There shall be a director of each department, who shall have the supervision and control thereof and who, with the exception of the Director of Law and the Director of Finance, shall be appointed by and shall be immediately responsible to the City Manager for the administration of his department. The Director of Law and the Director of Finance shall be appointed by Council and shall be immediately responsible to Council for the discharge of their respective duties. The Director of Finance shall be responsible for the collection and custody of all the funds of the Municipality from whatever source derived.
The Director of Law shall be an attorney at law admitted to practice in the State of Ohio. He shall be the legal advisory of and attorney and counsel for the Municipality and for all officers and departments thereof in matters relating to their official duties. He shall prepare all contracts bonds and other instruments in writing in which the Municipality is concerned and shall endorse on each his approval of the form and correctness thereof. When required by resolution of Council, he shall prosecute or defend, for and in behalf of the Municipality, all complaints, suits and controversies in which the Municipality is a party, and such other suits, matters and controversies as he shall, by resolution or ordinance, be directed to prosecute or defend. He shall, when so requested, give his opinion or advice in writing to Council, the Manager, the Director of any department, or to any officer or commission not included within a department upon any question of law involving their respective powers or duties. He shall have the authority to appoint and remove the Assistant Director of Law who shall serve at his pleasure.
Upon being satisfied that funds of the Municipality or public moneys in the hands of the Director of Finance or belonging to the Municipality are about to be or have been misapplied, or that any public moneys have been illegally drawn or withheld from the treasury, or that a contract in contravention to law has been or is about to be entered into, or has been or is being executed, or that a contract was procured by fraud or corruption, or that any property, real or personal, belonging to the Municipality, is being illegally used or occupied, or is being used or occupied in violation of contract, or that the terms of a contract made by or on behalf of the Municipality are being or have been violated, or that money is due the Municipality, the Director of Law shall apply by civil action, in the name of the Municipality, to a court of competent jurisdiction to restrain such contemplated misapplication of funds, or the completion of such illegal contract not fully completed or to recover for the use of the Municipality all public moneys so misapplied or illegally drawn or withheld from the treasury, or to recover for the benefit of the Municipality damages resulting from the execution of such illegal contract, or to recover for the benefit of the Municipality such real or personal property so used or occupied, or to recover, for the benefit of the Municipality, damages arising from the nonperformance of the terms of such contract, or to otherwise enforce it, or to recover such money due the Municipality.
If the Director of Law fails, upon the written request of a taxpayer of the Municipality, to make the application or institute the civil action contemplated in the preceding paragraph, such taxpayer may make such application or institute such civil action in the name of the Municipality; or, in any case wherein the Director of Law is authorized to make such application, bring any suit or institute such proceedings against any Municipal officer or person holding or having held a Municipal office, for misconduct in office, neglect of duty prescribed by law, to recover money illegally drawn or illegally withheld from the treasury, to recover damages resulting from the execution of such illegal contract, and upon the written request of a taxpayer of the Municipality, to bring such suit or institute such proceedings, shall fail, neglect or refuse so to do, or where for any reason the Director of Law cannot bring such action, or where the Director of Law has received and unlawfully withheld moneys belonging to the Municipality, or has received or drawn out of the treasury, public moneys which he is not lawfully entitled to demand and receive, a taxpayer, upon securing the costs, may bring such suit, or institute such proceedings, in the name of the Municipality, and such action shall be for the benefit of the Municipality as if brought by the Director of Law.
If the court hearing such case is satisfied that such taxpayer is entitled to the relief prayed for in his petition, and judgment is ordered in his favor, he shall be allowed his costs, including a reasonable compensation to his attorney.
If and when the Council shall, under the power herein granted that body, establish a Department of Public Health, the Director of Public Health shall be appointed by the City Manager and be responsible to him for the discharge of his duties. He shall be a physician who shall have been duly admitted to practice in the State of Ohio.
Nothing in this article contained shall be construed as preventing the same person from being director of more than one (1) department.
(5-7-02)
(5-7-02)