A City Manager shall be appointed by the Council. A majority vote of the members elected to Council shall be required for the appointment of the City Manager. The Council may remove the City Manager from office in accordance with the following procedures:
(a) If the City Manager has served less than six months he or she may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the members of Council without any right to a public hearing and without the benefit of the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section.
(b) If the City Manager has served six months or more the Council shall adopt, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, a preliminary resolution which must state the reasons for removal and may suspend the City Manager from duty for a period not to exceed forty-five (45) days. A copy of the resolution shall be delivered promptly to the City Manager.
(c) Within five days after a copy of the resolution is delivered to the City Manager, he or she may file with the Clerk of Council a written request for a public hearing. This hearing shall be held at a regular or special Council meeting not earlier than fifteen days nor later than thirty days after the request is filed. The date of the public hearing shall be set by the Mayor. The City Manager may file with the Clerk of Council a written reply to the reasons for removal contained in the preliminary resolution, not later than five days before the hearing.
(d) The Council may adopt a final resolution of removal which may be made effective immediately, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, at any time after five days from the date when a copy of the preliminary resolution was delivered to the City Manager, if he or she has not requested a public hearing, or at any time after the public hearing if he or she has requested one.
(e) The City Manager shall continue to receive his or her salary until the effective date of a final resolution of removal. The decision of the Council to suspend or remove the City Manager shall be in the sole discretion of the Council and shall not be subject to review by any court.
(f) If the City Manager is suspended from duty under subsection (a) or (b) hereof, the Council shall appoint by vote of a majority of the members thereof an administrative officer who shall serve as Acting Manager until the City Manager is restored to duty, or until Council shall appoint another person as Acting Manager, or until another person is appointed City Manager in accordance with this Charter. The Acting Manager so appointed shall exercise all powers, duties and functions of the City Manager under this Charter. The Council shall fix the compensation of the City Manager.