Appointments and promotions in the service of the city shall
be made solely on the basis of merit and fitness; and removals, demotions,
suspensions, and layoffs shall be made solely for the good of the
service. The council, consistently with this charter, by ordinance
or personnel rules, may regulate personnel matters and provide for
proper personnel administration.
Neither the city manager, the council, nor any other authority
of the city government may appoint or elect any person related to
the mayor or any other councilman, to the city manager, or to himself,
or, in the case of a plural authority, to one of its members, within
the second degree by affinity or within the third degree by consanguinity,
to any office or position in the city government; but this shall not
prohibit certain officers and employees already in the service of
the city from continuing or being continued in such offices and positions
as provided by law.
Except as may be otherwise provided by this charter or by ordinance,
the same person may hold more than one office in the city government,
but may not receive compensation for service in more than one office.
The city manager may hold more than one such office, through appointment
by himself, by the council, or by other city authority having power
to fill the particular office, subject to any regulations which the
council may make by ordinance; but he may not receive compensation
for service in such other offices. Also the council by ordinance may
provide that the city manager shall hold ex officio designated offices
subordinate to the city manager as well as other designated compatible
city offices, notwithstanding any other provision of this charter.
The city manager, the city treasurer, the city assessor and
collector, and such other officers and employees as the council may
designate, before entering upon their duties, shall provide bonds
for the faithful performance of their respective duties, payable to
the city, in such form and in such amounts as the council may prescribe,
with a surety company authorized to operate within the state. The
city shall pay the premiums on such bonds.
Every officer of the city, before entering upon the duties of
office, shall take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation of office
prescribed by the state constitution. The oath or affirmation shall
be filed in the city secretary’s office.
All officers authorized by federal or state law, the mayor,
the city manager, the city secretary, the city treasurer, the city
assessor and collector, the judge of the municipal court, the chairman
of the board of equalization, and such other officers as the council
may authorize, may administer oaths and affirmations in any matter
pertaining to the affairs and government of the city.
The power to lay off, suspend, demote, and remove accompanies
the power to appoint or elect; and the city manager, the council,
or other appointing or electing authority at any time may lay off,
suspend, demote, or remove any officer or employee to whom he, the
council, or the other appointing or electing authority respectively
may appoint or elect a successor.
The appointing or electing authority who may appoint or elect
the successor of an officer or employee, may appoint or elect a person
to act during the temporary absence, disability, or suspension of
such officer or employee, or, in case of a vacancy, until a successor
is appointed or elected and qualifies, unless the council provides
by general ordinance that a particular superior or subordinate of
such officer or employee shall act. The council by general ordinance
may provide for a deputy to act in such cases.
Every officer who is elected or appointed for a term ending
at a definite time, shall continue to serve thereafter until his successor
is elected or appointed and qualifies unless his services are sooner
terminated by resignation, removal, disqualification, death, abolition
of the office, or other legal manner.
When the masculine gender is used in this charter, it shall
also include the feminine unless the masculine alone is clearly indicated.
