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Shelbyville council asks staff to draft charter language on employee eligibility and personnel input
Summary
At a special Aug. 20 charter review session, council members debated whether county employees should be barred from serving on city council and whether council should receive resumes before department-head hires; MTAS advisor Patrick Marsh will ask legal counsel to draft proposed language.
Shelbyville's mayor and city council met in a special study session on Tuesday, Aug. 20 to review potential changes to the city charter governing eligibility for elected office and the council’s role in personnel matters.
Councilmember (Speaker 5) urged the council to consider amending the charter to disqualify county employees who are paid by the county from serving on the city council, saying such arrangements can create conflicts when city and county interests clash. “I feel that it should be in the exact same position if you work for the county and are paid by the county,” the councilmember said during discussion.
Patrick Marsh, a technical advisor from the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS), told the council he would refer constitutional or legal questions to MTAS’s legal team, and noted that many potential conflicts are handled by recusal. “This is your city charter. We can do with it as you guys see fit within the law,” Marsh said, adding he would take the council’s concerns back for legal review.
Members also debated how much operational input the council should have in department-head selections. Several councilmembers asked that resumes be made available prior to final hiring so the council can provide written input; Marsh and others suggested that the charter already allows the council to express views but vests hiring authority with the city manager. Councilmembers discussed implementing a formal practice or a personnel-policy change to circulate candidate materials and allow emailed feedback rather than moving full hiring authority into the charter.
No formal amendments were adopted at the session. Marsh said he would return recommended draft language from MTAS legal staff for the council to review and consider before any resolution is sent to the state for a private-act amendment process or other formal channel.
The council did not vote; staff were asked to draft proposed charter language reflecting the direction given and to bring those draft provisions back to a future meeting.
