SR-603-013 (3)
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CA: RMM: lbcsr4 4/hpw ~t/3 - t/ /3
city Council Meeting 7-25-89
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JUL 2 5 1989
Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
city Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ordinance Adding Section 21061 to the Santa Monica
Municipal Code Implementing the Use of A Hearing
Officer in Employee Disciplinary Hearings
At its meeting on September 27, 1988, the City council
directed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance establishing a
hearing officer procedure for the conduct of hearings involving
employee terminations, suspensions, and demotions. In response
to this direction, the accompanying ordinance has been prepared
and is presented to the City Council for its consideration.
Under current City laws, any employee who has been
terminated, suspended, or demoted may request a hearing before
the Personnel Board. Over the years, the length and complexity
of hearings before
the
Personnel Board
has
increased.
Accordingly, the Personnel Board, city staff, and representatives
of employee organizations agreed that a procedure should be
established by which a Hearing Officer hears evidence and makes
recommendations to the Personnel Board.
The accompanying ordinance adds Section 21061 to the Santa
Monica Municipal Code. This Section provides that an employee can
request or agree to have a disciplinary matter heard by a hearing
officer. This Section further sets forth the procedures for the
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selection of hearing officers, the conduct of hearings, and the
action of the Personnel Board in response to the hearing
officer's recommendation.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be introduced for first reading.
PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney
Lyn Beckett Cacciatore, Deputy City Attorney
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CA:RMM:lbc044/hpw
city council Meeting 7-25-89
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING SECTION 21061
TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE IMPLEMENTING
THE USE OF A HEARING OFFICER IN EMPLOYEE
DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
Section 21061 is added to the Santa Monica
Municipal Code to read as follows:
Section 21061.
Use of a Hearing
Officer in Employee Disciplinary Hearings.
(a) Use of Hearing Officer. At the
request of an employee or if the employee
agrees, the Personnel Board may delegate
the
initial
review
of
employee
suspensions, demotions and terminations to
a Hearing Officer. An employee's request
for a Hearing Officer should be submitted
in writing with the Answer to the
statement of Charges.
The City will pay
the cost of the Hearing Officer, but if a
court reporter is requested, the charge
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for this service will be shared by both
parties.
(b) Selection of Hearinq Officer.
The Hearing Officer shall be selected in
accordance with the following procedure:
(1) The city Attorney shall
compile a Hearing Officer panel list of no
less than twelve (12) persons who have
agreed to serve as Hearing Officers. Each
panel member shall be experienced in the
field of labor and personnel relations or
employee discipline and shall possess a
law degree or be a member of the
California Bar.
(2) The city Attorney shall
select, by a random process, names of five
(5) Hearing Officers from the Hearing
Officer panel list. These names shall be
submi tted to the employee or his or her
designated representative and to the
City's representative. Within five (5)
days of receipt of the list, the employee
and City shall confer to select a Hearing
Officer from the names provided. If the
employee and City are unable to mutually
agree on a Hearing Officer the Hearing
Officer shall be selected by a process of
elimination. Each party, beginning with
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the City, shall strike a name from the
list until one name remains, who shall be
the Hearing Officer.
(3) The ci ty shall promptly
notify the Hearing Officer of his or her
selection and within fifteen (15) days of
his or her selection the Hearing Officer
shall notify the parties of a hearing
date. If the Hearing Officer is unable to
schedule a hearing within sixty (60) days
of his or her selection, then at the
request of either party, the city Attorney
shall provide a new Hearing Officer list
until a Hearing Officer is selected who is
able to so schedule a hearing date.
(e) Duties of Hearinq Officer.
(1) The Hearing Officer shall
hold a hearing not later than sixty (60)
days following his or her selection unless
an extension of time is granted by mutual
consent of the parties. The parties will
be given no less than ten (10) days
written notice of the time and place of
the hearing. For good cause, at the
request of any party, the Hearing Off ieer
may reschedule a hearing.
(2) The hearing
conducted in accordance with
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will be
the ci ty
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Charter,
and the
rules.
the Santa Monica Municipal Code
Personnel Board's procedural
(d) Report of Hearinq Officer.
(1) At the conclusion of the
hearing, the Hearing Officer shall write a
report in a format specified by the
Personnel Board and shall make factual
findings and recommendations for
consideration by the Personnel Board.
(2) The Hearing Officer shall
issue the report within thirty (30) days
of completion of the hearing. Both the
employee and City shall be sent copies of
the report.
(3) The employee and City
shall have fifteen (15) days from the date
they receive the !,eport to file written
objections to the report with the
Personnel Department. All information
necessary for the Personnel Board to make
its decision concerning the objections
should be included in the written
objections. Each party shall serve a copy
of his or her obj ections on the opposing
party.
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(e) Consideration of Report by
Personnel Board.
(1) The Personnel Board shall
consider the Hearing Off icer' s report
within sixty (60) days after it is issued.
(2 ) The Personnel Board has
the power to adopt, modify or reject the
findings and recommendations of the
Hearing Officer.
(3) The Personnel Board shall
consider all written objections to the
report filed pursuant to Section 21061 (c)
and may, at its discretion, permit a brief
oral argwnent according to such rules as
it may adopt.
(4) The Personnel Board shall
render its findings and conclusions in
wri ting not more than ten (10) days from
the date of the consideration of the
Hearing Officer's report, which findings
and conclusions shall constitute the
decision of the Personnel Board. A copy
will be sent to both parties.
(f) Review of Personnel Board
Decision. The decision of the Personnel
Board shall be reviewable by petition
filed pursuant to Code of civil Procedure
Section 1094.5, provided such review is
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sought not later than the ninetieth (90th)
day following the date on which the
decision becomes final in accordance with
provisions of Section 1400 of this Code
and Code of civil Procedure Section
1094.6.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of
this ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no
further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to affect the provisions of this ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid
or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the ordinance. The ci ty Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared inval id or unconstitutional without regard to whether
any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared
invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this ordinance. The city Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
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within 15 days after its adoption.
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effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney
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The ordinance shall be