(a) There is hereby established the office of City Prosecutor. The person serving in such office shall be a duly licensed attorney at law in the State and need not necessarily be a resident of the City. Such position shall be in the nonclassified and noncompetitive service of the City and shall be considered to be a part-time position without fringe benefits, except for the City's contribution to the Public Employees Retirement Fund, based upon the salary of the City Prosecutor as established from time to time by Council.
(b) The City Prosecutor shall be designated and appointed, in writing, by the Director of Law and shall be directly responsible to him or her. The Director shall have the sole discretion to choose a competent practicing attorney at law to fill such office under such terms of employment as he or she deems proper, but with the salary established by Council. The Director shall inform the Mayor and the judge of the Municipal Court as to who shall fill the office of the City Prosecutor and any other pertinent details concerning the conditions of employment. The City Prosecutor may be removed from office with or without cause by the Director and shall serve entirely at the discretion of the Director.
(c) The City Prosecutor shall perform such duties as are generally prescribed for city prosecutors by the general statutory laws of the State and such other functions as shall be assigned by the Director commensurate with salary and time allocations applicable to such part-time position. It shall be the duty of the City Prosecutor, among others, to prosecute on behalf of the City all cases instituted by police officers, other officials of the City or duly empowered County, State and regional law enforcement officers, and on behalf of all private citizens who prosecute cases in the Municipal Court. The City Prosecutor shall attend all Court sessions, or be duly excused therefrom, except in times of illness or vacation, at which time the City Prosecutor and the Director shall act as expediently as possible to designate a temporary or interim prosecutor to act on behalf of the City Prosecutor in the Municipal Court. The City Prosecutor shall have all privileges and rights generally afforded to prosecuting attorneys by both statutory and case law and by the State. The City Prosecutor shall meet, from time to time, with officials responsible for law enforcement in the City and with private individuals to advise them upon the likelihood of prosecutions. The City Prosecutor shall, from time to time, give legal advice to members of the Police Division and other law enforcement officials of the City when called upon to do so. The City Prosecutor shall be the final authority in plea negotiations, in the determination of which cases shall be prosecuted or dismissed, and in matters involving legal expertise in all prosecutions before courts and juries. No person shall interfere with the City Prosecutor's discretion in such matters, save and except the Director of Law, to whom the City Prosecutor shall be responsible. The City Prosecutor shall have such office space as is assigned by the Mayor and shall have access to reference books supplied by the City, consistent with the financial appropriations of Council.
(Ord. 83-37. Passed 7-18-83.)