Proposed ordinance under review
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A Bay City council member wants all department heads of each city department to have exclusive authority to hire personnel to fill positions within the department for which they are responsible.
Council member Joseph Enoch proposed an ordinance that states the mayor or any member of the city council can make recommendations to the hiring department head, but have no authority to impose or require the hiring of any person for a position.
One member of city council against the ordinance is Mayor Mark Bricker.
"I am in no way a supporter of this ordinance," Bricker said.
This comes to him as a surprise after 60 days of being the new mayor of Bay City, he said.
"This comes to me as a surprise," he stated after he saw it in the agenda.
As per the City of Bay City home rule charter, the mayor or any council member may place a proposed written ordinance on the agenda of any council meeting, but must be approved by the city attorney.
The proposed ordinance states the intent for the ordinance is to serve the city's interest to promote, protect, preserve and improve the daily operations and management of the city's departments and the city as a whole by defining the authority to hire city employees.
If the ordinance passes, this will hurt the job description of being chief administrator, he said.
The ordinance also states that he will have no say in hiring an employee, but has the authority to terminate an employee.
"This ordinance leaves me at a level of a city employee, with no authority," he said.
“This ordinance is purely to clarify the issue for each department of who has the authority to do the hiring,” said William Pendergraft, city attorney for the City of Bay City.
“Apparently it’s coming to question now and we need to clarify to make it clear for everyone,” he added.
Pendergraft said the city charter and other ordinances do not spell out who may have authority in certain departments.
Departments like the finance department, city secretary and city attorney specifically mention who has authority, but other departments like public works do not specify.
“Enoch felt it necessary to put in an ordinance to clarify this,” he said.
City Councilman Joseph Enoch did not return repeated calls from the Advocate for comment.
As mayor, Bricker oversees approximately 150 to 180 city employees.
Bricker said he wants what's best for the city and would like to see the city prosper.
By not having him as part of the hiring process, this will violate what his position is all about, he said.
Bricker does not want to micromanage, but having this ordinance will overstep his ability to over see what’s important in the city, he added.
Clark Young, director of Public Works Department, currently oversees 104 employees, or more than 50 percent of city employees.
Young also oversees several other departments, including public works, utility, parks and recreation, the sanitation department and the airport.
By having this ordinance pass, it will leave Bricker with no authority over any position in the city, he stated.
The proposed ordinance needs the vote of three council members to pass in Thursday night’s city council meeting.
If the ordinance passes, Bricker is ready to veto the ordinance, which he is authorized to do under the Bay City rule charter.
City Council members have the right, under the home charter, to override the mayor's veto by four affirmative votes.
If passed, the ordinance can take effect immediately.
"The residents of Bay City are tired of the 'buddy system' and they want change, that is why they voted for me," he said.
"As a city official, I am held responsible for the proper administration in city affairs," he said. "This ordinance will greatly limit my accountability. It will be like council handcuffing me to get a new vision out to the city.”
Comments
what is really funny i was put on light duty and offered to do anything but no work for me and when i asked for a letter of veracation that i was employed by the city i was let go that day i needed the letter for food stamps till i could get back to work there have been other people hurt at work and they found light duty for them seems funny to me
August 27, 2010 at 12:33 p.m.we have to many chief and no indians in bay city jobs i was employee that hurt myself at home i was under dr. care when the city all or a sudden found no money in the budget for my job but hired 2 people after me and the money is there for them 1 is being payed what i make i think i was let go due to old injury and that the city nor the insurance wants me due to that i wish they could tell me where the money went when it was there to hire me now it is gone being due to my injury can any one comment on this
August 27, 2010 at 12:19 p.m.