All public records of every office, department, or agency of
the City shall be open to inspection by any person at all reasonable
times, provided that records closed to the public by law, shall not
be considered public records for the purpose of this section. During
normal office hours, any person or any duly authorized representative
of the press or other news media shall have the right to examine any
such public records belonging to the City and shall have the right
to make copies thereof under such reasonable rules and regulations
as may be prescribed by the City Council or by this Charter.
The City Council shall contract annually with, and by resolution
designate, a public newspaper of general circulation in the City as
the official newspaper thereof, and to continue as such until another
is designated, and shall cause to be published therein all ordinances,
notices and other matter required by this Charter, by the ordinances
of the City, or by the Constitution and/or laws of the State of Texas
to be published.
(Amended May 1, 2021)
The City shall implement and maintain an Ethics Ordinance that
shall include the following elements and provisions:
a) Conflicts
of Interest.
The use of public office for private gain
is prohibited. The City Council shall implement this prohibition by
ordinance. Regulations to this end shall include but not be limited
to acting in an official capacity on matters in which the official
has a private financial interest clearly separate from that of the
general public, the acceptance of gifts and other things of financial
value, acting in a private capacity on matters dealt with as a public
official, the use of confidential information, and appearances by
City officials before other City agencies on behalf of private interests.
This ordinance shall provide for reasonable public disclosure of finances
by officials with major decision-making authority over monetary expenditures
and contractual matters and, insofar as permissible under State law,
shall provide fines and punishment for violations.
b) Board
of Ethics.
The City Council shall by ordinance establish
an independent Board of Ethics to administer and enforce the conflict-of-interest
and financial-disclosure ordinances. No member of the Board may hold
any political party office. Insofar as possible under State law, the
City Council shall authorize the Board to issue binding advisory opinions,
conduct investigations on its own initiative, and on referral or complaint,
refer cases for prosecution, impose administrative fines, and hire
independent counsel. The City Council shall appropriate sufficient
funds to the Board of Ethics to enable it to perform its assigned
duties.
c) Nepotism.
No person related within the second degree by affinity or within
the third degree by consanguinity to the Mayor or any other City Council
member or to the City Manager shall be employed or appointed by the
City. No person so related to the Director of Finance shall be employed
or appointed under him/her. This prohibition shall not apply to a
person who is a current City employee and has been a City employee
or appointee for one (1) year or longer at the time of the election
of the Mayor or City Council Member or not less than ninety (90) days
at the time of the appointment of the City Manager or other appointed
City officer.
d) Personal
Financial Interest.
No member of the City Council or
employee of the City shall participate in a vote, decision or deliberation
on any matter involving a business entity or real property in which
the official or employee has a substantial interest as provided by
state law. Each member of the City Council and each employee of the
City shall comply with the provisions of Texas Local Government Code,
Chapter 171, as amended, regulating conflicts of interest of local
public officials. Any willful violation of this section shall constitute
malfeasance in office, and any official or employee of the City found
guilty thereof shall thereby forfeit his or her office or position.
Any violation of this section with the knowledge, express or implied,
of the persons or corporation contracting with the City shall render
the contract voidable by the City Manager or the City Council.
(Amended May 6, 2017; Amended May 1, 2021)
The administration of human resources of the City shall be governed
by written rules and regulations to be known as “Personnel Policies.”
The City Manager or his/her designee shall prepare such policies and
recommend their adoption to the City Council. Such policies shall
become effective when approved by the City Council and the City Council
shall act within thirty (30) days upon such proposed Personnel Policies.
Thereafter the City Manager or his/her designee shall have power to
recommend additions to, modifications of, or deletions from such policies
to the City Council in the same manner used for adoption of the original
policies.
(Amended May 6, 2017; Amended May 1, 2021)
The purpose of the Comprehensive Plan is to guide, regulate
and manage the future development within the corporate limits and
extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City to assure the most appropriate
and beneficial use of land, water, and other natural resources, consistent
with the interests of the City of Hutto.
The City Council shall review the comprehensive plan no later
than every four (4) years, hereafter.
(Amended May 6, 2017; Amended May 1, 2021)
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 sequestration; 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 of 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.
The City Council shall have the authority to compromise and
settle any and all lawsuits of every kind and character in favor of
or against the City, except suits by the City to recover delinquent
taxes.
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 has been damaged or someone in such person’s
behalf shall give the City Manager or the City Secretary notice in
writing under oath within forty-five (45) days after the date of the
alleged damage or injury stating specifically in such notice when,
where and how the injury or damage was sustained, setting forth the
extent of the injury or damage as accurately as possible, and giving
the names and addresses of all witnesses known to claimant upon whose
testimony claimant is relying to establish the injury or damage. In
case of injuries resulting in death, the person or persons claiming
damage shall within forty-five (45) days after the death of the injured
person give notice as required above. Provided that nothing herein
contained shall be construed to mean the City waives any rights, privileges,
defenses or immunities in tort actions which are provided under the
common law, the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas.
(Amended May 1, 2021)
a) Activities
Prohibited.
1) No person
shall be appointed to or removed from, or in any way favored or discriminated
against with respect to any City positions or appointive City administrative
office because of race, sex, political or religious opinions or affiliations.
2) No person
who seeks appointment or promotion with respect to any City position
or appointive City administrative office shall directly or indirectly
give, render or pay any money, service or other valuable thing to
any person for or in connection with his or her test, appointment,
proposed appointment, promotion or proposed promotion.
3) No City
officer or candidate for City office shall orally, by letter or otherwise
solicit or assist in soliciting any assessment, subscription or contribution
for any candidate or for any political party or political purpose
whatever from any person holding any compensated City position.
4) No officer
or employee of the City who receives compensation as such shall make,
solicit or receive any contribution to the campaign funds of any candidate
or of any political party to be used in a City election or for or
against any candidate for City office or take any part in the management,
affairs or political campaign of any political party in a City election,
but such officer or employee may exercise all rights as a citizen
to express opinions and to cast his or her vote. Nothing in this paragraph
is intended to prohibit said person from participating in school district,
special district, county, state, or national campaigns, elections,
and political parties.
b) Penalties.
Any person who either individually or with others willfully violates any provisions of the foregoing Sections
13.09(a) shall be ineligible for appointment or election to a position in the City for a period of four (4) years, and if such person is an officer or employee of the City at the time of such violation, he or she shall immediately forfeit the office or position such person holds.
(Amended May 1, 2021)
If any section or part of a section of this Charter is held
to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction,
such holding shall not invalidate or impair the validity, force or
effect of any other section or part of a section of this Charter.
Amendments to this Charter may be framed and submitted to the
voters of the City in the manner provided by applicable state law.
(Amended May 6, 2017)
The City Council shall appoint a commission no later than every
fourth year hereafter, a Charter Review Commission of seven (7) citizens
of the City, and each member of the governing body shall appoint one
member to the commission.
a) The duties
of the Charter Review Commission are as follows:
1) Inquire
into the operation of the City Government under the Charter provisions
and determine whether any such provisions require revision. To this
end public hearings may be held; and the Commission shall have the
power to compel the attendance of any officer or employee of the City
and require the submission of any of the City records which it may
deem necessary to the conduct of such hearing;
2) Propose
any recommendations it may deem desirable to insure compliance with
the provisions of the Charter by the departments of the City;
3) Propose,
if it deems desirable, amendments to this Charter to improve the effective
application of the Charter to current conditions; and
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 the official newspaper of the City any report presented
by the Charter Review Commission, or a summary thereof, shall consider
any recommendations made, and if any amendments be presented as of
such report, may order such amendment or amendments to be submitted
to the voters of the City in a manner provided by applicable state
law.
c) Term
of Office.
The term of office of such Charter Review
Commission shall be six (6) months, or said term shall expire sooner
if a report is presented to the City Council prior to the expiration
of said six (6) month term of office. If during such six (6) month
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 the City Secretary and shall become public
record.
(Added May 6, 2017; Amended May 1, 2021)
In order to preserve unity, the City Council shall have the
power, by ordinance, to renumber and rearrange all articles, sections,
and paragraphs of this Charter or any amendments thereto, and upon
the passage of any such ordinance, a copy thereof, certified by the
City Manager shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State for filing.
It shall not be necessary in any action, suit or proceeding
in which the City shall be a party for any bond, undertaking or security
to be executed on behalf of the City, but all actions, suits, and
proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as if such bond,
undertaking or security had been given. The City shall have all remedies
of appeal provided by law to all courts without bond or security of
any kind. For the purposes of all such actions, suits, proceedings
and appeals, the City shall be liable in the same manner and to the
same extent as if the bond undertaking or security has been executed
and given.
(Amended May 1, 2021)
The City Council shall have the power, by ordinance, to renumber and rearrange all articles, sections, subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs of this Charter or any amendments hereto, as the City Council shall deem appropriate, including the power to correct typographical errors and to conform cross-references in the body of the text of this Charter, so long as no substantive change is made, without complying with Section
13.11 of this Charter.
(Added May 1, 2021)