§ 15. Appointive officers; terms of office; suspensions.

(a)

All other officers required by law or by any ordinance adopted by said city, except as otherwise provided herein, shall be nominated by the mayor and appointed by the city council. All appointees whose terms of office are fixed by charter or ordinance, or who have been heretofore appointed for fixed terms of office, shall hold office for the term so fixed and determined unless otherwise provided herein. All other appointive officers shall hold office for two years from the dates of their appointments except for the superintendent of schools, teachers and other employees of the board of education, the librarians and other employees of the public library, laborers, the deputy treasurer, clerks and other employees legally hired by other officers of the city.

(b)

No appointee of the city council shall be removed during the term for which such appointee holds office, except for cause, and without first having received a written statement from the city council setting forth the reasons for removal, nor until the appointee shall have been given an opportunity to appear and be heard before the city council. If the appointee shall so request, a statement of the reasons for the removal, together with the appointee's reply thereto, shall be made a matter of public record. Any one or more of the following reasons shall be considered cause for removal:

(1)

Inefficiency or incompetence;

(2)

Insubordination against reasonable rules duly promulgated;

(3)

Violation of law;

(4)

Disability, as shown by competent medical evidence;

(5)

Elimination of position, provided that if the appointee shall be found qualified to be appointed to a comparable, existing position in which a vacancy exists, the appointee shall be so appointed;

(6)

Falsification of city records;

(7)

Other due and sufficient cause.

Temporary appointments shall be made to fill vacancies created through removal from office for cause, terminations, transfers, promotions, expiration of a term, or any other action which will create a vacancy.

A temporary appointment shall be made for a period not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) calendar days until a full term appointment can be confirmed.

No person shall receive a successive temporary appointment.

Nothing in section 15(b) shall apply to any person who is covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the city and a labor organization recognized or certified as the exclusive bargaining representative for such person under the Municipal Employee Relations Act.

(c)

The mayor or the city council may apply to any justice of the peace in said city for any subpoena to compel the attendance of any witness before them at any hearing upon charges made against any officer of said city. Such subpoena shall be served and the fees for attendance shall be paid in the same manner as in the case of a subpoena in a civil action. Any person who, having been served with such subpoena who shall neglect or refuse to attend such hearing, unless prevented by necessity, or who shall refuse to testify, shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars or imprisoned not more than six months or both.

(d)

The mayor may suspend any officer appointed by the city council from the exercise of the duties of office until the next meeting of the city council, and shall report such action and the reason therefor to such meeting for the action of said city council. The compensation of any officer so suspended shall cease upon the officer's suspension; but, if the officer shall not be removed by the city council, the officer's compensation may, in the discretion of the city council, be continued during the period of such suspension. If any vacancy shall exist, by reason of such suspension or for any other cause, the mayor shall take such action as is, in the mayor's judgment, necessary to provide for the performance of the duties of the office so vacated until the next meeting of the city council. Upon removal of any officer or employee, all rights to salary, compensation or emolument shall cease from the date thereof.

(e)

All appointed officers delineated in this section shall serve in compliance with their existing job descriptions and as they may be amended from time to time by the city council or its appointed designee.

(Amend. 11-9-83; Amend. eff. 11-7-89; Amend. eff. 12-2-10; Amend. eff. 12-8-11)

Legislative history— Sp. No. 352, § 12, 1911; Sp. No. 378, 1917; Sp. No. 434, §§ 27, 28, 1931; Sp. No. 489, § 15, 1939; Sp. No. 276, 1949.