SEC. 2.114. NON-INTERFERENCE IN ADMINISTRATION.
§ 2.114
The Board of Supervisors must deal with City administration through proper channels and cannot dictate, suggest, or interfere with the City Administrator's or department heads' decisions on hiring, promotion, pay, discipline, contracts, or purchases, though they may inquire and can testify or legislate on general administrative matters. Violations constitute official misconduct.
The Board of Supervisors has to work with the City Administrator and department heads through official channels. Board members cannot tell administrators who to hire, fire, promote, or pay, or interfere with contracts and purchases. They can ask questions and investigate, and they can testify at public meetings or pass laws about how city government generally operates, but they cannot get involved in specific personnel or contract decisions.
- Controversial:The line between prohibited 'interference' and permitted 'inquiry' and 'legislation' is a recurring source of dispute in city governance, with disagreement over what constitutes appropriate oversight versus overreach.
- Complex:The section uses multiple nested negatives and exceptions that require careful reading: prohibited interference, except for inquiry, except for testimony, except for legislation on non-specific matters.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Board of Supervisors shall deal with the administrative service for which the City Administrator is responsible solely through such officer, and for administrative or other functions for which elective officials or boards or commissions are responsible solely through the elective official, the board or commission or the chief executive officer of such board or commission concerned, or their designees.
Neither the Board of Supervisors, its committees, nor any of its members, shall have any power or authority, nor shall they dictate, suggest or interfere with respect to any appointment, promotion, compensation, disciplinary action, contract or requisition for purchase or other administrative actions or recommendations of the City Administrator or of department heads under the City Administrator or under the respective boards and commissions. The Board of Supervisors shall deal with administrative matters only in the manner provided by this Charter, and any dictation, suggestion or interference herein prohibited on the part of any Supervisor shall constitute official misconduct; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall restrict the power of hearing and inquiry as provided in this Charter.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, it shall not constitute prohibited interference for a member of the Board of Supervisors to testify regarding administrative matters other than specific contract and personnel decisions at a public meeting of a City board, commission, task force or other appointive body, or for the Board of Supervisors to adopt legislation regarding administrative matters other than specific contract and personnel decisions.
Violation of this section shall constitute official misconduct.