PERSONNEL.

Austin City Charter art. IX

in effect

Austin City Charter, art. IX, § 1 CLASSIFIED CIVIL SERVICE.

§ 1. - CLASSIFIED CIVIL SERVICE. (A) To the extent of any conflict with other provisions of this Charter, this article controls. If another ballot proposition amending the previous Section 1 of this article is approved by the voters at the same election at which this section is adopted, this section supersedes and replaces the other amendment to Section 1, but does not supersede or replace other amendments to this article that were part of the other proposition. (B) There is hereby established a classified civil service in which all employment and promotions shall be made on the basis of merit and fitness. The civil service shall include all appointive offices and employments in the administrative service and in other agencies and offices of the city, except the following: (1) members of the city council and their direct staff; (2) persons who are appointed or elected by the city council pursuant to this Charter; (3) the city manager and assistant city managers; (4) department directors and assistant department directors; (5) the city attorney and all assistant city attorneys; (6) temporary and seasonal employees; and (7) employees covered by a state civil service statute. Source: Ord. No. 20180809-113, Pt. 7, 8-20-18/election of 11-6-18.

Austin City Charter, art. IX, § 2 MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.

§ 2. - MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION. (A) There shall be a municipal civil service commission consisting of five commissioners, one of whom shall serve as chair. (B) The city council shall appoint the commissioners, and shall designate one of the five as chair. Commissioners shall be appointed for a term of three years, except that of the first five commissioners appointed after adoption of this section, one shall be appointed for a one year term and two each shall be appointed for two and three-year terms so that thereafter commissioners will serve staggered terms. Any vacancy occurring after appointment shall be filled by the city council for the remainder of the unexpired term. (C) Each commissioner must be a qualified voter of the city who does not, during the commissioner's term, hold or become a candidate for any other public office of the city or of the State of Texas. (D) Commissioners may be paid compensation for their services as determined in advance by the city council. (E) A commissioner may be removed before the end of the commissioner's term only for cause, and after receiving a written statement of the reasons for removal and a public hearing before the city council if the commissioner requests a hearing. (F) Three members of the commission constitute a quorum. The commission must act by majority vote. The chair has the same voting rights as the other commissioners. (G) The commission shall: (1) hear appeals and make final, binding decisions in the case of any municipal civil service employee or appointee who is discharged, suspended, demoted, denied a promotion, or put on disciplinary probation; (2) recommend the adoption of civil service rules and perform services under the civil service rules as provided in this section; (3) conduct any investigations it may consider desirable or which it may be required to make by the city council or the city manager concerning the administration of municipal civil service, and report its findings and recommendations to the city council; (4) perform other duties regarding the municipal civil service, not inconsistent with this article, that the city council may require; (5) issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum to witnesses, whether at the request of interested parties or on its own motion, when reasonably necessary to obtain pertinent evidence at a hearing or investigation; and (6) administer oaths to witnesses appearing at a hearing or investigation. Source: Ord. No. 20180809-113, Pt. 7, 8-20-18/election of 11-6-18.

Austin City Charter, art. IX, § 3 HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR.

§ 3. - HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR. (A) There shall be a human resources department, the head of which shall be the human resources director. The human resources director shall be appointed and may be removed by the city manager, and must have had training and experience in personnel administration. (B) The human resources director shall: (1) perform the duties prescribed by this article, by ordinance, by the commission, or by the city manager, according to their respective authorities under this Charter; (2) prepare and recommend to the city manager a classification plan, and amendments thereto, for a classified municipal civil service; (3) certify all payrolls for persons in the classified service at the time of initial employment, upon change of status, or upon removal from the payroll; and (4) perform such other duties and functions as may be prescribed by the council or the city manager.

Austin City Charter, art. IX, § 4 CIVIL SERVICE RULES.

§ 4. - CIVIL SERVICE RULES. (A) The administration of the classified municipal civil service, including the employment or appointment of all persons in the municipal civil service, shall be governed, as far as practicable, by rules and regulations known as the municipal civil service rules. (B) Within 12 months following the adoption of this section, the human resources director shall prepare civil service rules that meet the requirements specified in this section and recommend them to the civil service commission. After notice and public hearing, the commission shall make any modifications it deems necessary, and recommend that the city council adopt the rules. The civil service rules become effective when adopted by the city council by ordinance. (C) After the civil service rules are adopted, they may be amended at any time by using the same process used for the initial adoption of the rules. (D) At a minimum, the civil service rules must contain provisions governing: (1) initial appointments, promotions, and lateral transfers, all of which shall be based on merit and fitness; (2) disciplinary probation or suspension, involuntary demotion, denial of promotion, and discharge, all of which, in the case of non-probationary employees, must be for cause; (3) the establishment of probationary periods not to exceed six months for all initial appointments, during which time the appointee may be removed from the position without cause; (4) the establishment of probationary periods not to exceed three months for all promotional appointments, during which time the appointee may be removed from the position promoted to, and returned to his/her prior position, without cause; (5) procedures for reductions in force that give consideration to the affected employees' length of service and past work performance; and (6) other provisions, not inconsistent with this subsection, that may be required by the city council. (E) The personnel policies in effect and applicable to the classified service on the effective date of this ordinance shall remain in effect until superseded by civil service rules adopted under this section.

Austin City Charter, art. IX, § 5 EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

§ 5. - EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. There shall be a retirement system for the employees of the city which shall be known as the employees' retirement system of the City of Austin. After the first six months of employment, all municipal employees except the mayor, members of the council, members of boards and commissions, employees of the fire department, and part-time or temporary employees, shall become members of such system. Such system shall be governed by a board of directors composed of such members and selected in such a manner as may be provided by ordinance of the council, provided that classified employees shall have representation on the board. Such system shall be financed by a retirement fund created by contributions of the members and of the city, and the contributions by the city shall always be equal to or greater than the contributions of the members. The benefits payable to any member upon retirement shall be based upon the amount of contributions made on behalf of such member, and shall be determined on an actuarial basis. Upon separation of any member from the service of the city before retirement, such member shall be entitled to receive only the amount of his or her contributions to the fund and interest thereon. Establishment of the employees' retirement system shall not preclude the council from merging such system with, or adopting, any voluntary statewide or national retirement system where the general benefits of such merger or change are at least equal to those under the employees' retirement system. The council shall likewise not be precluded from consolidating any retirement system maintained by employees of the fire department with the employees' retirement system of the City of Austin under terms agreeable to both systems. Source: Ord. No. 20180809-113, Pt. 7, 8-20-18/election of 11-6-18.

Austin City Charter, art. IX, § 6 COUNCIL APPOINTEES.

§ 6. - COUNCIL APPOINTEES. (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter: (1) each member of the city council may hire assistants and other office staff as may be necessary to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the city council, and as may be authorized by ordinance; (2) each of the salaried city employees that this Charter provides be appointed by the city council shall hire and manage the appointee's own staff as may be authorized by ordinance; (3) the city council may by ordinance provide for the adoption of the personnel policies for the employees subject to this section. (B) If an officer or employee who is appointed by the city council under this charter, other than a judge of a municipal court, announces candidacy, or in fact becomes a candidate, in any general, special, or primary election, for any elective public office, the officer's or employee's announcement or candidacy is an automatic resignation of the office or employment. Source: Ord. No. 20180809-113, Pt. 7, 8-20-18/election of 11-6-18.

Austin City Charter, art. IX, § 7 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IMPASSE.

§ 7. - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IMPASSE. If the City and the Austin Firefighters Association, Local 975 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, have reached an impasse regarding the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement, pursuant to Texas Local Government Code § 174.152: (A) Either the City or the Association, after written notice to the other party containing specifications of the issues in dispute, may request arbitration and, in such event, the City and the Association shall submit all issues in dispute to arbitration within 45 days of receipt of the requesting party's written arbitration request. The arbitration ruling shall be final, binding, and enforceable against both parties. (B) Both parties shall select one arbitrator within 5 days of the original written request to arbitrate and provide written notification to the other party of the name and contact information for the selected arbitrator. The selected arbitrators shall attempt to select a third (neutral) arbitrator within 10 days of their selection in order to form a three-person Arbitration Board. If the arbitrators are unable to agree on a third arbitrator, the parties shall request a nationwide list of 9 qualified neutral arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association. The parties or their designees may agree on one of the 9 neutral arbitrators on the list. If they do not agree within 5 days after the date they receive the list, each party or the party's designee shall alternate striking a name from the list, and the name remaining is the third arbitrator. The third arbitrator shall preside over the Board. Any decisions made by the Board at any stage of the arbitration process will be determined by simple majority vote of the selected arbitrators. (C) Arbitration shall be conducted by the City and the Association pursuant to the procedures, timelines, duties, requirements, and rights as set forth in Texas Local Government Code §§ 174.155, 174.157—174.162, 174.164, and 174.253, or any successor to these statutory provisions. (D) In making its decision, the Board may consider only the following: (1) the history of collective bargaining agreements and negotiations between the parties; (2) compensation and conditions of employment that prevail in comparable public sector employment in other cities; (3) the rate of increase or decrease in the cost of living for the Austin area as determined by the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W), adjusted as necessary to account for housing and tax costs in the Austin area and other relevant local factors; (4) any of the following conditions: (a) hazards of employment, (b) physical qualifications, (c) educational qualifications, (d) mental qualifications, (e) job training, (f) skills, (g) employee morale, and (h) any other factors the Board determines to be relevant to the issues raised by the parties; and (5) revenues available to and contractual obligations of the City and the impact of any arbitration ruling on the taxpayers of the City. Source: Ord. No. 20210209-002, Pt. 2, 2-9-21/election 5-1-21.

Source: City of Austin, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/austin/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTIXPEFetched: 10/27/2026