law. When not collectible by other means, he or she shall report such debt to the City Attorney for collection;

4. Prepare and audit a register of demands against the city and certify the same to the City Council at a regular Council meeting at least monthly;

5. Keep all general accounts of the city government and transmit, at least monthly, to the City Council and all departments and officers current information of the classified unencumbered appropriation balances;

6. Collect all licenses and fees in the manner authorized and required by law and issue all permits and licenses except those which are required by law to be issued by a particular department or officer; and

7. Perform such additional duties as are prescribed from time to time by the City Council or state authority.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)

The City Manager may, when he or she determines a public hearing is necessary, schedule the public hearing for the first regular City Council meeting following the requirements prescribed by law for setting public hearings.

(Ord. 331, passed 5-19-1987)