Every ordinance or resolution, upon its becoming effective, shall be recorded in the office of the City Secretary and shall be authenticated by the signature of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem and attested by the City Secretary as herein provided, which records shall be kept in a fireproof city depository. All public records of every office, department, or agency of the City shall be open to inspection by any citizen at all reasonable times, provided that police records and vital statistics records, and any other records closed to the public by law, shall not be considered public records for the purpose of this section.
No officer or employee of the City shall engage in any business, transaction, or professional activity, or incur any obligation of any nature which is in conflict with the proper discharge of their duties for the City in the public interest. No officer or employee of the City shall engage in any exchange, purchase, or sale of property, goods, or services to the City except: i) rendering services to the City as an officer, employee, or advisory board member; ii) paying taxes, fines, utility service, or filing fees; or iii) purchase of land from the City or sale of land to the City pursuant to statutory procedures for such purchase or sale. Any knowing and willful violation of this section shall constitute malfeasance in office and any officer or employee guilty thereof shall be removed from their office or position. Any violation of this section, with the knowledge, expressed or implied, of the person or corporation contracting with the City shall render the contract involved voidable at the discretion of the City Council.
No person related within the second degree by affinity, or the third degree by consanguinity to the Mayor, any member of the City Council, or the City Manager shall be appointed to any paid office, position, clerkship, or service of the City. This prohibition shall not apply, however, to any person who shall have been continuously employed by the City for at least six (6) months prior to the election of the Mayor or Councilmember, or thirty (30) days prior to the appointment of the City Manager, so related to the employee.
No officer or employee of the City shall accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, favor, privilege, or employment from any public utility corporation enjoying a grant of any franchise, privilege, or easement from the City during the term of office of such officer, or during the employment of such employee of the City, except as may be authorized by law or ordinance. Any officer or employee of the City who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be punished as may be prescribed by law for such offense.
The City shall not be held responsible on account of any claim for damages to any person or property unless the person making such complaint or claiming such damages shall, within appropriate periods prescribed by law or ordinance of the City, file with the City Secretary a written statement under oath, detailing the incident, and giving a list of the witnesses, if any known to affiants, who witnessed such incident and such other or further information as may be required by applicable law or ordinance.
The property, real and personal, belonging to the City shall not be liable to be sold or appropriated under any writ of execution or cost bill, nor shall the funds belonging to the City, in the hands of any person, be liable to garnishment on account of any debt the City may owe, nor shall any of its officers or agents be required to answer any writ of garnishment on any account whatsoever, nor shall the City be liable to the assignee of any wages of any officer, agent, or employee of the City, whether earned or unearned, upon any claim or account whatsoever, and any such attempted assignment shall be absolutely void as to the City.
If deemed necessary in appropriate circumstances, the City Council may require any city official, department director, or city employee, before entering upon their duties, to execute a good and sufficient bond with a surety company doing business in the State of Texas, and approved by the City Council, said bond to be in such amount as the City Council may reasonably determine, payable to the City, and conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of their office. The premium of such bond shall be paid by the City.
If any section or provision of this Charter is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not invalidate or impair the validity, force, or effect of any other section or provision of this Charter.
In the wording of the Charter, the use of the singular number shall include the plural, the plural shall include the singular, and words used in the masculine gender shall include the feminine also, unless by reasonable construction, it appears that such was not the intention of this Charter.
This Charter shall not be construed as a mere grant of enumerated powers, but shall be construed as a general grant of power and as a limitation of power on the government of the City in the same manner as the Constitution of Texas is construed as a limitation on the powers of the legislature. Except where expressly prohibited by this Charter, each and every power under Article XI, Section 5, of the Constitution of Texas, which it would be competent for the people of the City to grant expressly to the City, shall be construed to be granted to the City by this Charter.
This Charter and any amendment thereto, if adopted, shall become effective from and after the votes cast at the election at which it is submitted to the voters shall have been counted and the results of said election declared by an order adopted by the City Council.
The City Council shall have the power, by ordinance, to renumber and rearrange all articles, sections, and paragraphs of this Charter or any amendments thereto, as it shall deem appropriate, and upon the passage of any such ordinance, a copy thereof certified by the City Secretary shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State for filing.
It shall not be necessary in any action, suit, or proceeding in which the City is a party, for any bond, undertaking, or security to be executed by or on behalf of the City.