REMOVAL OF CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS / COUNCIL PROCEDURES

Motion - Charter Section 508 ( e), relative to the appointment and removal of chief administrative officers, provides that the Mayor may remove most chief administrative officers without Council confirmation. However, this Section further provides that the chief administrative officer may appeal the removal to the Council within ten calendar days of the removal. The Council may then reinstate the chief administrative officer by a two-thirds vote, within ten Council meeting days of receipt of the appeal. Failure of the Council to reinstate the chief administrative officer during this time period would constitute a denial of the appeal. The City Attorney advises that Charter Section 508 (e) requires that the Council must agendize any such appeal for ten consecutive Council meeting dates, regardless of whether the Council has taken an action to approve or deny the appeal prior to the 10th Council meeting. The appeal should only be agendized until such time the Council has taken a definitive action, and that if this should occur prior to the 10th consecutive meeting of the Council, the appeal need not be further agendized. To avoid this unnecessary burden, a section must be added to the Administrative Code to establish the procedure to be followed in the application of Charter Section 508 (e), which would eliminate any redundant actions, while remaining consistent with the intent of the Charter. THEREFORE MOVE that the City Council request the Chief Legislative Analyst, with the assistance of the City Attorney, to prepare an Ordinance to the Los Angeles Administrative Code to establish the procedure that shall be followed for Council consideration of appeals submitted in accordance with Charter Section 508 (e), relative to the removal of chief administrative officers, to eliminate any redundant or unnecessary agendizing of the matter for Council meetings. FURTHER MOVE that the Chief Legislative Analyst and the City Attorney present the above requested Ordinance to the Council for consideration within 30 days.