Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
In keeping with a newly-reconstituted form of city manager government, Monticello officials last week adopted an ordinance that provides for the appointment of a city manager and sets forth the latter’s required qualifications, as well as the powers and duties of the office.
Ordinance 2021-06, which the Monticello City Council approved at its meeting on Tuesday evening, Nov. 2, both recognizes the changing times and comes at the recommendation of the Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA), which helped local officials in their search for a new city manager.
The ordinance cites topmost the unprecedented growth of both state and federal mandates in recent times, which in turn have significantly increased the volume and complexity of city workers’ workloads.
This led Monticello officials to decide that the time is opportune for employing a professional to run and oversee city operations.
The ordinance adds three new sections to the Monticello Code of Ordinances under the headings of appointment, qualifications and contract and residency.
Per the ordinance, it will require a majority vote of the council to appoint a city manager, and the selection will be based solely on the person’s executive and administrative qualifications.
The city manager must reside inside the city limits within six months of being appointed, although the council may grant an exception under extraordinary circumstances.
The manager is designated as the city’s chief administrative officer, responsible for the administration of all city affairs and answerable to, and serving at the pleasure of, the council.
The city manager may appoint, suspend or remove personnel in accordance with personnel policies, with the exception of those employees who report to the city clerk/treasurer or the police chief.
The manager may authorize subordinate personnel to act in a supervisory capacity relative to other employees in the different operations, again with the exception of the operations overseen by the clerk and police chief.
The manager must attend all city council meetings, participate in discussions, and ensure that all ordinances and applicable laws, including the Florida Sunshine Law and Public Records Act, are followed.
Among others of the city manager’s responsibilities, the person must prepare, in conjunction with the clerk and police chief, an annual budget and capital program, and he or she must submit to the council and make available to the public a report on the finances and administrative activities of the city at the end of each fiscal year.
The individual must additionally submit other reports and information to the council on the various departments and offices that he or she supervises, as well as advise and make recommendations to the council relative to the city’s financial state and future funding needs.
The city manager must also interpret and apply land development regulations in coordination with the county’s building and planning departments; sign contracts on behalf of the city with council authorization; establish rules, regulations and guidelines for the administration of each department, including the minimum standards for hiring and job descriptions; and provide staff support services to the mayor and council members and other duties as required by the council.
Finally, the city manager must designate a subordinate to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the manager position during his or her temporary absence or disability, with the council granted the authority to override the designation at any time and appoint someone different.