[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Socorro 2-16-1988 by Ord. No.
PO-88-02; amended in its entirety 9-16-2002. Subsequent
amendments noted where applicable.]
Pursuant to the provisions of NMSA 1978, § 3-13-4,
a merit system for the hiring, promotion, discharge and general regulation
of municipal employees is established.
A.
A Personnel Board (the "Board") consisting of five members is created.
The membership of the Board shall be as follows:
(1)
One member shall be an employee covered under the provisions of this
chapter and shall be elected by the employees covered under the provisions
of this chapter.
(2)
One member shall be a department head and shall be elected by the
heads of the departments of the City government.
(3)
Three members shall be members of the general public and shall be
appointed by the Mayor with the approval of a majority of all members
of the governing body.
B.
The terms of the members of the Personnel Board shall be four years;
except that the terms of the original members of the Board shall be
staggered so that one member shall have a term of one year, one member
shall have a term of two years, one member shall have a term of three
years and two members shall have a term of four years. The staggering
of terms of original members of the Board shall be appointed by the
Mayor with consent and approval of the governing body. The members
of the Board shall elect one of its members as Chairman.
C.
Each member of the Board shall remain in office until his death,
resignation, removal from office or expiration of term. A member may
be removed for cause by the Mayor with the approval of a majority
of the members of the governing body. No member of the Board shall
be removed for cause unless given an opportunity for a public hearing
on the charges against him. If such a hearing is requested in writing
prior to removal for cause, the hearing must be held on the charges
within 30 days after receipt of the written request for a hearing.
Written charges shall be presented to the Board member in sufficient
time for him to have at least 10 days to prepare his case.
The Council shall by resolution adopt, repeal and amend personnel
rules to implement this chapter.
The Personnel Board shall:
A.
Advise the Mayor and City Council on all matters relating to the
administration of this chapter.
B.
Investigate personnel matters if requested in writing by the Mayor,
a majority of the members of the City Council, two or more department
heads, 1/4 of the employees covered under the provisions of this chapter
or 100 registered voters.
C.
Make recommendations to adopt, repeal and amend personnel rules,
which shall include, but need not be limited to:
(1)
The establishment of a classification system for employees, providing
for equal pay for equal work.
(2)
Methods of employment, promotion, demotion, suspension and discharge
of employees consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
(3)
Employee evaluation and development.
(4)
Pay scales and pay ranges, which shall become effective only upon
approval by resolution adopted by a majority of all the members of
the City Council.
(5)
Hours of work per week, overtime policies, vacation, sick leave and
leave of absence policies, holidays or any other fringe benefits authorized
by law, all of which shall become effective only upon approval by
resolution adopted by a majority of all the members of the City Council.
A.
All nonelective positions in the service of the City of Socorro are
covered under the provisions of this chapter and the rules promulgated
hereunder, except the following:
B.
Within 10 days following the adoption of this chapter, an employee
in a position covered by this chapter may file with the Clerk a declaration
stating that the employee does not desire to have his employment subject
to this chapter and the rules and regulations issued pursuant to this
chapter. Thereafter, all positions, except those specifically excluded,
shall be covered.
C.
Persons employed after the effective date of this chapter and not
as temporary or part-time employees shall serve a probationary period
of not exceeding one year, but not less than six months, prior to
being covered by this chapter; provided, however, that such employee
may sooner be covered by this chapter if the head of his department
sooner recommends such employee to the Mayor to be a permanent employee.
Employees who have been employed by the City of Socorro for the last
six months continuously, on the effective date of this chapter, shall
be considered permanent employees. Such employees not having six months'
employment on the effective date of this chapter shall serve a six-month
probationary period from time of initial employment before being considered
permanent employees. City Council confirmation shall be required prior
to an employee attaining status as a permanent employee.
A.
As a prerequisite to filing a grievance, an employee must contact,
either orally or in writing, the supervisor who has taken the action
causing the grievance and state his reasons for objecting to the action
taken. Both the employee and the supervisor shall make a good-faith
effort to resolve the problem prior to initiation of formal grievance
proceedings.
B.
The word "grievance" when used in this chapter means a formal written complaint of an employee covered by the provisions of this chapter concerning actions taken by his supervisor which results in loss of pay, written or oral reprimand or any other complaint by an employee for violation of his rights as an employee. Grievances filed on the basis of actions of the Mayor are covered under Subsection E of this section. The word "grievance" does not, however, include an employee disagreement with a supervisor's evaluation. In the event of an employee's disagreement with a supervisor's evaluation, the employee may file a written rebuttal in the personnel file but may not file a grievance against the supervisor merely because of the evaluation.
C.
Any employee who is aggrieved by action taken by a supervisor may
file a grievance with the Clerk within 10 days following the event
causing the grievance. Within seven days following receipt of the
grievance, the Clerk shall approve, disapprove, nullify or modify
the action causing the grievance and notify the aggrieved employee
in writing of his decision.
D.
The aggrieved employee may appeal the decision of the Clerk to the
Personnel Board by giving written notice to its Chairman within seven
days from receipt of the Clerk's decision.
(1)
Within 10 days from receipt by the Chairman of a notice of appeal,
the Personnel Board shall hold a hearing to consider the grievance.
The hearing shall be public unless the aggrieved employee requests
that the hearing be closed to the public.
(2)
Written notice of the public hearing shall be given to the aggrieved
employee, his supervisor and the Clerk.
(3)
Immediately following the Personnel Board hearing, the Board shall
render a decision as to whether to uphold or not uphold the decision
of the Clerk. Within 10 days from the date of the hearing, the Personnel
Board shall render, in writing, a copy of that decision with an attest
by each member of the Board depicting that member's vote. The
decision of the Personnel Board should be based on the City Administration's
adherence to City policy only (i.e., personnel policy, departmental
SOP or any written policies provided to the employee by a supervisor).
(a)
The decision of the Personnel Board shall be based upon the
evidence received at the public hearing as it pertains to implementation
of City policy (i.e., personnel policy, departmental SOP or any written
policies provided to the employee by a supervisor).
(b)
Should the Personnel Board determine (majority vote required)
that the City administration did not properly implement City policy
(i.e., personnel policy, departmental SOP or any other written policies
provided to the employee by a supervisor), the deviation from policy
will be clearly pointed out. The matter will be returned to the Clerk
for modification. Modifications made shall be based on the findings
of the Personnel Board. The Clerk will then forward the decision to
the employee and his supervisor. In the event of a tie vote by the
Board or a majority vote upholding the Clerk's decision, the
matter is final and no other proceedings are required.
E.
The aggrieved employee may appeal the decision of the Mayor to the
Personnel Board by giving written notice to its Chairman within seven
days from receipt of the Mayor's decision.
(1)
Within 10 days from receipt by the Chairman of a notice of appeal,
the Personnel Board shall hold a hearing to consider the grievance.
The hearing shall be public unless the aggrieved employee requests
that the hearing be closed to the public.
(2)
Written notice of the public hearing shall be given to the aggrieved
employee, his supervisor, the Clerk and the Mayor.
(3)
Within 10 days from the date of the hearing, the Personnel Board
shall render, in writing, a decision upholding or not upholding the
decision of the Mayor. The decision of the Personnel Board should
be based on the City administration's adherence to City policy
(i.e., personnel policy, departmental SOP or any written policies
provided to the employee by a supervisor).
(a)
The decision of the Personnel Board shall be based upon the
evidence received at the public hearing as it pertains to implementation
of City policy (i.e., personnel policy, departmental SOP or any written
policies provided to the employee by a supervisor).
(b)
Should the Personnel Board concur with the decision of the Mayor,
the decision is final and no other proceedings will be required. Should
the Personnel Board determine that the City administration did not
properly implement City policy (i.e., personnel policy, departmental
SOP or any other written policies provided to the employee by a supervisor),
the deviation from policy will be clearly pointed out. The matter
will be returned to the Mayor for modification. Modifications made
shall be based on the findings of the Personnel Board. The Mayor will
then forward the decision to the employee and his supervisor.
A.
No City employee shall campaign, distribute literature or solicit
political contributions while on the job. City employees will be prohibited
from using or authorizing use of any City equipment or property for
political campaigning. No City employee shall prohibit the right of
another employee to have and express a personal choice or commitment.
B.
No person shall solicit contributions or assessments for any political
party or candidate on City premises, during working hours, wearing
a City uniform or using City equipment. No City employee shall ever
be expected, required or coerced to contribute to any campaign.
C.
No City employee shall purport to represent the City at any political
meeting or in political publicity.
D.
No one shall prohibit any City employee from voting or from exercising
his or her political rights as a private citizen during non-working
hours.
E.
A City employee who chooses to run and campaign for political office
shall take vacation leave or leave without pay if the employee wishes
to campaign during working hours. An employee elected to a post may
retain City employment after election if the elective post does not
present a conflict of interest with City employment in the sole judgment
of the City Council.
