08-11-14 Council Agenda & Packet

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dt1,l 001 i`t ' .S' RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND RECOMMENDING THAT PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES BE DEVELOPED FOR ALL CITY OF SOUTH BEND ELECTED OFFICIALS — THE MAYOR, THE CITY CLERK AND THE COMMON COUNCIL -- WHICH REFLECT BEST PRACTICES O11 , the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that Indiana Code § 2- 7 -1 -14 defines "public official" as "an individual who holds office in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the state or federal government or a political subdivision of either of those governments and includes an official or employee of a state educational institution'; and the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that Indiana Code § 36 -4 -7 -2 defines "compensation" as the "total of all money paid to an elected city officer for performing duties as a city officer, regardless of the source of funds from which the money is paid "; and Q the Common Council further notes that Indiana Code § 36 -4 -7 -2 authorizes the city legislative body to fix the annual compensation of all elected city officers by ordinance; and GWa,dze, the Council acknowledges that the Internal Revenue Code sets forth withholding requirements for taxable fringe benefits; however the amount and types of such benefits as well as types of leaves vary from municipality to municipality; and Oficm s on March 1, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service updated provisions addressing the "Classification of Elected and Appointed Officials" and noted in part that: "Although there is no precise definition for the term `public official' or `public officer', the courts have generally held that anyone who exercises significant authority pursuant to public laws is a public officer. This includes any official who administers or enforces public laws, whether the individuals is elected by the public or appointed to an office "; and 6,m, to further complicate matters, federal and state laws govern some leaves, but not all, and no "established answer" could be given by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT) with regard to policies governing various leaves for elected public officials; and Owe, many communities, like the City of South Bend, have not specifically addressed personnel policies governing their elected public officials; however, it is noted in Chapter 2.165 entitled "General Employment Provisions" of the Evansville, Indiana, Municipal Code, the following definition is codified as Section 2.165.040: "Definition of employee. As used in this chapter, the term `employee' shall mean persons in the employ of the city and all elected officials of the City"; and