No member of either the police department or of the fire department shall be removed or discharged, nor shall the chief of the police department nor the chief of the fire department, be removed, discharged, or demoted, except for cause, upon written charges or complaint and after an opportunity to face his or her accusers and be heard in his or her own defense. Such charges shall be investigated by and before the civil service board after not less than five days’ notice in writing with a copy of such charges shall have been given to the person charged, and the hearings thereof and thereon shall be public. The decision of the board thereon shall be given in writing to the accused, and shall be spread on the minutes. In all proceedings before the civil service board the city attorney may appear and represent the interest of the city when ordered to do so by the civil service board. Any attorney secured by the person or persons making the charge or accusation shall be allowed to represent the prosecution, and any attorney selected by the accused shall be allowed to represent the accused. Any person may be served with a subpoena to appear and testify, or to produce books and papers relevant to such investigation before the civil service board, such subpoena to be issued as subpoenas are now issued and provided for in the circuit courts of this state; and anyone who shall refuse or neglect to appear and testify, or produce such books and papers relevant to such investigation as commanded in such subpoena, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished as misdemeanors are punished under the laws of the State of Alabama. The fees of witnesses for attendance and travel shall be the same as fees for witnesses before the circuit courts of this state, and shall be paid from the treasury of the city affected.
Last modified: May 3, 2021