Yuba City Municipal Code Ch. 5 Personnel Administration

The purpose of this chapter is to establish an equitable and uniform system of personnel administration for the City service.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970)

All offices and positions of the City shall be divided into the career service, the executive service, and the exempt service as follows:

(a) The career service shall be comprised of all budgeted offices and positions in the government of the City not included in the exempt service or the executive service.

(b) The executive service shall include the following:

(1) The City Manager and his or her principal administrative assistants;

(2) Heads of City departments; and

(3) Other positions as may be specifically designated by the Council.

(c) The exempt service shall include the following:

(1) All elected officials and members of boards and commissions;

(2) Persons serving the City as independent contractors;

(3) Consultants and counsel rendering temporary professional services;

(4) Volunteer personnel and personnel appointed to serve without pay;

(5) Persons employed to render the City expert service of occasional character; and

(6) Positions involving seasonal, temporary, or part-time employment, as defined in the personnel rules.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970)

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970; repealed § 3, Ord. 013-05, eff. November 17, 2005)

The administration of the personnel program established by this chapter shall be the responsibility of the City Manager. The City Manager may designate another officer or employee of the City as Personnel Officer and delegate to him or her the responsibility of the administration or assisting in the administration of the provisions of this chapter. The City Manager and/or the individual designated as Personnel Officer shall:

(a) Administer all the provisions of this chapter and the personnel rules;

(b) Prepare and recommend revisions and amendments to the personnel rules;

(c) Meet from time to time with representatives of the City employees to consider information, suggestions, and recommendations regarding the personnel policies and practices of the City;

(d) Attend all meetings of the Personnel Board and serve as its secretary;

(e) In accordance with the personnel rules, publish or post notices of examinations for positions in the career service, receive applications, conduct and grade examinations, and certify to the appointing authority lists of eligible persons for appointment to appropriate positions;

(f) Be responsible for adopting and maintaining a position classification plan, which shall group all positions in the City service into classes based upon duties, authority, and responsibilities, and allocate positions to the appropriate class and make revisions in the classification plan, which shall consist of additions, abolishments, consolidations, divisions, or amendments to existing classes;

(g) The City Manager, with the assistance of the individual designated as Personnel Officer, and in consultation with the Director of Finance and representatives of the City employees, shall annually recommend for adoption by the Council a compensation plan. The compensation plan shall include for each class a minimum and maximum rate and such intermediate rates as are considered necessary and equitable. The rate or pay range assigned to each class shall be such as to reflect fairly the differences in the duties and responsibilities between it and other classes and shall take into account rates paid by other employers for comparable work in both public and private employment, the City's financial condition and policies, unusual problems of recruitment and turn-over, and other relevant factors;

(h) The City Manager may, with the consent of the Council, obtain on behalf of the City necessary services from persons or agencies competent in personnel administration; and

(i) Perform such other related duties as may be prescribed from time to time by the Council, the Personnel Board, or the City Manager.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970)

There is hereby created a Personnel Board consisting of five members. Appointments shall be made by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council. Members of the Personnel Board shall be residents of the City. Terms shall be for a period of four years. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled in the same manner as appointments for the unexpired term. The members of the Personnel Board appointed in accordance with the previous provisions of this chapter shall continue to serve their present terms.

Annually, at a meeting in July, the Personnel Board shall select one of its members to serve as chairperson for a one-year term.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970; § 1, Ord. 1060, eff. September 14, 1988)

The Personnel Board may adopt rules of procedure, determine the order of business for the conduct of its meetings, and meet periodically as required, other than the meeting in July to select a chairman. Special meetings may be called by the chairman or by three members of the Personnel Board.

Three members of the Personnel Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970)

The Personnel Board shall have the power and be required to:

(a) Review and recommend to the Council any personnel rules or amendments to personnel rules which do not have a financial impact;

(b) Review and recommend to the Council any personnel rules or amendments to the personnel rules having a financial impact which have been referred to the Personnel Board by the Council;

(c) In accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the personnel rules and as provided for by this chapter and the personnel rules, hear appeals of employees in the career service relative to disciplinary actions or alleged violations of the provisions of this chapter or the personnel rules;

(d) Offer guidance and counsel and submit recommendations to the City Manager, the individual designated as Personnel Officer, or the Council regarding the conduct of personnel administration for the City service;

(e) When requested by the Council or City Manager, hold hearings and make investigations and/or recommendations which may be considered desirable on any matter of personnel policy and report its findings to the Council or the City Manager as may be appropriate; and

(f) Serve as a fact finding, mediation, or conciliation board when so requested in matters of employer-employee relations.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970)

The City Manager or the individual designated as Personnel Officer shall draft, in consultation with the City Manager and with representatives of the City employees, such rules as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Those rules which in any way would have any financial impact shall be referred directly to the Council for adoption or amendment. Those rules which do not have a financial impact shall be referred directly to the Personnel Board for review and recommendations to the Council for adoption or amendment. Personnel rules shall be adopted, amended, or rescinded by resolution of the Council. The Council may request the review and recommendations of the Personnel Board on those rules having a financial impact. Rules shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Administration of the compensation plan, including provisions for in-range salary adjustments and overtime compensation;

(b) Provisions relating to fringe benefit programs, including health insurance, retirement, training, and other fringe benefit programs determined to be necessary and desirable for the general welfare of the employees;

(c) Provisions regarding the conduct of employer-employee relations;

(d) Administration of the position classification plan, including provisions for reclassifications and for employees to appeal the allocation of their position to a particular class;

(e) Provisions covering the appointment, reappointment, and promotion of employees, which shall include the use of various screening and selection techniques to obtain for the City service the best qualified persons available; provided, however, there shall be no discrimination against any person seeking employment because of any considerations of political or religious affiliation or belief, non-affiliation or non-belief, or because of race, sex, or military status. The City Manager shall be the appointing authority and shall appoint, when necessary for the good of the service, discipline, and remove all employees in the career service, the executive service and employees in the exempt service involved in seasonal, temporary, or part-time employment as defined in the personnel rules, except as he or she may authorize the head of any department or office to appoint, discipline, or remove subordinates in such department or office;

(f) Provide for a probationary period for new employees or promoted employees during which new employees may be discharged or promoted employees may be demoted to a position in the classification from which they were promoted without appeal and provide for an extension of the probationary period not to exceed an additional six months;

(g) Provide that the tenure of every employee shall be conditioned on generally acceptable behavior and the satisfactory performance of duties and that an employee may be disciplined by suspension, demotion, dismissal, or other appropriate action;

(h) Provide the manner in which layoffs shall be made whenever there is a lack of work or lack of funds requiring reductions in the number of employees in a department, division, or section;

(i) Provide for a grievance procedure;

(j) Provide that employees in the career service shall have the right to appeal to the Personnel Board;

(k) Provisions covering the accrual and use of sick leave and vacation time, or a combination thereof, and provisions relating to holidays and days off;

(l) Provisions covering the adoption, amendment, and addition of personnel rule; and

(m) Such other matters as may be deemed desirable in order to provide a modern personnel program.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970; §§ 4,5, Ord. 013-05, eff. November 17, 2005)

The personnel rules in effect on November 18, 1970, shall remain in effect until other personnel rules are adopted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. November 18, 1970)

No person convicted (including pleas of guilty and nolo contendere) of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude shall be eligible for employment by any department of the City; provided, however, the appointing authority may disregard such conviction if it is found and determined by such appointing authority that mitigating circumstances exist, such as, but not limited to, evidence of rehabilitation, the length of time elapsed since such conviction, the age of such person at the time of the conviction, or the fact that the classification applied for is unrelated to such conviction.

The City Manager, Personnel Officer, Personnel Technician, Police Chief, City Attorney, and each appointing authority of the City are hereby authorized to have access to the "State Summary Criminal History Information," as provided for in Penal Code § 11105, when it is required to assist such individual to fulfill the employment responsibilities set forth in this section.

(Ord. 778, eff. July 5, 1978)

(a) No former city official, for one year after leaving office, service, or employment with the city, shall act as the agent or attorney for, or otherwise represent, for compensation, any other person, by making any formal or informal appearance before, or by making any oral or written communication to, that city, or any committee, subcommittee, or present member thereof, or any officer or employee of the city, if the purpose of the appearance or communication is to influence legislative or administrative action, including, but not limited to, influencing any action or proceeding involving the issuance, amendment, award, or revocation of a permit, license, grant, contract, or the sale or purchase of goods or property.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) City official means a City Council member, Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Manager, and City department heads.

(2) Legislative action means the drafting, introduction, modification, enactment, defeat, or approval of any ordinance, amendment, resolution, report, nomination or other matter by the City Council or by any committee or subcommittee thereof, or by a member or employee of the City Council acting in his or her official capacity.

(3) Administrative action means the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat by the City of any matter, including any rule, regulation, or other action in any regulatory proceeding, whether quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial. Administrative action does not include any action that is solely ministerial.

(c) The following activities are exempt from this section:

(1) Appearances or communications made by a former City official on behalf of another public agency in connection with any matter pending before the City.

(2) Appearances or communications made by a former City official for the sole purpose of representing himself or herself, in his or her individual capacity, in connection with any matter pending before the City.

(3) If a former City official is employed by a firm or business, appearances or communications by any other employees, officers, members or partners of the firm or business, provided that the former City official is not personally involved and does not personally participate in any way that is prohibited by this section.

(d) Any person who knowingly or willfully violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 006-20, § 1, 2-18-2020)