The governing and lawmaking body of the City of Euless shall consist of a Mayor and six (6) Council Members, and said body shall be known as the “City Council of the City of Euless.” The members of the City Council of the City of Euless 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 members of the Council 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 official duties, when approved by the Council.
Each Council Member shall occupy a specific place. The office of Mayor and 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. 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. 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.
(Amended, 2-18-69; amended, 11-5-91; amended, 5-6-95)
Each of the six Council Members and Mayor shall, at the time of filing of their application for a place upon the ballot, be a resident of the City and shall have resided at least one (1) year next preceding the election at which they are candidates within the corporate limits of the City of Euless, and additionally at the time of filing of their application for a place upon the ballot and thereafter for and during their term of office, shall be a registered voter of the State of Texas; shall not have been finally convicted of a felony criminal offense; shall continue to be a resident of the City; and shall not be in violation of any other provision of this Charter. The Mayor or any member of the Council ceasing to possess any of the qualifications specified in this section or any other provision of this Charter shall immediately forfeit office. Neither the Mayor nor any member of the Council shall hold any other public office except that of notary public or member of the armed forces of the United States or of the National Guard or naval or military reserve or as a retired member of the armed forces of the United States.
(Amended, 11-5-91)
The City Council shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its own members and of the Mayor, and for such purpose shall have power to subpoena witnesses and require the production of records, but the Council shall, as soon as practicable after a regular or special election, either at a called meeting of said Council, called 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.
(Amended, 11-5-91)
In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor or in the City Council from any cause whatsoever, a special election shall be held on the first election date authorized by law for the purpose of filling such position for the remainder of the unexpired term thereof; provided, however, if such vacancy occurs less than ninety (90) days and more than thirty (30) days prior to a general City election, then such special election shall be held and such vacancy shall be filled by special election called for such purpose concurrent with the City’s general election, unless election for such office would otherwise occur at such general election.
(Amended, 11-5-91)
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 Council shall have no power to exercise those powers which are expressly conferred upon other City officers by this Charter.
The Mayor of the City of Euless 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 in pursuance hereof. The Mayor is a voting member of the Council, but shall have no veto power. The Mayor shall sign all conveyances made or entered into by the City and all bonds issued under the provisions of this Charter, and shall be the chief executive officer of the City. The Mayor shall sign all contracts 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 by the court for the purpose of serving civil process, by the governor for the purpose of enforcing military law, and for all ceremonial purposes. In time of danger or emergency, the Mayor may with the consent of the City 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 selected from among the six (6) Council Members; shall be selected each year at the first regular meeting following the regular City election or any run-off elections required, whichever shall last occur, and shall in the absence or disability of the Mayor perform all the Mayor’s duties.
(Amended, 11-5-91)
The City Council shall appoint an officer of the City, who shall have the title of city secretary and who shall give notice of the Council meetings, shall keep minutes of its proceedings, shall authenticate by signature and record in full in a book kept for that purpose all ordinances and resolutions, shall preserve and keep in order all books, papers, records and files of the City Council, shall have custody of the seal of the City and shall affix same to such documents and obligations only of the City as legally authorized and shall perform such other duties as shall be required by this Charter or by the City Council.
(Amended, 11-5-91)
The City Council shall appoint a city attorney who shall be a competent attorney, 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 attorney shall approve every ordinance before it is acted upon by the Council.
(Amended, 11-5-91)
The City Council shall hold at least two (2) regular meetings in each month at a time to be fixed by it for such regular meetings, to be designated by ordinance or resolution, which ordinance or resolution shall be published at least one (1) time in the official newspaper of the City. 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.
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.
(Amended, 4-19-75; Amended, 11-5-91)
The City Council shall determine its own rules of procedure and order of business and may compel the attendance of the Mayor and its members. Five (5) members of the City Council, or four (4) members thereof and the Mayor, 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 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 and 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 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 at two (2) regular Council meetings unless at such first regular Council meeting such ordinance shall have been approved by five (5) or more aye votes; then, in such event, the second consideration and second reading of the descriptive caption thereof shall not be necessary and such ordinance shall be considered finally adopted. All ordinances, unless otherwise provided by law or by the terms of such ordinance, shall take effect immediately on final consideration and the reading of the descriptive caption thereof as hereinabove provided.
The requirement 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 as an emergency measure by the favorable vote of four (4) or more of the Council Members 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.
(Amended, 4-19-75; amended, 11-5-91; amended, 5-6-95)
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 two (2) times 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 after the date of final publication, provided that any penal ordinance passed as an emergency measure under Section 11 of this article shall take effect immediately upon its publication as herein provided.
All ordinances of the City of Euless 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.
(Amended, 5-6-95)
The City Council, as soon as practicable after the adoption of this Charter, shall cause to be codified and properly entered and published in pamphlet form for public distribution or for anyone desiring same, the ordinances of the City of Euless, and shall annually thereafter revise and keep the same up-to-date.