(a) All officers and department heads shall be appointed by the City
Council and shall hold office at the pleasure of the City Council.
The Council shall establish by ordinance the administrative offices
of the City and shall designate the department heads of the City.
The City Council shall be empowered to create, abolish, or reorganize
departments and divisions as necessary for the proper administration
of the City business, but not inconsistent with other sections of
this Charter.
(b) Effective December 10, 2020, or sooner if there is a vacancy in the
office, the City Treasurer shall be appointed by the City Council
as provided herein. Effective at the November 2010 election the City
Attorney shall be elected from the City at large for a term ending
on December 5, 2011. Commencing December 6, 2011, or sooner if there
is a vacancy in the office, the City Attorney shall be appointed by
the City Council as provided herein.
(Amended, ratified, August 16, 1967; May 29, 1968; April 15,
1975; April 13, 1976; April 21, 1981; November 6, 2001; November 2,
2010; November 6, 2018)
No person who shall be the wife, husband, father, mother, son,
daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandson,
granddaughter, brother or sister of a member of the City Council shall
be eligible for appointment to any office, job, board, or commission
which shall be appointive by the Council of the City of Albany. (Added,
ratified February 14, 1961)
The Council shall determine which officers shall give bonds
for the faithful performance of their official duties, and fix the
amount of said bonds. Such officers, before entering upon their official
duties, shall execute a bond to the City in the penal sum required,
which bond shall include any other offices of which they may be ex-officio
or by appointment incumbent. Said bonds shall be approved by the Council
and filed with the City Clerk, except that of the City Clerk, which
shall be filed with the Mayor.
Every officer shall take the constitutional oath of office and
subscribe thereto before entering upon the performance of their official
duties. (Amended, ratified November 8, 2016)
The City Manager shall be the administrative head of the government
of the City. As such, the City Manager shall be responsible to the
Council for the efficient implementation of its policy and effective
administration of all the affairs of the City government which the
office controls. Any action, determination or omission of the City
Manager or staff shall be subject to review by the Council, but no
individual Councilmember or the Mayor shall overrule, change or modify
any such action, determination or omission except by affirmative vote
of at least three (3) members of said Council at a duly constituted
session.
The City Manager shall advise and make recommendations to the
Council concerning any conditions or governmental situations which
need Council direction or policy determination.
The City Manager will insure that the Council as a whole or
as individuals are permitted timely and complete freedom of access
to requested information.
The City Manager shall be chosen on the basis of executive and
administrative qualifications, as defined by ordinance. (Added, ratified,
April 21, 1981)
There shall be a City Clerk. It shall be the Clerk's duty to
keep a full, true and correct record of the proceedings of the Council
and other books and accounts as are now required by law for clerks
of cities, and may be required by resolution or ordinance of the Council.
All powers, except as in this Charter otherwise provided, now or hereafter
conferred upon the clerks of cities by law, shall be exercised by
the City Clerk. The Clerk shall have such other powers and perform
such other duties as may be prescribed by resolution or ordinance.
The City Clerk shall be appointed by the Council. The Council
shall establish, by ordinance, the qualifications for the position
of City Clerk. (Amended, ratified, August 16, 1967; April 13, 1976)
(Deleted, ratified, April 10, 1990)
There shall be a City Treasurer. It shall be the City Treasurer's
duty to receive and safely keep all monies and securities belonging
to the City coming into their hands. The City Treasurer shall pay
out the same only in the manner prescribed by ordinance of the Council.
(Amended, ratified August 7, 1952; November 8, 2016)
(a) There is hereby created a Police Department which shall be administered
by the Chief of Police. The department shall consist of such sworn
and non-sworn personnel whose ranks, duties, and compensation are
set forth by the City Council through ordinance or resolution.
(b) There is hereby created a Fire Department which shall be administered
by the Fire Chief. The department shall consist of such personnel
whose ranks, duties, and compensation are set forth by the City Council
through ordinance or resolution.
(c) The Fire and Police Departments may not be consolidated, except upon
a vote of the electorate. (Added, ratified November 2, 1982.)
There shall be a City Attorney. The qualifications for the City
Attorney shall be established by the City Council, which qualifications
shall be established within ninety (90) days from ratification. The
City Attorney shall be the legal advisor of the Council, and all other
City officials on matters appertaining to their official duties. The
City Attorney shall draft all ordinances, resolutions, contracts or
other legal documents or proceedings required by the Council, or other
officials, except as may be otherwise provided, and shall perform
such other legal services from time to time as the Council may require.
The City Attorney shall attend all meetings of the Council unless
excused therefrom by the Council or the Mayor. (Amended, ratified,
April 21, 1981; November 8, 2016)
There shall be a Tax Collector. The City Treasurer shall be ex-officio Tax Collector and perform the duties and possess the powers of this office, which shall be prescribed by resolution or ordinance of the Council. (See also Section
3.18(a))
(Deleted, ratified, April 21, 1986)
There shall be a Chief of Police. The qualifications for the
Chief of Police shall be established, by ordinance, by the City Council,
which qualifications shall be established within ninety (90) days
from ratification. The Chief of Police shall be the head of the Police
Department of the City, and shall have all the powers that are now
or may hereafter be conferred upon sheriffs and other peace officers
by the laws of the State. It shall be the duty of the Police Chief
to preserve the public peace, and to suppress riots, tumults and disturbances.
The Police Chief's orders shall be promptly executed by the police
officials, and every citizen shall lend the Chief of Police aid when
requested for the arrest of offenders, the maintenance of public order,
or the protection of life and property.
The Chief of Police shall execute and return all process issued
by legal authority. The Chief of Police shall perform the duties of
a regular police officer and have authority, and it is hereby made
the Police Chief's duty, to arrest persons violating any law of the
State or ordinance of this City. Those arrested for violating City
ordinances may, before or after trial, be confined in the County Jail
of Alameda County or in the City Prison of the City of Albany. The
Chief of Police shall have such other powers and duties appertaining
to the office as may be prescribed by the Council or rules of the
Police Department. (Amended, ratified, January 26, 1935; July 21,
1972; November 8, 2016)
There shall be a Fire Chief appointed by the Council. The Fire
Chief shall be head of the Fire Department of the City, and shall
have charge of and supervision over all matters relating to the prevention
and extinction of fires, and of all measures necessary to guard and
protect all property impaired thereby. (Amended, ratified, January
26, 1935; November 8, 2016)
(Deleted, ratified, April 21, 1986)
There shall be a Planning and Zoning Commission, consisting
of five (5) members who shall serve without compensation. Each member
of the Council shall have the power to appoint one member of the Commission,
subject to ratification of appointment by the City Council. The Planning
and Zoning Commission shall have the power and be required to (a)
recommend to the Council the adoption, amendment or repeal of the
master plan or any part thereof for the physical development of the
City and (b) exercise such functions with respect to land subdivision,
planning and zoning as may be presented by ordinance or resolution.
(Amended, ratified, August 7, 1952; April 15, 1975; June 2, 1998)
All officers shall have the power to appoint their own deputies
when the same are necessary, subject, however, to the confirmation
of the Council.
Besides the duties herein specified, all officers and Boards
shall perform such other appropriate duties as may be prescribed by
ordinance or the general laws.
(a) The Council may, by ordinance, consent to, or provide by contract,
or in any other manner, for the transfer to the County of Alameda
of any or all of the tax assessing and tax collection functions and
services provided for by charters or ordinances of the City of Albany,
or by State law, rule or regulation, and for the assumption, enforcement,
observance, and performance thereof by Alameda County officers and
employees, including, but not limited to (a) the assessment of City
property for City taxes; (b) the equalization and correction of assessments;
(c) the collection, payment, and enforcement of taxes and special
assessments, including delinquent taxes; (d) the redemption of property
from sale or other penalties for non-payment of City taxes or special
assessments; and (e) the City shall at or about the time tax bills
are delivered by the County, cause to be distributed to all property
owners of the City of Albany, a breakdown of funds of the tax rate
of the City of Albany. Any and all powers, duties and functions of
the City so transferred to the County pursuant to this section shall,
to the extent of their assumption, performance, observance and enforcement
by the County, be deemed or suspended and not a duty of the City for
the duration of such transfer. The City has, and the Council shall
reserve, in any agreement with the County, the right to terminate
any transfer made pursuant to this section and to reassume any or
all of the transferred functions. This section shall be paramount
to any Charter provision in conflict therewith. (Amended, ratified,
June 15, 1966; April 13, 1976)
All books and records of every office and department shall be
open to the inspection of any citizen during business hours, subject
to the proper rules and regulations for the efficient conduct of the
business of such department or office, provided, the records of the
police department shall not be subject to such inspection except by
permission of the proper police authorities.
Copies or extracts, duly certified from said books and records
open for inspection, shall be given by the officer having the same
in custody to any person demanding the same and paying or tendering
fees for copies or certifications as established by Resolution of
the City Council, in amounts consistent with the requirements of State
law.
All officers and Boards shall deliver to their successors all
papers, books, documents, records, archives and other properties pertaining
to their respective offices or departments, in this possession or
under their control. (Amended, April 19, 1977; ratified November 8,
2016)
Until the election or appointment and induction into office
of the officers and employees in this Charter provided for, the present
officers and employees shall without interruption, continue to perform
the duties of their respective offices and employments for the compensation
provided by the existing ordinances.
All lawful ordinances, resolutions, and regulations in force
at the time this Charter shall take effect and not inconsistent with
its provisions, are hereby continued in force until the same shall
have been duly amended, repealed or superseded.
All vested rights of the City shall continue and shall not in
any manner be affected by the adoption of this Charter; nor shall
any right, liability, pending suit or prosecution, either in behalf
of or against the City, be affected by the adoption of this Charter.
All contracts entered into by the City prior to the taking effect
of this Charter shall be continued and perfected hereunder.
a. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, all members of commissions,
boards, committees, task forces, or any other similar bodies, who
are appointed by the Mayor or by individual Council members, shall
serve for a term lasting until the next general municipal election,
except that appointees shall serve for an interim term of up to forty-five
(45) days after certification of the election until reappointed or
replaced, whichever is sooner. This requirement includes those ratified
by the City Council as a whole. In the case of appointments made by
the Council as a whole, and where the Mayor or individual Council
members do not make nominations, the terms shall extend until the
next general municipal election, unless otherwise established by ordinance
or resolution. In the event a Council member ceases to serve a full
term for any reason, the appointees of that Council member may be
replaced or re-appointed by the successor Council member and the new
appointee shall serve until the next general municipal election. The
City Council may establish by ordinance or resolution provisions for
the orderly transition between terms of appointees after the election
or appointment of Council members. The City Council may establish
a committee, commission, board, task force, or other advisory body
with a time frame of less than two (2) years. In such case, the term
of the appointees shall coincide with the time frame established by
the City Council.
Procedures and policies for appointment, renewal, terms and
qualifications of appointees, not inconsistent with this Charter,
may be established by ordinance or resolution of the Council.
b. The City Council shall establish by ordinance or resolution a policy,
to be applied equally to all appointees, for automatic removal due
to excessive absenteeism, conviction for a felony, or for failure
to maintain a residence in Albany unless Council specifically provides
for nonresident members.
c. Any other removal shall be only for cause and then only by a majority
vote of the City Council. Appointees shall be notified of such cause,
in writing, at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the vote of the
City Council. (Added, ratified, November 5, 1996; Amended, ratified,
June 2, 1998; June 6, 2006; November 4, 2008)