(a) No employee in the classified civil service after serving a probationary period of six (6) months shall be dismissed, suspended or reduced in grade or pay for any reason except inefficiency, misconduct, insubordination or violation of law involving moral turpitude.
(b) Any person may prefer charges in writing against any employee by filing them with the appointing authority, who shall communicate the charges without delay to the director and the commission. The charges must be signed by the person making them and must set out clearly each charge. The appointing authority shall, whenever probable cause appears, prefer charges against any employee whom he believes guilty of conduct justifying his removal or disciplinary action. Upon the filing of charges, the secretary of the commission shall notify its members and serve a copy of the charges upon the accused employee, with a statement of the date, place and hour at which the hearing of charges will begin, this hearing not to be held within three (3) days of the date of the service of charges upon the accused employee. The day on which the charges are served on the accused employee shall count as one of the days of notice. The person accused may in writing waive the service of charges and demand trial within three (3) days after they have been filed with the secretary of the commission.
(c) Upon the hearing, the charges shall be considered traversed and put in issue, and the trial shall be limited to the issues presented by the written charges; however, the charges may be amended prior to trial, in which event the notice procedures hereinabove described shall be again complied with and reasonable opportunity given for the preparation for trial on the amended charges.
(d) The commission shall have the power to summon and compel attendance of witnesses at all hearings by subpoena issued by the secretary of that body and served upon the witnesses by members of the division of police or any officer authorized to serve subpoenas. If any witness fails to appear in response to a summons or refuses to testify concerning any matter on which he may lawfully be interrogated, any district court judge, on application of the commission, may compel obedience by proceedings for contempt as in the case of disobedience of a subpoena issued from the district court. The accused employee shall have the right to have subpoenaed any witnesses he may desire, upon furnishing their names to the secretary. Subpoenas may be served on the request of the accused employee without charge. They shall be issued by the secretary and served by the division of police. The action and decision of the commission on the charges shall be reduced to writing and kept in a book for that purpose, and the written charge shall be attached to the book containing the body's decision.
(e) In cases where the supervisor or the appointing authority has probable cause to believe an employee has been guilty of conduct justifying his removal or punishment, he shall immediately suspend that employee from duty or from both pay and duty pending trial; and the employee shall not be placed on duty or allowed pay thereafter until the charges are heard by the commission.
(f) The commission shall punish any employee found guilty by reprimand or a suspension for any length of time not to exceed six (6) months, or by reducing the grade, if the employee's classification warrants, or by combining any two (2) or more of these punishments, or by dismissal. No employee shall be reprimanded, removed, suspended or dismissed except as provided in this section or in section 21-45.
(Ord. No. 139-78, § 1 (21-44), 6-29-78)