In addition to the City’s power to buy, own, construct, maintain, and operate utilities and to manufacture and distribute electricity, gas or anything else that may be needed or used by the public, the City shall have further powers as may now or hereafter be granted under the constitution and the laws of the State of Texas.
The right of control and use of the public streets, highways, sidewalks, alleys, parks, public squares, and public places of the City is hereby declared to be inalienable by the City, except by ordinances not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter. No act or omission by the Council or any officer or agent of the City shall be construed to grant, renew, extend, or amend by estoppel or indirection any right, franchise or easement affecting said public streets, highways, sidewalks, alleys, parks, public squares, public places and other real property.
The Council shall have the power by ordinance to grant, renew, and extend all franchises of all public utilities of every character operating within the City, and, with consent of the franchise holder, to amend the same. Provided, however, that no franchise shall be granted to an indeterminate term, that no franchise shall be granted for a term of more than 25 years, and that no franchise shall be granted, renewed, extended, or amended except on condition that the City shall have the right at any time within five (5) years of the expiration of the term thereof to purchase the property of the franchise holder at a price to be determined according to the method agreed upon in the ordinance granting, renewing, extending, or amending the franchise.
The caption of every ordinance granting, renewing, extending, transferring or amending a public utility franchise shall be read at one (1) regular meeting of the Council, and shall not be finally acted upon until thirty (30) days after the reading thereof. Within five (5) days following the reading of the ordinance, the ordinance caption shall be published one time in some newspaper of general circulation in the City, and the expense of such publication shall be borne by the prospective franchise holder. No such ordinance shall become effective until the expiration of thirty (30) days following the date of its final adoption by the Council, and every such ordinance shall be subject to the referendum procedure provided by state law and this Charter.
(Amended by Ordinance 823 at an election held on May 15, 2017, ex. B, sec. V)
No public utility franchise shall be transferred by the holder thereof except with the approval of the Council expressed by ordinance.
Every grant, renewal, extension, or amendment of a public utility franchise, whether so provided in the ordinance or not, shall be subject to the right of the Council:
(1)
To forfeit any such franchise by ordinance at any time for failure of the holder thereof to comply with the terms of the franchise, such power to be exercised only after notice and hearing;
(2)
To impose reasonable regulations to insure safe, efficient and continuous service to the public;
(3)
To require such expansion and extension of plants and facilities as are necessary to provide adequate service to the public;
(4)
To require every franchise holder to furnish to the City, without cost to the City, full information regarding the location, character, extent and condition of all facilities of such franchise holder in, over and under the streets, alleys, and other public property of the City; and to regulate and control the location, relocation, and removal of such facilities;
(5)
To collect from every public utility operating in the City its fair and just proportion of the expense of excavating, grading, paving, repaving, constructing, reconstructing, draining, repairing, maintaining, lighting, sweeping, and sprinkling such portions of the alleys, bridges, culverts, viaducts, and other public places and ways of the City as may be occupied or used in whole or in part by such utilities; or to compel such public utility to perform, at its own expense, such excavating, relocation, grading, paving, repaving, constructing, reconstructing, draining, repairing, maintaining, lighting, sweeping and sprinkling;
(6)
To require every franchise holder to allow other public utilities to use its tracts, poles, wires, pipes or other facilities, including bridges and viaducts, wherever in the judgement of the Council such use shall be in the public interest and without damage to the franchise holder, provided that in such event the Council shall fix a reasonable rental to be paid to the owner of the facility for such use, after notice to the interested parties and a hearing of the facts;
(7)
a.
To prescribe the form of accounts kept by every franchise holder;
b.
To examine and audit at any time the accounts and other records of any franchise holder;
c.
To require annual and other reports, including reports on the local operations of the utility, which shall be in such form and contain such information as the Council shall prescribe;
(8)
To require and collect any compensation and rental or taxes not now or hereafter prohibited by the laws of this state;
(9)
To require such franchise holders who request an increase in rates, charges or fares, to reimburse the City for reasonable expenses incurred in employing attorneys, engineers, accountants and rate consultants to conduct investigations and present evidence and advise the Council on such requested increase.
The Council shall have full power after notice and hearing to regulate by ordinance the rates, charges and fares of any franchise holder operating in the City. Any franchise holder requesting an increase in its rates, charges, or fares shall have, at the hearing on such request, the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence the value of its investments and the amount and character of its expenses and revenues. No franchise holder shall institute any legal action to contest any rate, charge, or fare fixed by the Council until such franchise holder has filed a motion for rehearing with the Council specifically setting out each ground of its complaint against the rate, charge or fare fixed by the Council, and until the Council shall have acted upon such motion.
All franchises, contracts, and agreements heretofore granted are recognized as contracts between the City and the grantee, and the contractual rights as contained in any such franchises shall not be impaired by the provisions of this Charter, except that the power of the City to exercise the right of eminent domain in the acquisition of any utility property, is in all things reserved, and except the general power of the City heretofore existing and herein provided for, which shall include the right to require proper and adequate extension of plant and service, and the maintenance of the plant and fixtures at the highest reasonable standard of efficiency. Every franchise hereafter granted, shall be held subject to all the terms and conditions contained in the various sections of this article, whether or not such terms are specifically mentioned in the franchise. Nothing in this Charter shall operate to limit in any way, as specifically stated, the discretion of the Council or the electors of the City in imposing terms and conditions as may be reasonable in connection with any franchise grant.
Within six (6) months after this Charter takes effect, every public utility and every owner of a public utility franchise shall file with the City certified copies of all franchises owned or claimed, or under which such utility is operated. The City shall compile and maintain a public record of public utility franchises.
Accounts shall be kept for each public utility owned or operated by the City, in such manner as to show the true and complete financial results of such City ownership and operation, including all assets, appropriately subdivided into different classes, all liability subdivided by classes, depreciation reserve, other reserves, and surplus; also revenues, operating expenses including depreciation, interest payments, rental, and other disposition of annual income. The accounts shall show the actual capital cost to the City of each public utility owned, also the cost of all extensions, additions and improvements, and the source of the funds expended for such capital purposes. They shall show as nearly as possible the cost of any service furnished to, or rendered by any such utility to any other city or governmental department. The Council shall annually cause to be made and published, a report showing the financial results of such city ownership and operation, giving the information specified in this section or such data as the Council shall deem expedient.