(a) The council shall be composed of the mayor and six (6) members of the council. Each member of the council shall occupy a position on the council, such position being numbered 1 through 6 consecutively. The mayor and members of the council shall be elected in the manner provided in Article
5 of this Charter to serve for two (2) year terms, as provided in subsections
(d) and
(e) below. The mayor and one member of the council shall be residents of the City of Hillsboro, and shall be elected from the city at large by the voters thereof. The councilman at large shall occupy position number 6 on the council.
(b) Upon
the adoption of this amendment to the Charter of the City of Hillsboro,
Texas, the city council shall divide the corporate limits of the city
into five (5) council precincts. The five (5) numbered council precincts
shall be numbered in the following manner: Each council precinct shall
be numbered consecutively in a clockwise manner beginning with Council
Precinct One (1). The location of Council Precinct One (1) within
the corporate limits of the city shall be determined by random drawing,
publicly conducted in a regular meeting of the city council of the
City of Hillsboro, Texas, to be held at least one hundred eighty (180)
days before the regular municipal election of the 1986, and shall
ensure that one council position from one of the two precincts which
have the highest percentage of minority citizens as declared by the
United States Bureau of Census, shall be filled at the April 5, 1986
municipal election.
The creation of such council precincts shall, as nearly as possible,
reflect an equal distribution between such precincts of the population
of the city, as such population is reflected in the latest United
States Census and in other available sources of information. Five
members of the city council shall run as councilmen from one of the
five (5) numbered council precincts, and shall occupy positions 1
through 5, which positions shall correspond to each of the five (5)
numbered council precincts. Each candidate for a position on the city
council, except for the mayor and the councilman at large, shall,
at the time of his or her filing for office, be a bona fide resident
of the precinct from which he or she is a candidate. Voting for each
candidate for city council from each of the five (5) numbered council
precincts shall be limited to the electors who reside within each
such numbered precinct. No elector shall be entitled to vote for candidate
for city council who is not a resident of the same council precinct
as the elector; provided, however, this prohibition shall not apply
to the election of the mayor and the councilman at large.
(c) If, during the term of his or her office, a councilman from one of the five (5) numbered council precincts ceases to become a bona fide resident of the council precinct from which that councilman has been elected, that office shall become vacant and the vacancy shall be filled as provided in Article
5 of this Charter.
(d) The
direct at large election of the mayor of the City of Hillsboro shall
first occur at the regular municipal election in said city to be held
in 1987.
(e) At
the time of the regular municipal election to be held on April 5,
1986, three members of the city council of the City of Hillsboro,
Texas shall be elected, being the members of the council filling positions
2, 4 and 6. At the April 5, 1986 election, position 6 will be filled
by the direct, at large election of a councilman. The remaining two
positions shall be filled at said election by candidates residing
in council precincts two (2) and four (4). The remaining three council
positions shall be filled in a like manner in the 1987 municipal election.
Each even-numbered year thereafter, the councilman at large, filling
position 6, and two (2) members of the council, residing in council
precincts two (2) and four (4), shall be elected. Each odd-numbered
year thereafter, the mayor and three (3) members of the council, residing
in council precincts one (1), three (3) and five (5), shall be elected.
(f) Boundaries
of council precincts will be re-examined and readjusted, if necessary,
to maintain as nearly an equal population within each precinct as
is possible. Such re-examination shall occur at least with the publication
of census reports on the population of the City of Hillsboro, and
more frequently, if circumstances indicate the necessity of such re-examination.
(Ordinance 85-13, § 1, 4-16-85)
In addition to any other qualifications prescribed by law, the mayor and each member of the council shall meet the requirements of Section
5.02 while in office and shall reside within the city while in office.
The council shall be the final judge of all elections and of
qualifications of its members, candidates for office and any other
elected officials of the city.
The mayor shall be compensated at the rate of one hundred dollars
($100.00) per month during the time the mayor shall perform the duties
of his office. Members of the council shall be compensated at the
rate of five dollars ($5.00) for each regular or special meeting of
the council attended. In addition, the mayor and each member of the
council shall be entitled to all necessary expenses incurred in the
performance of their official council duties, upon approval by the
council.
(a) Vacancies: The office of a member of the council or office
of the mayor shall become vacant upon his death, resignation, removal
from office in any manner authorized by law or forfeiture of his office.
The office of a member of the council elected from one of the five
(5) numbered council precincts shall become vacant if he or she ceases
to become a bona fide resident of the council precinct from which
that member has been elected.
(b) Forfeiture of office: A member of the council or the mayor
shall forfeit his office if such officer:
(1) Lacks at any time during his term of office any qualification for
the office prescribed by this charter or by law;
(2) Is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude; or
(3) Fails to attend three (3) consecutive regular council meetings without
being excused by the council.
(c) Filling of vacancy or vacancies: In the event of a vacancy
or vacancies from any cause in the office of mayor or the council,
such vacancy or vacancies may be filled as follows:
(1) If no more than one vacancy on the city council exists, a majority
of the remaining members of the city council may fill such vacancy
by appointment, such appointee to serve until the next regular city
election; provided, however, in filling such vacancy, the mayor, if
any, shall have a vote only in the event of a tie.
(2) In lieu of filling one vacancy on the city council by appointment
as provided for in paragraph (1) above, a special election may be
called to fill such vacancy.
(3) If two (2) or more vacancies on the city council exist at the same
time, a special election shall be called to fill such vacancies.
(4) A special election to fill a vacancy or vacancies shall be ordered,
held and conducted in accordance with this charter and the laws of
the State of Texas.
(Ordinance 85-13, § 2, 4-16-85)
All powers of the city shall be vested in the council, except
as otherwise provided by law or this charter and the council shall
provide for the exercise thereof and for the performance of all duties
and obligations imposed on the city by law.
The council shall hold at least two (2) regular meetings each
month and as many additional meetings as it deems necessary to transact
the business of the city and its citizens. The council shall fix,
by ordinance, the days and time of the regular meetings. Special meetings
of the council shall be held on the call of the mayor or of a majority
of the council members.
Four (4) council members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose
of transaction of business and no action of the council shall be valid
or binding unless adopted by a majority of those present, except where
a larger number is otherwise required by law or this charter. The
mayor shall not be counted in the determination of a quorum, but the
mayor pro tem shall be counted even if the mayor pro tem is acting
as mayor in the absence of the latter.
The council shall, by ordinance, determine its own rules and
order of business and the rules shall provide that citizens of the
city and other interested parties shall have a reasonable opportunity
to be heard at any meeting in regard to any matter under consideration.
To meet an emergency affecting the public health, safety, welfare or public peace, the council may adopt emergency ordinances. Such ordinances shall not levy taxes, grant or renew or extend a franchise, or regulate the rate charged by any public utility for its services. Neither shall they authorize the borrowing of money, except as provided in Article
8, Section
8.05. An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner generally prescribed for ordinances, except that it shall be plainly designated in the title as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms. Such emergency clause shall require the affirmative vote of four (4) members of the council. An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced. The affirmative vote of four (4) members of the council shall be required for adoption. After adoption, the ordinance shall be published as required for other adopted ordinances and shall become effective in the same manner.
The council shall require bonds of all municipal officers and
employees who receive (other than their own individual compensation
and expenses) or pay out any monies of the city. The amount of such
bonds shall be determined by the council and the cost thereof shall
be borne by the city.
The council as a body shall have the power to inquire into the
official conduct of any department, agency, office, officer or employee
of the city, and for that purpose or for the purpose of investigation
of any other matter within the jurisdiction of the council, it shall
have the power to administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, compel the
production of books, papers, and other evidence material to the inquiry.
The council shall provide by ordinance penalties for contempt in failing
or refusing to obey any such subpoena or to produce any such books,
papers or other evidence, and shall have the power to punish any such
contempt in the manner provided by such ordinance.