Edmond council adopts emergency ordinance to let chief promote before civil‑service list expires

The Edmond City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 43-88 as an emergency ordinance on March 21, allowing a department chief to immediately complete a supervisory promotion before an expiring civil‑service eligibility list could create a legal challenge.

The ordinance mirrors the staffing provisions the council approved at its previous meeting but adds an emergency‑effect clause. "In order to have an ordinance take immediate effect, the city council has to make an emergency declaration," Mr. Taradeh said, explaining that the new language changes only the ordinance's effective‑date provisions and related references to earlier ordinances.

Chief Sniffen told the council the change was necessary because the effective date in the earlier version would have been five days after publication rather than when the council passed it. "It slipped by us that the fact that the effective date of the ordinance isn't until 5 days beyond when it gets published, not when the council passes it," Chief Sniffen said. He said that timing would have put the department beyond the expiration of the civil‑service list and "put us in a position where another employee would have an opportunity to challenge the promotion."

City attorney material edits are concentrated in the new section described as section 6, which contains the emergency declaration language. The ordinance also adds explicit cross‑references in section 3 to make clear which prior ordinance will be repealed while the emergency ordinance is in effect; the draft notes repeal language referencing two earlier ordinance numbers rather than one. The draft retains an existing sunset clause in section 3, attorney Taradeh said, and makes a separate change to section 8's effective‑date wording.

Council members present—Payne, Chen, Eck, Dodge and Olsen—voted in favor when the presiding official called for a hand vote. The presiding official said the vote was unanimous and that the ordinance "goes into effect immediately," after which Chief Sniffen confirmed he could proceed with the promotion before the list expired.

Council members and staff thanked the city attorney and staff who worked overnight to prepare the emergency ordinance; Chief Sniffen and others specifically acknowledged assistance from Scott Passi and Becky Peterson.

The council took no other actions during the special meeting. The ordinance will remain in effect under its emergency terms and, per the draft, until the stated sunset date in section 3.