Salinas Municipal Code Art. 7 Council Power of Appointment

The City Council may appoint a City Manager and City Attorney on terms that it specifies to serve at the pleasure of the City Council.

The City Attorney shall be a lawyer admitted to practice in all courts of California and shall be chosen preferably from the members of the local bar.

(a) The City Attorney shall prosecute on behalf of the people, all criminal cases arising upon violations of this Charter and of the City ordinances, and shall attend to all suits, matters, and things in which the City may be legally interested; provided, the Council shall have control of all litigation and legal matters in which the City may be interested, and may employ other attorneys to take the entire charge thereof, or to assist the City Attorney therein, or to advise the Council upon any legal matter.

(b) The City Attorney shall be the legal advisor of all City officers, and shall give advice or opinion in writing whenever requested by any City officer on City business. S/he shall approve the form of all bonds, contracts, or other instruments in writing in which the City is concerned and either draft or approve the draft of all proposed ordinances for the City, except those proposed by initiative.

All other appointive officers and members of boards whose terms of service are not specified, shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing power.

(a) The City shall follow the Council-Manager form of government.

(b) The City Council may establish, change or consolidate other subordinate City employee positions in the City, establish the terms of their employment and compensation, including the position of City Clerk, and create and change departments within which such employees are to perform their duties.

(c) The City Manager shall have the power to appoint, all such subordinate City employees, except lawyers and paralegals in the City Attorney's department, who shall be appointed by the City Attorney.

The Council may require any officer or employee to give a bond for the faithful performance of his duty in such an amount as it may determine, and it may provide that the premium thereof shall be paid by the City.