(a) Establishment. The Department of Law, in and for the City is hereby established.
(b) Direction and Control. The Department of Law shall be under the direction and control of a City Law Director and he or she shall be the appointing authority in the Law Department, having the sole power and authority to appoint and suspend all Assistant Law Directors or department heads within the Department. The Law Director upon giving prior notice to Council and to the Mayor may remove an Assistant Law Director or department head within the Department, subject to any applicable civil service law if such person is in the classified service, and subject to any Charter provision. The Law Director shall have the sole power and authority to appoint, suspend or remove all other employees within the Department, subject to any applicable civil service law if such person is in the classified service, without prior notice to Council. The Law Director may delegate any or all power and authority he or she possesses to his or her Assistant Law Director or a subordinate department head. The Law Director may prescribe and assign duties associated with his or her position to any employee in the Department of Law. If a conflict should arise concerning any assigned duty or duties of the Law Director and such conflict can not be resolved by permitting a subordinate within the Department to handle the task, then the Law Director shall request Council to assign his or her duty or duties to another officer in the City with respect to such matter and Council is empowered to do so. In the event that the task requires a person to be an Ohio licensed attorney, special counsel may be appointed by the Law Director or Council.
(c) General Powers and Duties. The Law Director shall have those powers and perform those duties customarily held and performed by law directors, solicitors, prosecutors and city attorneys of cities under the laws of Ohio; being the chief legal advisor to the City. The Law Director shall generally manage and oversee the operations of subordinate departments under the Department of Law, including the prescribing of general rules and regulations therefor. the law director shall be the contracting authority for the Department of Law and therefore, shall award and execute contracts for the department of law.
(d) Restrictions. The Law Director shall not, but his or her assistants may, with the Law Director's written consent, privately serve as legal counsel to any school district, including the City's school district, county, township, or other municipality or political subdivision. The Law Director or any assistant thereto, shall not, through the City's Law Department, serve as legal counsel for any of the entities herebefore mentioned, except by consent of the Council; and then, only pursuant to a contract between the entity and the City that is approved by Council, with any compensation under such contract for such services being paid into the municipal treasury. For the purpose of this section "privately" means, when not otherwise providing a service through the City's Department of Law.
(e) Divisions. The Department of Law shall be comprised of one (1) Law Director and any number of assistants approved for hiring but of two (2) separate and distinct divisions: a Civil Division and Criminal Division, both divisions under the direction and control of the Law Director.
(f) Independent Judgment. The office of Law Director shall be an independent office free to render independent and sound legal decisions.
(g) Criminal Traffic Defined. For all purposes of this chapter, "criminal and traffic" shall include, but not be limited to, all criminal, traffic, parking and other matters and proceedings arising from or relating to the violation, or alleged violation, of any law, rule, regulation, order, ordinance, resolution, code, statute or other action, including all ancillary proceedings arising therefrom or relating thereto.
(Ord. 34-01. Passed 5-7-01.)