CC SR 20160816 04 - City Manager Advice and ConsentRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE: 08/16/2016
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to amend the Municipal Code to provide for Council
Advice and Consent on the hiring of certain upper management positions.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Review proposed Advice and Consent Ordinance providing for Council review of
the City Manager's decision to hire certain management employees; and
(2) Determine to introduce, introduce with revisions, or receive and file the
ordinance.
Introduce ORDINANCE NO. , AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING
CHAPTER 2.08 OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE
RELATING TO THE APPOINTMENT OF DEPARTMENT HEADS BY THE CITY
MANAGER
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: David J. Aleshire, City Attorney
REVIEWED BY: Gabriella Yap, Deputy City Manager '
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Draft of Ordinance (page A-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
General and City Manager Evaluation.
The City Council recently completed the City Manager's annual performance review. The
review was very positive, and the City Manager proposed a set of goals and objectives
for the coming year which the City Council endorsed. As a part of the review the Council
discussed with the City Manager the process of hiring upper management employees
and determined that they would like a more formal role in the process. In the past there
have been informal consultations which have varied over time, with no set
process. Following the evaluation, the Mayor has worked with the City Attorney to look
at various options and present a proposal for the Council's general consideration.
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2. Current Code Provisions.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes generally operates under what is known as the City
Manager form of government. The City Manager is the "administrative head of the
government of the city, under the direction and control of the city council," (Sec 2.08.070)
with wide responsibilities described in Title 2 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code
(RPVMC). All employees of the City report to the City Manager, and the City Manager
has the power to appoint, remove, promote and demote any and all officers and
employees of the City, except the City Attorney, subject to the personnel ordinances
adopted by the Council, administrative rules adopted under management prerogative, or
the provisions of the memorandums of understanding negotiated with the employee
bargaining units.
Section 2.08.070 (C) states the powers of the City Manager to include the following:
"Power of Appointment and Removal. To appoint, remove, promote and
demote any and all officers and employees of the city, except the city
attorney, subject to all applicable personnel ordinances, rules and
regulations;"
Additionally, concerning the authority of the City Manager, Section 2.08.080 states:
"The city council and its members shall deal with the administrative service
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 to any
subordinates of the city manager. The city manager shall take his orders
and instructions from the city council only when sitting in a duly convened
meeting of the city council and no individual councilman shall give any
orders or instructions to the city manager."
Under the current rules, although in the past there may have been informal consultations
between the city manager and councilmembers on occasions, there is no legally
mandated process by which the council is involved with the hiring or termination of
employees.
3. Current Proposal.
As a part of the city manager's evaluation process, the Council discussed establishing a
formal role. No specific procedures were discussed. The Council wanted to establish a
role which would not fundamentally alter the authority of the City Manager to be the
administrative head of the government, or would undermine his authority to direct and
manage employees. With these guidelines, in consultation with the City Attorney, the
Mayor has proposed the following features to an "advice and consent" system and which
are on the attached ordinance.
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(a) Only Applies to Highest Management Employees. As proposed, the advice
and consent system would only apply to the heads of administrative
departments, to the City Manager's deputy, the City Clerk, and the highest
manager of the human resources function if there is no department head
overseeing the function under the City Manager.
(b) Only on Hiring. The advice and consent system would only apply to a hiring
decision, and not termination. Nor does it apply to promotions, unless the
promotion is into one of the positions in (b) above, and does not apply to any
disciplinary actions of any nature whatsoever, even if less than
termination. The City Council would not be involved in making disciplinary
decisions, nor would it be able to initiate them.
(c) City Manager Establishes the Hiring Process. With regards to hiring
decisions concerning the designated managers, the City Manager would
determine the hiring process, including recruitment, testing, evaluation of
candidates, boards of review, background checking and other
procedures. The City Manager would determine who the finalists are for the
position, and may determine the final selection.
(d) Advice and Consent. The City Manager must inform the Council of the
finalists for the position and his selection. The Council must consent to the
selection. The Council may review the finalists selected by the City Manager
by reviewing resumes, or by interview, or other method selected by the
Council.
(e) Failure to Consent. If the Council does not consent to the City Manager's
selection, the candidate may not be hired. The City Manager may then select
another candidate and the process repeats until the Council consents to the
selection.
4. Alternatives.
Besides considering if this system should be extended to other management employees,
like the deputies of each department head, or reduced by eliminating certain department
heads, or the City Clerk or Human Resources Manager or city manager's deputy, the
primary alternatives are as follows:
(a) Have the Council advise the City Manager but not require their consent, or
(b) Have the Council have the right to make the actual selection of the position,
or
(c) Have the Council determine who the finalists are, or
(d) Have the Council also involved with termination of department heads, or
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(e) Leave the system as it is currently and not make any changes.
With regard to the above options, the recommended ordinance was seen as superior
because:
In option (a), the City Manager could ignore the council input, and if the council threatened
the city manager for such action, the code provisions would put the council in a weak
legal position should they then take action.
In option (b), if the council made the actual selection, it undermines the authority of the
City Manager.
In option (c), allowing the City Manager to determine the finalists allows the city manager
to retain significant control over the process.
In option (d), if the Council were involved in termination decisions as well, then the
Department Head will constantly be subject to the pressure of five councilmembers and
their varying opinions.
CONCLUSION:
What RPV has now would be considered the pure form of a City Manager system. In
cities with a City Administrator system, generally the powers of the administrative head
are weakened to a degree, with the most important change that the Council directly
determines the hiring and even the termination of department heads. In truth, irrespective
of the label that the City operates under, there are a wide range of variations in each
system—and one can't know how the local government works without looking at the
actual provisions in the Code. If it is the Council's desire to move away from the pure City
Manager system, the proposal gives the Council a formal advice and consent role in the
hiring decision only of certain specified important management positions. This proposal
would do less harm to the City Manager's authority than other proposals might. So the
issue comes down to the policy objectives of the Council.
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ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO
PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 2.08 OF THE
RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE
APPOINTMENT OF DEPARTMENT HEADS BY THE CITY MANAGER
WHEREAS, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes has, since incorporation, had a City
Manager system; and
WHEREAS, Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code Section 2.08.070(C), Power
of Appointment and Removal, states that the City Manager has the power to appoint,
remove, promote and demote any and all officers and employees of the city, except the
city attorney, subject to all applicable personnel ordinances, rules and regulations; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City Council believes that it is in the City's
best interest for the City Council to have the ability to give advice and consent to the
City Manager's appointment of certain management positions, including department
heads, the City Clerk, the Deputy City Manager, and head of Human Resources.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES, CALIFORNIA DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE, AND ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1: Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code Section 2.08.070, subsection
(C) is hereby amended to read as follows:
2.08.070(C) Power of Appointment and Removal. To appoint, remove, promote and
demote any and all officers and employees of the city, except the city attorney, subject
to all applicable personnel ordinances, rules and regulations; and including the Council
advice and consent provisions of Section 2.08.095.
Section 2: Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code Section 2.08.095 is hereby
added to read as follows:
2.08.095 Council Advice and Consent on Appointment of Certain Managers.
Without diminishing the City Manager's authority over any employees as provided in this
Chapter, the City Council shall exercise an advice and consent function with respect to
the hiring of certain management positions as specified herein. This shall apply to the
heads of all administrative departments of the City including the City Clerk, the manager
controlling the human resources function, and the assistant or deputy city manager, if
there is one. In considering the recruitment or promotion of any person to any such
position, the City Manager shall establish the process to recruit and evaluate
candidates, and shall determine the top candidates for the position, and shall provide to
the City Council such materials as have been created to make such determination. The
confidentiality of the materials including from the candidate's employer shall be
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maintained by council members. The City Council may evaluate the final candidates as
determined by the City Manager, including through direct interview or other method
selected by the City Council, and shall consult and advise the City Manager as to their
evaluations of the candidates. The City Manager may then select the candidate to be
awarded the position, but the consent of the council shall be required before a
permanent appointment can be made. The Council may not nominate persons to such
positions, nor is the Council's consent or approval required to remove a person from
such position, which decision shall continue to be made by the City Manager.
Section 2: Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause,
phrase, or portion of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or place, is
for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this
ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance,
and each and every section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or
portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,
subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof be declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
Section 3: The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in three (3)
public places in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage, in accordance with the
provisions of Section 36933 of the Government Code. The City Clerk shall further certify
to the adoption and posting of this Ordinance, and shall cause this Ordinance and its
certification, together with proof of posting, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of
the Council of this City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Section 4: This Ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect on
the 31 st day after its passage.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of , 2016.
Mayor
ATTEST:
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) SS
City of Rancho Palos Verdes )
I, Carla Morreale, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. was duly
introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the day of
, 2016, and was duly approved and adopted at a regular meeting of said
Council held on the day of , 2016, by the following roll call vote:
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Carla Morreale, City Clerk
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