[Ord. No. 629 §§1
— 4, 10-27-1997; Ord. No. 26-2008(A) §§1
— 3, 7-14-2008]
A. Appointment — Term Of Office. An employee Personnel
Board is hereby established in the City. The Board shall be composed
of five (5) members, one (1) of whom shall be a member of the Board
of Aldermen, appointed by the Mayor for a one (1) year term. The other
four (4) members of the employee Personnel Board shall be appointed
by the Mayor with the consent of the majority of the elected members
of the Board of Aldermen for a term of two (2) years each. The Mayor,
with the consent of the majority of the members of the Board of Aldermen,
shall fill vacancies for any unexpired term. A member of the employee
Personnel Board may be removed in the same manner as prescribed by
ordinance for the removal of other appointed City Officers. Members
of the employee Personnel Board shall serve until their successors
shall have been appointed and qualified. Members of the Board shall
serve without pay for such service.
B. Qualification. Persons appointed as members of the employee
Personnel Board shall as of the time of their appointment be at least
twenty-one (21) years of age, a qualified voter of the City of Herculaneum
and shall have been a resident of the City for at least one (1) year
immediately prior to appointment. Any member of the Board who ceases
to be a resident or a qualified voter in the City shall automatically
cease to be a member of the Board. Members of the Board shall be required
to take the oath of office prescribed by ordinance for City Officers.
C. Organization — Rules — Compensation. The member
of the employee Personnel Board who is also a member of the Board
of Aldermen shall serve as Chairmen of the employee Personnel Board.
The employee Personnel Board shall elect one (1) of its members to
serve as Vice Chairman for a one (1) year term. The employee Personnel
Board may adopt and amend from time to time rules governing its internal
operation. Such rules shall not be inconsistent with the ordinances
of the City or the Statutes of the State of Missouri. Should the Board
adapt such rules, it shall file a copy of the same with the City Clerk.
A majority of the members of the employee Personnel Board shall constitute
a quorum and the action of a majority of the members present shall
be the action of the employee Personnel Board.
D. Powers And Duties. The employee Personnel Board shall have
the following powers and duties:
1. The Board shall be empowered to consider and recommend employee personnel
policies.
2. The Board shall, when referred to it by the Mayor or the Board of
Aldermen, hear complaints by citizens directed against employees of
the City.
3. The Board shall, if requested by the Mayor or the Board of Aldermen,
interview prospective applicants as employees within the City. In
doing so, the Board may consider any relevant factors, including but
not necessarily limited to, training and experience, aptitude, knowledge,
character and other qualifications as, in the judgment of the Board,
shall enter into a proper determination of the qualifications of any
applicant. Examinations may be conducted; the same may be either written
or oral and said examinations may evaluate training and experience,
require a demonstration of skill or any combination of these factors.
Political or religious opinions or affiliations shall not be considered
in determining the qualifications of any applicant as a City employee
and the Board shall not elicit information concerning same. The Board
shall make recommendations to the Board of Aldermen; however, the
appointing authority shall remain in the Mayor with the consent of
a majority of the elected members of the Board of Aldermen.
4. The Mayor and the Board of Aldermen may take such disciplinary or
other action affecting employees of the City as they may deem appropriate
without charges, notice of hearing or hearing. Nothing herein shall
change the status of a City employee from an employee at will status.
If any employee of the City has received notice of his/her suspension
from duty, demotion or discharge or recommendation for discharge and
believes he/she is entitled to hearing, the employee must deliver
a written request for hearing to the City Clerk within five (5) calendar
days of such notice; and failing such request, such employee shall
not be entitled to a hearing. If such request is given to the City
Clerk, the City Clerk shall be responsible for immediately transmitting
it to the Mayor. Upon receipt of such request, the Mayor may but shall
not be required to refer it for hearing by either the employee Personnel
Board or the Board of Aldermen for such action as it deems appropriate.
If requested by the Mayor or the Board of Aldermen, the employee Personnel
Board shall hold a personnel hearing with reference to the disciplinary
action against any employee of the City utilizing the following procedures:
a. Notice of any allegations for the disciplinary action shall be preferred
in writing by the Mayor or by the City Attorney. A copy of the allegations
shall be delivered to the employee involved or mailed by registered
mail to him/her at his/her last-known address.
b. Thereafter, the Personnel Board shall hold a hearing on the matter
and shall give written notice of the date, time and place of such
hearing to the affected employee. At such hearing, the employee Personnel
Board shall hear evidence of the City; and the affected employee shall
be entitled to be present with counsel and shall be entitled to cross-examine
witnesses and to present evidence. The Personnel Board shall have
the right to compel attendance at such hearing, by way of subpoena,
and to compel the production of objects, books and records.
c. Promptly after the conclusion of the public hearing, the Personnel
Board shall in open or closed session determine what action, if any,
should be taken with respect to such employee; shall reduce their
recommendation to writing; and shall immediately certify same to the
City Clerk. Such recommendations shall be brought before the Board
of Aldermen at its regular meeting or at a special meeting held for
that purpose. The final action to be taken shall be determined by
the Mayor and Board of Aldermen pursuant to the provisions of the
Revised Statutes of Missouri.