SECTION 4.01
Election of Mayor-President

The Chief Executive Officer of the City and Parish shall be a Mayor-President who shall be elected by the qualified voters of the Parish at the same time and for the same terms as the members of the Metropolitan Council, provided that the Mayor-President first elected shall take office for the purposes specified in Section 2.02 of this Plan of Government immediately following the promulgation of the results of such election. Thereafter the Mayor-President shall hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first day of January following his election. He shall be a qualified voter of the Parish and if any time during his term of office he shall cease to reside within the Parish his office shall be deemed vacant.

A person who has been elected to serve as Mayor-President of the Consolidated Government of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge for three (3) consecutive full terms of office, such service being during a term of office that began on or after January 1, 1997, shall not be eligible for election as Mayor-President of the Consolidated Government of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge for the succeeding term. (As amended on November 18, 1995)

SECTION 4.02
Compensation

For the term beginning on the first day of January l949 the compensation of the Mayor-President shall be fixed by the Parish Council at not less than ten or more than fifteen thousand dollars. Thereafter the compensation of the Mayor-President shall be fixed by the Metropolitan Council by ordinance adopted at least one year prior to the commencement of the term of the Mayor-President whose compensation is to be affected thereby and if no such ordinance be adopted the compensation of the Mayor-President will remain as previously fixed by the Metropolitan Council.

SECTION 4.03
Chief Executive Officer of the Parish and City

The Mayor-President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Parish and City and shall have power, as authorized by the Metropolitan Council, subject to this Plan of Government, the ordinances and resolutions of the Metropolitan Council adopted in pursuance thereof, and the Constitution and general laws of the State, to supervise and direct the administration of all departments, offices and agencies of the Parish and City Governments the heads of which are appointed by him. He shall have all the powers and duties, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Plan of Government, conferred or imposed on the Mayor of the City of Baton Rouge by its Charter or which may be conferred or imposed on the Mayors of Cities by the general laws of the State applicable to such City. He shall have power to appoint and remove, subject to the provisions of Chapter 9, of this Plan of Government, the Director of Finance, Purchasing Agent, Personnel Administrator, the Department heads as listed in Section 5.01 and 5.02 of the Plan of Government, the Chief of the Fire Department and the Chief of Police, and such other officers and employees as the Council may provide by ordinances pursuant to this Plan of Government. In the case of any officer or employee who is not a member of the classified service as provided by Chapter 9 of the Plan of Government or by any general laws applicable to the City of Baton Rouge, the Mayor-President shall, before he may exercise the power of removal, first serve on the officer or employee sought to be removed a notice in writing setting forth the grounds of the proposed removal and fixing a time and place, not less than ten days after the service of such notice, at which the officer or employee shall be given an opportunity to be heard thereon. After such hearing, which shall be public at the option of the officer or employee, the action of the Mayor-President shall be final. The Mayor-President may suspend from duty for not more than sixty days any such officer or employee pending final action. (As amended December 6, 2014)

SECTION 4.04
Duties of the Mayor-President

It shall be the duties of the Mayor-President:

(a) To attend, either personally or by representation, meetings of the Council. The Mayor- President may present to the Council written messages or information which in his opinion are necessary and expedient and shall have the right to speak at all meetings of the Council. The Mayor-President shall have no vote on the Council, but all ordinances enacted by the Council shall be submitted to the Mayor- President as provided in Section 2.l. of the Plan of Government. (As Amended October 27, l979) (As amended October 20, 2007)

(b) To keep the Council informed of the financial condition of the Parish and the City of all other matters pertaining to their proper administration, and to make recommendations concerning actions to be taken by the Council.

(c) To prepare and submit the annual budgets to the Council as provided in Chapter 8 of this Plan of Government.

(d) To prepare and submit to the Council not later than their first meeting in July of each year a concise and comprehensive report of the financial transactions and administrative activities of the Parish and the City and all districts of which the Metropolitan Council is the governing body, during the fiscal year ending on the preceding thirty-first day of December, in suitable form for publication, and to cause to be printed for general distribution to all citizens or request such number of copies of the same as the Council shall direct. (As amended October 20, 2007))

(e) To perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Plan of Government or required of him by the ordinances of the Council.

SECTION 4.05
President Pro-Tempore

The President Pro-Tempore shall preside over the meetings of the Metropolitan Council with the right to speak and to vote. If the Mayor-President is absent from the Parish and City or unable to perform his duties the President Pro-Tempore shall act as Mayor-President and in the case of a vacancy in the office of Mayor-President shall serve as such until the vacancy is filled as hereinafter provided. (As amended October 27, l979) (As amended October 20, 2007)

SECTION 4.06
Vacancy in the Office of the Mayor-President

A vacancy in the office of Mayor-President, from whatever cause arising, occurring within one year of the expiration of his term shall be filled by appointment by majority vote of all members of the Metropolitan Council, but if the vacancy occurs more than one year prior to the expiration of his term, it shall be filled by vote of the qualified voters of the Parish at a special election called and held pursuant to the Louisiana Election Code, Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title l8. (As amended September 11, l982)

SECTION 4.07
Division of Purchasing

There shall be under the immediate direction of the Mayor-President a Division of Purchasing. The head of the Division of Purchasing shall be the Purchasing Agent. He shall be a person skilled and experienced in private business purchasing or governmental purchasing and property control and accountability. It shall be the duty of the Purchasing Agent to purchase all supplies, materials, equipment, and contractual services, including insurance and surety bonds, for the use of the several departments of the Parish and City established by this Plan of Government, all districts of which the Metropolitan Council is the governing body, all other departments, boards, commissions, offices and boards to which this provision is constitutionally applicable, or which may request the services of the Purchasing Agent, henceforth referred to herein as using agencies, excepting the purchase of books for the public library. It shall be the duty of the Purchasing Agent to consult the head of each using agency as to the kind and quality of the supplies, materials and equipment to be purchased for it.

SECTION 4.08
Further Powers and Duties of Purchasing Agent

The Purchasing Agent, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the preceding section, shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To establish, with approval of the Mayor-President and after consultation with the heads of the using agencies concerned, standard specifications for supplies, materials and equipment required by the using agencies.

(b) To prescribe the time of making requisitions and the future period which such requisitions are to cover.

(c) To inspect or cause to be inspected all deliveries of supplies, materials and equipment, and to cause tests to be made when necessary, in order to determine their quality, quantity and conformance with specifications.

(d) To supervise and control such central storerooms as the Council may establish.

(e) To transfer to or between using agencies, sell or trade in, supplies, materials and equipment determined by him, with the approval of the Mayor-President and after consultation with the head of the using agency concerned, to be surplus, obsolete or unused.

(f) To maintain an adequate system of accounting for all property received and all property issued by the Division of Purchasing, in accordance with accepted principles of accounting for property and inventory control; and to maintain such inventory of all movable property under the control of the several using agencies as the Metropolitan Council may require.

SECTION 4.09
Competitive Bidding

Before making a purchase or contract the Purchasing Agent shall give opportunity for competitive bidding under such rules and regulations, not in conflict with general law, as may be established by the Metropolitan Council. With the approval of the Council, the Purchasing Agent may reject any or all bids and readvertise for bids; provided that competitive bidding shall not be required in the case of contracts for professional service and for services for which the rate or price is fixed by a federal or state authority authorized by law to fix rates or prices. All sales made by the Purchasing Agent shall be made on the basis of competitive bids after such public notice as may be prescribed by the Council, by ordinance and all sales shall be to the highest bidder.

SECTION 4.10
Accounting Control of Purchasing

All purchases and contracts executed by the Purchasing Agent shall be pursuant to a written requisition, in such form as may be prescribed by the Director of Finance, from the head of the using agency whose appropriation is to be charged or from the head of a division or other operating unit thereof to whom such authority has been delegated by the head of the using agency in writing, filed with the Purchasing Agent. No purchase order made or contract entered into by the Purchasing Agent shall be valid unless there be endorsed thereon the certificate of the Director of Finance that there is an unexpended and unencumbered balance in the appropriation and allotment applicable thereto. Nothing herein, however, shall be taken to prevent the Purchasing Agent from making purchases for a stores revolving fund which the Metropolitan Council is hereby authorized to establish, and to make sales from the stores account to the several using agencies based on their requisitions; provided that the Director of Finance certifies that there is an unexpended and unencumbered balance in the appropriation and allotment to be charged.

SECTION 4.11
Records Relating to Competitive Bidding

A record of all bids, showing the names of the bidders and the amount of the bids, and indicating in each case the successful bidder, together with the originals of all sealed bids and other documents pertaining to the making of purchases and the award of contracts, shall be preserved by the Purchasing Agent for six years in a file which shall be open to public inspection during regular business hours.

SECTION 4.12
Transaction Not to Be Divided

No transaction, which is essentially a unit, shall be divided for the purpose of evading or so as to evade the intent of Section 4.09.

SECTION 4.13
Financing Mayor-President's Office

The number and compensation of the employees in the office of the Mayor-President, including the Division of Purchasing, shall be fixed by the Metropolitan Council. The compensation of the Mayor-President and all other expenses of his office, including those of the Division of Purchasing, shall be provided by appropriations made by the Council.

SECTION 4.14
Chief Administrative Officer

(a) For the purpose of assisting in the supervision and coordination of the duties of the Mayor- President's office, the Mayor-President may appoint a Chief Administrative Officer who shall be an unclassified employee in the office of the Mayor-President. He shall perform the duties hereinafter enumerated and may appoint one secretary or confidential assistant who shall likewise be unclassified. All other employees assigned to his office shall be appointed and removed subject to the provisions of Chapter 9 of this Plan of Government.

(b)The Chief Administrative Officer shall have the following minimum qualifications:

(l) At least five years' experience in an administrative capacity; and,

(2) Must have graduated from an accredited four-year college or university.

(c) The Chief Administrative Officer shall assist the Mayor-President in the duties of his office and shall have and perform the following mandatory duties:

(l) Make studies of the internal organization and procedures of any office, department or board, and require such reports from any of them which he deems necessary.

(2) Make reports prescribing accepted standards of administrative practice for all administrative offices, departments and board.

(3) Prepare an annual statistical report of City and Parish operation for submission to the Mayor-President and the Metropolitan Council, including appropriate recommendations for revisions and changes in administrative practices and other departmental procedures.

(d) Anything in this Chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, the compensation of the Chief Administrative Officer and all other expenses of his office shall be provided by appropriations made by the Council. (As amended November 3, l964) (As amended October 20, 2007)