Kimble v. City of Page
| Decision Date | 03 April 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 1 CA-CV 00-0389.,1 CA-CV 00-0389. |
| Citation | 20 P.3d 605,199 Ariz. 562 |
| Parties | Lawrence Lee KIMBLE, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF PAGE, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
Kirkpatrick Law Office P.C. by James M. McGee, Flagstaff, Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellee. Charles W. Stoddard III, City Attorney by Mary Deiss Brown, Assistant City Attorney, Page, Attorneys for Defendant-Appellant.
¶ 1 The City of Page (the "City") appeals from the superior court's grant of special action relief to an employee of the City, ordering that he be reinstated by the City Manager to his former position. We must determine whether that court correctly interpreted the City's Personnel Rules in light of Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated ("A.R.S.") section 9-303(B)(1996) and the City's ordinance creating the office of City Manager. We affirm one portion of the superior court's ruling and in all other respects reverse its grant of relief to the employee.
¶ 2 Appellee Larry Kimble, an employee of the City, held the position of Assistant Fire Chief of Emergency Medical Services/Fire Suppression. On January 17, 2000, Kimble's immediate supervisor, Fire Chief Thomas Van Meenan, transferred him involuntarily to a newly created, non-supervisory position of Assistant Fire Chief for Fire Prevention. The transfer was made pursuant to Rule 13.1 of the City's Personnel Rules that provides that employees may be "voluntarily or involuntarily transferred from one position to another" provided the transfer serves "the best interest of the City and/or for the betterment of the employee."
¶ 3 Unhappy with his transfer, Kimble initiated grievance procedures under the Personnel Rules. At the first level of the grievance procedures, Fire Chief Van Meenan reconfirmed his decision to transfer Kimble. Upon Kimble's appeal to the City Manager's Office, City Manager William Robinson also issued a decision supporting Kimble's transfer.
¶ 4 At the next level in the grievance procedure, an informal hearing was held before a hearing officer who ordered reinstatement of Kimble because his transfer was not in the best interests either of Kimble or the City under Personnel Rule 13.1. City Manager Robinson refused to reinstate Kimble to his former position and filed an appeal of the hearing officer's decision to the City's Personnel Board.
¶ 5 Kimble then filed a complaint and request for temporary restraining order in the Superior Court of Coconino County, where he sought a ruling that the City Manager was not authorized to appeal the hearing officer's decision to the Personnel Board, but, instead, had to return Kimble to his former position pursuant to the hearing officer's decision.
¶ 6 The trial court treated Kimble's complaint as a petition for special action, found that it had jurisdiction to consider the petition, and granted relief to Kimble, ordering as follows:
(Emphasis in original.)
¶ 7 The City now appeals to this court, asking us to reverse the superior court's order granting relief to Kimble.
¶ 8 When a special action initiated in superior court is appealed to this court, we conduct a bifurcated review to consider, first, the superior court's acceptance or refusal of jurisdiction and, second, its decision on the merits. Bilagody v. Thorneycroft, 125 Ariz. 88, 92, 607 P.2d 965, 969 (App.1979). The superior court treated Kimble's complaint and request for restraining order as a petition for special action and accepted jurisdiction. Neither party contends that it abused its discretion in doing so. A special action is appropriate on the question whether the City Manager failed to perform a duty required by law or acted without legal authority. See Rule 3, R.P. Spec. Act.
¶ 9 We review the trial court's decision on the merits. This court may draw its own legal conclusions and is not bound by those of the trial court. Ayala v. Hill, 136 Ariz. 88, 90, 664 P.2d 238, 240 (App.1983).
¶ 10 The City, which is not based upon a charter form of government, is incorporated as a common council government pursuant to Title 9 of the Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated. A.R.S. section 9-303(A) allows such cities to create the office of City Manager, and subsection (B) provides that "[t]he city or town manager shall have and exercise the powers and perform the duties relating to the affairs of the city or town as shall be specified by the ordinance creating the office of city or town manager." (Emphasis added.)
¶ 11 As authorized by A.R.S. section 9-303, the City created the office of City Manager pursuant to provisions of an ordinance contained in Article 3-2 of the City Code at Section 3-2-1. Among the enumerated powers and duties bestowed on the City Manager pursuant to subsection (E)(1) is the following:
[The City Manager shall] [a]ppoint and, when necessary for the good of the service, suspend or remove all officers and employees of the City not appointed by the Council. He may authorize the head of a department or office to appoint, suspend or remove subordinates in such department or office.
¶ 12 The City also chose to adopt a merit system for its employees pursuant to Section 3-3-1 in Article 3-3 of its Code. Section 3-3-3 within Article 3-3 provides that "[t]he Council may adopt by resolution rules and regulations to give effect to this article, which may be modified or changed from time to time, but such rules and regulations shall follow the generally accepted principles of good personnel administration." Accordingly, the City Council adopted Personnel Rules.
¶ 13 Relevant to this appeal is the interpretation of certain portions of "Rule 17—Rules of Appeal to Personnel Board." The trial court considered whether the hearing officer's decision bound the City Manager and, if so, whether the City Manager had any right to appeal to the Personnel Board. The key portions of Rule 17 provide:
¶ 14 The trial court determined that the hearing officer's findings bound the City Manager, who must implement them. The trial court also concluded that Section 17.3 of the Rule, providing for appeal to the Personnel Board, did not authorize appeal by the City Manager if he disagreed with the hearing officer's determination. Section 17.3 states only that the "employee" aggrieved by the decision of the hearing officer may appeal.
¶ 15 We agree with the trial court's determination that Rule 17 of the Personnel Rules bestows no appeal rights on the City Manager. Section 17.3 establishes appeal rights solely for the benefit of an "employee" who has completed the Rule 16 grievance procedures and is dissatisfied with the final decision. The dissatisfied employee is allowed to appeal to the hearing officer and then to the Personnel Board. The City makes no argument to the contrary.
¶ 16 Whether the hearing officer's decision binds the City Manager poses a more difficult question. The trial court appears to have reached its conclusion by reading the Rule to impose a mandatory duty on the City Manager to implement the hearing officer's findings. But the trial court apparently did not give regard to A.R.S. section 9-303(B) and Section 3-2-1(E)(1) of the City Code enumerating powers and duties of the City Manager.
¶ 17 Section 9-303(B) directs that the duties of the City Manager are specified by the ordinance creating that office and implicitly provides that any change to the duties of the City Manager occur via amendment to the ordinance that created the office. Section 3-2-1(E)(1) of the City Code gives the City Manager the power to "[a]ppoint ... suspend or remove all officers and employees of the City not appointed by the Council." The City has not amended that section to diminish the City Manager's powers and duties in employment matters.
¶ 18 If the decisions of the hearing officer or the Personnel Board1 bind the City Manager, the City would have diminished the powers of its Manager through its Council's adoption of the Personnel Rules by resolution, a method not authorized by A.R.S. section 9-303(B) to limit the Manager's powers. A municipal corporation exercises law-making authority only to the extent delegated by statute. See Ames v. Smoot, 98 A.D.2d 216, 471 N.Y.S.2d 128, 130 (1983)
. If the controlling law directs the legislative body to do a particular duty in a certain manner, the duty must be done in that manner. Inlet Associates v. Assateague House Condominium Assoc., 313 Md. 413, 545 A.2d 1296, 1303 (1988).
¶ 19 The same principles of construction that apply to statutes also apply to administrative rules and regulations. Marlar v. State, 136 Ariz. 404, 410, 666 P.2d 504, 510 (App.1983). Administrative...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Enterprise Leasing Co. of Phoenix v. Dept. of Revenue
...principles of construction that apply to statutes generally apply with equal force to administrative rules and regulations. Kimble v. City of Page, 199 Ariz. 562, 565, ¶ 19, 20 P.3d 605, 608 Taxpayer cites other cases in which the taxpayer had actually waited with expectations during five o......
-
DaimlerChrysler v. Arizona Dept. of Revenue
...of construction that apply to statutes apply with equal force to administrative rules and regulations like R15-5-2011. Kimble v. City of Page, 199 Ariz. 562, 565, ¶ 19, 20 P.3d 605, 608 (App.2001); Marlar v. State, 136 Ariz. 404, 410, 666 P.2d 504, 510 (App.1983). Thus, "[i]n interpreting a......
-
Home Depot USA, Inc. v. Ariz. Dep't of Revenue
...in the “debtor-creditor relationship.” The principles of statutory construction apply to interpretations of regulations. Kimble v. City of Page, 199 Ariz. 562, 565, ¶ 19, 20 P.3d 605, 608 (App.2001). Accordingly, “we look to the plain language as the most reliable indicator of meaning,” and......
-
Mckesson Corp. v. Ariz. Health Care Cost Containment Sys.
...429, 432 (App.2004). We also strive to interpret administrative rules in a manner that yields a fair and sensible meaning. Kimble v. City of Page, 199 Ariz. 562, 565, ¶ 19, 20 P.3d 605, 608 (App.2001). ¶ 5 Section 36–2918 provides in pertinent part: A. A person may not present or cause to b......