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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/21/2007 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 091, 2007, AMENDING ITEM NUMBER: 15 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: August 21, 2007 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Darin Atteberry SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 091,2007,Amending Section 1-2 of the City Code to Authorize the City Manager to Designate Employees of the City to Perform Any Duties Assigned by the City Code to Persons Holding Positions of Employment That No Longer Exist Under the City's Current Administrative Structure and Ratifying the Administrative Delegation or Reassignment of Certain Duties. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City Code currently contains references to duties and responsibilities of persons occupying specific positions of employment, some of which no longer exist as a result of the recent reorganization of the City's administrative structure in February 2007. This Ordinance amends the definition of"delegation of authority"in the City Code to allow the City Manager to designate, in writing, a position of employment to which those individual duties and responsibilities may be assigned as the need arises. The City Manager's designation would remain in effect until such time as the position designated in the Code is reestablished or the Code is amended to specify a different position to which the duty or responsibility is to be assigned. The Ordinance also ratifies those delegations and reassignments that have occurred since the reorganization. BACKGROUND Article 11, Section 5 of the City Charter authorizes the City Council, upon recommendation of the City Manager, to establish, change, consolidate or abolish administrative offices, so long as the administration functions and public services established bythe Charter are not abolished in any such reorganization. On February 6,2007,Council adopted Ordinance No. 005,2007 which amended Chapter 2,Article V, Division 2 of the City Code pertaining to the administrative structure of the City, thereby eliminating, consolidating or renaming several positions of employment. Throughout the Code, various duties and responsibilities are assigned to persons occupying certain positions which no longer exist as a result of the reorganization. August 21, 2007 -2- Item No. 15 Staff is working to identify the provisions of the Code that need to be amended to ensure that the duties and responsibilities contained in the Code are assigned to the appropriate persons, and that the titles and positions of employment are consistent with the new organizational structure of the City. In light of the fact that several key positions are currently vacant and those positions may be affected by the reassignment of duties and responsibilities, it may take some time before staff is prepared to bring an ordinance to Council to amend the Code to reflect new assignments. This Ordinance allows the City Manager to assign responsibilities to other employees in the interim as the need arises. The ordinance also ratifies any re-assignments or delegations that the City Manager or service area directors may have made subsequent to the reorganization and prior to the enactment of this Ordinance. hi addition, some positions to which the Code assigns specific duties and responsibilities have already been eliminated, consolidated or renamed, and employees in other City management positions have performed those duties and responsibilities as necessary in order to allow City and public business to continue without disruption. Also, some duties and responsibilities had been delegated by those in designated positions to subordinate positions in the City administrative structure. The City Manager has requested and recommended that the Council ratify the decisions and actions of those employees who have performed such duties and responsibilities due to the elimination, consolidation or renaming of Code-designated positions, as well as the decisions and actions of those employees who have performed delegated duties and responsibilities pursuant to a continuing delegation that had been made by the prior holder of an eliminated, consolidated or renamed Code-designated position. ORDINANCE NO . 091 , 2007 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING SECTION 1 -2 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO DESIGNATE EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY TO PERFORM ANY DUTIES ASSIGNED BY THE CITY CODE TO PERSONS HOLDING POSITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT THAT NO LONGER EXIST UNDER THE CITY' S CURRENT ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE AND RATIFYING THE ADMINISTRATIVE DELEGATION OR REASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN DUTIES WHEREAS , Article 11, Section 5 of the City Charter authorizes the City Council, upon recommendation of the City Manager, to establish, change, consolidate or abolish administrative offices, service areas or agencies of the City by ordinance, so long as the administrative functions and public services established by the Charter are not abolished in any such reorganization; and WHEREAS , pursuant to such authority, the City Council adopted Ordinance No . 005 , 2007, on February 6, 2007, (the " Ordinance ") which Ordinance amended Chapter 2, Article V, Division 2 of the Code pertaining to the administrative structure of the City and eliminated, consolidated or renamed several positions of employment in the City; and WHEREAS, throughout the City Code, various duties and responsibilities are assigned to persons occupying specific positions of employment, some of which no longer exist as a result of the enactment of the Ordinance; and WHEREAS , City staff is in the process of identifying the particular provisions of the Code that need to be amended in order to ensure that the duties and responsibilities established therein are assigned to the appropriate officers and employees of the City, and that the titles and positions of employment of such persons are consistent with the new organizational structure of the City; and WHEREAS , pending completion of such review of the Code and subsequent amendments by the City Council, the City Manager has recommended that the Council adopt an ordinance amending the City Code so as to authorize the City Manager to decide which employees of the City should perform any duties and responsibilities that may be assigned to positions of employment that no longer exist under the City's current administrative structure ; and WHEREAS, some positions to which the Code assigns specific duties and responsibilities have already been eliminated, consolidated or renamed, and employees in other City management positions have performed those duties and responsibilities as necessary in order to allow City and public business to continue without disruption; and WHEREAS, some duties and responsibilities had been delegated by those in designated positions to subordinate positions in the City administrative structure; and WHEREAS , the City Manager has requested and recommended that the Council ratify the decisions and actions of those employees who have performed such duties and responsibilities due to the elimination, consolidation or renaming of Code-designated positions, as well as the decisions and actions of those employees who have performed delegated duties and responsibilities pursuant to a continuing delegation that had been made by the prior holder of an eliminated, consolidated or renamed Code-designated position. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows : Section 1 . That the reference to "Delegation of authority" as contained in Section 1 -2 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows : Section 1 -2 Definitions ; rules of construction. Delegation of authority. Whenever a provision appears requiring the director of a service area, head of a department or officer of the City to do some act or make certain inspections, it is to be construed to authorize the director of the service area, head of the department or officer to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the required act or make the required inspection unless the terms of the provision or section designate otherwise. If any provision assigns a duty or responsibility to a person holding a position of employment that no longer exists within the City's organizational structure, and the need arises for such duty or responsibility to be carried out, the City Manager shall designate, in a writing filed with the City Clerk, the position of employment to which the duty or responsibility is to be assigned. Such designation by the City Manager shall remain in effect until such time, if at all, that the position designated in the Code is reestablished in the City's organizational structure or the City Council amends the provision in question to specify a different position to which the duty or responsibility is to be assigned. Section 2 . That the Council hereby ratifies and affirms the decisions and actions of those employees who have performed any duties and responsibilities due to the elimination, consolidation or renaming of Code-designated positions, as well as the decisions and actions of those employees who have performed delegated duties and responsibilities pursuant to a continuing delegation that had been made by the prior holder of any eliminated, consolidated or renamed Code-designated positions . Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 21 st day of August, A.D . 2007, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of September, A.D . 2007 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of September, A.D . 2007 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk