Proposed Charter amendment

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Walter Banks
6 years ago
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1 Proposed Charter amendment

2 Article III The Mayor Section 4 City Attorney There is hereby created the office of City Attorney. The City Attorney shall be licensed to practice law in Oklahoma. The City Attorney shall be the chief legal advisor and attorney for the city and all offices, divisions, departments, boards, authorities, commissions, and agencies thereof. The City Attorney shall: A. Provide, supervise, and manage all legal services; B. Attend all meetings of the Council and provide legal services and advice; C. Assist and advise the Mayor; D. Approve as to form and legality all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council or state in writing the reasons for not approving; E. Initiate with the approval of the Mayor actions, suits, and applications in the name of the city; F. Prosecute or defend all actions, suits, cases, or proceedings to which the city is a party; G. Prosecute violators of the ordinances and of the laws of Oklahoma as is proper or required by law; H. Approve as to form all contracts, bonds, and other instruments to which the city is a party or which are required by the city; I. Perform such other legal duties and services as the Mayor may direct or as the Council may require by ordinance or resolution; and J. Perform any duties imposed by law upon the chief legal officer of a city.

3 Article III The Mayor Section 4 City Attorney There is hereby created the office of City Attorney. The City Attorney shall be licensed to practice law in Oklahoma. The City Attorney shall be the chief legal advisor and attorney for the city and all offices, divisions, departments, boards, authorities, commissions, and agencies thereof. The City Attorney shall: A. Provide, supervise, and manage all legal services; B. Attend all meetings of the Council and provide legal services and advice; C. Assist and advise the Mayor; D. Approve as to form and legality all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council or state in writing the reasons for not approving; E. Initiate with the approval of the Mayor actions, suits, and applications in the name of the city; F. Prosecute or defend all actions, suits, cases, or proceedings to which the city is a party; G. Prosecute violators of the ordinances and of the laws of Oklahoma as is proper or required by law; H. Approve as to form all contracts, bonds, and other instruments to which the city is a party or which are required by the city; I. Perform such other legal duties and services as the Mayor may direct or as the Council may require by ordinance or resolution; and J. Perform any duties imposed by law upon the chief legal officer of a city.

4 Section 1.4. Executive and administrative powers and duties. The Mayor shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the city and shall: F. Appoint, supervise, and remove all officers and employees of the city, except the employees of the City Auditor, who shall be appointed, supervised, and may be removed by the City Auditor, and the employees of the Council, who shall be appointed, supervised, and may be removed by the Council, all subject to the provisions of Articles X and XI of this amended Charter.

5 Section 1.4. Executive and administrative powers and duties. The Mayor shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the city and shall: F. Appoint, supervise, and remove all officers and employees of the city, except the employees of the City Auditor, who shall be appointed, supervised, and may be removed by the City Auditor, and the employees of the Council, who shall be appointed, supervised, and may be removed by the Council, all subject to the provisions of Articles X and XI of this amended Charter.

6 from the City Attorney s official job description....

7 The City Attorney represents and advises both the Mayor and the Council, but is accountable to the Mayor alone, subject to Civil Service rules.

9 The City Attorney s position has been vacant, or nominally filled with an at-will Mayor s Assistant for 34 out of the last 102 months (33.3% of the time since 2004). O Meilia David Pauling hired as Mayor s Assistant Dexter Deirdre Dexter hired as Mayor s Assistant Vacant Jackere Vacant

12 Civil Service Established 10 8 6 Political

11 12 Civil Service Established Political Patronage Mayor-Council Form of Government Established 4 2 0

12 Patronage Era ( ) Civil Service Era ( ) Mayor-Council Era ( ) Last Decade ( ) Average Term Length 2 years 11 years 3.9 years 2.8 years

14 The City of Tulsa Charter before From Charter and Amendments as of 1962

15 Mayor-Council City Albuquerque Atlanta Baltimore Boston Cleveland Columbus Denver Milwaukee Minneapolis Omaha Pittsburgh Seattle St. Louis St. Paul Tampa Summary Who Appoints the City Attorney? Mayor, with Council advice and consent Mayor, subject to Council confirmation; may be removed by ¾ Council vote Mayor, subject to Council confirmation Mayor Mayor Elected Mayor Elected Council Mayor Mayor, subject to Council approval Elected Mayor, but Board of Aldermen has its own Counsel Mayor, with Council advice and consent Mayor, but Council hires its own attorney Mayor, subject to Council approval 5 Mayor 4 Elected 3 Mayor, but Council hires legislative counsel 2 Council 1

16 Oklahoma Constitution Article 8 - Impeachment and Removal from Office 1. Officers subject to impeachment - Grounds - Suspension from office upon felony conviction - Reinstatement - Temporary judges. The Governor and other elective state officers shall be liable and subject to impeachment for wilful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude committed while in office.

17 28 USC 503 The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice. Article II 4 of the United States Constitution The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

18 The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (2 U.S.C. 281 et seq.), for example, provides that: The purpose of the (House) Office (of the Legislative Counsel) shall be to advise and assist the House of Representatives, and its committees and Members, in the achievement of a clear, faithful, and coherent expression of legislative policies.

19 From The Modern Role of the General Counsel as Corporate Lawyer & Business Executive (Illinois Business Law Journal, 2010) A General Counsel s (GC s) potential dual role as the corporation s chief legal officer and a member of the executive management team raises issues as to whether the GC will give the board of directors advice as the corporation s lawyer or as a business executive interested in passing through the management initiatives proposed by colleague executives. Therefore, in order to promote compliance with corporate governance and fulfill their fiduciary duties, the board of directors must implement appropriate authority and chain of command for the GC, balancing both the many roles of the GC and potential conflicts of interest.

20 1. Provide that the City Attorney will be appointed by the Mayor, subject to City Council confirmation. City of Tulsa before 1990: The Mayor shall submit to the Board of Commissioners a nomination for the office of City Attorney, and said board shall confirm or reject such nomination by a majority vote thereof, not including the Mayor. Albuquerque: The City Attorney shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council. Atlanta: There shall be a city attorney who shall be appointed by the mayor subject to confirmation by a majority vote of the city council. The city attorney may be removed at the pleasure of the mayor or the city council by a three-fourths' vote of its membership. Baltimore: The Mayor shall have the sole power of appointment of all municipal officers, subject to confirmation by the City Council by a majority vote of its members. Pittsburgh: The mayor shall appoint, subject to approval of council, a city solicitor. St. Paul: The mayor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the council, to the positions of city attorney and all heads of executive departments.

21 2. Provide that the City Attorney may not be an unclassified political appointment, even on an interim basis.

22 Proposed Charter amendment

Independent and Third-Party Municipal Candidates. City Council Election Reform Task Force April 8, :00 p.m.

Independent and Third-Party Municipal Candidates City Council Election Reform Task Force April 8, 2010 2:00 p.m. 28 of the 32 cities surveyed, or 88%, have non-partisan elections, so they do not have special