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Committee adopts rewritten interference-with-administration language after attorney warns of free-speech risk
Summary
Following discussion of a Corvallis court case, the committee removed prior interference language and adopted new sections clarifying that the council cannot direct administrative hires or give orders to staff and that appointment/removal matters should be handled through the city manager, while preserving the council's right to express views.
The Charter Review Committee voted to replace its existing interference-with-administration language with a revised pair of sections drafted by the city attorney to address First Amendment concerns raised by a recent federal court case.
City Attorney Blair Larson told the committee that the Corvallis case — where a councillor’s removal was challenged on free-speech grounds — demonstrated the constitutional risk of the old provision. Larson proposed separating the topic into two sections: one restricting council and mayor orders regarding appointments and removals of administrative officers (while allowing the council to “express its views and fully and freely discuss” such matters with the city manager), and a second directing that council members must deal with staff through the city manager and should not give orders to employees who serve under the manager.
Committee members approved Larson’s recommended language with little opposition. One member described the revised approach as “wise,” and another moved adoption. The committee also restored an unrelated sentence (moved to its own subsection) prohibiting managers or employees from contributing money toward municipal candidates.
Larson said the rewritten text is intended to protect city employees and managers from improper council interference while avoiding constitutional exposure for the council when members speak in public.
The committee forwarded the revised language to the city council.
