(a) There shall be a City Clerk. The City Manager shall not serve as the City Clerk. The City Clerk or designee shall attend every meeting of the Council, keep a full and accurate record of the proceedings of the Council, and shall keep such other records and perform such other duties as may be required by this Charter or the Council.

(b) There shall be a Treasurer who shall keep a full and accurate record of the finances, revenues and expenditures of the City and shall perform such other duties as may be required by this Charter or the Council.

(c) The City Manager may appoint a Treasurer or may assign the duties of that office to some other officer or employee of the City.

There shall be a City Attorney who shall be a member of the bar of the Maryland Court of Appeals. The City Attorney shall be appointed by the Council and shall serve at their pleasure and at such compensation as they shall determine. The City Attorney shall be the legal adviser of the City and shall perform duties as may be required by the Council. The Council shall have the power to employ such legal counsel or consultants as it deems necessary from time to time.

The City, through the City Manager, shall have the power to employ such officers and employees as it deems necessary to execute the powers and duties provided by this Charter or other authority and to operate the City government, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.

The Council may provide by ordinance for appointments and promotions in the classified service on the basis of merit and fitness. To carry out this purpose, the City shall have the power to adopt such rules and regulations governing the operation of a merit system as it deems desirable or necessary. Among other things, these rules and regulations may provide for competitive examinations, the use of eligible lists, a classification plan, a compensation plan, a probation period, appeals by employees included within the classified service from dismissal or other disciplinary action, and vacation and sick leave regulations. The City may request and avail itself of the facilities of the State for the administration of its merit system as provided in State law.

The personnel of the City shall be divided into the unclassified and classified service.

(a) The unclassified service shall comprise the following offices and positions which shall not be included within the merit system:

(1) The Mayor, the Councilmembers, the City Manager, and his/her Deputy Managers.

(2) The Clerk, Treasurer and the City Attorney.

(3) The heads of all offices, departments, agencies and members of City boards and commissions.

(4) Part-time, temporary and unpaid offices and positions.
(b) The classified service shall comprise all positions not specifically included in this section in the unclassified service. All City offices and positions shall be subject to any merit system rules and regulations which may be adopted for that position.

(a) No person in the classified service of the City or who seeks admission thereto shall be appointed, promoted, demoted, removed, or in any way favored or discriminated against because of age (in accordance with applicable law) sex, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, political or union affiliation, disability, or any other factors not related to ability to perform the work. No person shall commit or attempt to commit any fraud preventing the impartial execution of the personnel provisions of this Charter or of the rules and regulations made thereunder; no officer or employee in the classified service of the City shall serve simultaneously both in elective office within the City government and as an employee of the City; and no person seeking appointment to or promotion in the classified service of the City shall either directly or indirectly give, render or pay any money, service, or other valuable thing to any person for or on account of or in connection with the appointment, proposed appointment, promotion, or proposed promotion of such person.

The Council shall establish and maintain a general system of pensions and retirement benefits for the City, and shall have the power to do all things necessary to include the City’s officers and employees, or any of them, within any retirement system or pension system under the terms of which they are admissible, or to pay the employer’s share of the cost of any such retirement or pension system out of the general funds of the City.

A salary schedule for all classified positions shall be set from time to time by an ordinance passed by the Council. The City shall have the power to adopt such rules and regulations establishing a uniform schedule of reimbursement for expenses, for all City employees, as it deems desirable or necessary.

The City by ordinance is authorized and empowered to provide for and participate in hospitalization or other forms of benefit or welfare programs for its officers and employees, and to expend public moneys of the City for such purposes.

(a) There is established a board to adjudicate certain final personnel decisions by the City Manager, directly or by delegation, affecting members of the classified service of the City.

(b) The Council shall define by ordinance which personnel decisions are appealable and enact such additional provisions as are necessary to implement this section.