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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-075 Emergency Powers - Mayor, City Council & City Manager ORDINANCE NO. 2004- 75 AN ORDINANCE relating to the proclamation of a civil emergency, designating the line of succession to serve as acting mayor, the action which may be taken in a civil emergency, the delivery to the news media of a proclamation relating to a civil emergency, providing that violation of such an order is a misdemeanor, and adding a new chapter to Title 6 of the Yakima Municipal Code. WHEREAS, the City of Yakima, in cooperation with the Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management, has developed an Emergency Operations Plan as required by Chapter 38.52 RCW and Chapter 118 -30 WAC; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Yakima in the case of an emergency or disaster to provide for actions which may be taken in order to preserve life, health, property, or public peace; and WHEREAS, Article II, Section 3 of the Yakima City Charter provides that the mayor "in time of public danger or emergency shall, if so authorized and directed by a majority vote of the Council, take command of the police, maintain order and enforce the law "; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Yakima recognizes that an emergency situation may occur which will require decisive action prior to the City Council being properly convened; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to authorize and direct the mayor to maintain order, take command of the police, and enforce the law in the event of an emergency or disaster; and to authorize the city manager to have the authority to enter into contracts in the event of an emergency or disaster; now, therefore, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF.YAKIMA, WASHINGTON: Section 1. New Chapter. A new chapter is added to "Title 6, Public Safety and Morals," of the Yakima Municipal Code to read as follows: Page 1 Chapter 6.06 EMERGENCY POWERS OF MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Sections: 6.06.010 Proclamation of civil emergency — Emergency defined. 6.06.020 Line of succession. 6.06.030 Action which may be taken. 6.06.040 Delivery to news media. 6.06.050 Violation—Penalty. 6.06.010 Proclamation of civil emergency — Emergency defined. Whenever a civil emergency, or the imminent threat thereof, occurs in the city and results in, or threatens to result in the death or injury of persons or the destruction of or damage to property to such extent as to require, in the judgment of the mayor, extraordinary measures to protect the public peace, safety and welfare, the mayor shall forthwith proclaim in writing the existence of a civil emergency. In the absence or unavailability of the mayor, such a civil emergency may be declared by the person indicated in section 6.06.020 in this chapter on the line of succession. For the purposes of this chapter, a civil emergency shall mean: A. A riot, unlawful assembly, insurrection, enemy attack, terrorist attack, sabotage, or other hostile action; or (1) For the purpose of this chapter, the term "unlawful assembly" means any threat, actual or implied, to use force or violence when accompanied by immediate power to execute such force or violence by three or more persons acting together without authority of law and where the threat to use the same would endanger or tend to endanger the safety of property or persons. B. A natural or human - caused disaster, including fire, flood, storm, explosion, earthquake, volcanic disturbance or eruption, or other natural cause. 6.06.020 Line of succession A. Line of succession of elected officials for appointment as acting mayor. The line of succession for elected officials to serve as the acting mayor is as follows: (1) Mayor (2) Mayor pro tem (3) Council members by seniority unless a member is unavailable or declines to serve. Senior or seniority shall mean the number of years served on the city council. In the event of exact seniority by two or more members, the members shall mutually determine who shall act as mayor. B. Staff official appointed acting mayor. In the event that the entire council is unavailable, too injured, or is deceased, the line of succession for city employees to serve as the acting mayor is as follows: Page 2 (1) City manager (2) Assistant city manager (3) Police chief (4) Fire chief (5) Public works director C. Powers and duties of the acting mayor. Every provision of law in relation to the powers and duties of the mayor, and in relation to acts and duties to be performed by others toward him or her extends to the person performing for the time being the duties of mayor. 6.06.030 Action which may be taken. A. Upon the proclamation of a civil emergency by the mayor, and during the existence of such emergency, the mayor may make and proclaim any or all of the following orders: (1) An order imposing a general curfew applicable to the city as a whole or to such geographical area or areas of the city and during such hours as he or she deems necessary, and subsequent orders from time to time to modify the hours such curfew will be in effect and the area or areas to which it will apply; (2) An order requiring any or all business establishments to close and remain closed until further order; (3) An order requiring the closure of any or all bars, taverns, liquor stores and other business establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold or otherwise dispensed; provided that, with respect to those business establishments which are not primarily devoted to the sale of alcoholic beverages and in which such alcoholic beverages may be removed or made secure from possible seizure by the public, the portions thereof utilized for the sale of items other than alcoholic beverages may, in the discretion of the mayor, be allowed to remain open; and further provided that such orders shall be subject to the laws of the State of Washington by and through the Washington State Liquor Control Board; (4) An order requiring the discontinuance of the sale, distribution, giving away, or possession of gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank properly affixed to a motor vehicle or except in connection with normal operation of motor vehicles, normal home use or legitimate commercial use; (5) An order requiring the discontinuance of the sale, distribution or giving away of firearms and/ or ammunition for firearms in any or all parts of the city; (6) An order requiring the closure of any or all business establishments where firearms and / or ammunition for firearms are sold or otherwise dispensed; provided, that with respect to those business establishments which are not primarily devoted to the sale of firearms and/ or ammunition and in which such firearms and/ or ammunition may be removed or made secure from possible seizure by the public, the portions thereof utilized for sale of items other than firearms and ammunition may, in the discretion of the mayor, be allowed to remain open; Page 3 (7) An order prohibiting the possession of firearms or any other deadly weapon by a person (other than a law enforcement officer) in a place other than that person's place of residence or business; (8) An order closing to the public any or all public places, including streets, alleys, public ways, schools, parks, beaches, amusement areas and public buildings; (9) An order requesting federal and/ or state assistance in combating such civil emergency, including but not limited to requesting the assistance of the National Guard; (10) An order directing the use of all public and private health, medical, and convalescent facilities and equipment to provide emergency health and medical care for injured persons; (11) An order authorizing, in cooperation with utility management and appropriate state and federal agencies, the shutting off, restoration, and operation of utility services in accordance with priorities established for combating such civil emergency; (12) Such other orders as are imminently necessary for the protection of life and property; Provided, however, that any such orders shall, at the earliest practicable time but in no event more than seventy -two (72) hours after the proclamation of the respective order(s), be presented to the city council for ratification and confirmation, and if not so ratified and confirmed shall be void. B. Upon the proclamation of a civil emergency by the mayor and / or the city council, and during the existence of such emergency, the city council may make and proclaim any or all of the following orders: (1) An order providing for the evacuation and reception of the population of the city or any part thereof; (2) Such other orders as are imminently necessary for the protection of life and property. C. Upon the proclamation of a civil emergency by the mayor and / or the city council, and during the existence of such emergency, the city manager shall have the power by order to enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to combat such disaster, protect the health and safety of persons and property, provide emergency assistance to the victims of such disaster, and direct the finance department to draw and to pay the necessary warrants for expenditures to respond to the emergency. Such powers shall be exercised in light of the exigencies of the situation without regard to time - consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by ordinance (excepting mandatory constitutional requirements), including, but not limited to, budget law limitations and requirements of competitive bidding and publication of notices pertaining to the performance of public work, entering into contracts, the incurring of obligations, the employment of temporary workers, the rental of equipment, the purchase of supplies and materials, and the appropriation and expenditures of public Page 4 funds; provided, that the city manager shall, wherever practicable, advise and consult with the city council with respect to disaster response activities, and any such order shall at the earliest practicable time be presented to the city council for review and appropriate legislation including: (1) Findings by resolution with respect to actions taken; (2) Authorization of payment for services, supplies, equipment loans and commandeered property used during disaster response activities; (3) Approval of gifts, grants or loans accepted by the city during the emergency; (4) Levy of taxes to meet costs of disaster response and recovery operations; and upon such review the city council may ratify and confirm, modify, or reject any such order, and if rejected, any such order shall be void. 6.06.040 Delivery to news media. The mayor shall cause any proclamation issued by him or her, pursuant to the authority of this chapter, to be delivered to all news media within the city and shall utilize such other available means, including public address systems, as shall be necessary, in his or her judgment, to give notice of such proclamation to the public. 6.06.050 Violation It is unlawful for any person to fail or refuse to obey any such order proclaimed by the mayor or the city council. Any person convicted of a violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00, or by imprisonment in jail for a period not to exceed 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 2. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of this ordinance. Section 3. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its passage, approval, and publication as provided by law and by the City Charter. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL at a regular meeting and signed and approved this 7 day of December, 2004. C 9 lee — e-/ifikr-- Paul P. George, Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Publication Date: 12 -10 -2004 Effective Date: 1 -9 -2005 Page 5 BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. For Meeting of December 7, 2004 ITEM TITLE: Consideration of ordinance relating to the proclamation of a civil emergency, designating the line of succession to serve as acting mayor, the action which may be taken in a civil emergency, the delivery to the news media of a proclamation relating to a civil emergency, providing that violation of such an order is a misdemeanor, and adding a new chapter to Title 6 of the Yakima Municipal Code. SUBMITTED BY: Dick Zais, City Manager'_ Sam Granato, Chief of Yakima Police Department 6-ft Dennis Mayo, Chief of Yakima Fire Department OAini CONTACT PERSON/TELEPHONE: Dick Zais, 575 -6040; Sam Granato, 575 -6211; Dennis Mayo, 575 -6060 SUMMARY EXPLANATION: The City of Yakima, in cooperation with the Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management, has developed an Emergency Operations Plan as required by Chapter 38.52 RCW. Article II, Section 3 of the Yakima City Charter provides that in time of public danger or emergency, the City Council by a majority vote may authorize the Mayor to maintain order and enforce the law. This ordinance provides for delegation of certain emergency powers to the Mayor in a civil emergency in the event that decisive action is required prior to the City Council being properly convened. Any order issued by the Mayor is to be presented to the City Council for ratification and confirmation at the earliest practicable time and in no event more than 72 hours after the proclamation of the emergency. This ordinance designates the line of succession to serve as acting mayor. This ordinance authorizes the City Manager to enter into contracts and authorize expenditures in a civil emergency, subject to presentation for review and appropriate legislation to the City Council at the earliest practicable time. Resolution Ordinance X Other (Specify) Contract Mail to (name and address): Phone: Funding Source: APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: � 5 City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Pass Ordinance. BOARD /COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: The Council Public Safety Committee has met and reviewed the proposed ordinance and is presenting it to the entire Council for consideration. In addition, on September 28, 2004, the City Council discussed and reviewed the proposed emergency ordinance at a study session. COUNCIL ACTION: Ordinance passed. ORDINANCE NO. 2004 -75