HomeMy WebLinkAbout1592 Amending City Code 110.070.A. Chief Administrative Officer BILL NO: 2018-019 ORDINANCE NO: /,S-912--�
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE SECTION 110.070,A.
WHEREAS, Section 77.042, RSMo provides that the city administrator shall be the chief
administrative assistant to the mayor and shall have general superintending control of the
administration and management of the government business, officers and employees of the city,
subject to the direction and supervision of the mayor; and
WHEREAS,71.010,RSMo generally provides that ordinances should conform with the state
law upon the same subject; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Aldermen finds it is in the best interest of the City to amend the
City Code to ensure conformity of its ordinances with state law.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN FOR THE
CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI, as follows:
SECTION 1 —ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT. Section 110.070.A of the City Code of the City
of Riverside,Missouri is hereby amended to read as follows(text to be added is underlined;text to be
deleted contains a stFike0wough):
Section 110.070. Duties and Powers of the City Administrator.
A. Chief Administrative Officer. The City Administrator shall be the chief administrative
assistant to the Mayor and as such shall be the Chief Administrative Officer of the City
Government m .Except as otherwise
specified by ordinance or by the law of the State of Missouri, the City Administrator shall
have general superintending control of the administration and management of the government
business, officers and employees of the city, subject to the direction and supervision of the
manor
Iivmgide.
SECTION 2 — EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and
after the date of its passage and approval.
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BE IT REMBERED that the above was read two times by heading only, PASSED AND
APPROVED by a majority of ft Board of Aldermen and APPROVED by the Mayor of the City
of Riverside this 1-0 day of 2018.
Inau&-
or Kathleen L. Aose
ATTEST, `..........
e •
Robin Kincaid,City Clerk.:
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Paul A. Campo
Phone: 816.524.4646
Facsimile: 816.524.4645
pcampo@publiclawfirm.com
400 SW Longview Blvd., Suite 210
Lee's Summit, Missouri 64081
www.publiclawfirm.com
To: Mayor& Board of Aldermen for the City of Riverside, Missouri
From: Paul A. Campo, City Attorney PA C
Re: Proposed amendment to City Code Section 110.070.A
Date: April 12, 2018
Missouri law authorizes a city of the fourth classification to employ a city administrator.
Specifically,the enabling statute states:
The governing body of... any fourth class city may by ordinance provide
for the employment by the governing body with the approval of the mayor
of a city administrator who shall be the chief administrative assistant to
the mayor and who shall have general superintending control of the
administration and management of the government business, officers and
employees of the city, subject to the direction and supervision of the
mayor.
Section 77.042,RSMo(emphasis added).While broad duties and responsibilities may be delegated
to the city administrator,the statute specifically mandates that the city administrator is still subject
to the direction and supervision of the Mayor. The statute's use of the verb "shall be"means that
this is mandatory, not permissive.
Current City Code,however, states:
Chief Administrative Officer. The City Administrator shall be the Chief
Administrative Officer of the City Government and subject only to the
direction of the Board of Aldermen. Except as otherwise specified by
ordinance or by the law of the State of Missouri, the City Administrator
shall coordinate and generally supervise the operation of all departments of
the City of Riverside.
City Code Section 11.070.A.
Missouri law requires that a city's ordinances be inconformity to state law. Section 71.010,
RSMo ("Any municipal corporation in this state ... shall confine and restrict its jurisdiction and
the passage of its ordinances to and in conformity with the state law upon the same subject."). The
general rule for determining if a conflict exists is whether the ordinance permits what the statute
prohibits or prohibits what the statute permits.
The current City-Code section conflicts with the statute because the City Code section
prohibits the Mayor from providing direction and supervision to the city administrator by stating
that the city administrator is "only" subject to the Board of Aldermen's direction. This is
completely inconsistent with the city administrator framework. A fourth-class city's form of
government is Mayor-Board of Aldermen. The function of the Mayor is primarily executive; the
function of the Board of Aldermen is to set policy and enact legislation. Accordingly, the statute
provides that the city administrator"shall be the chief administrative assistant to the mayor."This
provision is in recognition that the executory powers still reside in the Mayor and not
independently with the city administrator. It is nonsensical to have the statutory "chief
administrative assistant to the Mayor"not be directed and supervised by the Mayor.
I'm recommending that the City Code be amended so that it conforms to Section 77.042,
RSMo. The proposed language comes directly from that statutory section, and any differences are
not substantive in nature. City Code Section 11.070.A would read as follows:
Chief Administrative Officer. The City Administrator shall be the chief
administrative assistant to the Mayor and as such shall be the Chief
Administrative Officer of the City Government. Except as otherwise
specified by ordinance or by the law of the State of Missouri, the City
Administrator shall have general superintending control of the
administration and management of the government business, officers and
employees of the city,subject to the direction and supervision of the mayor.