All records and accounts of every office, department, or agency of the city shall be open to inspection by any citizen or by any representative of the press at all reasonable times and under such reasonable regulations as may be established by the City Council, except records and documents the disclosure of which would tend to defeat the lawful purpose which they are intended to accomplish.
No officer or employee of the city shall have a financial interest, direct or indirect, in any contract with the city, nor shall be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in the sale to the city of any land, or rights or interest in any land, materials, supplies or service. The above provision shall not apply where the interest is represented by ownership of stock in a corporation involved, provided such stock ownership amounts to less than ten percent (10%) of the voting stock or shares of the corporation. The above provision shall also not apply if the funds received by the officer or employee from the contract or sale to the city of any materials, supplies or services does not exceed ten (10%) percent of that individual officer or employee’s gross income for the previous year. Any violation of this section shall constitute malfeasance in office, and any officer or employee of the city found guilty thereof shall thereby forfeit his office or position. Any violation of this section with the knowledge, express or implied, of person or corporation contracting with city shall render the contract voidable by the City Manager or the City Council.
The City Council may, by ordinance, prohibit the drilling of oil, gas and sulphur wells, and may provide regulations for the drilling, spacing[,] completion and operation of oil, gas and sulphur wells. The City Council may, by ordinance, prohibit the drilling of water wells for commercial, industrial and agricultural purposes, and may provide regulations for the drilling and use of water wells for commercial, industrial, agricultural and domestic purposes.
The State of Texas Nepotism statute as defined in Texas Local Government Code or its applicable successor statute, shall be applicable with regard to an appointment to any office, position or clerkship or other service of the city. It shall be an exception to the above limitation if the relative in the service of the city shall have been continuously employed in a position or duty for a period of one (1) year prior to the election or appointment of the related member or officer.
Editor’s note–This section is superseded by V.T.C.A., Local Government Code, ch. 573.
(Ordinance 2020-24, prop. G, adopted 11/9/20)
The City Council shall have the authority to establish and maintain a free public library within the city and to cooperate with any person, firm, association or corporation under such terms as the City Council may prescribe for the establishment of such free public library. For budget purposes, the library shall be considered as a department of the city and the appropriations therefor shall comply with all the budgetary requirements as outlined in this Charter and as may be prescribed from time to time by the City Council.
The property, real and personal, belonging to the city shall not be liable to be sold or appropriated under any writ or execution or cost bill. The funds belonging to the city, in the hands of any person, firm or corporation, shall not be liable to garnishment, attachment, or sequestering; nor shall the city be liable to garnishment on account of any debt it may owe or funds or property it may have on hand or owing to any person. Neither the city nor any of its officers or agents shall be required to answer any such writ or garnishment on any account whatever. The city shall not be obligated to recognize any assignment of wages or funds by its employees, agents or contractors.
It shall not be necessary in any action, suit or proceeding in which the City of El Campo is a party, for any bond, undertaking, or security to be demanded or executed by or on behalf of said city in any of the state courts but in all such actions, suits, appeals or proceedings same shall be conducted in the same manner as if such bond, undertaking or security had been given as required by law.
Before the city shall be liable to damage claim or suit for personal injury, or damage to property, the person who is injured or whose property is damaged or someone on their behalf shall give the City Manager or the person performing the duties of City Secretary, notice in writing within sixty (60) days after the occurrence of the alleged injury, or damage, stating specifically in such notice when, where and how the injury or damage was sustained, and setting forth the extent of the injury or damage as accurately as possible, and giving the names and addresses of all witnesses upon whose testimony such person is relying to establish the injury or damage. No action at law for damages shall be brought against the city for personal injury or damage to property prior to the expiration of sixty (60) days after the notice herein before described has been filed with the City Manager or the person performing the duties of City Secretary, nor later than two (2) years after the occurrence of the injury or damage to property. In case of injuries resulting in death, before the city shall be liable in damages therefor the person or persons claiming such damages shall within sixty (60) days after the death of the injured person give notice as above required in case of personal injury. Provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to mean that the City of El Campo waives any rights, privileges, defenses or immunities in tort actions which are provided under the common laws, the constitution and general laws of the State of Texas.
If any section or part of section of this Charter shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the remainder of this Charter nor the context in which such section or part of section so held invalid may appear, expect [except] to the extent that an entire section or part of section may be inseparably connected in meaning and effect with the section or part of section to which such holding shall directly apply.
All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations now in force under the city government of El Campo and not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter shall remain in force under this Charter until altered, amended or repealed by the council after this Charter takes effect; and all rights of the City of El Campo under existing franchises and contracts are preserved in full force and effect to the City of El Campo.
From and after the date of the adoption of this Charter, the persons then filling elective offices will continue to fill those offices for the terms to which they were elected. At the first regular city election after the adoption of this Charter, three (3) councilmembers shall be elected. Thereafter, the City Council shall be elected as provided in Section 3.01 of this Charter.
The constitution of the State of Texas, the statutes of said state applicable to home-ruled municipal corporations, as now or hereafter enacted, this Charter and ordinances enacted pursuant hereto shall, in the order mentioned, be applicable to the City of El Campo, but the city shall also have the power to exercise any and all powers conferred by the laws of the State of Texas upon any other kind of city, town or village, not contrary to the provisions of said home-rule statutes, Charter, and ordinances, but the exercise of any such powers by the City of El Campo shall be optional with it, and it shall not be required to conform to the law governing any other cities, towns or villages unless and until by ordinance it adopts same.
When the governing body desires to submit amendments to any existing Charter, said body may on its own motion, in the absence of a petition, and shall, upon receiving a qualifying petition, submit any proposed amendment or amendments to such Charter. Amendments to this Charter may be framed and submitted to the voters of the city in the manner provided by Chapter 13 of Title 28 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, Art. 1170, as now or hereafter amended.
Each city councilmember shall appoint a citizen of the City of El Campo to serve on the Charter Review Commission. The seven appointments shall be made at the first regular meeting of the City Council in July of each odd numbered year.
(a) 
Duties of the Commission.
It shall be the duty of the Commission:
(1) 
Inquire into the operation of the city government under the Charter provisions and determine whether any such provisions require revisions. To this end at least one public hearing shall be held. The commission shall have the power to compel the attendance of any officer or employee of the city and to require the submission of any of the city records which it may deem necessary to conduct any of its meetings or hearings.
(2) 
Propose any recommendations it may deem desirable to insure compliance with the provisions of the Charter by the several departments of the city government.
(3) 
Propose, if it deems desirable, amendments to this Charter to improve the effective application of said Charter to current conditions.
(4) 
Report its findings and present its proposed amendments, if any, to the City Council.
(b) 
Action by the City Council.
The City Council shall receive and have published in a newspaper of general circulation published in El Campo any report presented by the Charter Review Commission, shall consider any recommendations made, and if any amendment or amendments be presented as a part of such report, shall order such amendment or amendments to be submitted to the voters of the city in the manner provided by Chapter 13 of Title 28 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, as now or hereafter amended.
(c) 
Term of Office.
The term of office of such Charter Review Commission shall be six months, and, if during such term no report is presented to the City Council, then all records of the proceedings of such commission shall be filed with the person performing the duties of City Secretary and shall become a public record. Council may extend the six (6) months reporting term for an additional thirty (30) days for good cause.
The Charter Commission in preparing this Charter finds and decides that it is impracticable to segregate each subject so as to permit a vote of “yes” or “no” on the same, for the reason that the Charter is so constructed that in order to enable it to work and function it is necessary that it should be adopted in its entirety. For these reasons, the Charter Commission directs that the said Charter be voted upon as a whole and that it shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the City of El Campo at an election to be held for that purpose on the 30th day of November, A.D. 1954. Not less than thirty (30) days prior to such election, the City Council shall cause the City Secretary to mail a copy of this Charter to each qualified voter of the City of El Campo as appears from the latest tax collector’s roll. If a majority of the qualified voters voting in such election shall vote in favor of the adoption of this Charter, it shall become the Charter of the City of El Campo, and after the returns have been canvassed, the same shall be declared adopted and the City Secretary shall file an official copy of the Charter with the records of the city, and same shall become effective on January 1, A.D. 1955. The City Secretary shall furnish the Mayor a copy of said Charter, which copy of the Charter so adopted, authenticated and certified by his signature and the seal of the city, shall be forwarded by the Mayor to the Secretary of State of the State of Texas and shall show the approval of such Charter by majority vote of the qualified voters voting at such election.
All reference to article or state [section] numbers appearing in the foregoing provisions of this Charter are deleted and in their place reference therein shall be made to the Local Government Code or such successor statutes of the State of Texas as may then be applicable.
In the event of a conflict of the provisions of this Charter and the laws of the State of Texas, the stricter law shall apply as between the Charter and the state law.