The office of the City Manager of the City of Blue Lake is hereby created and established. The City Manager shall be appointed by the City Council on the basis of his or her administrative and executive ability and qualifications and shall hold office for and during the pleasure of the City Council.
Residence in the City at the time of appointment of a City Manager shall not be required as a condition of the appointment, but within 180 days after reporting for work the City Manager must become a resident of the City unless the City Council approves his or her residence outside the City.
No member of the City Council shall be eligible for appointment as City Manager until one year has elapsed after such Council member shall have ceased to be a member of the City Council.
The City Manager shall furnish a corporate surety bond to be approved by the City Council in such sum as may be determined by the said City Council, and shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties imposed upon the City Manager as herein prescribed. Any premium for such bond shall be a proper charge against the City of Blue Lake.
The City Manager, by filing a written notice with the City Clerk, shall designate a qualified City employee to exercise the powers and perform the duties of City Manager during his or her temporary absence or disability as delineated and delegated by the City Manager. In the event the City Manager's absence or disability extends over a two-month period, the City Council may, after the two-month period, appoint an Acting City Manager.
The City Manager shall receive such compensation as the City Council shall from time to time determine, unless the City Manager serves under an employment contract and then the compensation shall be according to the terms of the employment contract. In addition, the City Manager shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred by him or her in the performance of his/her official duties. On termination of employment of the City Manager by reason of involuntary removal from service other than for willful misconduct in office, the City Manager shall receive cash severance pay in a lump sum equal to two months' pay for every year of continuous service or fraction thereof as City Manager, up to a total of six months' pay, such pay to be computed at the highest salary received by the City Manager during his or her service with the City, unless the City Manager serves under an employment contract and then compensation on termination of employment will be according to the terms of the employment contract. Involuntary removal from service shall include reduction in pay not applicable to all employees of the City.
The City Manager shall be the administrative head of the government of the City under the direction and control of the City Council except as otherwise provided in this chapter. He or she shall be responsible for the efficient administration of all the affairs of the City which are under his or her control. In addition to general powers as administrative head, and not as a limitation thereon, it shall be the City Manager's duty and he or she shall have the powers set forth in the following subsections.
A. 
Law Enforcement. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to enforce all laws and ordinances of the City and to see that all franchises, contracts, permits, and privileges granted by the City Council are faithfully observed.
B. 
Authority Over Employees. It shall be the duty of the City Manager, and he or she shall have the authority to control, order, and give directions to all heads of departments and to subordinate officers and employees of the City under his or her jurisdiction through their department heads, with the exception of the appointed positions of City Clerk, Treasurer, and City Attorney.
C. 
Power of Appointment and Removal. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to, and he or she shall appoint, remove, promote, and demote any and all officers and employees of the City of Blue Lake, subject to all applicable personnel ordinances, rules, and regulations, with the exception of the appointed positions of City Clerk, Treasurer, and City Attorney.
D. 
Administrative Reorganization of Officers. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the City Manager to conduct studies and effect such administrative reorganization of offices, positions, or units under his or her direction as may be indicated in the interest of efficient, effective, and economical conduct of the City's business.
E. 
Ordinances. It shall be the duty of the City Manager and he or she shall recommend to the City Council for adoption such measures and ordinances as he or she deems necessary.
F. 
Attendance at Council Meetings. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to attend all meetings of the City Council unless at his or her request he or she is excused therefrom by the Mayor individually or the City Council, except when his or her removal is under consideration.
G. 
Financial Reports. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to keep the City Council at all times fully advised as to the financial condition and needs of the City.
H. 
Budget. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to prepare and submit the proposed annual budget and the proposed annual salary plan to the City Council for its approval.
I. 
Expenditure Control and Purchasing. It shall he the duty of the City Manager to see that no expenditures shall be submitted or recommended to the City Council except on approval of the City Manager or his/her authorized representative. The City Manager, or his/her authorized representative, shall be responsible for the purchase of all supplies for all the departments or divisions of the City.
J. 
Investigations and Complaints. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to make investigations into the affairs of the City and any department or division thereof, and any contract or the proper performance of any obligations of the City. Further, it shall be the duty of the City Manager to investigate all complaints in relation to matters concerning the administration of the City government and in regard to the service maintained by public utilities in said City.
K. 
Public Buildings. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to exercise general supervision over all public buildings, public parks, and all other public property which are under the control and jurisdiction of the City Council.
L. 
Additional Duties. It shall be the duty of the City Manager to perform such other duties and exercise such other powers as may be delegated from time to time by ordinance or resolution or other official action of the City Council.
A. 
Council-Manager Relations. The City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative services of the City only through the City Manager, except for the purpose of inquiry, and neither the City Council nor any member thereof shall give orders or instructions to any subordinates of the City Manager. The City Manager shall take orders and instructions from the City Council only when sitting in a duly convened meeting of the City Council and no individual Council member shall give any orders or instructions to the City Manager.
B. 
Departmental Cooperation. It shall be the duty of all subordinate officers and the City Clerk, City Treasurer, and City Attorney to assist the City Manager in administering the affairs of the City efficiently, economically, and harmoniously.
C. 
Attendance at Commission Meetings. The City Manager may attend any and all meetings of the Planning Commission, Recreation and Park Commission, and any other commissions, boards, or committees created by the City Council, upon his or her own volition or upon direction of the City Council. At such meetings which the City Manager attends, he or she shall be heard by such commissions, boards, or committees as to all matters upon which he or she wishes to address the members thereof, and he or she shall inform said members as to the status of any matter being considered by the City Council, and shall cooperate to the fullest extent with the members of all commissions, boards, or committees appointed by the City Council.
A. 
Removal of City Manager. The removal of the City Manager shall be effected only by the majority vote of the whole City Council as then constituted, convened in a regular Council meeting, subject, however, to the provisions of the next succeeding subsections. In case of the intended removal by the City Council, the City Manager shall be furnished with a written notice stating the Council's intention to remove him or her at least 30 days before the effective date of the removal. If the City Manager so requests, the City Council shall provide in writing reasons for the intended removal, which shall be provided the City Manager within seven days after the receipt of such request from the City Manager, and at least 15 days prior to the effective date of such removal.
B. 
Hearing. Within seven days after the delivery to the City Manager of such notice of intention to remove, he or she may by written notification to the City Clerk, request a hearing before the City Council. Thereafter the City Council shall fix a time for the hearing which shall be held at its usual meeting place, but before the expiration of the 30-day period, at which the City Manager shall appear and be heard, with or without counsel.
C. 
Suspension Pending Hearing. After furnishing the City Manager with written notice of intended removal, the City Council may suspend him or her from duty, but compensation shall continue until his or her removal by action of the Council passed subsequent to the aforesaid hearing.
D. 
Discretion of Council. In removing the City Manager, the City Council shall use its uncontrolled discretion and its action shall be final and shall not depend upon any particular showing or degree of proof at the hearing, the purpose of which is to allow the City Manager to present to said City Council his or her grounds of opposition to his or her removal prior to its action.
E. 
Limitation on Removal. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the City Manager shall not be removed from office, other than for misconduct in office, during or within a period of 90 days next succeeding any general municipal election held in the City at which election a member of the City Council is elected or when a new City Council member is appointed; the purpose of this provision is to allow any newly elected or appointed member of the City Council or a reorganized City Council to observe the actions and ability of the City Manager in the performance of the powers and duties of his or her office. After the expiration of the 90-day period aforementioned, the provisions of this section as to the removal of the City Manager shall apply and be effective.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as a limitation on the power or authority of the City Council to enter into any supplemental agreement with the City Manager delineating additional terms and conditions of employment not inconsistent with any provisions of this chapter.