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HomeMy WebLinkAbout482 03-18-1975ORDINANCE NO. 482 AN ORDINANCE CALLING AN ELECTION TO BE HELD ON APRIL 19, 1975, IN THE CITY OF EULESS, TEXAS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUB- MITTING TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF EULESS FOR ADOPTION OR REJECTION, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE EXISTING CITY CHARTER, DESIGNATING THE OFFICIAL POLLING PLACES AND APPOINTING ELECTION OFFICIALS, DEFINING QUALIFIED VOTERS, PRESCRIBING FORM OF BALLOTS, PROVIDING FOR NOTICE OF ELECTION, AND PROVIDING GENERALLY FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE ELECTION. WHEREAS, the Euless City Council ments and changes should be made to the July 21, 1962, and the amendments to sa 1969, and April 14, 1973. and WHEREAS, the Euless City Charter within the two (2) years next preceding designated, and has determined that certain amend - Euless City Charter adopted on id Charter adopted on February 18, has not been amended or changed the proposed election date herein WHEREAS, the Euless City Council now deems it proper to submit said proposed amendments to the Euless City Charter to the qualified voters of the City of Euless for adoption or rejection at an election to be held on April 19, 1975; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EULESS, TEXAS, as follows: That a special election be held in Euless, Texas, on April 19, 1975, at which election there shall be submitted to the qualified voters of said City for adoption or rejection the following proposed amendments to the existing Charter of the City of Euless: AMENDMENT NO. 1: To amend Section 2, Article II of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment the first paragraph thereof shall in its entirety, in lieu of the existing first paragraph thereof, thereafter read as follows: "Each of the five (5) Councilmen and Mayor shall be a citizen of the United States of America and a qualified voter of the State of Texas; shall have resided for at least one (1) year next preced- ing the election at which they are candidates within the corporate limits of the City of Euless; and shall not be disqualified by reason of any provision of any other section of this Charter." AMENDMENT N0. 2: To amend Section 9, Article II of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, such section shall be enlarged to include the following additional and new paragraph: "The Mayor and any member of the City Council remaining absent for three (3) regular, consecutive meetings of the City Council, unless prevented by sickness, without first having obtained leave of absence at a regular meeting of the Euless City Council, shall be deemed to have vacated his office and such vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the Charter for the filling of vacancies." AMENDMENT N0. 3: To amend Section 11, Article II of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, said section shall read and provide as follows: "Sec. 11. Procedure to enact legislation. "The City Council shall legislate by ordinance and the enacting clause of every ordinance shall be: 'Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Euless.' "The City Attorney shall approve all ordinances adopted by the Council as to the legality thereof. Every ordinance enacted by the Council shall be signed by the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem and shall be filed with and recorded by the City Secretary. All ordinances enacted by the Council shall be considered and the descriptive caption of such ordinance read in open meeting of the Council and at two (2) regular Council meetings. All ordinances, unless otherwise provided by law or by the terms of such ordinance, shall take effect immediately upon final consideration and the reading of the descriptive caption thereof. The require - ment for considering ordinances and reading the descriptive caption thereof at two (2) regular Council meetings may be dispensed with where an ordinance relating to the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety is adopted -2- as an emergency measure by the favorable vote of four (4 ) or more of the Councilmen and such emergency ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption and execution without a second consideration and second reading of the descriptive caption thereof." AMENDMENT NO. 4: To amend Section 3, Article III of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, the form of appli- cation to become a candidate for election to the office of Mayor or City Councilman, shall be as follows: "'I do hereby declare that I am a candidate for the office of , and request that my name be printed upon the official ballot for that particular office in the next City election. 1111 am years of age, a qualified voter of the State of Texas, a resident of the United States, and have been a resident of the City of Euless for at least one (1) year. I reside at Street in the City of Euless, Texas.' (Signature of Candidate) "Received by: "Date and Hour of Filing AMENDMENT NO. 5: To amend Section 2, Article I of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, the reference contained in such section to the "Corporation Court" shall thereafter be and read the "Municipal Court" and to amend Article VI of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, the said Article VI shall thereafter be and read as follows: "ARTICLE VI. MUNICIPAL COURT "Sec. 1. Municipal Court. "There shall be a court known as The Municipal Court of the City of Euless, with such jurisdiction, powers and duties as are given and prescribed by the laws of the State of Texas. -3- "Sec. 2. Judge of the Municipal Court. "The Municipal Court shall be presided over by one (1) or more Magistrates who shall be known as the City Judge or Judges of Euless, Texas, and shall be duly licensed by the State of Texas as an attorney at law. Such Judge or Judges shall be appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Council and shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. Such Judge or Judges shall receive such compensation as may be set by the Council. In the event the City Judge or Judges are unable to act for any reason or in the event of a total vacancy, the Mayor shall act in place of the City Judge or Judges until such vacancy or vacancies shall be filled. "Sec. 3. Clerk of the Municipal Court. "There shall be a Clerk of the Municipal Court who shall be appointed by, and who, shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. The Clerk shall have power to administer oaths and affidavits, make certi- ficates, affix the seal of the court thereto and other- wise perform any and all acts necessary in issuing process of such Court and conducting the business thereof. "There shall be such deputy clerks of the Municipal Court as may be authorized and appointed by the Council, who shall have authority to act for and on behalf of the Clerk of the Municipal Court. "Sec. 4. Procedure in the Municipal Court. "All complaints, prosecutions, the service of process, commitments of those convicted of offenses, the collection and payment of fines, the attendance and service of witnesses and juries, punishment for contempt, bail and the taking of bonds shall be governed by the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the State of Texas applicable to Municipal Courts." AMENDMENT N0. 6: To amend Section 12, Article VII of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, said section shall thereafter be and read as follows: -4- "Sec. 12. Purchase Procedure: "Before any purchases or contracts are made by the City of Euless for supplies, materials or equipment, the City Manager or his authorized agent shall give ample opportunity for competitive bidding under such rules and regulations and with such exceptions, as the City Council may prescribe, or as provided by law." AMENDMENT N0. 7: To amend Section 6, Article IX of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, said section shall read and provide as follows: "Sec. 6. Delinquent taxes. "Taxes shall be deemed and become delinquent if not paid prior to February first of the year following assessment, and such delinquent taxes shall be subject to a penalty at a rate established by the Council. "In addition to the penalty above prescribed, such delinquent taxes shall bear interest at a rate, from date of original delinquency, as established by the Council. In addition to the penalty and interest herein provided for, such delinquent taxpayer shall be subject to the payment of all costs and expenses incurred in the advertisement of such delinquent property and the collection of such taxes through any method provided by this Charter and /or the laws of the State of Texas. Such costs and expenses of collection, penalties and interest shall be an obligation of the tax- payer and be secured by the same lien and collected in the same manner as other taxes." AMENDMENT N0. 8: To amend Section 2, Article XII of the City Charter of the City of Euless, Texas, so that upon adoption of such amendment, said section shall read and provide as follows: "Sec. 2. Personal Interest in City Contracts. "No officer or employee of the City of Euless shall have a financial interest, direct or indirect, in any contract with the City, or be financially interested directly or indirectly in the sale to the City of any land, materials, supplies or service, except on behalf of the City as an officer or employee, provided, however, this section -5- shall not apply, if the only basis for such appli- cation is the fact that such officer or employee is a shareholder or director owning less than five per cent (5%) of any class of stock of a corporation, or is a strictly salaried employee of an entity so con- tracting or selling to the City. Any knowing and wilful] violation of this section shall constitute malfeasance in office and any officer or employee guilty thereof shall be removed from his office or position. Any violation of this section, with the knowledge, expressed or implied, of the person or corporation contracting with the governing body of the City shall render the contract involved voidable at the discretion of the governing body." For the purpose of said election the entire City of Euless is hereby constituted one voting precinct. The polling place for said election shall be the Euless City Hall located at 201 Ector Drive in said City and said election shall be held between the hours of 7:00 o'clock a.m. and 7:00 o'clock p.m. The following persons are hereby appointed to act as election officials and clerks: W. W. Cromer , Election Judge Alton Ray , Asst. Election Judge Clerk Clerk Clerk , Clerk IV. The said election shall be held in accordance with the Consitution and laws of the State of Texas and all duly qualified resident electors of the City of Euless, Tarrant County, Texas, shall be qualified to vote. M Voting by absentee ballot shall commence on the twentieth day and shall continue through the fourth day preceding the day of said election, M that is, the absentee balloting shall begin on March 31, 1975, and shall close at 5 :00 o'clock p.m., April 15, 1975, at the office of the City Secretary at the Euless City Hall, 201 Ector Drive, in said City. no The City Secretary shall have printed a sufficient number of paper ballots containing the following propositions: OFFICIAL BALLOT AMENDMENT NO. 1 Should Section 2, Article II of the Euless City Charter be amended to change the qualifications for office of Mayor and Councilmen of the City of Euless to conform with current constitutional requirements established by the courts by deleting the requirement for real property ownership, by changing the Euless residency requirement from two (2) years to one (1) year, and deleting the requirement that a candidate may not be in arrears in the pay- ment of any obligation due the City? Answer: Yes No AMENDMENT N0. 2 Should Section 9, Article II of the Euless City Charter be amended to provide a vacancy in the office of Mayor or any Councilman who has missed three (3) regular consecutive meetings of the Council unless prevented from attendance by sickness or unless leave of absence was previously obtained? Answer: Yes No AMENDMENT NO. 3 Should Section 11, Article II of the Euless City Charter be amended to dispense with the requirement of formal reading of each ordinance in its entirety by the Council and in place thereof allow the reading by the Council of the descriptive caption of such ordinance which provides a briefer detail of the terms and provisions of the ordinance? Answer: Yes No AMENDMENT NO. 4 Should Section 3, Article III of the Euless City Charter be amended to change the form of application to become a candidate for the office of Mayor or City Councilman to conform with current consitutional requirements established by the courts by deleting the requirement for real property ownership, changing the Euless residency requirement from two (2) years -7- to one (1) year and deleting the requirement that a candidate may not be in arrears of the payment of any obligation due the City? Answer: Yes No AMENDMENT N0. 5 Should Section 2, Article I and Article VI of the Euless City Charter be amended to change the name of the City coLW t from the "Euless Corporation Court" to the "Euless Municipal Court" in compliance with recent changes in state law; to provide for additional judges as such need may arise; and to require that the Municipal Judge or Judges be an attorney at law? Answer: Yes No AMENDMENT N0. 6 Should Section 12, Article VII of the Euless City Charter be amended to allow the City Manager, without competitive bidding, to negotiate pur- chases or contracts, up to the limits allowed by state law? (Recent change in state law now allows for purchases or contracts up to $3,000 while the present Charter imposes a $2,000 limit, without competitive bidding.) Answer: Yes No AMENDMENT N0. 7 Should Section 6, Article IX of the Euless City Charter be amended to allow the Euless City Council authority to establish the amount of delinquent penalties and interest on unpaid City taxes? , Answer: Yes No AMENDMENT N0. 8 Should Section 2, Article X11 of the Euless City Charter be amended so tkat citizens of Euless will not be disqualified from holding office or employment with the City solely because of the fact that they are a share- holder or director owning less than five per cent (5 %) of the stock of a company or because they are strictly salaried employees of a company con- tracting or selling to the City? Any officer or employee of the City having any other financial interest in a contract with the City, however, would continue to be ineligible to serve as an officer or employee of the City. Answer: Yes No. VII. Voting on the election date, April 19, 1975, shall be conducted by the use of voting machines containing the foregoing propositions presented in Article VI hereof and in keeping with the provisions of Article 7.14 et seq. of the Texas Election Code. The City Secretary shall obtain a sufficient number of voting machines from the Commissioners Court and the County Clerk of Tarrant County, Texas. The ballot box containing the absentee ballots and the voting machines shall be delivered and preserved pursuant to the provisions of the Texas Election Code and all election returns, records and supplies shall be pre- served by the City Secretary in her office as by law provided. The City Council shall meet to canvass the results of said election and declare the official results thereof promptly upon receipt of the election returns. The canvass of the returns and declaration of the results by the City Council shall take place on the 19th day of April, 1975, or as soon thereafter as practical following closing of the polls and after the ballots have been counted and the returns certified by the Election Judge provided for herein. The machines shall be examined, prepared, obtained, and the voting conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Texas Election Code applicable to voting machines. VIII. The notice of the election hereby ordered and called shall be given by publication of the Amendments on the same day of two (2) successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published within the City of Euless, the date of the first publication to be not less than fourteen (14) days prior to the election date set herein. Notice of the election hereby ordered and called shall be posted at three (3) public places in the City of Euless, two (2) of which public places shall be the Euless City Hall and the Euless Post Office, such posting to be made not less than twenty (20) days prior to the date set herein for such election. Should any section, provision, word, phrase or clause of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance be held invalid, un- constitutional or ineffective, the remainder of the Ordinance and the appli- cation of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. M M The fact than any "run -off" election necessary in conjunction with the regular City Council elections for 1975 will be held on the 19th day of April, 1975, provides a probable opportunity to consider amendments to the Euless City Charter without additional cost to the taxpayers of the City of Euless, and creates an urgency and an emergency requiring that this Ordinance be passed with one (1) reading so as to permit due notice and publication as required by the Election Code of the State of Texas. PRESENTED AND PASSED ON FIRST AND FINAL READING on the 18th day of March, 1975, at a specially called meeting of the City Council of the City of Euless, Texas. ATTEST: Z_,Zz , ,�, - City Secretary ff APPROVED AS TO FORM: ty Attorney -10- APPROVED: c MAYOR