(a) The Solicitor required by Article VIII Section 1.0(a) of the Charter shall be the head of the Department of Law. As head of the Department of Law, he shall be known as the Director of Law. The Director of Law shall serve the Mayor, Council, the administrative departments and the officers, boards and commissions of the City as legal counsel in connection with municipal affairs and subject to the direction of the Mayor, shall represent the City in all proceedings in Court or before any administrative board, pursuant to the Charter. The Director of Law shall prepare all contracts, bonds and other instruments in writing in which the City is concerned, and shall endorse on each his approval of the form thereof. He shall perform all other duties now or hereafter imposed upon municipal solicitors under the laws of the State except that he shall not, as Director of Law, provide legal advice, counsel or service to a City school district under Ohio R.C. 3313.35.
(b) The Director of Law shall be an attorney at law duly admitted to practice law in the State of Ohio. He shall serve the City as an officer of the City pursuant to the Position and Compensation Plan as to salary. The Law Director shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions made for them in the Position and Compensation Plan. The Director of Law shall oversee the Division of Prosecution.
(Ord. 77-2013. Passed 10-7-13.)
(c) The Department of Law shall have a Division of Prosecution comprised of one full-time chief prosecutor, one full-time assistant prosecutor, one Secretary II and one Secretary who will be employed on a part-time basis, who shall serve under the direction of the Chief Prosecutor. The prosecutors in the Division of Prosecution shall be responsible for the prosecution of all City of Sylvania and State cases in Sylvania Municipal Court and the cases of all municipalities with whom the City of Sylvania has contracted to provide prosecutorial services in addition to other duties as assigned by the Director of Law, subject to the oversight of the Director of Law. The prosecutors shall be attorneys at law duly admitted to practice law in the State of Ohio. The prosecutors shall be appointed by the Mayor. The Director of Law may appoint, on a case by case basis, such Special Prosecutors as may be necessary when the prosecutors have a potential conflict of interest or there exists other legal grounds why the prosecutors should not prosecute a particular case. The Prosecutors shall be compensated in accordance with the provision made for them in the Position and Compensation Plan and/or in accordance with the compensation provided for them in an ordinance of Council and/or a separate agreement authorized by an ordinance of the Council. The Prosecutors shall submit reports to the Director of Law at such frequency, in such detail and covering such matters as the Director shall require. (Ord. 95-2023. Passed 12-4-23.)
(d) On and after January 1, 1997, the Director of Law, as an independent contractor, may be reimbursed by the City for any expense incurred by the Director of Law, as an independent contractor, in hiring or retaining as a consultant on the City legal matters any former Director of Law of the City, which reimbursement shall be based on a rate per hour not exceeding the rate per hour authorized by ordinance of Council for compensation of the Law Director. (Ord. 126-96. Passed 11-4-96.)