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City of Buffalo, NY
Erie County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Derived from Art. I of Ch. I of the Charter and Ordinances, 1974]
There shall be in the City service the titled offices and positions enumerated under the respective headings and subheadings hereinafter set forth, and the amount or amounts set opposite the respective titles shall be annual compensation unless otherwise stated.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The actual amounts of the salaries for positions of the City service are on file in the office of the City Clerk.
Except as otherwise provided by agreement with the various bargaining groups representing City employees, when the minimum compensation established for a position to which an employee is promoted is not higher than the compensation being paid to the employee at the time of his promotion, the initial annual compensation for the position to which the employee is so promoted shall be fixed at an increment level within the salary range established for the position to which he is promoted which is nearest to but not less than $100 above the compensation which the employee would be entitled to receive at the time of his promotion; provided, however, that when an employee is appointed to a higher level position subsequent to March 31 and prior to July 1, he shall be placed at an increment level on July 1 which is not inconsistent with the intent of this subsection.
When a position is reallocated to a higher salary grade, an incumbent of any such position shall be placed at an increment level within the salary grade to which the position is reallocated which corresponds with the increment level at which any such incumbent would be compensated in the lower salary grade had the position not been so reallocated; provided, however, that a person promoted from a position which is allocated to a higher salary grade upon the effective date hereof shall not receive less compensation in the position to which he is promoted than he would have received prior to such a reallocation of his position.
A. 
Annual compensation of every office and position set forth in two amounts in § 35-1 of this article, except as otherwise provided in said section, means that the smaller of said amounts is the initial salary of the incumbent of the office or position and that he shall be granted annual increments as set forth in § 35-9 of this article at the times and upon the conditions hereinafter stated until the larger of said amounts is reached, after which said larger amount shall be his compensation, except as otherwise provided by agreement with the various bargaining groups representing City employees. An officer or employee who holds any such office or position immediately prior to the first day of April in any calendar year shall be eligible to receive an increment on the first day of the next succeeding fiscal year. An officer or employee appointed, promoted or reinstated to an office or position on or after the first day of April in any calendar year shall not be eligible to receive an increment until the first day of July in the next succeeding calendar year. An increment for any fiscal year may be withheld in any case by the appointing power, provided that he files with the Council prior to the beginning of said fiscal year his certificate stating the reasons therefor.
B. 
Appointment to an office or position set forth in § 35-1 of this article shall be made at the minimum compensation provided therefor unless otherwise specifically authorized by the Council upon the written recommendation of the appointing power stating the reasons therefor. Time during which the incumbent of any office or position is absent therefrom and is holding some other office or position in the City service shall be credited as service in the office or position from which the officer or employee is so absent for salary increment purposes. Time during which the incumbent of any office or position is absent therefrom and is not holding any other office or position in the City service shall be excluded for salary increment purposes, except as otherwise provided by law.
[Amended 11-1-2005, effective 11-14-2005]
A. 
It shall be the duty of each and every one of the officers, deputies and employees of the City to pay all just debts and liabilities for necessary personal and household expenses incurred and becoming due during his or her time of service or employment with the City. In addition, prior to employment with the City of Buffalo, any applicant for a position with the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, the Buffalo Sewer Authority, or any other City of Buffalo agency, must pay any outstanding debts and liabilities in arrears owed to the City of Buffalo or any agency of the City of Buffalo as a condition prior to hiring for a position.
B. 
No person in the service of the City, being an attorney at law, shall directly or indirectly advise in relation to or aid or promote the prosecution of any action of proceeding in any court or the transaction of any business out of court in which the City is interested or to which the City is a party, except in the furtherance of the City's interest therein; nor shall any such person advise any person other than the proper City officials in relation to or in aid of the prosecution of any action or proceeding in any court or before any commission or the transaction of any business in which the City is a party or in which the City is interested.
C. 
All officers, deputies and employees of the City, except those a part of whose time only is employed by the City, shall give the whole of their time and attention to the performances of the duties of their office or employment during the hours of such employment as fixed by ordinance; and such officers, deputies or employees shall not, after or before such hours, regularly engage in any other business, work or employment without the consent of the head of the department in which they are respectively employed, except as is otherwise provided by law.
D. 
A violation of this article shall be sufficient cause for the removal from his office or position of a person committing such violation.
E. 
Any employee of the City, other than a police officer or a paid employee of the Department of Police or other law enforcement agency whose compensation is less than $5,000 per annum, may, subject to the foregoing provisions of this section relating to employees engaging in other business, work or employment generally, be likewise employed with any firm, association or corporation which is licensed by the State Racing Commission or the State Harness Racing Commission to conduct parimutuel racing or which is licensed to conduct its occupation, trade or business at racetracks at which parimutuel race meets are conducted or which owns or leases to any licensed association or corporation a racetrack at which parimutuel racing is conducted or which participates in the management of any licensee conducting racing.
A. 
On and after July 1, 1939, it shall be the duty of each employee of the City of Buffalo, during the period of his employment by said City, to be a domiciled resident of the City and to maintain his permanent residence within the corporate limits of said City. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any registered voter of the City of Buffalo maintaining a residence in the City and temporarily residing outside the City for not more than six months during any fiscal year nor to any employee during a leave of absence duly granted nor to any employee principally engaged in City activities outside the City.
B. 
An employee who fails to comply with the provisions of this section, which failure shall be established at a hearing upon stated charges, shall forfeit his employment and shall be removed therefrom. The Municipal Civil Service Commission shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the appropriate appointing authority for the enforcement of this provision.
C. 
The provisions of this section may be waived by the appointing authority upon a finding that the best interests of the City will be served thereby, provided that the Municipal Civil Service Commission consents to such waiver, and provided further that no such waiver shall be granted for more than six months.
[Added 3-22-1994, effective 4-4-1994]
Whenever an employee of the City of Buffalo, including night-shift and day-shift employees, is summoned to perform jury service in any court, he shall be granted a leave of absence with pay for each of his scheduled workdays during which he actually performs required jury duty at any time; provided, however, that no such leave of absence with pay for any scheduled workday shall be granted unless and until satisfactory proof of the performance of required jury duty on each such scheduled workday is presented by the employee to the head of the City department or agency in which he is employed. For the purpose of this section, a workday shall consist of the twenty-four-hour period from 12:00 midnight to the following 12:00 midnight.
[Amended 11-12-1997, effective 11-24-1997]
The following shall be deemed members of the police force:
Commissioner of Police
Chief of Homicide
Deputy Commissioner of Police
Assistant Chief, Bureau of Identification
Police Inspector
Assistant Chief, Bureau of Communications
Police Administrator
Police Lieutenant
Director of Education and Community Relations
Ballistics Technician
Director of Traffic
Detective Sergeant
Chief of Detectives
Chief, Traffic Tag Bureau
Police Captain
Police Photographer
Chief, Bureau of Identification
Polygraph Operator
Assistant Chief of Detectives
Detective
Police Instructor
Desk Lieutenant
Director of Public Laboratory
Patrolman
Chief of Patrol (effective July 1, 1996)
Policewoman
Chief of Staff (effective July 1, 1996)
A. 
For the purpose of providing a plan or method whereby the basic rates of compensation payable to various positions in the City service may be determined, the following salary and wage schedules are hereby established.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The salary and wage schedules are on file in the office of the City Clerk.
B. 
Each title established by the Municipal Civil Service Commission for a position in the competitive class of the classified civil service of the City shall be allocated by the Common Council to a salary grade of the applicable salary and wage schedule herein established.
C. 
The compensation which shall be payable to positions compensated at an annual rate shall be at or within the minimum and maximum limits of the salary range established by Subsection A of this section, except as otherwise provided in § 35-1 of this article or as otherwise provided by agreement with the various bargaining groups representing City employees.
The title of each position set forth in § 35-1 of this article which is represented by an employee bargaining group is hereby allocated to a salary grade in a salary and wage schedule in § 35-9 of this article for the appropriate employee bargaining group which corresponds to the salary range for such position title as set forth in said § 35-1.
A. 
A uniform certificate of appointment is hereby established for use in connection with appointments and promotions to offices and positions in the competitive and noncompetitive classes of the classified civil service of the City as defined by the Civil Service Law. Said certificate of appointment shall contain a certification by the appointing power that each appointee named therein has been certified or approved by the Municipal Civil Service Commission for the appointment made as therein set forth and shall also set forth the following data with respect to each appointment or promotion:
(1) 
The name and address of the appointee.
(2) 
The name of the City agency and subdivision thereof in which the appointment is made.
(3) 
The title of the position to which appointment is made.
(4) 
The personnel requisition number, if any, covering the position to which appointment is made.
(5) 
The effective date of the appointment.
(6) 
The type or nature of the appointment or promotion as certified or approved by the Municipal Civil Service Commission.
(7) 
The maximum and minimum increment rate or the flat rate of compensation established by the Common Council for the position within the salary grade to which the position is allocated.
(8) 
The starting salary of the appointee.
(9) 
If the starting salary, as stated in the certificate of appointment, is greater than the minimum starting salary established for a position compensated on an increment basis, the recommendation of the appointing power in respect thereto, together with the reasons therefor, as required under the provisions of § 35-2 of this article, shall be set forth.
B. 
The form of said certificate of appointment shall be prepared and approved by the Corporation Counsel and, in addition to the foregoing data, may provide for the inclusion therein of such further data respecting an appointment as may be approved by the Chairman of the Committee on Civil Service of the Common Council and, subject to the like approval of said Chairman, may set forth on the reverse side thereof such instruction and references to the Charter, laws and ordinances or excerpts therefrom as may be deemed advisable. A copy of said certificate of appointment shall be provided to the appointee by the appointing authority upon its filing with the Common Council as provided in Section 441 of the Charter. Prior thereto, the appointing authority shall also provide the appointee with a copy of the certificate of eligibility issued by the Municipal Service Commission and a letter of notification of appointment.
C. 
The Director of Purchase shall cause said form to be printed and stocked for distribution to City agencies.
[Amended 9-17-2002, effective 9-30-2002]
A. 
Employment discrimination prohibited. No City agency or department shall discriminate against any person with respect to age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability or marital status in any matter pertaining to employment by such City agency or department, including but not limited to hiring, appointment, promotion, tenure, recruitment or compensation, except where otherwise permitted by law.
B. 
Discrimination prohibited in benefits or services. No City agency or department shall discriminate against any person with respect to age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability or marital status in the provision of any benefits, programs or services by such City agency or department, except where otherwise permitted by law.
C. 
Certain agreements prohibited. No City agency or department shall enter into any agreement with any person, firm or corporation for the performance of any services or programs on behalf of the City if said person, firm or corporation discriminates against any person on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability or marital status in the performance of services or programs or employment for the performance of such services or programs.
D. 
Guidelines. The Director of the Division of Urban Affairs shall prepare and issue guidelines to be followed by the City agencies and departments to assist them in maintaining an environment where only job-related criteria are used to assess employees or prospective employees of the City.
E. 
Investigations. The Director of the Division of Urban Affairs shall investigate any complaint of discrimination based on age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability or marital status and shall conduct such investigations with due regard for confidentiality and privacy.
[Amended 11-30-1993, effective 12-14-1993]
In the absence of any bargaining unit provision to the contrary, all applications for civil service examinations shall be accompanied by a fee as provided in Chapter 175, Fees, to cover the cost of application processing and examination administration. Said fee shall be nonrefundable.