(1)For every Municipality there shall be a Secretary appointed by the Government, in consultation with that Municipality, who shall be an officer of the Government borne on such cadre, as may be prescribed, and shall be the Executive Officer of the Municipality and the other officers and employees of the Municipality shall be subordinate to him.(2)The Secretary shall not without the sanction of the Municipality or the Government, undertake any work unconnected with his office.(3)The pay and allowances of the Secretary, as fixed by the Government from time to time, shall in the first instance to be paid from the State funds. The whole of the pay and allowances paid to the Secretary and the contributions towards his leave salary and pension to the extent required shall be credited monthly to the State funds by the Municipality.(4)The Government may grant leave to the Secretary and appoint a substitute or nominate an officer to hold charge of his office during his absence.(5)The Secretary shall be the custodian of all Municipal properties and records including all papers and documents connected with the proceedings of the Council and the Standing Committees and other Committees, and shall arrange for the performance of such functions, as may be entrusted to him by the said bodies.(6)The Government may, at any time, transfer the Secretary, from a Municipality and if the Council, on the strength of a resolution, passed at a special meeting convened for this purpose, by a simple majority vote of the approved strength of the Council, recommends a transfer, the Government shall do so.[Provided that before considering such a resolution by the council the Secretary shall be given an opportunity to give a representation and if requested of being heard by the Council or the Chairperson.] [Inserted by Act 14 of 1999, w.e.f. 24-3-1999.](7)The Council shall, subject to the rules that may be made in this behalf, be competent to impose minor penalties on its Secretary,(8)An appeal may be filed against the order of the Council imposing any minor penalty, before the authority (referred below as the authority) authorised by the Government in this behalf.(9)An appeal under sub-section (8) shall be in the prescribed form and shall be submitted in such manner and within such date, as may be prescribed.(10)On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (8), the authority, after giving the person filing the appeal an opportunity of being heard, may either confirm, cancel or revise the order against which the appeal is preferred or pass such other order as it deems fit.(11)The Government may, either suo motu or on application, call for the records of any order passed by the authority under sub-section (10) and may review such order and pass such order in that regard, as it deems fit:(12)[ Where disciplinary proceedings have to be initiated against the Secretary, the Chairperson shall have the power to conduct an enquiry against him and in the case of imposition of a major penalty, to report to the Government with approval of the council to take further action under the rules applicable to the Secretary and the Government shall as soon as the report is received, take appropriate action and intimate the final decision taken thereon, in writing to the Chairperson.(13)The Government may by a general or special order designate any officer of the Government transferred to the service of the Municipality as an ex-officio Secretary and the person so appointed shall have all the powers and functions of the Secretary, in respect of the subjects dealt with by them.] [Added by Act 14 of 1999, w.e.f. 24-3-1999.]Provided that no application for review shall be entertained if it is preferred after 30 days from the date of receipt by the applicant of the order sought to be reviewed:Provided further that the Government shall not pass any order affecting any party if that party had not been given an opportunity for submitting a representation:Provided also that the Government shall not suo motu review an order, if more than one year has elapsed since the date of the order sought to be reviewed.Explanation. - In this section minor penalty has the same meaning as is given to minor penalty in the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1960.
