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PERSONNEL
Personnel issues continue to have a growing
significance in municipal government. Newly elected offi-cials would be
wise to go slow in their direct involvement into personnel matters. Human
resource law affecting municipal government is heavily litigated and
rapidly changing. Many lawsuits defend-ed by the Municipal Legal Defense
Program are in discipline and discharge. The advice of your city attor-ney
should always be solicited, especially in matters of discipline and
discharge. (See the League's Sample Personnel Handbook for Arkansas Cities
and Towns and Understanding Municipal Personnel Law and Suggestions for
Avoiding Lawsuits.) Personnel
Administration Many Arkansas
cities have neither a large enough workforce nor the financial resources
to justify having a full-time personnel director. The common procedure is
to assign personnel operations to one person—the mayor, city recorder or
city clerk, who wears several other hats as well. Nevertheless, this
manual recom-mends that your city employ an individual or train a current
employee to be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of personnel
administration.
Regardless of the organizational structure a city uses, two (2)
common-sense principles apply:
- The city council must decide the
scope of personnel activities that will be conducted as part of the
city's ongoing operations. Then all personnel-related tasks must be
assigned to specific persons within the city organization. These tasks
should be reviewed and distributed or made readily avail-able to all
employees.
- All of the city's personnel policies
and procedures should be clearly spelled out in writing in easily
understood language and distributed or made readily available to all
employees.
Establishing Personnel Policies
All policy matters are decided by the city
council, which enacts ordinances setting up the personnel system and
establishing recruitment standards, pay scales, conditions of
employment, retirement qualifications and other items. The council also
approves the rules by which personnel ordinances are implemented and the
procedures for handling administrative matters. Additionally, the
council's budgetary powers give it continuing control over the number of
employees and the general scope of their duties.
The city's personnel policies and practices
must conform to federal and state laws. Also, all policies and
procedures must be practicable, which means they need to be carefully
considered prior to their adoption. Any policy or procedure that fails
to accomplish its intended purpose in a simple, direct fashion will
mul-tiply, rather than reduce, the city's operating problems.
Assistance in drafting the city's
personnel policies and procedural rules should be obtained from an
attorney or other specialist skilled in employee relations and from the
person to whom the council has assigned the responsibility for
implementing the policies.
Upon completion of the drafting process, the proposed policies and rules
are presented to the city council for consideration, possible amendments
and final approval in an ordinance(s). Upon enactment, the policies and
rules become binding on both the city and its employees.
The Employee Handbook
All personnel-related ordinances and
regulations should be compiled into a single document, an employee
handbook, for distribution to members of the city council and the entire
municipal workforce. Each employee should be required to sign a form
acknowledging that he or she received the handbook. City employees
should follow the handbook and the city council-approved rules and
regulations of their individual departments. Administrative rules need
not be made a part of the handbook.
In addition to a personnel policy handbook,
all municipalities should have written job descriptions for all
employees. A written description is evidence of the essential functions
and responsibilities of each job. Job descriptions should be reviewed
and updated periodically to ensure that all duties and responsibilities
of the position are reflected in the job description. (For assistance in
drafting an employee handbook see Model Personnel File Folder, Sample
Personnel Handbook for Arkansas Cities and Towns and
Understanding Municipal Personnel Law and Suggestions for Avoiding
Lawsuits.) |
Clintons
Classification Information
The Duties of
Mayor
The Duties of
Aldermen/Council Members
The Duties of
Recorder/Treasurer
City and Town
Council Rules of Procedure and Different Types of Meetings
Proper Ways to
Pass Ordinances and Resolutions
Personnel
Budgeting and
Finances
The Freedom of
Information Act
Complete Guidebook for Municipal
Officials, Handbook for Arkansas Municipal Officials, Procedural Rules for
Municipal Officials and the Handbook for Arkansas Municipal Clerks,
Recorders and Treasures are available in the City Clerk's office for you
convenience.
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