# Title 40 — Municipal Government

## Chapter 40-10 — City Manager Plan

### § 40-10-01. Petition for city manager - Contents - Notice of election - Election.

Twenty-five percent or more of the qualified electors of a city, as shown by the number of
votes cast for the executive officer of the city at the preceding city election, may petition for the
city manager plan of government. Within thirty days after such petition is filed with the city
auditor, the governing body of the city shall provide for the submission of such proposal to the
qualified electors of the city at an election to be held within ninety days after such filing. The city
auditor shall give thirty days' notice of the date of the election and of the purposes thereof. The
notice of election shall state briefly the powers of the city manager if the plan should be
adopted. The election shall be held, the votes canvassed, and the results declared in the same
manner as in the case of city elections.
### § 40-10-02. Vote required to adopt plan - Effective date.

If a majority of the votes cast on the question at the election favors the adoption of the city
manager plan, the governing body shall declare the plan adopted and shall fix the date when
the plan becomes effective. The date must be after the first regular meeting of the governing
body in the month of July following the election.
### § 40-10-03. City manager - How selected - Qualifications - Compensation - Term.

The city manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the city and shall be chosen by
the governing body solely on the basis of the person's qualifications. The choice shall not be
limited to the inhabitants of the city or state and a majority vote of the members of the governing
body shall be necessary to make the choice. The city manager shall receive a compensation of
not less than one thousand dollars a year and shall be chosen for an indefinite term.
### § 40-10-04. Removal of city manager - Summary proceedings - Charges brought -

Suspension - Absence or disability of city manager.
The city manager may be removed from office summarily by the governing body at any time
within six months after appointment. After that period, the city manager may be removed only
pursuant to written charges made and filed with the city auditor by the executive officer or by
some member of the governing body. Upon the filing of the charges, if the city manager desires
a hearing thereon, the city manager shall file a written demand for such hearing within three
days after the notice of the filing of such charges has been served upon the city manager. In the
absence of such demand, the city manager shall be deemed to have waived a hearing, but shall
not be removed finally until a hearing is had or waived. Pending such hearing or the waiver
thereof, the city manager may be suspended by the governing body. During the absence or
disability of the city manager, the governing body shall designate some properly qualified person
to perform the duties of the city manager's office. The decision of the governing body on the
selection or removal of a city manager or of a person to perform the duties of such office shall
be final.
### § 40-10-05. Powers of governing body.

The governing body shall have in addition to other powers granted by law the following
powers:
1. It may inquire into the conduct of any office, department, or agency of the city.
2. It may by ordinance establish, change, and abolish offices, departments, and
agencies, other than those required by law, and may add to or take away from the
duties of the various offices, departments, and agencies.
### § 40-10-06. Duties of city manager.

The city manager shall:
1. Be responsible to the governing body of the municipality for the proper administration
of all of the affairs of the city.

2. Prepare and submit to the governing body an annual preliminary budget as provided
for under chapter 40-40, and shall be responsible for the administration of the final
budget, subject to the control of the governing body as to changes in the same.
3. Be responsible for law enforcement.
4. Appoint and remove, subject to civil service regulations if in effect, all heads of
administrative departments and employees of the city. However, the city manager shall
neither appoint nor remove the head of any department without first consulting with the
governing body.
5. Keep the governing body advised of the financial condition of the city and make such
recommendations as may seem desirable.
6. Be responsible for the purchase of all supplies, materials, and equipment for the
operations of the city. Provided, that for any purchase the cost of which exceeds one
thousand dollars, the governing body shall establish the procedure for purchasing the
same.
### § 40-10-07. Conflict of powers and duties of city manager and other officers - Who to

govern.
If the powers granted to a city manager by this chapter shall conflict with or shall be
opposed to the powers or duties imposed upon or granted by law to the executive officer or
governing body, the powers or duties imposed or granted by law to the executive officer or the
governing body shall be deemed to be suspended for and during the period in which the city
manager plan is in force in the city and during the employment of a city manager thereunder.
### § 40-10-08. Election to determine question of retention of city manager plan -

Procedure thereafter.
At any time after the city manager plan has been in force in any city for a period of five
years or more, the governing body of the city may submit at any regular election the question of
whether or not such plan shall be retained. If a petition signed by forty percent or more of the
qualified electors of the city, as shown by the votes cast for the executive officer at the
preceding city election, requesting the submission of such question is filed with the city auditor,
the governing body shall submit such proposal to the qualified electors of the city at an election
to be held within ninety days after the filing of such petition. The signatures to such petition need
not be appended to a single paper, but each single paper so used shall clearly state the purpose
of the petition at the top of the paper, and each signature shall have been placed thereon not
more than ninety days prior to the date on which the petition is filed in the office of the city
auditor. Upon each paper one of the qualified electors signing such petition shall, under oath
before an officer competent to administer oaths, swear that that person witnessed the signing of
each signature appearing on such paper and that each signature appearing upon such paper is
the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. Each petition, in addition to
the names of the signers, shall contain the name of the street and the number of the house in
which each petitioner resides, the length of the petitioner's residence in the state of North
Dakota and in the city, and the date on which the petitioner signed the petition. Any petitioner
shall be permitted to withdraw the petitioner's name from a petition at any time prior to action by
the governing body calling the election as provided herein. Such question shall not be submitted
more than once in every five years. If a majority of the votes cast on the question at the election
shall be against retaining the city manager plan, the city shall revert to the plan in force previous
to the adoption of the city manager plan, and the provisions of this chapter shall not be
applicable to such city except after another compliance with its terms. The governing body shall
fix the date, not less than three months nor more than six months after an election at which the
majority vote on the question is against the retention of the city manager plan, when such plan
shall cease to be operative in the municipality.
