(A) Appointment. The Clerk shall be appointed by the Mayor subject to the approval of the Council. The Clerk may be removed by the Mayor for any cause by him or her deemed sufficient; but such removal shall be by and with the affirmative vote of one-half plus one of the members of the full Council; provided, that the City Council, by the unanimous vote of all its members, may upon its own initiative remove any appointive officer.
(Prior Code, § 1-7A-1)
(B) Duties and responsibilities.
(1) Duties. The Clerk performs administrative and management work in serving as Clerk to the City Council; directs records management and city code maintenance; directs business, animal licensing and code enforcement; directs the billing and collections for city sewer and water utilities; directs the conduct of municipal elections for the city; conducts city business; and other related work as required.
(2) City Council and municipal elections. The Clerk directs and approves the compilation and distribution of weekly City pre-Council and Council agendas, minutes and public hearing schedules; attends City Council meetings to record minutes, maintains all exhibits for the public record and provides other assistance for the Mayor and Council as needed; maintains a legislative history file of Council actions; maintains the city’s internet page which allows public access to Council minutes, agendas and other city information and records; serves as official for signing contracts and agreements, notices and the distribution and record keeping for Urban Renewal Plan changes, LIDs, and the like, ensures proper legal notice and publication; budgets, monies for election expenses during election years; accepts and certifies candidate petitions; hires precinct workers; arranges polling places; and announces official election returns; administers oaths of office.
(3) Licensing and records management. The Clerk serves as Licensing Officer to manage the procession of all city business regulatory licenses; develops policies and procedures for issuing business and occupational licenses; oversees the enforcement of licensing code requirements and analyzes fee schedules and community licensing trends; participates on community committees to address licensing issues; manages the city’s records archival center; supervises the city’s document information system and the conversion of city records to electronic format, accessibility, storage and preservation; develops policies and procedures for automated city-wide records management; and directs maintenance of the city code book.
(4) Office management.
(a) Develops and manages the Clerk’s office budget;
(b) Supervises clerical staff;
(c) Develops office policies and procedures;
(d) Coordinates operating procedures with other departments;
(e) Provides information to the public and media through interviews or in written format;
(f) Manages and coordinates the collection of water and sewer payments;
(g) Communicates with the Public Works Department in resolving service and payment issues;
(h) Manages and coordinates the sale of cemetery plots, burial and the like with the cemetery sexton; and
(i) Manages and coordinates the work activity of the Utility Clerk.
(5) Custodian of official seal. The Clerk shall be the custodian of the Official Seal of the city.
(Prior Code, § 1-7A-2)
(C) Claims against the city.
(1) Filing; approval. All claims against the city must be filed in writing with the Clerk. Claims must present a full account of the items and damages.
(2) Claims for damages. All claims for damages against the city must be filed with the Clerk within 180 days after such time as the damage is alleged to have occurred. All such claims shall specify the time, place, character and cause of damage. The Clerk shall oversee submission of documents to the city’s risk management program.
(3) Payment of claims. Final decision of payment or denial of claims will be made by the city’s risk management program.
(Prior Code, § 1-7A-3)
(Ord. 10-767, passed 10-20-2010; Ord. 15-804, passed 9-16-2015)