In a special meeting Thursday, the DeKalb City Council passed an ordinance which will exclude the deputy city clerk from benefits or protection under the city’s discipline policy.

With one opposition, the council voted in favor of amending the municipal code of the city in regards to the position of the deputy city clerk.

Mayor Greg Sparrow said the council was considering “how to treat the position” of deputy city clerk and added language to section 3.14 which amended the current ordinance. The new ordinance states the deputy city clerk is not a “municipal employee, per se, and is not entitled to the benefits or protections of the discipline policy of the city of DeKalb.”

The amendment also includes a provision which states the deputy city clerk could be removed by the city clerk at any time “for any reason or without cause,” the ordinance states.

The deputy city clerk also could be dismissed for cause by a majority vote of the mayor and council, the ordinance states.

Council member Steve Brody, who opposed the new ordinance, said, “There has been an ongoing debate about the deputy city clerk and how the position should be structured. I don’t think it should be a full-time position or shouldn’t be under the city clerk.”

Brody said the new deputy clerk will not be responsible for certain projects which were carried out by former deputy clerks, such as CornFest and liquor licenses. “I haven’t seen any evidence from the office that we still need a full-time position,” he said.

The council also passed an ordinance approving the publishing of DeKalb’s zoning map. Sparrow said the city is required by state mandate to publish a map by April 1. He said the map includes all zoning changes approved by the council within the last year.

Sparrow said one of the changes includes the special use of land for the building of condominiums off Lincoln Highway, north of the Crystal Pistol Beach Club.