[R.O. 2009 § 105.100; R.O. 2007 § 105.100; Ord. No. 988 §§ 4, 6, 9-17-1987; Ord. No. 1857, 4-8-1999; Ord. No. 3036 § I, 4-26-2012; Ord. No. 3058 § I, 9-13-2012]
A. 
Office Of Chief Of Police Created. There is hereby established and created, as of April 1975, the office of Chief of Police who shall perform all duties required of the City Marshall by the laws of the State of Missouri and by City ordinance.
B. 
Appointment Of Chief Of Police. The Chief of Police will be appointed as follows: The Mayor of the City of Bolivar will nominate a person who will be at least twenty-one (21) years of age to be Chief of Police, which nomination will thereupon be submitted to the Board of Aldermen for its approval or disapproval. Confirmation of the nomination by the Board of Aldermen will be by the majority vote of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Bolivar present at such meeting. The Chief of Police will hold office until his or her death, resignation or removal from office.
C. 
Removal From Office. The Mayor may, with the consent of a majority of all the members elected to the Board of Aldermen, remove the Chief of Police from office at will. Additionally, the Chief of Police may be removed at will by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all the members elected to the Board of Aldermen, independently of the Mayor's approval or recommendation.
D. 
Vacancy. Any vacancy in the office of the Chief of Police will be filled consistent with the provisions of Subsection (B) above.
E. 
Police Officers — How Commissioned — Number Of Officers — At Will Employees.
1. 
The Chief of Police will have the duty to make the determination as to the persons hired as the City's Police Officers to serve under his/her immediate direction and control. The authority granted to the Chief of Police by this Section will be subject to the provisions contained herein regarding the number of Police Officers who may be on duty with the City according to the annual City budget in place at any given time.
2. 
The Mayor shall commission Police Officers to serve under the immediate direction and control of the Police Chief or his/her designee upon the hiring of such officers by the Chief of Police.
3. 
The number of Police Officers to be appointed shall be established by the annual City budget as adopted by the budget ordinance and as the budget may from time to time be duly amended.
4. 
All Police Officers of the City shall serve at the will of the City and may be removed with or without cause by either the Chief of Police or the City Administrator, and upon the removal of an officer for any reason, the Mayor shall immediately withdraw the officer's commission. In the event that the City is without both a Chief of Police and a City Administrator, the Mayor may both remove officers and withdraw commissions upon such removal.
5. 
The Chief of Police, in addition to the power to remove, may, for good cause, grant paid or unpaid leaves of absence, and may discipline any officer for cause by suspension with or without pay or with partial pay by written letter of reprimand, by written warning, by oral reprimand or warning, or in any other manner which is deemed appropriate by the Chief of Police.
6. 
Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Section, no commissioned Police Officer who is regularly employed for more than thirty (30) hours per week shall be dismissed, demoted to a lower paying position or suspended without pay, if the officer proposed to be dismissed, demoted or suspended without pay shall request in writing within forty-eight (48) hours of the action, a meeting before the Board of Aldermen. Such meeting shall be conducted in compliance with Section 85.011, RSMo., as in effect from time to time.