The members of the council of the city of Cameron shall hold
their offices for a term of two (2) years and until their successors
have been elected and duly qualified.
One council member shall be elected at large from the city of
Cameron and the remaining five council members shall be elected by
wards. Ward one, three and five and the at large Ward to be filled
on the odd numbered years and Wards two and four and the mayor shall
be filled on the even numbered years. Candidates shall announce for
Ward and be entered on the ballot in that manner. In the event the
election of a councilmember cannot be determined because of a tie
vote, the council shall call a special election within thirty (30)
days to determine the winner between the candidates receiving the
tie vote. The candidate receiving the highest number of qualified
votes in such election shall be declared elected.
Only those persons residing in the respective single member
districts hereinabove referred to and being otherwise qualified, shall
be entitled to vote for the respective candidate or candidates seeking
election to the position of council member for that respective ward.
The polling stations at the election herein referred to shall be at
City Hall or any other place(s) as approved by the United States Justice
Department.
Each council member shall be a resident of the city of Cameron,
and have qualifications of voters therein and further each council
member running for a specific ward other than a candidate seeking
the office of mayor or council member at large shall be a resident
of the respective ward for election to which position said person
files. The council member and other officers of the city shall not
be indebted to the city; shall not hold any other public office; and
shall not be interested in the profits of any contract, job or work
for the municipality or interested in the sale to the city of any
supplies, equipment, material or articles purchased. Any officer or
council member of the city who shall cease to possess any qualifications
herein required shall forfeit his office or position and any contract
in which any officer shall or may become interested shall be void.
Regardless of any other provision in the Charter of the city
of Cameron to the contrary notwithstanding, if any, no person shall
hold the position of council member or mayor unless said person is
a resident of the city and of the respective district six (6) months
immediately preceding the first day of the filing period.
The mayor and members of the city council may receive such pay
or compensation, including necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their official duties, as may be prescribed and set by ordinance.
The mayor shall preside at meetings of the council and shall
be entitled to vote upon all matters considered by the council, in
case of a tie vote the mayor shall exercise such other powers and
perform such other duties as are or may be conferred and imposed upon
him by the Charter and the ordinances of the city. The mayor shall
execute the laws and administer the government of the city. He shall
be recognized as the head of the city government for all ceremonial
purposes, by the courts for civil process and by the government for
purposes of military law. In times of public danger or emergency,
the mayor shall take command of the police, maintain law and order
and enforce the law. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the mayor
or in case of his absence or disability, the mayor pro-tem shall act
as mayor until a successor is elected and has qualified.
A vacancy in the council shall be filled by a majority vote
of the remaining members of the council. The person elected to fill
such vacancy shall be a qualified voter residing in the city and having
the proper qualifications. Any person elected to fill such a vacancy,
as hereinabove provided in this section, shall hold such office until
the next general election after he takes office; and at the next general
election such office shall be filled in the same manner as herein
provided for general elections, with the person elected thereat holding
his office only until the expiration of the term of office for the
place to which he is elected, as such terms are set out by this Charter.
When more than one vacancy shall develop at one time, then a special
election shall be called within forty-five days and any vacancy filled
in the same manner as herein provided for general elections; provided,
however, if such vacancies occur within ninety days of a general election,
then no special election shall be called.
All powers of the city and the determination of all matters
of policy shall be vested in the council. Without limitation of the
foregoing and among the other powers that may be exercised by the
council, the following are hereby enumerated for greater certainty.
(1) Establish
administrative departments and provide salaries for all city employees.
(2) Adopt budget
of the city.
(3) Authorize
the issuance of bonds by a bond ordinance.
(4) Inquire
into the conduct of any officer, department or agency of the city
and make investigation as to municipal affairs and authorize the correction
of irregularities.
(6) Adopt and
modify the official map of the city.
(7) Adopt,
modify and carry out plans proposed for the planning, replanning,
improvement, and redevelopment of neighborhoods and for the replanning,
reconstruction, or redevelopment of any area or district, which may
have been destroyed in whole or part by disaster.
(8) Provide
for the establishment and designation of fire limits and prescribe
the kind and character of building or structures or improvements to
be erected therein, and provide for the erection of fireproof buildings
within certain limits, and provide for the condemnation of dangerous
structures or buildings or dilapidated buildings or buildings calculated
to increase the fire hazard, and the manner of their removal or destruction.
There are hereby created the following administrative departments:
Finance, Police, Fire, Law, Public Works, Health, Recreation, and
Water. The council may consolidate any of the above departments by
ordinance and may create such other departments as the council deems
necessary by ordinance.
(1) Appointment
and term. The city council shall appoint a manager whose term of office
shall be governed by the will and pleasure of the city council and
whose duties shall be prescribed and defined by the city council by
ordinance and resolution in addition to the duties described in this
charter and not inconsistent with the provisions of the charter. The
city council may enter into an employment contract with the city manager
that prescribes the conditions of employment as the city council determines
appropriate, including a definite term.
(2) Duties.
The city manager shall,
(a) be
the chief administrative officer of the city;
(b) receive
such compensation as may be provided by the city council;
(c) be
subject to removal by the city council. He may demand written charges
and a public hearing on the same before the city council at any time
between the issuance of the order of removal and the date on which
it takes effect;
(d) be
responsible to the city council for the proper administration of all
the affairs of the city, including the appointment and termination
of all supervisory personnel, subject to council confirmation;
(e) make
recommendations to the city council on all matters concerning the
administration of the city;
(f) have
superintendence over such departments, make contracts with reference
to supplies and routine service, and may disburse funds in the discharge
of his duties under such regulations as the city council may prescribe;
(g) make
reports in writing to the city council and shall make such special
reports as the city council may from time to time request;
(h) attend
all meetings of the city council and take part in discussion of matters
pertaining to the city but shall have no vote;
(i) from
time to time, make suggestions to the city council and keep it fully
advised as to all matters pertaining to the city;
(j) devote
full time to the service of the city and never have any private interest,
directly or indirectly, in any contract with the city or to which
the city is a party.
(3) Acting
City Manager. By letter filed with the city secretary, the city manager
may designate a city officer to exercise the powers and perform the
duties of city manager during the manager’s temporary absence
or disability. The city council may revoke such designation at any
time and appoint another officer of the city to serve until the city
manager returns.
The city manager shall appoint a competent person to be secretary
of the city, subject to the council’s confirmation. He shall
give notices of council meetings, shall keep the journal of its proceedings
and shall authenticate by his signature and record in full, in a book
kept for the purpose, all ordinances and resolutions, and shall perform
such other duties as may be assigned him by the council. The city
manager may assign all the duties of director of finance, and-or all
the duties of assessor and collector of taxes of the city to the city
secretary.
The city judge shall be appointed by the city council. The judge
shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years. He shall receive a
salary as may be fixed by the council; however, the salary shall in
no case be determined by the fees or fines received by the corporation
court. The judge shall be judge of the corporation court, which shall
have the jurisdiction and shall be conducted in the manner prescribed
and authorized by law. All costs and fines imposed by the corporation
court, or by any court in any cases appealed from judgments of the
corporation court, shall be paid into the treasury for the use and
benefit of the city. The city secretary or his deputy may be clerk
of the corporation court. The clerk of the said court and his deputies
shall have the power to administer oaths and affidavits, make certificates,
affix the seal of said city thereto, and generally do and perform
any and all acts usual and necessary by clerks of courts in conducting
the business thereof.
Meetings of Council:
On the first meeting next following the regular municipal election
or as soon thereafter as practicable, the council shall meet at the
usual place for holding meetings and the newly elected members shall
qualify as prescribed by law and assume the duties of office. The
council shall at this time and meeting select one of its members to
serve as mayor pro-tem, and he shall perform all the duties of the
mayor in his absence or disability. Thereafter, the council shall
meet regularly at such times as prescribed by ordinance, but not less
frequently than once each month. All meetings of the council shall
be open to the public. Special meetings shall be called by the city
secretary upon request of the mayor or four council members. A quorum
shall be four council members, excluding the Mayor. (Prop. 2 approved
at election of 5/12/07, certified by Res. 2007-05-15-012, sec. 2,
adopted 5/15/07)
The council shall be the judge of the election returns and qualifications
of its members and for such purpose shall have power to subpoena witnesses
and require the production of records but the decision of the council
in any such case shall be subject to a review by the courts.
The council shall determine its own rules and order of business.
It shall keep minutes of its proceedings and such minutes shall be
open to public inspection.
In addition to such acts of the council as are required by statute
or by this Charter to be by ordinance, every act of the council establishing
a fine, forfeiture, or other penalty or providing for the expenditure
of funds or for the contracting of indebtedness shall be by ordinance.
The enacting clause of all ordinances shall be: BE IT ORDAINED BY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF CAMERON.
Every ordinance shall be introduced in written or printed form
and, upon passage, shall take effect at the time indicated therein;
provided that any ordinance imposing a penalty, fine or forfeiture
for a violation of its provisions shall become effective immediately
after its publication as required by Law. The city secretary shall
give notice of the passage of every ordinance imposing a penalty,
fine or forfeiture for a violation of the provisions thereof, by causing
the descriptive caption or title, including the penalty, of any ordinance
to be published in the official newspaper in the city of Cameron at
least twice within ten days after the passage of said ordinance. He
shall note on every ordinance the caption of which is hereby required
to be published, and on the record thereof, the fact that same has
been published as required by the charter, and the date of such publication,
and promulgation of such ordinance, provided that the provisions of
this section shall not apply to the correction, amendment, revision
and modification of the ordinances of the city for publication in
book or pamphlet form. Every ordinance shall be authenticated by the
signature of the mayor and city secretary and shall be systematically
recorded in an ordinance book in a manner approved by the council.
It shall only be necessary to record the caption or title of ordinances
in the Minutes of Council meetings. The council shall have power to
cause the ordinances of the city to be corrected, amended, revised,
codified and printed in code form as often as the council deems advisable,
and such printed code, when adopted by the council, shall be in full
force and effect without the necessity of publishing the same or any
part thereof in a newspaper. It shall be necessary to the validity
of any ordinance that it shall be read at two regular meetings of
the city council of the city of Cameron before final passage thereof,
except, however, where otherwise provided in this charter and provided
that upon a finding by the council of an emergency, an ordinance may
be passed upon one reading at any meeting of the city council. An
emergency, as herein used, shall mean only war, public disaster or
a situation involving the actual operation of the government of the
city of Cameron.
Prior to the end of each fiscal year, the council shall employ
a practicing certified public accountant, who is licensed by the State
of Texas, to make an independent audit of accounts and other evidences
of financial transactions of the city government and shall submit
a report to the council. Notice shall be given by publication in the
official newspaper in the city of Cameron that the audit is on file
at the City Hall for inspection. Such accountant shall have no personal
interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the city government.
They shall not maintain any accounts or records of the city business,
but within the specifications approved by the council, shall post
audit the books and documents kept by the department of finance and
any separate or subordinate accounts kept by any other office, department,
or agency of the city government is licensed to practice in the State
of Texas and who is a resident of the city of Cameron.