The governing and lawmaking body of the City of Euless shall consist of a Mayor and six (6) City Councilmembers, and said body shall be known as the "City Council of the City of Euless." All references in this Charter to the City Council shall mean the Mayor and the City Councilmembers. The Mayor is a member of the City Council, but is not referred to as a City Councilmember. The Mayor and City Councilmembers shall be the only elective officers of the City and shall be elected from the City at-large in the manner provided in Article III. The Mayor and City Councilmembers shall draw no compensation as such for their duties but shall be reimbursed for any lawful expenditures made on behalf of the City or expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, when approved by the City Council.
Each City Councilmember shall occupy a specific place. The office of Mayor and City Council places two (2) and four (4) shall be filled by regular City election in 1993 and thereafter for terms of three (3) years or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. City Council places one (1) and three (3) shall be filled by regular City election in 1992 and thereafter for terms of three (3) years, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. City Council places five (5) and six (6) shall be filled by regular City election in 1992 for terms of two (2) years, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified, and shall be filled by regular City election in 1994 and thereafter for terms of three (3) years, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
A. 
Candidate Qualifications.
Each of the six City Councilmembers and the Mayor shall, at the time of filing their application for a place upon the ballot, or time designated by the Texas Election Code:
i) 
Be a resident of the City and shall have resided within the corporate limits of the City at least twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date of the election at which they are candidates;
ii) 
Be twenty-one years of age;
iii) 
Be a registered voter of the City; and
iv) 
Shall not have been finally convicted of a felony criminal offense from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released.
B. 
Loss of Qualifications.
The Mayor or any City Councilmember ceasing to possess any of the qualifications specified in this section or any other provision of this Charter shall immediately forfeit office and the City Council shall proceed to fill the vacancy in accordance with the provisions of this Charter.
C. 
Dual Office Holding.
Neither the Mayor nor any City Councilmember shall hold any other public office, paid or unpaid, that is incompatible with the office of the Mayor or a City Councilmember, as determined by state law. If a member of the City Council accepts an incompatible public office, that member shall immediately forfeit their office and the City Council shall proceed to fill the vacancy in accordance with the provisions of this Charter.
The City Council shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its own members, and for such purpose shall have power to subpoena witnesses and require the production of records. The City Council shall, as soon as practicable after a regular or special election, either at a called meeting of said City Council, held for that purpose, or at the next regular meeting, within the period provided by law, canvass the returns and declare the results of such election.
A Mayor or City Councilmember may, upon notice and hearing, with opportunity to respond, be removed from office by the unanimous vote of remaining members of the City Council for official misconduct or incompetency. For purposes of this section, the term "incompetency" shall mean lack of ability, legal qualification, or fitness to discharge the duties required by this Charter, city ordinance, or state law. For purposes of this section, the term "official misconduct" shall mean conduct that is (1) unlawful behavior that is a dereliction from duty and willful in nature; or (2) a wrongful act that the actor has no right to do and that affects, interrupts, or interferes with the performance of official duty of any city officer, employee, or member of the City Council. A Mayor or Councilmember removed for official misconduct or incompetency shall not be eligible for re-election to the same office for two years after the date of removal.
In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor or any City Councilmember from any cause whatsoever, a special election shall be held within one hundred twenty (120) days of the vacancy for the purpose of filling such position for the remainder of the unexpired term thereof.
Notwithstanding the above, if the vacancy occurs when the unexpired term is twelve (12) months or less, the remaining members of the City Council shall decide at a meeting whether to fill the vacancy by appointment or by a special election. If the City Council decides to appoint a person to the vacated position, the City Council shall: (1) adopt procedures for the appointment process; and (2) appoint a person who meets the qualifications for office to fill the vacancy. If the City Council is not able to appoint a person to the vacancy, the City Council shall hold a special election within 120 days of the vacancy in accordance with state law and the Texas Constitution.
All decisions regarding filling a vacancy by appointment or special election shall be made by a majority vote of the remaining members of the City Council. The person whose position becomes vacant shall not participate in this process even though they may continue to serve as a member of the City Council until their successor is qualified.
All powers and authority which are expressly or explicitly conferred on or possessed by the City shall be vested in and exercised by the City Council; provided, however, that the City Council shall have no power to exercise those powers which are expressly conferred upon other City officers by this Charter. By way of specificity, the City Council shall have the power to enact local legislation, adopt budgets, determine policies, and appoint the City Manager, City Secretary, City Attorney, and judge of the municipal court. The City Council shall provide for and appoint members to a Planning and Zoning Commission, a Parks and Leisure Services Board, and a Library Board and provide for their powers and duties by city ordinance.
The Mayor shall preside over the meetings of the City Council and perform such other duties consistent with the office as may be imposed upon the Mayor by this Charter and the ordinances and resolutions passed by the City Council. The Mayor is a voting member of the City Council but shall have no veto power. The Mayor shall sign all conveyances and contracts made or entered into by the City except as may be exempted from such requirement by ordinance or resolution adopted by the City Council. The Mayor shall be recognized as the official head of the City for the purpose of serving civil process, by the governor for the purpose of enforcing military law, and for all ceremonial purposes.
The Mayor Pro Tem shall be selected from among the six (6) City Councilmembers each year at the first regular meeting following the regular City election or any runoff elections required, whichever shall last occur. The Mayor Pro Tem shall, in the absence or disability of the Mayor, perform all the Mayor's duties
The City Council shall hold regular meetings as necessary to conduct the business of the City, at a time to be fixed by it for such regular meetings, to be designated by ordinance or resolution. In addition, the City Council may hold additional meetings as may be deemed necessary for the transaction of the business of the City and its citizens. All meetings shall be publicly posted in accordance with state law.
The City Council may cancel or reset any meetings as deemed appropriate by a majority vote of the City Council at a posted meeting.
If a member of the City Council is absent for three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the City Council without first having obtained leave of absence at a regular meeting of the City Council, the City Council may declare a vacancy in their office. The City Council shall proceed to fill the vacancy in accordance with the provisions of this Charter.
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, and 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, except for executive sessions authorized by law, shall be open to the public, and minutes of all proceedings of such open meetings shall be kept, to which any citizen may have access at all reasonable times. The votes of the Mayor and each Councilmember upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions shall be entered upon the minutes, and every ordinance or resolution, upon its final passage, shall be recorded in the office of the City Secretary 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 Euless."
The City Attorney or such other attorneys selected by the City Attorney with approval of the City Council, shall approve all ordinances adopted by the City Council as to the legality thereof. Every ordinance enacted by the City 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 City Council shall be considered in an open meeting of the City Council and approved by four (4) or more affirmative votes. All ordinances, unless otherwise provided by law or by the terms of such ordinance, shall take effect immediately upon approval.
Except as otherwise provided by this Charter or other law, the City Secretary shall give public notice of the enactment of every ordinance imposing any penalty or fine for any violation of any of its provisions, and of every other ordinance required by law or this Charter, by causing the said ordinance, or its caption and penalty, to be published at least one (1) time after final passage thereof in the official newspaper or other official medium of the City. An affidavit of such publication, 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. Although all ordinances are effective upon approval by the City Council, any ordinance with a penalty or fine shall not be enforced until publication.
The City Council, as soon as practicable after the adoption of this Charter, shall cause same to be codified and made available in electronic format accessible from the City's website.