The City Council, referred to herein as the Council consists
of the Mayor and six Councilmembers.
(a)
The Mayor
and the Councilmembers will be elected from the City at large.
(b)
Term
of office for all members will be two (2) years. Office term will
commence at the first regular Council meeting after a member of the
Council has been declared elected.
(c)
No person
shall serve as Mayor for more than six (6) successive years and no
person shall serve as Councilmember for more than six (6) successive
years.
(Amnd. by Ordinance 2014-08-18-01 at an election held on November 4, 2014, prop.
1; Amnd. by Ordinance 2018-01-16-03 at an election held on May 5, 2018, prop. A; Amnd. by Ordinance 2020-07-20-01, at an
election held on November 3, 2020, props. B–C)
All office holders for city elective office shall possess the
following qualifications:
(a)
Meet
all the requirements for public office prescribed by State and Federal
laws.
(b)
Be a
registered voter residing in the City for at least one year prior
to the election.
(c)
Be at
least twenty one years of age by the date of the election.
(d)
Shall
not hold any other compensated public office if elected.
(e)
Shall
not be a city employee, contractor or supplier.
(f)
If a
member of the Council shall cease to possess any of the qualifications
prescribed, the person shall forfeit the office.
(Amnd. by Ordinance 2014-08-18-01 at an election held on November 4, 2014, prop.
2; Amnd. by Ordinance 2014-08-18-01 at an election held on November 4, 2014, prop.
3)
The Council shall be the judge of all elections and the qualifications
of all elected and appointed officials of the City.
Each candidate for an elective City office shall make application
to have their name listed on the ballot in accordance with the laws
of the State of Texas.
Members of the Council shall serve without pay or compensation;
provided, however, that they shall be entitled to reimbursement for
all expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties
as approved by the Council.
The Mayor’s duties include recommending issues for the
agenda and presiding over City Council meetings.
The Mayor shall vote on all issues brought before the Council
and sign all written actions authorized by the City Council.
The Mayor may not veto or modify any action approved by the
City Council.
The Mayor is recognized as the head of City government. The
Mayor will also perform all other duties required by order of the
Council.
The Council shall appoint one of its members for a period of
one year as Mayor Pro Tem. The Mayor Pro Tem shall act, and have the
rights and duties, as the Mayor whenever the Mayor is absent or incapacitated
or the office of Mayor becomes vacant.
Any elective office shall become vacant upon death, resignation,
or forfeiture as authorized by law or this Charter. The Council, at
the first regular Council meeting after the vacancy, shall declare
the office vacant and initiate action to fill the vacancy in accordance
with this charter.
Any elected official will forfeit office for any of the following
reasons:
The City Council shall fill any vacancy that occurs on the City Council unless an election to fill the vacancy is required by Article XI, Section 11, of the Texas Constitution, or unless a majority of the City Council votes to call a special election for the next uniform election date to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term only. For purposes of applying term limits, any term filled by election or appointment of one year or less shall not count towards the limit on successive years of service in Section 3.01(c), but service in a partial term of more than one year shall count towards the limit on successive years of service.
A person serving as a member of the City Council is not, because
of that service, ineligible to be appointed to fill a vacancy in the
office of mayor, but the person may not vote on the person’s
own appointment.
If a number of vacancies exist on the Council causing the remaining
members to number less than four, those remaining members shall constitute
a quorum for the limited purpose of meeting to fill enough of the
vacancies so that a quorum of four exists.
(Amnd. by Ordinance 2014-08-18-01 at an election held on November 4, 2004, prop.
4; Amnd. by Ordinance 2018-01-16-03 at an election held on May 5, 2018, prop. C; Amnd. by Ordinance 2020-07-20-01, at an
election held on November 3, 2020, prop. C; Amnd. by Ordinance 2010-04-19-03 at an
election held on May 2010, props. 2–3)
Neither the Mayor nor any Councilmember shall hold another City
office or City employment. Former Mayors and Councilmembers shall
not receive any compensation from the City or hold any compensated
appointive City office within one year after their elective office
terminates.
The Council shall define by ordinance how and when the Council
shall meet, and the manner in which meetings are conducted. The Council
shall meet at a regular time at least once a month. All notification
prior to meetings shall be in accordance with state law as enacted
or hereafter amended.
Four members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transaction of business, and no action of the City Council, except as provided in Section 3.09 shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of the majority of the Members of the Council present.
The Council shall establish by ordinances its procedures for
conducting City Council meetings, however, such ordinances shall provide
the City’s citizens, or their representatives, an opportunity
to comment on any matter on the agenda of any regular or special meeting
of the Council prior to the Council voting on the matter. The City
Secretary will maintain all minutes of all proceedings of the Council
and make these available to citizens of the City.
Members of the Council present will vote, and have their votes
recorded in the minutes, upon every action requiring a vote. Only
in the event the vote involves the member’s conduct, or a conflict
of interest, will the member recuse and the reasons for the recusal
shall be noted in the minutes. The rules set forth elsewhere in this
Charter will control conflict of interest issues.
The Council may adopt or amend any ordinance that is for the
good of the City, as well as provide for the enforcement and punishment
of ordinance violations in accordance with state law. All expenditure
of City funds and contracting of City indebtedness shall be by Council
ordinance. All actions will state; “BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF LAKEWAY”.
Every ordinance or resolution shall be introduced in written
or printed form, and shall have a clearly summarized and fully descriptive
title or caption. The reading aloud of the title or caption of the
ordinance shall suffice as a reading of the ordinance or resolution
in its entirety provided that a written or printed copy thereof has
been furnished to each member of the Council prior to such meeting,
and that a reasonable number of additional copies are available to
interested citizens present at the Council meeting.
A majority of the Council present may require an ordinance to
be read in its entirety. The affirmative vote of the majority of the
Members of the Council present, except as otherwise required by statute,
shall be necessary to adopt any ordinance or resolution.
The vote upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions
shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose by the City Secretary.
Every ordinance enacted shall be authenticated by the signature of
the Mayor, or in the Mayor’s absence by the Mayor Pro Tem, and
the City Secretary, and shall be systematically recorded and indexed
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 the Council meetings.
Except as otherwise provided by the laws of the State of Texas
or this Charter, the City secretary shall give notice of the enactment
of every ordinance imposing any penalty, fine or forfeiture for any
violation of its provisions, and of every ordinance relating to the
budget, franchises, taxes or public utilities or the setting of the
amounts or rates thereof, by causing the ordinance in full or its
caption, including the penalty, to be published at least one time
on the City website and in a newspaper of general circulation. The
provisions of this section shall not apply to the correction, amendment,
revision or codification of the ordinances of the City in book or
pamphlet form.
(Amnd. by Ordinance 2014-08-18-01 at an election held on November 4, 2014, prop.
5; Amnd. by Ordinance 2018-01-16-03 at an election held on May 5, 2018, prop. G)
The Council may adopt emergency ordinances to protect life,
property or the public peace in accordance with the applicable provisions
of state and federal law. The ordinance shall plainly designate it
as an emergency ordinance and shall contain a declaration stating
that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms.
The emergency will be effective for a maximum period of sixty days
from enactment, except as noted below. It may be renewed if necessary
by the procedures necessary for the enactment of a new ordinance.
Emergency ordinances may not levy taxes; grant, renew or extend
a franchise, or regulate rates charged by any public utility.
Emergency ordinances may not authorize the borrowing of money
except as otherwise provided for in this charter. Emergency ordinances
authorizing the borrowing of money can stay in effect longer than
sixty days.
The City may, by ordinance, adopt a codification of its ordinances,
together with appropriate penalties for their violation, in accordance
with and as authorized by the laws of the State of Texas.
The Council shall have the power to inquire into the conduct
of any City office, department or agency and into the conduct or qualifications
of any officer or employee of the City and to make investigations
as to municipal affairs, and for these purposes may subpoena witnesses,
administer oaths and compel the production of books, papers and other
evidence material to a specific inquiry. The Council shall establish
by ordinance the procedures applicable to the investigations authorized
herein, and shall set penalties for failure to comply therewith.
