The governing and lawmaking body of the City of Glenn Heights shall consist of a Mayor and six (6) Councilmembers, and said body shall be known as the “City Council of the City of Glenn Heights.” The members of the City Council of the City of Glenn Heights shall be the only elective officers of the City and shall run for office by place and be elected from the City at-large in the manner provided in Article
3, for a term of three (3) years, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Beginning in 2013, the General Election in the City of Glenn Heights for the Mayor and Councilmembers shall be held on the uniform election date occurring in November. The terms of office of those Councilmembers whose terms of office would have expired with a regular election in May shall each have their term of office of extended by six (6) months, until the following November. All seven elected positions shall be subject to term limits. No person shall be a member of the City Council for more than three (3) consecutive three-year terms, and any person who does serve as a member of the City Council for three (3) consecutive terms shall not be eligible for election to a position on the City Council until a period of three (3) years has expired from the last date of that person’s service as a member of the City Council. Said Mayor and Councilmembers shall draw no compensation as such for their duties, but shall be reimbursed for any lawful expenditures made in behalf of the City or expenses incurred in the performance of their duties when approved by the Council.
(Amended at election of May 4, 2002; Amended by Ordinance O-09-12 at an election held
on May 12, 2012, prop. 1)
No person elected to the City Council shall, during the term
for which he/she was elected, be appointed to any office or position
in the service of the City. If a member of the Council shall become
a candidate for nomination or election to any publicly elected office,
other than a position on the City Council, or if any employee or officer
other than a member of a City board or commission becomes a candidate
for a position on the City Council, he/she shall forfeit his/her place
or position with the City effective immediately upon the filing as
a candidate for the nomination or election to such public office.
(Amended by Ordinance 728-02 at
an election held on May 4, 2002; Amended by Ordinance O-09-12/Res. R-19-12 at an election held on May 12, 2012, prop. 2)
Each of the six (6) Councilmembers and Mayor shall be a citizen
of the United States of America and a registered qualified voter of
the State of Texas and shall be at least 18 years of age; and shall
live within the Corporate Limits of the City of Glenn Heights shall
have resided for at least one (1) year preceding the election at which
they are candidates within the corporate limits of the City of Glenn
Heights, and shall not be in arrears in the payment of any taxes or
other liability due the City nor be disqualified by reason of any
provision of any other section of this Charter. Each member of the
City Council shall have taken the oath of office to qualify to serve
in his or her official capacity on the City Council.
A member of the Council ceasing to possess any of the qualifications
specified in this section or any other section of this Charter, or
convicted of a felony while in office, shall immediately forfeit his
office. No member of the Council shall hold any other public office
within the city except that of Notary Public or member of the National
Guard or naval or military reserve or a retired member of the Armed
Forces.
(Amended by Res. R-27-18 at an election
held on November 6, 2018, prop. F)
The City Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of
its own members, and for such purpose shall have power to subpoena
witnesses, require the production of records, conduct an investigation,
hold a hearing, and determine by majority vote whether a member is
guilty of an infraction for which a member may be censured or removed
from office for cause. Cause shall include:
(a) knowingly
and intentionally violating the provisions of this Charter;
(b) official
misconduct, which shall be defined as intentional unlawful behavior
relating to official duties, including corrupt failure, refusal, or
neglect of a duty imposed by law;
(c) incompetency,
which shall be defined as gross ignorance of official duties; gross
carelessness in the discharge of official duties; or inability or
unfitness to promptly and properly discharge official duties because
of a serious mental or physical defect that did not exist at the time
of the officer’s election;
(d) intoxication
while performing the duties of office by consuming alcoholic beverages
or other chemical substances that cause intoxication;
(e) unexcused
absence from three consecutive regular meetings or five unexcused
absences from regular and special meetings within any six month period.
The Council may adopt an ordinance or resolution further specifying
the procedure for investigation, notice, hearing, censure, and removal
of a council member, and for excuse of absences, as provided herein.
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In censuring a Councilmember, the Council shall have the authority
to issue a public reprimand or to suspend the member from office for
a specific period of time. In the event the Council removes a Councilmember,
that member’s seat shall become vacant and may be filled as
provided in this Charter.
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(Amended by Ordinance O-846-07 at
an election held May 12, 2007, prop. 2)
In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor or Council
members from any cause whatsoever, a special election shall be held
after the vacancy occurs on the earliest date permitted by state law
for the purpose of filling such position for the remainder of the
unexpired term.
All powers and authority which are explicitly conferred on or
possessed by the City shall be vested in and exercised by the City
Council, provided however, that the Council shall have no power to
exercise those powers which are expressly conferred upon other City
officers by this Charter.
All members of the Council present, including the Mayor, shall
vote upon every resolution or ordinance, except where there is a conflict
of interest, the reason for which shall be stated concisely in the
records.
The Mayor of the City shall preside over the meetings of the
City Council and perform such other duties consistent with the office
as may be imposed upon him/her by this Charter and the ordinances
and resolutions passed in pursuance hereof. He/she may participate
in the discussion of all matters coming before the Council and shall
be required to vote, but shall have no veto power. He/she shall sign
conveyances made or entered into by the City and all bonds issued
under the provisions of this Charter. He/she shall be recognized as
the official head of the City by the court for the purpose of serving
civil process, by the Governor for the purpose of enforcing military
law, and on all ceremonial purposes. In time of danger or emergency,
the Mayor may with the consent of the Council take command of the
police and govern the City by proclamation and maintain order and
enforce all laws.
The Mayor Pro Tem shall be elected from among the six (6) Councilmembers
shall be selected each year at the first regular meeting following
the general city election, and shall in the absence or disability
of the Mayor perform all the Mayor’s duties.
(Amended by Ordinance O-846-07 at
an election held May 12, 2007, prop. 3)
The City Council shall appoint or remove a City Attorney who
shall be duly licensed and admitted to the practice of law by the
State of Texas. The City Attorney shall be legal advisor of and attorney
for all officers of the City and shall represent the City in all litigation
and legal proceedings.
The City Council shall hold two (2) regular meetings in each
month, except December, at a time to be fixed by it for such regular
meetings. The City Council may hold as many additional meetings during
the month as may be necessary for the transaction of the business
of the City and its citizens.
(Amended by Ordinance O-846-07 at
an election held May 12, 2007, prop. 5)
The City Council shall determine its own rules of procedure
and order of business and may compel the attendance of its members.
Five (5) members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum to
do business however, the affirmative vote of at least four (4) of
those attending any meeting at which there is a quorum present shall
be necessary to adopt any ordinance or resolution. All meetings of
the City Council shall be open to the public, as provided by state
law, and minutes of all proceedings shall be kept, to which any citizen
may have access at all reasonable times and which shall constitute
one of the archives of the City. The vote upon the passage of all
ordinances and resolutions shall be taken by ayes and nays made in
open meeting by a canvass of the Council, and the vote of each Councilmember
shall be entered upon the minutes, and every ordinance or resolution,
upon its final passage, shall be recorded in a book kept for that
purpose and shall be authenticated by the signature of the presiding
officer and the City Secretary.
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 Glenn Heights.” No ordinance may be adopted
by the City Council unless the ordinance is considered at two separate
meetings of the Council, provided, however, that if two-thirds of
the number of Councilmembers in attendance at a meeting at which an
ordinance is considered for the first time determine and vote that
circumstances involving public urgency or other important public purpose
required that the ordinance be adopted after consideration at only
one meeting, the ordinance may be adopted following such two-thirds
vote.
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. The descriptive caption of all ordinances enacted by the Council shall be read in open meeting of the Council at one (1) regular or special Council meeting. All ordinances, unless otherwise provided by law or by the terms of such ordinance, shall take effect in accordance with Article
2, Section
2.13.
(Amended by Ordinance O-846-07 at
an election held May 12, 2007, prop. 6)
Except as otherwise provided by law, or by this Charter, the
City Secretary shall give notice of the enactment of every ordinance
imposing any penalty, fine or forfeiture for any violation of any
of its provisions and of every other ordinance required by law, or
this Charter, to the public, by causing the said ordinance, or its
caption and penalty, to be published at least one time after final
passage thereof in the official newspaper of the City. The affidavit
of such publication by the publisher of such newspaper, taken before
any officer authorized to administer oaths, and filed with the City
Secretary shall be conclusive proof of the legal publication and promulgation
of such ordinance in all courts. Such ordinance shall take effect
upon publication as required by law.
All ordinances of the City of Glenn Heights adopted prior to
the adoption of this Charter and not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Charter shall remain in full force and effect until altered,
amended or repealed by the City Council.
All official actions taken by the City of Glenn Heights, its
City Councils or other City officials, and all previous elections,
contracts, bonds, warrants and other evidences of indebtedness and
any annexations, prior to the adoption of this Home Rule Charter,
are hereby adopted, validated, confirmed and ratified.
The City Council shall have power to cause the ordinances of
the City of Glenn Heights to be printed in code form and shall have
the same arranged and digested as often as the Council may deem advisable
however, failure to print the ordinances as herein provided shall
not affect the validity of same.