Any employee in the competitive service shall have the right to appeal to the personnel board any disciplinary action, interpretation or alleged violation of this chapter or the personnel rules adopted thereunder, except in those instances where the right of appeal is specifically prohibited by this chapter or the personnel rules adopted thereunder.

The personnel board shall have the right of subpoena, the power to examine witnesses under oath, the power to compel the attendance of witnesses and the power to require the production of evidence by subpoena. Subpoenas shall be issued in the name of the city and attested by the city clerk.

Each member of the personnel board shall have the power to administer oaths to witnesses.

All appeals shall be concluded as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with the requirements and procedures as set forth in the personnel rules adopted pursuant to the authority of this chapter.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this municipal code, or other city enactments, the city manager may adopt alternative procedures for the appeal of employee discipline matters (including discharge), provided that the city manager must first exhaust meet and confer requirements pursuant to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, California Government Code section 3500, et seq., with any recognized employee organizations representing the disciplined employee(s). (Ord. 2167 NCS § 1, 2003; Ord. 837 NCS §1; prior code §2.99.)