[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.