All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations in force in the Town on the effective date of this Charter, and not in conflict with this Charter, shall remain in force until altered, amended or repealed. All taxes, assessments, liens, encumbrances and demands, of or against the Town, fixed or established before such date, or for the fixing or establishing of which proceedings have begun at such date, shall be valid when properly fixed or established either under the law in force at the time of beginning of such proceedings or under the law after the adoption of this Charter.
All persons holding administrative office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office and in the performance of their duties until provision shall have been made in accordance therewith for the performance of such duties or the discontinuance of such office. Upon the effective date of this Charter the Council shall attempt to negotiate an agreement with the currently serving Town Administrator to serve as Town Manager. The powers conferred and the duties imposed upon any office, department or agency of the Town by the laws of the State shall, if such office, department or agency be abolished by this Charter or under its authority, be thereafter exercised and discharged by the office, department or agency designated by the Council unless otherwise provided herein.
All meetings of the Council shall be governed by the provisions of the Open Meetings Act, and any amendments thereto. This section shall not be construed to require any action or measure beyond that required by State law.
Access to the records of every office, department, or agency of the Town shall be subject to public inspection as provided by the Public Information Act, and any amendments thereto. This section shall not be construed to require any action or measure beyond that required by State law.
The Council may designate by resolution one or more newspapers of general circulation in the Town as the official newspaper of the Town, and shall cause to be published therein all ordinances, notices and other matters which are required to be so published by the Constitution or laws of the State of Texas. All notices required to be published by this Charter, the ordinances of the Town, or the Constitution or laws of the State of Texas shall be posted on the Town’s website.
Before the Town shall be liable for any claim for damages for the death or personal injuries of any person or for damages to property, the complainant or his authorized representative shall notify the Town Secretary. The notification shall be in writing and shall state specifically how, when and where the death, injury or damage occurred; the amount of loss claimed; and the identity of any witnesses upon whom it is relied to establish the claim. The person giving notice under this section shall give the addresses of every place that he has resided during the six (6) month period prior to the damage or injury and subscribe his name to the notice under oath that the statements and facts contained in said notice are true and correct. The notification shall be filed within ninety (90) days of the date of injury or damage or in the case of death, within ninety (90) days of the date of death.
It shall not be necessary in any action, suit or proceeding in which the Town is a party, for any bond, including supersedeas bond, undertaking or security to be demanded or executed by or on behalf of said Town in any of the State courts, but in all such actions, suits, appeals or proceedings same shall be conducted in the same manner as if such bond, undertaking or security had been given as required by law.
The Council shall have the power to compromise and settle any and all claims and lawsuits of every kind and character, in favor of, or against, the Town, including suits by the Town to recover delinquent taxes.
This Charter shall be deemed a public act and shall have the force and effect of a general law; may be read in evidence without pleading or proof, and judicial notice shall be taken thereof in all courts and places without further proof.
All contracts entered into by the Town or for its benefit prior to the taking effect of this Charter shall continue in full force and effect. Public improvements for which legislative steps have been taken under laws or ordinances existing at the time this Charter takes effect may be carried to completion in accordance with the provisions of such existing laws or ordinances. All suits, taxes, penalties, forfeitures and all other rights, claims, and demands, which have accrued under the laws, heretofore in force governing the Town shall belong to and be vested in and shall be prosecuted by and for the use and benefit of the Town, and shall not in any way be diminished, affected or prejudiced by the adoption and taking effect of this Charter.
All members of the Council, including the Mayor, holding office at the time of passage of this Charter shall continue to hold their respective place and office until their respective term of office for which they were elected expires, in accordance with Chapter 2 of this Charter.
The Council shall by appropriate ordinance, provide for the indemnification and defense of the officers and employees of the Town, including members of the Council, or any board, commission, or committee, including volunteers, against any loss, cost, or expense, including court costs and attorneys’ fees, to the extent allowed by law, arising out of any claim, suit, or judgment, or settlement thereof, resulting from any alleged negligent act or omission of such officer, employee, member, or volunteer during the discharge of his duties and within the scope of his office, employment, membership, or assigned voluntary position with the Town, or in any other case where the Town is directed or authorized by law to do so, provided however, that such indemnification will not be provided for any act arising out of the intentional or knowing violation of any penal statute or ordinance arising out of any conduct determined by final judgment to be an act of fraud or to have been taken with the intent to deceive or defraud, or for any personal or private business of such officer, employee, member or volunteer, or for the gross negligence or official misconduct, or willful or wrongful act or omission of such officer, employee, member or volunteer.
No funds of the Town shall be subject to garnishment and the Town shall never be required to answer in any garnishment proceedings.
Persons serving on any board at the time of the adoption of this Charter shall continue to serve on the board to which they were appointed until their terms shall have expired or until their successors shall have qualified.
The Town shall never be liable to the assignee of any wages of any officer, agent or employee of said Town, whether earned or unearned, upon any claim or account whatsoever, and as to the Town such assignment shall be absolutely void.
The general laws of the State of Texas and ordinances of the Council shall furnish the authority for the power and exercise thereof and control all matters to the extent not specifically and completely covered by this Charter.
If any section or part of section of this Charter shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the remainder of this Charter nor the context in which such section or part of section so held invalid may appear except to the extent that an entire section or part of section may be inseparably connected in meaning and effect with the section or part to which such holding shall directly apply.
The provisions of this Charter shall be liberally construed for the purpose of effecting the objects and ends thereof. Unless some other meaning is manifest the word “TOWN” shall be construed to mean the “TOWN OF NORTHLAKE,” the words in the present tense include future tense, except when a more restricted meaning is manifest, and singular may mean plural. Throughout this Charter, words used in expressing masculine gender shall be construed to include the feminine. The word “TOWN SECRETARY” refers to the person performing the duties of Town Secretary. The word “COUNCIL” shall be construed to mean the “TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF NORTHLAKE.” All references to State law or the laws of the State of Texas, however expressed in this Charter, shall mean “as presently enacted or hereafter amended.”
Amendments to this Charter may be framed and submitted to the voters of the Town in the manner provided by State law, as now or hereafter enacted or amended.
The Council may appoint a Charter Review Commission, composed of no less than nine (9) and no more than fifteen (15) registered voters of the Town. The Charter Review Commission shall be composed of an odd number of members and up to three (3) members of the Commission may be members of the Council. In appointing the Charter Review Commission, the Council shall use discretion to ensure an equitable representation of all areas of the Town is achieved on the Commission by appointing members who reflect broad geographical coverage of the Town’s then existing neighborhoods.
The Charter Commission in preparing this Charter concludes that it is impracticable to segregate each subject so as to permit a vote of “yes” or “no” on the same, for the reason that the Charter is so constructed that in order to enable it to work and function, it is necessary that it should be adopted in its entirety. For these reasons, the Charter Commission directs that the said Charter be voted upon as a whole and that it shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the Town at an election to be held for that purpose on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Not less than thirty days prior to such election, the Council shall cause the Town Secretary to mail a copy of this Charter to each qualified voter of the Town as appears from the latest certified list of registered voters. If a majority of the qualified voters voting in such election shall vote in favor of the adoption of this Charter, it shall immediately become the governing law of the Town, until amended or repealed.
We, the undersigned members of the Town of Northlake Charter Commission heretofore duly selected to prepare a Charter for the Town of Northlake, Texas, do hereby certify that this publication constitutes a true copy of the proposed Charter for the Town of Northlake, Texas, as adopted by the members thereof.
(Ordinance 21-0513A adopted 5/13/21)