The City of Odessa shall have all powers possible for a city
to have under the Constitution and law of the State of Texas as fully
and completely as if they were specifically enumerated in this charter.
Such power shall specifically include all powers enumerated in Article
1175, Texas Revised Civil Statutes.
(Char. art. III, sec. 1; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69)
The City of Odessa shall have the power to enact and enforce
all ordinances necessary to protect health, life and property, and
to prevent and summarily abate and remove all nuisances, and to preserve
and enforce good government and order and security of the city and
its inhabitants; and to enact and enforce ordinances on any and all
subjects; provided that no ordinance shall be enacted inconsistent
with the provisions of this Charter or the Constitution of the State
of Texas; it being the intention to obtain, by the adoption of this
Charter, full power of local self government, and the City of Odessa
shall have and exercise all the powers of local self government granted
to cities having more than five thousand inhabitants by what is known
as the Home Rule Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Texas,
and to state law.
(Char. art. III, sec. 2; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
The style of all ordinances of the City of Odessa shall be:
“Be it Ordained by the City Council of the City of Odessa,”
but the same shall be omitted when the ordinances of the city are
codified and published in book or pamphlet form by the City of Odessa,
or under the authority of its governing body.
(Char. art. III, sec. 3)
All real estate owned in fee simple title, or held by lease,
sufferance, easement or otherwise; all public buildings, fire stations,
parks, airports, streets, and alleys; and all property, whether real
or personal, of whatever kind, character or description now owned
or controlled by the City of Odessa shall vest in, inure to, remain
and be the property of said City of Odessa under this Charter; and
all causes of action, choses in action, rights or privileges of every
kind and character and all property of whatsoever character or description
which may have been held and is now held, controlled or used by said
City of Odessa for public uses or in trust for the public, shall vest
in, and remain [and] inure to the City of Odessa under this Charter,
and all suits and pending actions to which the City of Odessa heretofore
was or now is a party, plaintiff or defendant, shall in no wise be
affected or terminated by the adoption of this Charter, but shall
continue unabated.
(Char. art. III, sec. 4)
The City of Odessa shall have the power and authority to acquire
by purchase, gift, devise, deed, condemnation or otherwise any character
of property within or without its municipal boundaries, including
any charitable or trust funds.
(Char. art. III, sec. 5)
No public property or any other character of property owned
or held by the City of Odessa shall be subject to an execution of
any kind or nature.
(Char. art. III, sec. 6)
No funds of the City of Odessa shall be subject to garnishment,
and the City of Odessa shall never be required to answer in any garnishment
proceeding.
(Char. art. III, sec. 7)
(a) The
City of Odessa shall not be liable to any person for damages caused
from streets, ways, crossings, bridges, culverts or sidewalks being
out of repair because of negligence of said corporation unless the
same shall have remained so for ten days after special notice in writing
is given to the mayor and city council.
(b) The
City of Odessa shall not be liable to any person for damages sustained
in any park, playground or public building belonging to said city
or because of any apparatus, furnishings, fixtures or improvements
thereon or thereupon situated being defective or out of repair unless
the same shall have remained so for ten days after special notice
in writing is given to the mayor and city council.
(c) Before
the City of Odessa shall be liable for damages for personal injuries
of any kind or for injuries to or destruction or damage to property
of any kind, the person injured or the owner of the property so injured,
damaged or destroyed, or someone in his behalf, shall give the mayor
and city council notice in writing of such injury, damage or destruction,
duly verified, within sixty days after the same has been sustained,
stating in such written notice when, where and how the injury, damage
or destruction occurred, the apparent extent thereof, the amount for
which the claimant will settle, the street and residence number of
the claimant at the time and date claim was presented and the actual
residence of such claimant for the six months immediately preceding
the occurrence of such injuries, damage or destruction, and the names
and addresses of the witnesses upon whom he relies to establish his
claim; and a failure to so notify the mayor and city council within
the time and manner provided therein shall exonerate, excuse and exempt
the city from any liability whatsoever.
(d) Civil
process may be served on the city secretary or mayor.
(Char. art. III, sec. 8; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
It shall not be necessary in any suit or proceeding, in which
the City of Odessa is a party, for any bond, undertaking or other
security to be demanded or executed by or on behalf of the city in
any of the state courts but all such actions, suits, appeals or proceedings
shall be conducted in the same manner as if such bond had been given,
and the City of Odessa shall be liable as if the security or bond
had been duly executed.
(Char. art. III, sec. 9)
The City of Odessa shall have the right of eminent domain for
public purposes whenever the governing authority shall deem it necessary;
and to take any private property, within or without the city limits,
for any of the following purposes, to-wit: city halls, police stations,
jails, calabooses, fire stations and fire-alarm systems, police-alarm
systems, radio stations, libraries, welfare buildings, hospitals,
sanitariums, auditoriums, market houses, abattoirs, warehouses, streets,
alleys, parks, airports, highways, boulevards, subways, playgrounds,
dumping grounds, sewer systems, sewage disposal plants, drains, filtering
beds and emptying grounds for sewer systems, reservoirs, water supply
sources, wells, water, electric light and power systems, cemeteries
and crematories; and to acquire lands, within or without the city
for any other municipal purposes that may be deemed advisable. The
power herein granted for the purpose of acquiring property shall include
the power of improvement and enlargement of waterworks, including
water supply, riparian rights, standpipes, water sheds, dams, the
construction of supply reservoirs, wells, parks, squares, and pleasure
grounds, and for the purpose of straightening or improving the channel
of any stream, branch, draw or drain, or the straightening or widening
of any street, alley, avenue, boulevard or other public highway. In
all cases where the city seeks to exercise the power of eminent domain
it shall be controlled as nearly as practicable by the laws governing
the condemnation of property by railroad corporations in this state,
the city taking the position of the railroad corporation in any such
cases. The power of eminent domain hereby conferred shall include
the right of the governing authority of the city, when so expressed,
to take the fee in the land so condemned, and such power and authority
shall include the right to condemn public property for such purposes.
(Char. art. III, sec. 10)
The City of Odessa shall have the power to lay out, establish,
open, alter, widen, lower, extend, grade, abandon, discontinue, abolish,
close, care for, sell, pave, supervise, maintain and improve streets,
alleys, sidewalks, squares, parks, public places and bridges and regulate
the use thereof, with authority to establish loading and unloading
zones, and require the removal from streets, sidewalks, alleys and
other public property or places all obstructions, telegraph, telephone
or other poles carrying electric wires or signs, and all fruit stands,
showcases and encroachments of every nature or character upon any
of said streets and sidewalks, and to vacate and close private ways.
(Char. art. III, sec. 11)
The City of Odessa shall have the power to improve any street
or highway within its limits by filling, grading, raising, paving
or repaving the same in a permanent manner or by the construction
or reconstruction of sidewalks, curbs and gutters or by necessary
appurtenances thereto, including sewers and drains. In the event there
be any conflict between the method of improving streets, etc., as
provided for by state law, the conflicting methods of procedure shall
be deemed optional methods, and the city council of the City of Odessa
may legally pursue either of said methods in making such improvements.
(Char. art. III, sec. 12; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
The city council shall have the power by ordinance or otherwise
to license, operate and control the operation of all character of
vehicles using public streets, including motorcycles, bicycles, automobiles,
trucks, trailers, buses, or like vehicles; and to prescribe the speed
for same, the qualifications of the operators of the same, the routing
of the same, and the lighting of same by night; and to provide for
the giving of bond or other security for the operation of same.
(Char. art. III, sec. 13)
The city council shall have the power by ordinance or otherwise
to direct and control, within the city limits, the speed of engines,
locomotives and motorcars operating on railroad tracks, the construction
of railroad tracks, turnouts and switches, and the regulation of the
grade thereof and the use of streets.
(Char. art. III, sec. 14)
The city shall have power to build, construct, purchase, own,
lease, maintain and operate within or without the city limits, light
and power systems, water systems, sewer systems, or sanitary disposal
equipment and appliances, natural gas systems, parks and swimming
pools, fertilizer plants, abattoirs and any other public service or
utility; power to mortgage and encumber such system or systems in
the manner provided in the laws of the State of Texas applicable thereto;
and all the powers which the city might exercise in connection with
such public utilities and public services under the general laws of
the State of Texas pertinent or applicable thereto, including the
power to demand and receive compensation for service furnished for
private purposes, or otherwise, and with full and complete power and
right of eminent domain proper and necessary, efficiently to carry
out said objects.
(Char. art. III, sec. 15; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
(a) The
city council shall have the power by ordinance to determine, fix and
regulate the charges, fares or rates of compensation to be charged
by any person, firm or corporation enjoying a franchise in the City
of Odessa, and shall in determining, fixing and regulating such charges,
fares or rates of compensation, base the same upon the fair value
of the property of such person, firm or corporation devoted to furnishing
service to such city or the inhabitants thereof. The city council
may prescribe the character, quality and efficiency of service to
be rendered and shall have the power to regulate and require the extension
of lines or services of such public utilities within such city by
such person, firm or corporation and from time to time may alter or
change such rules, regulations and compensation, provided that, in
adopting such regulations and in fixing or changing such compensation
or determining the reasonableness thereof, no stock or bonds authorized
or issued by any corporation enjoying such franchise shall be considered
unless on proof that the same have been actually issued by the corporation
for money paid and used for the development of the corporate property,
labor done or property actually received, in accordance with the laws
and Constitution of this state applicable thereto. In order to ascertain
all facts necessary for a proper understanding of what is or should
be a reasonable rate of regulation, the city council shall have full
power to inspect the books of such franchise-holder and compel the
attendance of witnesses for such purposes.
(Char. art. III, sec. 16; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
The city shall have the power to purchase electricity, gas,
oil, or any other article or service essential to a proper conduct
of the affairs of the city and of its inhabitants on such terms as
the city council may deem proper, for sale and distribution to the
inhabitants of the city and adjacent territory.
(Char. art. III, sec. 17; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
The city council shall have the power by ordinance to grant,
renew or amend a franchise to any public utility operating within
the City of Odessa to use the streets, alleys and public ways of the
city. Any such franchise ordinance shall not be finally adopted at
the same meeting at which it is passed on first reading.
(Char. art. III, sec. 18; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69)
The city council shall have power to establish, maintain and
operate an airport or airports, within or without the city limits,
and landing fields, radio beams, beacons and other apparatus, buildings,
equipment and appurtenances necessary or convenient therefor, and
to make suitable charges for their use.
(Char. art. III, sec. 19)
The City of Odessa shall have exclusive control of all city
parks and playgrounds, whether within or without the city limits,
and to control, regulate and remove all obstructions and prevent all
encroachments thereupon; to provide for raising, grading, filling,
terracing, landscaping, gardening, erecting buildings, swimming pools
and wading pools, and other structures, providing amusements therein,
for establishing walks and paving driveways around, in and through
said parks, playgrounds and other public grounds, speedways or boulevards
owned by it, and lying both outside and inside the municipal boundaries.
(Char. art. III, sec. 20)
Editor’s note–Ordinance 97-19, sec.
2, adopted May 6, 1997, amended the charter by repealing section 25. Former section 25 was derived from Charter art.
III, sec.
21.
The city council shall have power by ordinance or otherwise
to provide means for protection against conflagrations and for the
establishment, maintenance, support and regulation of a fire department
and for the guarding against fires. It may prescribe fire limits,
stipulate and provide for minimum requirements for construction of
buildings within such fire limits, regulate or prohibit the erection,
building, replacing or repairing of wooden buildings within such fire
limits; may prescribe that the buildings within such fire limits be
made or constructed of fireproof material; and may prohibit the repairing
of wooden buildings within such limits when the same have been damaged
to within fifty per cent (50%) of the value thereof; and may declare
all dilapidated buildings to be nuisances and direct the same to be
repaired, removed or abated in such manner as the city council may
prescribe; and may further prescribe limits within which only fireproof
roofing may be used; it may also by ordinance regulate, prescribe,
govern or forbid the storage of lumber, building materials of any
kind or inflammable or explosive goods, wares and merchandise of any
and every kind within certain limits and prescribe limits within which
such materials may be stored, housed or carried.
(Char. art. III, sec. 22)
The city council shall have the power to provide for a health
department and to establish all necessary rules and regulations protecting
the health of the city and for the establishment of quarantine stations,
pest houses, emergency hospitals, and hospitals, and to provide for
the adoption of necessary quarantine laws to protect the inhabitants
against contagious or infectious diseases. Such general powers shall
include, but not to the exclusion of other powers, the following powers:
(a) Food
and drink handlers.
The city council shall have the power
by ordinance or otherwise to regulate, license and inspect persons,
firms, corporations, common carriers, or associations operating, managing,
or conducting any hotel or any other public sleeping or eating place,
or any place or vehicle where food or drink, or containers therefor,
of any kind is manufactured, prepared, stored, packed, served, sold
or otherwise handled within the city limits of said city, and of any
manufacturer or vendor of candies or manufactured sweets; and shall
have the power to prescribe health regulations with reference to any
and all workers or employees hired or used in any of said places or
vehicles, or about said places or vehicles, or who deliver products
to and from said places and vehicles; and shall have the power to
inspect, license and regulate the sanitary condition of said places
and vehicles and to condemn all articles not wholesome or fit for
human consumption.
(b) Barbers,
etc.
The city council of the City of Odessa shall have
the power to license barbers and beauticians and to prescribe health
regulations with respect to their places of business, their persons
and their workers and employees and shall have the power to prescribe
health regulations with respect to porters, hotel maids and domestic
servants.
(c) Nuisances,
etc.
To define all nuisances and prohibit the same within
the city and outside the city limits for a distance of 5,000 feet;
to have power to police all parks or grounds, speedways, or boulevards
owned by said city and lying both outside and inside said city; to
prohibit the pollution of any stream, draw, drain or tributaries thereof,
water deposit and reservoir, whether above or below ground, which
may constitute the source or storage of water supply, and to provide
for policing the same, as well as to provide for the protection of
any watersheds and the policing of same; to inspect, license and regulate
dairies, slaughter pens and slaughterhouses inside or outside the
limits of the city from which meat or milk is furnished to the inhabitants
of the city; to require property owners to make connection to the
sewer systems with their premises, and to provide for fixing a lien
against the property of property owners who fail or refuse to make
sanitary sewer connections, and to charge the cost against said owner
and make it a personal liability.
(d) Penalties.
To provide for the fixing of penalties for failure of any person,
firm, corporation or association to comply with any such rules and
regulations so prescribed by the city council under the provisions
of this section: it being the intention to vest in the city council
not only the powers expressly enumerated in this section but all other
powers reasonably necessary for the protection of the health of the
City of Odessa and its inhabitants.
(Char. art. III, sec. 23)
The City of Odessa shall have power by ordinance to establish
and maintain a police department and to prescribe the duties of the
members of said department, and regulate their conduct and fix their
salaries or fees of office or both. The head of the police department
of said city shall be known and designated as “chief of police,”
and other members thereof shall be known as “police officers.”
(Char. art. III, sec. 24; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
The city council of the City of Odessa shall have the power
and authority to compromise and settle any and all claims and lawsuits
of every kind and character in favor of or against the said city,
including suits by said city to recover delinquent taxes.
(Char. art. III, sec. 25)
The city council, or its designated city officer or officers,
shall have such power to enter into and make contracts in behalf of
the City of Odessa as is given by the laws of the State of Texas,
and such laws shall control and govern the formation and substance
of any such contracts, including the submission of contracts to competitive
bids and public notice thereof.
In cases of emergency caused by a natural disaster or public
calamity, where it becomes necessary to act at once to appropriate
money to relieve the necessity of the citizens, or to preserve the
property of the city, or when it is necessary to preserve or protect
the public health of the citizens of the city, or in case of unforeseen
damage to public property, machinery or equipment, state laws which
exempt a city from bidding requirements and posting of notice may
be followed.
The city council by ordinance shall establish whether bids shall
be opened by the governing body at a public meeting or by an officer
or employee of the City of Odessa, at a place opened to the public,
after notice has been posted, and the results reported to the city
council for final approval.
The city council may by ordinance or resolution designate the
officer or officers who are authorized to sign contracts. The mayor
shall sign all authorized conveyances and bonds and contracts for
which signing authority has not otherwise been delegated or authorized.
(Char. art. III, sec. 26; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69; Ordinance 83-39, sec. 4, adopted 4/12/83; Ordinance 85-28, sec. 4, adopted 4/9/85; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
The city council shall have full power and authority to zone
the City of Odessa and to pass all necessary ordinances, rules and
regulations governing the same under and by virtue of the authority
given to cities and legislative bodies thereof by state law.
(Char. art. III, sec. 27; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
In addition to the powers hereinbefore specifically enumerated,
the city council of the City of Odessa shall have the power to license
any lawful business, occupation or calling that is susceptible to
the control of the police power; to license, regulate, control, or
prohibit the erection of signs or billboards within the corporate
limits of said city; to provide for a public library and maintenance
thereof; to provide for the regulations and control of electricians,
plumbers, and gas fitters and electrical and plumbing works, and to
require efficiency in the same; to provide for the inspection of weights
and meters and fix a standard of such weight, measures and meters,
and to require conformity to such standards, and to provide penalties
for failure to use or conform to the same; and to provide for inspection
fees; to provide for the issuance of permits for erecting all buildings,
for the inspection of the electric lights and other electrical appliances,
piping for gas, flues, chimneys, plumbing and sewer connections; and
to enforce proper regulations in regard thereto; to require the construction
of fire escapes for all public buildings, and to determine the sufficiency
and regulate the safety of all exits and fire escapes provided for
public buildings of every kind and character; and to provide for the
enforcement of all ordinances enacted by the city by fine not to exceed
the maximum amounts specified by state law.
(Char. art. III, sec. 28; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69; Ordinance 85-28, sec. 4, adopted 4/9/85; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)