Nogales council adopts personnel‑manual amendments aligning grievance process with city code

The Nogales City Council voted to adopt Order 2025‑06‑018, amending chapters 27 and 28 of the city personnel manual to change the grievance-board and appeal-commission roles so they review employment grievances and provide recommendations rather than final, binding decisions.

Councilmember Doyle objected that placing final authority with a single official could concentrate power, arguing the council should retain final authority for fairness. A staff member who spoke during discussion noted the city code already designates the city manager as the final authority over employment matters and that the amendment brings the personnel manual into alignment with that legal framework: "the manager shall be the final authority for all employment issues for employees," the staff member said. The staff member described the new process as providing an independent review and recommendation to the manager rather than removing review mechanisms.

After further discussion on the scope of the revisions and confirmation that director-level hiring and charter provisions for certain director positions remain unchanged, the council approved the order by voice vote.

Council discussion referenced standard practice in other municipalities to use appeals boards or hearing officers to produce independent recommendations without supplanting the manager’s statutory authority.