City Manager Law and Legal Definition
City manager means an individual appointed by a city council to manage the municipality. A city manager shall be responsible for the administration of all departments of the city and can appoint and remove all heads of departments and all subordinate officers and employees of the city. A city manager serves the city council on the basis of a contract that specifies his/her duties and responsibilities. A city manager has hire-fire authority over all city employees. The responsibilities of a city manager include :
a. to supervise day-to-day operations of all city departments;
b. to supervise the department heads;
c. to prepare a draft city budget each year with options the council votes on;
d. to research and make recommendations about topics of interest to the council;
e. to meet with citizens and citizen groups to understand their needs better;
f. to provide executive leadership that encourages good performance by city workers; and
g. to operate the city with a professional understanding of how all city functions operate together to their best effect.
