San Juan Capistrano Municipal Code Art. 2 City Manager

The office of the City Manager is hereby created and established.

(Ord. No. 175, § 1)

The City Manager shall be appointed by a majority vote of the Council solely on the basis of his or her executive and administrative qualifications, with special reference to his or her actual experience in, or his or her knowledge of, accepted practices in respect to the duties of his or her office.

(Ord. No. 175, §§ 1, 10)

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

(Ord. No. 175, § 3)

(Ord. No. 175, § 2; repealed by Ord. No. 886, § 1)

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 the event of the absence or disability of the City Manager and his or her failure to so appoint a Manager Pro Tempore, the Council may designate a qualified City employee to perform the duties of the City Manager during the period of the absence or disability of the City Manager, subject however, to such person furnishing a corporate surety bond conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties required to be performed as set forth in Section 2-5.101 of Article 1 of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 175, § 5)

The City Manager shall receive such compensation and expense allowances as the Council, from time to time, shall fix by resolution. Such compensation and expense allowances shall be a proper charge against such funds of the City as the Council shall designate.

The City Manager shall be reimbursed for all sums necessarily incurred or paid by him or her in the performance of his or her duties or incurred when traveling on business pertaining to the City under the direction of the Council. Such reimbursements shall only be made when a verified itemized claim setting forth the sums expended for such business for which reimbursement is requested has been presented to the Council for approval.

(Ord. No. 175, § 6)

As the chief agent and executive officer of the Council the City Manager shall be the administrative head of the government of the City under the direction and control of the Council, except as otherwise provided in this article. He or she shall be responsible for the efficient and effective administration of all the affairs of the City which are under his or her control. The City Manager, whenever possible, shall consult in advance with the Council concerning all matters of major importance, such as, but not limited to, the employment and termination of department heads, major municipal programs, fiscal policies, reorganization or substantive changes in organizational assignments, and administrative acts which affect the formulation or implementation of legislative policy. The purpose of such consultation requirements shall be to fully inform the Council and learn of its judgment in the matters being considered.

In addition to his or her general powers as administrative head, and not as a limitation thereon, the City Manager shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) Law enforcement. To see that all laws and ordinances of the City are duly enforced and that all franchises, permits, and privileges granted by the City are faithfully observed;

(b) Direction of officers and employees:

(1) To control, order, and give directions to all department heads, subordinate officers, and employees of the City through their department heads,

(2) To transfer employees from one department to another and to consolidate or combine offices, positions, departments, or units under his or her direction, and

(3) To exercise control over all departments of government of the City and over all the appointive officers and employees thereof;

(c) Appointment, removal, and demotion of officers and employees. To appoint, remove, and demote any and all officers and employees of the City, except the City Attorney and the City Treasurer. The City Manager shall also have the power to appoint an Assistant City Manager subject to the approval of the Council. Any employment action involving the appointment, removal or demotion of the City Clerk shall be made in consultation with the City Council prior to any final decision.

(d) Attendance at Council meetings. To attend all the meetings of the Council, unless excused therefrom by the Council;

(e) Recommendation of legislation. To formulate and recommend to the Council for adoption such policies and ordinances as he or she deems necessary or expedient;

(f) Preparation of financial reports. To keep the Council at all times fully advised as to the financial conditions and needs of the City;

(g) Preparation of budgets and salary plans. To prepare and submit the proposed annual budget and the proposed annual salary plan to the Council for its approval;

(h) Purchases and expenditures. To purchase all supplies for all of the departments or divisions of the City. No expenditure shall be submitted or recommended to the Council, except on the report or approval of the City Manager;

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

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

(k) Supervision of public property. To exercise general supervision over all public buildings, public parks, and all other public property which is under the control and jurisdiction of the Council;

(l) Development and organization of public improvement projects. To develop and organize necessary public improvement projects and programs authorized by the Council and to aid and assist the Council and various departments in carrying the same through to successful conclusion;

(m) Cooperation with community organizations. To cooperate, within lawful limits, with all community organizations whose aim and purpose is to advance the cultural and material interests of the City and its people and to provide them, within lawful limits, with assistance through the City government; and

(n) Performance of additional duties. To perform such other duties pertaining to his or her position as the Council may from time to time reasonably require.

(Ord. No. 175, §§ 7, 9; Ord. No. 1078, § 2, 2020)

The City Manager may attend any and all meetings of the commissions, boards, and committees created by the Council, at which meetings he or she shall be heard by such commissions, boards, and committees as to all matters upon which he or she wishes to address the members thereof, and he or she shall inform such members as to the status of any matter being considered by the Council and cooperate to the fullest extent with the members of all commissions, boards, and committees appointed by the Council.

(Ord. No. 175, § 7)

In the discharge of his or her duties, the City Manager shall endeavor at all times to exercise the highest degree of tact, diplomacy, patience, and courtesy in his or her contacts with the public and with all City commissions, boards, departments, officers, and employees. He or she shall use his or her best efforts to establish and maintain a harmonious relationship between all personnel employed in the government of the City to the end that the highest possible standards of public service be continuous.

(Ord. No. 175, § 10)

The Council and its members shall deal with the administrative services of the City only through the City Manager, except for the purpose of inquiry, and neither the Council nor any of its members shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager. The City Manager shall take his or her orders and instructions from the Council only when sitting in a duly held meeting of the Council, and no individual Councilmember shall give any order or instruction to the City Manager.

The City Manager shall act as the agent for the Council in the discharge of its administrative functions but shall not exercise any policymaking or legislative function whatsoever, nor attempt to commit or bind the Council, or any member thereof, to any action, plan, or program requiring official Council action.

(Ord. No. 175, §§ 8, 11)

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

(Ord. No. 175, § 12; Ord. No. 1078, § 3, 2020)

The removal of the City Manager shall be only upon the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the entire membership of the Council at a Council meeting in regular session, subject, however, to the provisions of Sections 2-5.213 through 2-5.215 of this article.

In the event of his or her intended removal by the Council, the City Manager shall be furnished with a written notice stating the Council’s intention to remove him or her, and the reason therefor, at least 30 days before the effective date of his or her removal.

In removing the City Manager, the Council shall use its unqualified 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 to the Council his or her grounds of opposition to his or her removal prior to the action of the Council.

(Ord. No. 175, §§ 13, 16)

Within seven days after the delivery to the City Manager of the notice provided for in Section 2-5.212 of this article, he or she may request a hearing before the Council by written notification to the City Clerk. Thereafter, the Council shall fix a time for the hearing, which shall be held at its usual meeting place but before the expiration of the 30 day period, at which time the City Manager shall appear and be heard, with or without counsel.

(Ord. No. 175, § 14)

After furnishing the City Manager with a written notice of intended removal as provided for in Section 2-5.212 of this article, the Council may suspend him or her from duty, but his or her compensation shall continue until his or her removal by resolution of the Council passed subsequent to the hearing provided for in Section 2-5.213 of this article.

(Ord. No. 175, § 15)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 2-5.212 through 2-5.214 of this article, 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 Council is elected. The purpose of the provisions of this section is to allow any newly-elected member of the Council to observe the actions and ability of the City Manager in the performance of the powers and duties of his or her office. After the expiration of such 90 day period, the provisions of Sections 2-5.212 through 2-5.214 of this article shall apply and be effective.

(Ord. No. 175, § 17)