The governing and lawmaking body of the City of Odessa shall consist of six (6) council members and a mayor, and said body shall be known as the “City Council of the City of Odessa.”
(Char. art. V, sec. 1; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97; Ordinance 2019-07 adopted 2/12/19)
The members of the City Council of the City of Odessa, which includes the six (6) council members and a mayor, shall be the only elective officers of the city, and they shall be elected and hold office and be compensated as herein provided. Five councilmembers shall be elected from single-member districts, being Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The mayor and one councilmember shall be elected from the city at-large; councilmembers shall be elected as designated in section 46 below.
(Char. art. V, sec. 2; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97; Ordinance 2019-07 adopted 2/12/19)
Any qualified voter who is a citizen of the United States, a resident in said City of Odessa for a period of six (6) months, who meets any applicable residence requirements set forth in Section 46 of the City Charter and who has filed a petition signed by fifty (50) voters residing in the territory from which the office is elected submitting the candidates’ name for the elective office, shall have the right to file an application to have his/her name placed on the official ballot as a candidate for elective office and such application in writing, signed by such candidate and delivered to the city secretary not less than forty-five (45) days prior to the date of the election, shall entitle such applicant to a place on the official ballot. The names of such applicants shall be printed on the official ballot in the manner prescribed by state law.
(Char. art. V, sec. 3; Ordinance 83-39, sec. 4, adopted 4/12/83; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
(a) 
For the 2018 general election, the councilmember at-large position shall be elected for an initial term of two (2) years and subsequently for a term of four (4) years in order to maintain the staggered election of councilmembers pursuant to subsection (e) of this section. This provision shall supersede any and all city charter sections and city ordinances to the extent of any conflict.
(b) 
In the general election in May, 1993, there shall be elected a council member district three for a two (2) year term, a council member district four for a two (2) year term and council member district five for a two (2) year term.
(c) 
District council members shall be bona fide residents of their district for a period of six (6) months prior to filing applications to have their name placed on the ballot. Failure to continuously reside within the district from which a council member is elected, other than a change resulting from realignment of council district boundaries, shall constitute immediate termination of office.
(d) 
The district boundaries shall be reviewed after each decennial census to determine if the number of electors in each district has changed so as to cause a deviation that is excessive by legal standards. When the deviation is excessive by legal standards, the city council shall revise the boundaries by ordinance along election precinct lines and as near as practical to equalize the districts as to the number of electors.
(e) 
In the general election in 2003, council member districts three, four and five will be elected to serve three (3) year terms. In the general election in 2004, and thereafter, the mayor and all council members will be elected to serve four (4) year terms. The mayor and each council member shall serve until his/her successor is elected and qualified, unless sooner removed from office as herein provided. This subsection (e) shall supersede any other provision of the charter in conflict and adopted prior in time.
(f) 
A person shall not serve as a council member for a period of time that exceeds eight (8) years and a person shall not serve as a mayor for a period of time that exceeds eight (8) years. Service prior to the 2003 general election shall not be counted.
(Char. art. V, sec. 4; 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 91-89, sec. 2, adopted 11/12/91; Ordinance 2002-19, sec. 3, adopted 5/7/02; Ordinance 2019-07 adopted 2/12/19)
In the event any candidate for mayor or for any city council office fails to receive a majority of all votes cast for all the candidates for such office at such election, the mayor or the city council shall, on or before the first day following the city council meeting when the ordinance is passed approving the election returns, issue a call for a second election to be held in the city not more than thirty (30) days after the date of the first election. The official ballot to be used at said second election shall be prepared by the city secretary and the name of no person shall appear thereon unless that person was a candidate for the office designated at said first election, and the two (2) persons receiving at said first election the highest number of votes cast and filing a written request to be included on the ballot shall be entitled to have their names printed on said official ballot for the second election in the order of their standing in the computation of the votes cast. In the event of a tie in the vote by the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes for any office at said first election and such candidates both request in writing to be included on the ballot for the second election, said office shall be filled at a second election between the candidates that are tied as herein provided for. In the event the candidates receiving the second and third highest number of votes cast for such position in the first election are tied and each files a written request to be included on the ballot in the second election, they shall cast lots to determine who shall be placed on the ballot for the second election. In the event of a tie between the two (2) candidates for any office at said second election, they shall cast lots to determine who shall be elected to such office. This provision shall not be in effect until the general election for 1986; and for the general election in 1985, the candidates receiving the highest number of votes cast for each position shall be elected to that position.
(Char. art. V, sec. 5; Ordinance 85-28, sec. 4, adopted 4/9/85)
The city council shall be the judge of the election and qualification of its own members and of the mayor, subject to review of the courts in case of contest. The city council shall, on the next regular meeting day of said council after each regular and special election, canvass the returns and declare the results of such election.
(Char. art. V, sec. 6)
The regular municipal elections of the City of Odessa shall be held on the first Saturday in May of each year, and the same shall be conducted, and the results canvassed and announced by the election authorities prescribed by the general election laws of the State of Texas, and said general election laws shall control in all municipal elections except as otherwise herein provided.
(Char. art. V, sec. 7; Ordinance 83-39, sec. 4, adopted 4/12/83; Ordinance 2024-31 adopted 8/13/2024)
[1]
Editor's note–Ordinance 2011-26, adopted June 28, 2011, changed the regular municipal election date to the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November pursuant to sec. 41.0052 of the Texas Election Code. Texas Election Code sec. 41.0052(c) provides that a change made pursuant to sec. 41.0052 of the Texas Election Code supersedes a city charter provision that requires a different general election date.
All officers of the city, whether elective or appointive, shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by the Constitution of this state and by executing such bond as may be required under the provisions of this Charter and the ordinances and resolutions of the city.
(Char. art. V, sec. 8)
Editor’s note–Ordinance 2002-19, sec. 3, adopted May 7, 2002, repealed section 51 in its entirety. Former section 51 pertained to term of office and derived from Charter art. V, sec. 9; and Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted December 23, 1969.
In the event of a vacancy existing in the office of the mayor or any council member from any cause whatsoever, the remaining members of the city council shall by a majority vote thereof at a regular meeting elect a member or members to fill the vacancy or vacancies thus existing, who has the necessary legal qualifications, and such person or persons so appointed by the city council shall serve in such position until a successor is elected and has taken the oath. The city council shall call an election for such position at the time of the next general election for the city for the purpose of electing a person to serve until the time of the next regular election for that office. If the next general election for the city is the same as the date for the regular election for such position that is vacated, then a special election shall not be called and the successor will be elected at such regular election. The person who is appointed to fill the vacancy and the person who has vacated the position may be a candidate for such position and be the successor if elected.
In the event of a vacancy existing in the office of the mayor or any council member from any cause whatsoever when a term is for a three (3) or four (4) year period, it shall be filled pursuant to state law.
(Char. art. V, sec. 10; Ordinance 85-28, sec. 4, adopted 4/9/85; Ordinance 2002-19, sec. 3, adopted 5/7/02)
One or more mayor pro tems may be appointed by the city council from among the members of the council to perform all the duties of the mayor in the mayor’s absence or disability.
(Char. art. V, sec. 11; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
(a) 
The mayor shall receive a salary in an amount to be fixed by the city council but which amount shall in no event be more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month nor less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per month.
(b) 
Each council member shall receive the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) for each meeting of the council attended by him/her; provided, that no council member shall receive a greater compensation than fifty dollars ($50.00) per month.
(Char. art. V, sec. 12)
The mayor of the City of Odessa shall preside over the meetings of the city council and perform such other duties, consistent with the office as may be imposed upon him/her by this Charter and ordinances and resolutions passed in pursuance hereof. He/she may participate in the discussions of all matters coming before the council and, shall be entitled to a vote as a member thereof but shall have no veto power. He/she shall be the chief executive officer of the city. He/she shall be recognized as the official head of the city, by the governor for the purpose of enforcing military law, and for all ceremonial purposes. In times of danger or emergency, the mayor may with the consent of the city council take command of the police and govern the city by proclamation and maintain order and enforce all laws.
(Char. art. V, sec. 13; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97; Ordinance 2019-07 adopted 2/12/19)
(a) 
The city council shall have all powers necessary and incident to the proper discharge of the duties imposed upon it and is hereby invested with all power necessary to carry out the terms and provisions of this Charter; it being intended that the city council and mayor shall have and exercise all powers enumerated in this Charter or implied thereby and all powers that are or hereafter may be granted to municipalities by the Constitution or laws of the State of Texas.
(b) 
The city council shall have the power and duty to appoint and remove the city manager, city attorney, city secretary, municipal court judge and alternate municipal judge.
(c) 
The compensation of all appointive officers and employees shall be fixed by the city council, who may increase or diminish such compensation at will or abolish any appointive office entirely at any time.
(Char. art. V, sec. 14; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69)
The city council shall hold at least one regular meeting in each month at a time to be fixed by it for such regular meetings, and may hold as many additional meetings during the month as may be necessary for the transaction of the business of the city and its citizens.
(Char. art. V, sec. 15)
Special meetings of the city council may be had in the manner to be provided by the city council.
(Char. art. V, sec. 16)
(a) 
The city council shall determine its own rules of procedure.
(b) 
If the mayor or any council member is absent in excess of fifty (50) per cent of the regular city council meetings for any six-month period, the city council shall declare the office forfeited and a vacancy to exist and shall fill said vacancy as soon as possible as hereinafter set forth.
(c) 
In the event of a vacancy existing in the office of the mayor or any council member, the remaining members of the city council shall by a majority vote thereof at a regular meeting elect a person or persons to fill the vacancy or vacancies thus existing, who has the necessary legal qualifications, and such person or persons so appointed by the city council shall serve in such position until a successor is elected and has taken the oath. The city council shall call an election for such position at the time of the next general election for the city for the purpose of electing a person to serve until the time of the next regular election for that office. If the next general election for the city is the same as the date for the regular election for such position, then a special election need not be called and the successor will be elected at such regular election. The person who is appointed to fill the vacancy and the person who has vacated the position may be a candidate for such position and be the successor if elected or appointed.
(Char. art. V, sec. 17; Ordinance 85-28, sec. 4, adopted 4/9/85)
A majority of the city council shall constitute a quorum to do business, and the affirmative vote of a majority of those attending any meeting at which there is a quorum present shall be necessary and sufficient to adopt any ordinance or resolution. All meetings of the city council shall be public, except when otherwise directed by the council and minutes of all proceedings shall be kept, to which any citizen may have access at all reasonable times and which shall constitute one of the archives of the city. The vote upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions shall be taken by the “ayes” and “nays” and entered upon the minutes, and every ordinance or resolution, upon its final passage, shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose and shall be authenticated by the signature of the presiding officer and person performing the duties of city secretary.
(Char. art. V, sec. 18)
Each proposed ordinance or resolution shall be introduced in writing or printed form and shall not contain more than one subject which shall be clearly expressed in the title, except ordinances or resolutions making appropriations or authorizing the contracting of indebtedness or issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness. No ordinance, unless it be declared an emergency measure, shall be passed finally on the date it is introduced, but must be passed, read and voted upon at two regular meetings of the city council.
(Char. art. V, sec. 19; Ordinance 2002-19, sec. 3, adopted 5/7/02)
An emergency measure is an ordinance or resolution for the immediate preservation of the public business, property, health or safety, or providing for the usual daily operation of a municipal department, in which the emergency is set forth in such ordinance or resolution[1] appropriating money to defray current or other expenses of the city may be passed as emergency measures, but no ordinance or resolution making a grant, renewal or extension of a franchise or other special privilege or regulating the rate or rates to be charged for service furnished the public generally by any public utility shall ever be passed as an emergency measure.
(Char. art. V, sec. 20)
[1]
Editor’s note–It appears that the sentence should end here and a new sentence begin, and the word “of” inserted after the word “appropriating.”
All ordinances of the City of Odessa now in existence and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter shall remain in full force and effect until altered, amended or repealed by the city council.
(Char. art. V, sec. 21)
It shall be sufficient in all judicial proceedings to plead any ordinance of the city by caption without embodying the entire ordinance in the pleadings, and all pleaded ordinances or codes of ordinances shall be admitted in evidence in any suit and shall have the same force and effect as the original ordinance. Certified copies of the ordinances may also be used in evidence in lieu of original ordinances.
(Char. art. V, sec. 22)
Every ordinance imposing any penalty, fine, imprisonment or forfeiture shall, after passage thereof, be published in one issue of the official paper; and proof of such publication shall be made by the printer or publisher of such paper, making affidavit before some officer authorized by law to administer oaths, and filed with the person performing the duties of city secretary, and shall be prima facie evidence of such publication and promulgation of such ordinance in all courts of the state; and such ordinances so published shall take effect and be in force from and after five days after publication thereof, unless otherwise expressly provided. Ordinances not required to be published shall take effect and be in force from and after the passage thereof, unless otherwise provided.
(Char. art. V, sec. 23)
The city manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the City of Odessa. He shall be responsible to the council for the administration of all city affairs placed in his charge.
The city manager shall have the power and duty to appoint and remove any officer, department head, or employee of the city, except as otherwise provided by this charter.
The city manager shall have all other powers necessary to carry out his duties as chief administrative officer of the City of Odessa.
(Char. art. V, sec. 24; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69)
The city council shall appoint a city secretary. The city secretary shall reside in the city. The city secretary shall receive for city secretary services such compensation as the city council may fix. Unless excused by the city council for good cause, the city secretary shall attend all meetings of the city council and keep accurate minutes of its proceedings; the city secretary shall preserve and keep in order all books, papers, documents, records and files of the city council and of the executive department. The city secretary shall keep a record of all commissions and licenses issued and shall countersign the same. The city secretary shall have custody of the seal of the city and shall affix same to such documents and obligations of the city only as the city secretary may be legally authorized so to do.
(Char. art. V, sec. 25; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)
(a) 
There shall be established and maintained a court designated as a “municipal court” for the trial of misdemeanor offenses, with all such powers and duties as are now or may hereafter be permitted by the laws of the State of Texas to municipal or recorder’s courts.
(b) 
The judge of said court shall be a qualified voter of the city, shall be appointed by the city council, shall hold his office at the pleasure of the city council, and shall receive such salary or fees of office, or both, as may be fixed by ordinance of the city council.
(c) 
The city council shall appoint a person or persons, qualified to perform the duties of the judge of the municipal court who shall act in the absence or disability of the municipal court judge. Such person so appointed shall have the same duties as the judge of the municipal court while acting as municipal court judge.
(d) 
The clerk of said court and his deputies shall have the power to administer oaths and affidavits, make certificates, affix the seal of said court thereto, and generally do and perform any and all acts usual and necessary by clerks of courts in issuing processes of said courts and conducting the business thereof.
(Char. art. V, sec. 26; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69)
No person related within the second degree by affinity or within the third degree by consanguinity, to the mayor or any member of the city council shall be appointed to any office, position or clerkship or other service of the city.
(Char. art. V, sec. 27)
The city council of the City of Odessa shall have the right to require official bond from all appointive officers or employees of the city in such amounts as said city council may from time to time fix by ordinance or resolution and conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office and accounting for all moneys, credits and things of value coming into the hands of such officers or employees; and all such bonds shall be signed as surety by some surety company authorized to do business under the laws of this state, and the premiums accruing thereon shall be paid by the City of Odessa.
(Char. art. V, sec. 28)
The city council shall cause a continuous audit to be made of the books of accounts of each and every department of the city. Such audit shall be made by a competent public accountant who shall be selected by the city council, and a contract entered into from year to year; and such contract shall provide that the books of the city shall be audited at least annually, and such auditor’s report to the city council shall be accessible to the public or for publication.
(Char. art. V, sec. 29)
The fiscal year of the City of Odessa shall begin on October 1 of each calendar year and shall end on September 30 of the following calendar year. The budget for the city shall be prepared and followed in conformity to the state law relating to city budgets.
(Char. art. V, sec. 30; Ordinance 69-85, sec. 3, adopted 12/23/69)