The Administrative Departments shall include the County Manager, the Department of Public Works and such additional departments, offices or agencies as the County Council may deem necessary. The Administrative Departments, offices and agencies shall be responsible to the County Council and shall perform such duties and functions as assigned to them by this Charter, ordinance or other applicable law.
The heads of the administrative departments shall be appointed by the County Council based on their abilities, qualifications, integrity and prior experience concerning the duties of the office to which they shall be appointed.
The head of each administrative department shall appoint all managers and employees of the department complying with the rules of the personnel system when appointing managers and employees to positions covered by the personnel system. All managers that report directly to a department head shall be confirmed by the County Council.
The County Council shall appoint a County Manager, directly responsible to the County Council, selected on the basis of his or her executive experience and professional administrative qualifications, to assist the County Council in carrying out the administrative responsibilities of the County. He or she need not, at the time his or her employment commences, be a resident of the county or state. No member of the County Council shall, during the time for which he or she was elected, be chosen County Manager. The County Council shall, by resolution, establish the County Manager's contract or terms of employment, including compensation, provided that the contract shall be at will and terminable in accordance with such terms. In the case of absence or disability of the County Manager, the County Council may delegate some qualified person to perform the duties of the office during such absence or disability. Employment of a County Manager shall not be construed as changing the relationship of the County Council members or other elected officials to their constituents, or the relationship of the County Council members to other elected officials.
It is the prerogative of the County Council to determine whether department heads report directly to them or through their appointed County Manager. The County Manager shall be directly responsible to the County Council and he or she may serve the County Council and the County in any or all of the following ways: by making recommendations concerning the affairs and needs of the County as may be necessary; carrying out the goals and policies of the County Council while acting as its representative in the budget process; supervising, performing and delegating other responsibilities as may be prescribed by this Charter or required of him or her by ordinance or resolution of the County Council. The County Manager and any other officer or officers of the County are authorized to exercise and perform any of their duties or responsibilities through any of their respective subordinates.
(1) 
A hearing examiner system shall be established for consideration of land and shoreline issues.
(2) 
The qualifications, powers, and duties of, and procedures to be employed by the hearing examiner, shall be established by the County Council.
(3) 
The County Council may, at its discretion, authorize the hearing examiner to conduct any other non-legislative hearing permitted or mandated by state or local law, including those permitted or mandated pursuant to this Charter, notwithstanding anything in this Charter to the contrary.
(4) 
Decisions of the hearing examiner are not subject to administrative review by the County Council unless the County Council, in consultation with the Prosecuting Attorney, has adopted, by ordinance, written procedures for the discretionary review of the decisions of the hearing examiner. The rules for discretionary review shall provide:
(a) 
That an appellant may choose to bypass review by the County Council and seek direct review with the court or other tribunal as provided by law;
(b) 
The grounds under which the County Council may choose to hear or not to hear an appeal; and
(c) 
Such other matters as the County Council deems pertinent to the appeal of decisions of the hearing examiner.
In no event will the act of bypassing administrative review before the County Council be considered a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.