SECTION IV-5. EXECUTIVE POWERS AND DUTIES.
   The Mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the City. He shall supervise the administration of the city’s affairs and shall exercise control over all departments and divisions. He shall be the chief conservator of the peace within the City and shall cause all laws and ordinances to be enforced. He shall at all times keep the Council fully advised as to the financial condition and needs of the City. He shall cause all terms and conditions imposed in favor of the City or its inhabitants in any franchise or contract to which the City is a party to be faithfully kept and performed.
   Except as may otherwise be provided in this Charter or the laws of the State of Ohio, the Mayor shall have the power to appoint, promote, transfer, reduce or remove, subject to the requirements of Civil Service Laws, any officer or employee of the City except
   (a)   Those required by this Charter to be elected.
   (b)   Those whose terms of office may be fixed by this Charter. The Director of Public Service and Properties, in the case of an appointee, and all officers appointed by the Mayor without the consent of Council may be removed by the Mayor without consent of Council.
   (c)   The Mayor shall not appoint, or hire, a family member to any position in the City. For this section, “family” is consanguinity or affinity of the second degree which includes spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.
   The Mayor shall execute on behalf of the City all contracts, conveyances, evidences of indebtedness and all other instruments to which the City is party. He shall have custody of the seal of the City and may affix it to all of said instruments, but the absence of the seal shall not affect the validity of any such instrument. The Mayor shall be recognized as the official and ceremonial head of the City by the governor for military purposes and by the courts for the purpose of serving civil processes. (Amended 11-7-06)