In order to establish an equitable and uniform procedure for dealing with personnel matters, to attract to municipal service the best and most competent persons available, to assure that appointments and promotions of employees will be based on merit and fitness, and to provide a reasonable degree of security for qualified employees, the following personnel system is adopted.
(Prior code § 2-4.01)
The city manager shall be the personnel officer. The city manager may delegate any of the powers and duties conferred upon him or her as personnel officer under this section to any other officer or employee of the city or may recommend that such power and duties be performed under contract as provided in Section 2.48.140. The personnel officer shall:
A. 
Attend all meetings of the personnel board and serve as its secretary;
B. 
Administer all the provisions of this chapter and of the personnel rules not specifically reserved to the city council or the personnel board;
C. 
Prepare and recommend to the city council personnel rules and revisions and amendments to such rules. The city attorney shall approve the legality of such rules and amendments prior to their submission to the city council;
D. 
Prepare or cause to be prepared a position classification plan, including class specifications, and revisions of the plan. The plan, and any revisions thereof, shall become effective upon approval by the city council;
E. 
Prepare or cause to be prepared a plan of compensation, and revisions thereof, covering all classifications in the city service. The plan, and any revisions thereof, shall become effective upon approval by the city council;
F. 
Provide for the publishing or posting notices of vacancies of positions in the city service; the receiving of applications therefore; the conducting and grading of examinations, the certification to the appointing power of a list of all persons eligible for appointment to the appropriate position in the city service.
(prior code § 2-4.02; Ord. 80-03 § 3)
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all offices, positions and employments in the service of the city, except:
A. 
Elective officers;
B. 
Members of appointive boards, commissions and committees;
C. 
Persons engaged under contract to supply expert, professional, technical or other services;
D. 
Volunteer personnel, such as volunteer firefighters;
E. 
City attorney;
F. 
Emergency employees who are hired to meet the immediate requirements of an emergency condition, such as extraordinary fire, flood or earthquake which threatens life or property;
G. 
Department heads, including, but not limited to, the chief of police, fire chief, superintendent of public works, and city manager.
(Prior code § 2-4.03)
Personnel rules shall be adopted by resolution of the city council after notice of such action has been publicly posted at least five days prior to city council consideration. Amendments and revisions may be suggested by any interested party and shall be processed as provided in the personnel rules. The rules shall establish regulations governing the personnel system including:
A. 
Preparation, installation, revision, and maintenance of a position classification plan covering all positions in the city service, including employment standards and qualifications for each class;
B. 
Preparation, revision, and administration of a plan of compensation directly correlated with the position classification plan, providing a rate or range of pay for each class;
C. 
Public announcement of all vacancies, acceptance of applications for employment, and the preparation and conduct of examinations;
D. 
Making of provisional and emergency appointments;
E. 
Evaluation of employees during the probationary period;
F. 
Transfer, promotion, demotion, reinstatement, disciplinary action, separation and layoff of employees in the city service;
G. 
Standardization of hours of work, attendance and leave regulations, working conditions and the development of employee morale, welfare, and training;
H. 
The establishment of adequate personnel records;
I. 
The establishment of grievance and appeal procedures.
(Prior code § 2-4.04)
Appointments to vacant positions in the city service shall be made in accordance with personnel rules. Appointments and promotions shall be based on merit and fitness to be ascertained so far as practicable by appropriate examinations. Examinations shall be used and conducted to aid in the selection of qualified employees and shall consist of selection techniques which will test fairly and qualifications of candidates such as achievement and aptitude tests, written tests, personal interview, performance tests, physical agility tests, evaluation of daily work performance, work samples or any combinations of these or other tests. Physical and medical tests may be given as a part of any examination.
Appointments shall be made by the city council, or by the officer in whom the power to make appointments is vested.
When appointment is to be made to a vacancy in the city service, the personnel officer shall transmit to the appointing power the names of all persons making application for the vacancy.
(Prior code § 2-4.05)
All regular appointments, including promotional appointments, shall be for a probationary period of not less than six months. During the probationary period, the employee may be rejected at any time without the right of appeal or hearing.
An employee rejected during the probationary period from a position to which he or she has been promoted shall be reinstated to a position in the class from which he or she was promoted unless he or she is discharged from the city service as provided in this chapter and the rules.
(Prior code § 2-4.06)
Any person holding a position included in the city service who, on May 4,1967, shall have served continuously in such position, or in some other position in the city service, for a period equal to the probationary period prescribed in the rules for his or her class, shall assume regular status in the city service in the position held on such effective date without qualifying test, and shall thereafter be subject in all respects to the provisions of this chapter and the personnel rules.
Any other person holding positions in the city service shall be regarded as probationers who are serving out the balance of their probationary periods as prescribed in the rules before obtaining regular status. The probationary period shall be computed from the date of appointment or employment.
(Prior code § 2-4.07)
Any appointing power, (upon the approval of the city council), shall have the right, for due cause, to demote, dismiss, reduce in pay, or suspend without pay for thirty calendar days any permanent employee. Notice of such action must be in writing and served personally on such employee, except where an emergency situation exists, in which case the notice shall be served within three working days of the action taken. Such notice shall specify the penalty and contain a statement of the reason or reasons therefor.
An employee in the city service may be discharged for cause at any time by the appointing power. Whenever it is the intention of the appointing power to discharge an employee in the city service, the personnel officer shall be notified. Any employee who is about to be discharged shall be given a written notice of the proposed action, the reasons therefor, a copy of the charges and materials upon which the action is based, the right to respond to the charges, and the right to an appeal hearing before the city council, provided such hearing is requested within seven days after the employee is officially notified of the intended action.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to reductions in pay which are a part of a general plan to reduce salaries and wages or to eliminate positions.
(prior code § 2-4.09; Ord. 80-03 § 4)
Any employee in the city service shall have the right to appeal to the personnel board any disciplinary action, interpretation or alleged violation of this chapter or the rules adopted thereunder, except in those instances where the right of appeal is specifically prohibited by this chapter or the rules adopted thereunder.
All appeals shall be concluded as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with the requirements and procedures as set forth in the personnel rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter. When the council acts as the personnel board, the decision of the personne1 board in any matter shall be final.
(Prior code § 2-4.10)
Whenever in the judgment of the city council it becomes necessary, the city council may abolish any position or employment in the city service. Employees transferred, demoted or laid off because of the abolishment of positions, shall not be subject to written charges nor shall they have the right of appeal in such cases.
Seniority shall be observed in effecting such reduction in personnel and the order of lay-off shall be in the reverse order of total cumulative time served in permanent and probationary status in the city service upon the effective date of the lay-off. Lay-off shall be made within classes of positions, and all provisional employees in the affected class or classes shall be laid off prior to the lay-off of any probationary or permanent employee.
The names of probationary and permanent employees laid off shall be placed upon re-employment lists for classes which, in the opinion of the personnel officer require basically the same qualifications and duties and responsibilities of those of the class of positions from which lay-off was made.
Names of persons laid off shall be placed upon re-employments lists in order of total cumulative time served in probationary and permanent status, and shall remain on such lists for a period of one year unless re-employed sooner.
(Prior code § 2-4.11)
No person in the city service or seeking admission thereto shall be employed, promoted. demoted or discharged, or in anyway favored or discriminated against because of political opinions or affiliations or because of race, color, gender, ancestry, national origin, or religious belief.
(prior code § 2-4.13; Ord. 2003-05 § 3)
The city council shall decide regarding the extent to which the city should contract for the performance of technical services in connection with the establishment or operation of the personnel system. The city council may contract with any qualified person or agency for the performance of all or any of the following responsibilities and duties imposed by this chapter:
A. 
The preparation of personnel rules and subsequent revisions and amendments thereof;
B. 
The preparation of a position classification plan and subsequent revisions and amendments thereof;
C. 
The preparation of a plan of compensation, and subsequent revisions and amendments thereof;
D. 
The preparation conduct and grading of competitive tests;
E. 
Special and technical services of advisory or informational character on matters relating to personnel administration.
(Prior code § 2-4.14)
A mandatory retirement limit of sixty-five (65) years of age for all full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees, including incumbents, but excluding those employees listed in Section 2.48.030 is established. An extension of the limit to seventy (70) years of age may be allowed upon approval of the council. Retirement prior to sixty-five (65) years of age may be allowed when in conjunction with the rules and regulations of a city service retirement plan when formally adopted by the city council.
(Prior code § 2-4.15)