Item 5 - 2026 Bylaws of the MCS Commission — original pdf

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 BYLAWS OF THE Municipal Civil Service Commission ARTICLE 1. NAME. The name of the commission is the Municipal Civil Service Commission. ARTICLE 2. PURPOSE AND DUTIES. The purpose and duties of the commission are as follows: (1) hear appeals and make final, binding decisions in the case of municipal civil service employees covered under Article IX of the City Charter who have been discharged, suspended, demoted, denied a promotion, or put on disciplinary probation; (2) recommend the adoption of civil service rules after receipt of proposed rules by the Human Resources Director and perform services under the civil service rules as provided in Article IX, Section 2 of the City Charter; (3) perform other duties regarding the municipal civil service, not inconsistent with Article IX of the City Charter, that the City Council may require; (4) issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum to witnesses, whether at the request of interested parties or on its own motion, when reasonably necessary to obtain pertinent evidence at a hearing or investigation; (5) administer oaths to witnesses appearing at a hearing or investigation; and (6) conduct any investigations it may consider desirable or which it may be required to make by the City Council or the City Manager concerning the administration of municipal civil service, and report its findings and recommendations to the City Council; ARTICLE 3. MEMBERSHIP. (A) The commission is composed of five members appointed by the city council, each a qualified voter of the City. (B) A commissioner may be removed before the end of the commissioner’s term only for cause, and after receiving a written statement of the reasons for removal and a public hearing before the City Council, if the commissioner requests a hearing. (C) Commission members shall be appointed for a term of three years, except that the initial members shall serve for a term of one, two or three years as designated in Resolution No. 20130509-036. The term expires on May 9th of the first, second or third anniversary. (D) An individual commission member may not act in an official capacity or speak on behalf of the board except through the action of a majority of the board in which the board identifies who is authorized to speak and identifies the actions the individual board member is authorized to take or topics on which the individual board member is entitled to speak. (E) At each meeting, each commission member shall sign an attendance sheet (or if participating virtually via videoconference, send an email as provided by City Code Section 2-1-24(D)) which 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 indicates that the member does not have a conflict of interest with any item on that agenda, or identifies each agenda item on which the member has a conflict of interest. Failure to sign the sheet results in the member being counted as absent and his/her votes are not counted. (F) A member who seeks to resign from the commission shall submit a written resignation to the chair of the commission, the staff liaison, or the City Clerk’s office. If possible, the resignation should allow for a thirty day notice so the City Council can appoint a replacement. (A) The officers of the commission shall consist of a chair and a vice-chair. ARTICLE 4. OFFICERS. (B) The council shall designate the commission chair annually at the time new commissioners are appointed. A vice chair may be elected annually by a majority vote of the commission. (C) The term as an officer shall be one year. An officer may continue to serve until a successor is designated or elected. (D) A member may not hold more than one office at a time. ARTICLE 5. DUTIES OF OFFICERS. (A) The chair shall preside at commission meetings, appoint all committees, represent the commission at ceremonial functions, and approve each final meeting agenda as provided in Article 6(A). (B) In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair shall perform all duties of the chair. ARTICLE 6. AGENDAS. (A) Two or more commission members may place an item on the agenda by oral or written request to the staff liaison at least seven days before the meeting. After first consulting with and receiving input from the staff liaison, the chair shall approve each final meeting agenda prior to posting, except that posting language may be adjusted in order to ensure compliance with Government Code Chapter 551 (Open Meetings Act). (B) The commission liaison shall submit the meeting agenda through the online agenda posting system for each meeting not less than the 4th business day before the scheduled meeting date. (C) Posting of the agenda must comply with Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). ARTICLE 7. MEETINGS. (A) The commission meetings shall comply with Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). (B) Commission meetings shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 (C) The commission may not conduct a closed meeting without the approval of the city attorney. (D) The commission may meet as necessary to carry out its duties under City Charter Article IX. (E) The chair may call a special meeting, and the chair shall call a special meeting if requested by three or more members. The call shall state the purpose of the meeting. (F) Three members constitute a quorum. (G) If a quorum for a meeting does not convene within one-half hour of the posted time for the meeting, then the meeting may not be held. (H) To be effective, a commission action must be adopted by an affirmative vote of the number of members necessary to provide a quorum. (I) The chair has the same voting privilege as any other member. (J) The commission shall allow members of the public to address the commission on agenda items and during a period of time set aside for public communications on non-agenda items. The chair shall allow a speaker to speak for no less than two minutes per agenda item and for three minutes on a non-agenda item and may limit the number of speakers. The commission shall not permit public communication concerning a specific appeal prior to the commission’s ruling. (K) The staff liaison shall prepare the commission minutes. The minutes of each commission meeting must include the vote of each member on each item before the commission and indicate whether a member is absent or failed to vote on an item. (L) The city clerk shall retain agendas, approved minutes, internal review reports and bylaws. The Commission shall retain all other commission documents. These documents may be subject to disclosure to the public under the Texas Government Code Chapter 552 (Texas Public Information Act), unless otherwise excepted or prohibited from disclosure by law. (M) The chair shall adjourn a meeting not later than 10 p.m., unless the commission votes to continue the meeting. (N) Each person and commission member attending a commission meeting should observe decorum pursuant to Section 2-1-48 of the City Code. ARTICLE 8. COMMITTEES/WORKING GROUPS. COMMITTEES (A) Each committee must be established by an affirmative vote of the commission. A committee cannot meet until its creation is approved by the Council Audit and Finance Committee. Each committee shall consist of at least three commission members appointed by the chair. A staff member shall be assigned to each committee by the director of the Human Resources Department. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 (B) The board chair shall appoint a commission member as the committee chair, with the member’s consent. (C) A majority of the total number of appointed committee members constitutes a quorum. (D) Each committee shall meet on a regularly scheduled basis at least quarterly. (E) Each committee shall make an annual report to the commission at the January meeting. (F) Committee meetings must be posted in accordance with Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). (G) At each committee meeting, a committee member shall sign in on a sheet provided (or if participating virtually via videoconference, send an email as provided by City Code Section 2-1- 24(D)) and shall indicate that the member has no conflict of interest with any item on the committee meeting agenda, or identify each agenda item on which the member has a conflict of interest. (H) The Municipal Civil Service Commission currently has no committees. WORKING GROUPS (A) The commission can determine the size of a working group, but the number of commission members serving on the working group must be less than a quorum of the commission. (B) A working group may designate a chair, with the member’s consent, but is not required to do so. (C) Quorum requirements do not apply to working groups. (D) Staff support will not be provided for working groups. (E) Working groups are not required to post their meetings in accordance with the Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). ARTICLE 9. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the commission in all cases to which they are applicable, except when inconsistent with these bylaws or with special rules of procedure which the commission or city council may adopt. ARTICLE 10. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS. A bylaw amendment is not effective unless approved by Council after review by the Council Audit and Finance Committee. The bylaws were approved by the Municipal Civil Service Commission at their meeting held on September 17, 2013. The bylaws were amended by the Municipal Civil Service Commission at their meeting held on October 12, 2015. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The bylaws were revised in accordance with Resolution 20220217-033 on March 9, 2022. The bylaws were revised in accordance with Ordinance 20251120-008 on January 20, 2026. _____________________________________ Signature of Executive or Staff Liaison Staff Liaison __________________________________ Executive or Staff Liaison