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Committee favors brief moratorium on council action related to city manager removal during transition period
Summary
House Bill 109 would bar city councils in the interim between November elections and January seating of new members from adopting ordinances that would make removal of a city manager harder; the Senate committee recommended the bill favorably after hearing concerns from the League of Cities and Towns.
Representative Abbott presented House Bill 109, which would expand an existing restriction by prohibiting a city council in the interim period between a November election and the seating of a new council in January from adopting ordinances that make it harder to remove a city manager. "That's the interim period...what this does is it adds one provision that says the city council, in that interim period, cannot adopt an ordinance, which makes it harder to fire a city manager," Representative Abbott said.
Justin Lee, deputy director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, told the committee the League is concerned about the precedent of limiting powers of duly elected officials, even for a short period. "The precedent of just tying elected officials' hands on making decisions...is concerning," Lee said. He added that many city managers serve under contract and that existing contracts often address protections around hiring and firing.
Representative Abbott said existing code already limits some actions and characterized HB 109 as a narrow tightening of an existing policy that applies only during the brief interim period. The committee discussed contract practices and whether the statute would affect an ordinary council's ability to act; the League reiterated that contracts typically govern these employment arrangements.
Senator Blumham moved that the committee recommend HB 109 favorably to the full Senate; the motion carried unanimously. The sponsor said the change is limited in scope and applies only from the election in November until the new council takes office in January.
