The head of any department, the Managing Director, the Director of Finance, the City Treasurer, and the Personnel Director shall have the power with the approval of his appointing officer or commission, or if he is an elective officer, on his own responsibility, to appoint and fix the compensation of a deputy or such number of deputies as the Administrative Board shall approve. The deputies may be called assistants if the Administrative Board so determines. Deputies, in the absence of the heads of their respective departments, or of the officers for whom they are deputies, shall have the right to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties vested in and imposed upon such department heads or officers, except the power to appoint officers or employees, and may at any time exercise such of the powers and perform such of the duties of the head of the department or officer as may be prescribed by such head or officer.

Whenever there shall be a vacancy in the office of the head of any department or any other office to which this section applies, such deputy as shall be designated in writing by the appointing power or in the case of an elective department head or officer, by the Mayor, shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of the department head or officer until the vacancy is filled. With the approval of the Mayor in writing, the Managing Director, the City Controller, the City Treasurer, the City Solicitor, the Director of Finance, the Director of Commerce or the Personnel Director, and with the approval of the Managing Director in writing, any other department head may authorize any deputy to serve in his stead on any board or commission.

ANNOTATION

Sources: The Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Section 213, as amended.

Purposes: 1. The designation of deputies and the determination of their compensation are made an administrative rather than a legislative function because the problem is one peculiarly within the concern, competence and experience of the administrative branch of the government. The number of deputies appointed is made subject to the approval of the Administrative Board so that the number will remain within reason and within need. The compensation of deputies, while an administrative decision, will be limited by the amount of money appropriated by the Council to a department for salaries and other non-civil service officers and employees. All such appropriations must be lump sum appropriations.

2. Deputies are empowered to act in place of superior officers under appropriate circumstances. Thus, whenever there is a vacancy in the office of a head of a department, a deputy authorized to do so, may exercise the powers of that office, pending the appointment of a new department head. This makes possible the uninterrupted continuity of the work of the department, adequate supervision and direction. Deputies are authorized to serve on boards and commissions for their superior officers so that such officers will be free to attend to their many other duties.