Appointment of [and] Qualifications. The Council by majority vote of the entire Council shall appoint a City Manager. The method of selection shall be left to the discretion of the Council so long as the method insures orderly, nonpartisan action toward securing a competent and qualified person to fill the position. The City Manager shall be chosen solely upon the basis of his executive and administrative training, experience and ability and need not when appointed be a resident of the City; however, during the tenure of his office he shall reside within the City. The City Manager may be bonded at City expense in an amount to be determined by the Council. The Mayor and no member of the Council shall, during the time for which he is elected and for one (1) year thereafter, be appointed City Manager.
Compensation. The City Manager shall receive compensation as may be fixed by the Council according to his experience, education, and training.
Removal. The City Manager may be removed at the discretion of the Council by vote of the majority of the entire Council. The action of the Council in suspending or removing the City Manager shall be final. It is the intention of this Charter to vest all authority and fix all responsibilities of such suspension or removal in the Council.
Powers and Duties. The City Manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the City and shall be responsible to the Council for the proper administration of all the affairs of the City and be required to:
(1) 
See that all State laws and City ordinances are effectively enforced.
(2) 
Appoint, suspend or remove all or any City employee, except department heads as provided in Section 4.02 unless otherwise provided for in this Charter.
(3) 
Attend all meetings of the Council except when excused by the Council.
(4) 
Prepare the budget annually and submit it to the Council for review with each Department Supervisor, amendment if necessary, and after final approval, the City Manager will then be responsible for the administration of the budget.
(5) 
Keep the Council advised of the financial condition of the City on a monthly basis and make recommendations.
(6) 
Prepare and submit to the Council at the end of the fiscal year a complete report on the finances and administrative activities of the City for the preceding year.
(7) 
Make such other reports as the Council may require concerning the operations of the city.
(8) 
Perform such other duties as may be prescribed in this Charter or required of him by the Council.
Acting Manager. In the case of the absence or disability of the City Manager, the Council may designate some qualified person to perform the duties of the office and set the compensation paid to such person during such absence or disability.
There shall be such administrative departments as established in this Charter or by ordinance.
The Council shall have power by ordinance to establish administrative departments or offices not provided in this Charter. The Council may discontinue, redesignate, or combine any of the departments and/or administrative offices established by ordinance. No changes shall be made by the Council in the organization of the City until the recommendations of the City Manager have been heard and approved. A department head shall be appointed and can be removed from office by the City Manager.
Job duties shall be established for Department Heads by the City Manager. Their job duties shall be provided to each Department Head in writing. Each Department Head shall be evaluated by the City Manager and reviewed by the City Council no less than annually.
The Department Heads shall have supervision and control over their department, and shall establish their job descriptions, and initiate evaluations and submit the evaluations for review by the City Manager.
(Ordinance 1244 adopted 2/20/18, prop. G, approved at election of 5/5/18)
There shall be established and maintained a Police Department to preserve order and protect the residents and all property.
Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall be the chief administrative officer of the Police Department. He shall, with the approval of the City Manager, appoint and remove all employees of said department and shall perform such duties as may be required of him by the Council. The Chief of Police shall be appointed by the City Manager with the approval of the Council. The Chief of Police shall be responsible to the City Manager for the administration of his department and the carrying out of the directives of the Council. He may be removed from office by the City Manager only with the approval of the Council. The Chief of Police shall establish job descriptions and initiate evaluations on all employees as Chief and shall submit the evaluations annually for review by the City Manager and the City Council. The Chief of Police and the Police Department will be evaluated annually by the City Manager and reviewed by the City Council.
Special Police. No person except as otherwise provided by general law or this Charter or the ordinance passed pursuant thereto shall act as Special Police or Special Detective.
Editor’s note–Proposition 4, approved at the election of 5/9/09, rephrased references to the “Department of Police” to the “Police Department.”
There shall be maintained a City Fire Department consisting of a City Fire Chief and other salaried personnel who shall administer the functions of the department and maintain the equipment and fire station. The Fire Department shall also administer the functions of Emergency Medical Services. The City Fire Chief shall be appointed by the City Manager with the approval of the City Council. The Fire Chief shall serve as the administrative head of the City Fire Department and shall be responsible to the City Manager for the administration of the department and the carrying out of the directives of the Council. The City Fire Chief shall be in charge at all fire scenes. He or she may be removed from office by the City Manager only with the approval of the Council. The City Fire Chief shall establish job descriptions and initiate evaluations on all employees annually for review by the City Manager and the City Council. The City Fire Chief and City Fire Department will be evaluated annually by the City Manager and reviewed by the City Council. The City Council shall also have the authority to contract for fire or emergency services with volunteer fire departments if doing so is in the best interest of the City.
(Ordinance 1117 adopted 2/28/13, prop. 7, approved at election of 5/11/13)
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 or may be prescribed by laws of the State of Texas relative to municipal courts. The judge of the Court shall be appointed by the Council to serve at the discretion of the Council. The Municipal Judge shall be a qualified voter of the City. The Council shall have the power to create and appoint additional judges as provided by law. All fines and court costs imposed by the Municipal Court shall be collected and deposited into the City Finance Department where funds are accounted and disbursed in accordance with all applicable State and local laws. The Municipal Judge may be removed from office by the City Council. The Municipal Court operation and/or judge may be reviewed by the City Council at its discretion.
(Ordinance 1117 adopted 2/28/13, prop. 8, approved at election of 5/11/13)
The Council shall appoint a competent and duly licensed attorney practicing law in the State of Texas who shall be the City Attorney. He shall receive for his services such compensation as may be fixed by the Council and shall hold his office at the pleasure of the Council. The City Attorney shall advise the City on all legal matters and shall represent the City in all litigation and other legal proceedings. However, the Council may retain different or additional attorneys for specific matters when it deems same to be necessary. The City Attorney will be evaluated annually by the City Manager and reviewed by the City Council.
The City Council shall appoint the City Secretary. The City Secretary shall report to the City Council and may be removed by the City Council, but shall work under the general supervision of the City Manager. The duties of the City Secretary shall include:
(1) 
Giving notice of City Council, board, and commission meetings;
(2) 
Keeping the minutes of the meetings of the City Council;
(3) 
Recording in full, and authenticating by the City Secretary’s signature all ordinances, resolutions, and contracts;
(4) 
Performing such duties as the Council shall assign and those provided by this Charter and State law;
(5) 
Maintaining files of all contracts and other legal documents relating to the City; and
(6) 
Keeping the City Seal.
(Prop. 5, approved at election of 5/9/09; Ordinance 1117 adopted 2/28/13, prop. 9, approved at election of 5/11/13; Ordinance 1374 adopted 2/6/2024, prop. B, approved at election of 5/4/2024)
[1]
Editor's note–Former section 4.08 pertaining to emergency medical service, was repealed and deleted in its entirety by Ordinance 1374 adopted 2/6/2024, prop. A, approved at election of 5/4/2024. Prior to the deletion, this section derived from the following: the 5/9/2009 election and Resolution 2015-007 adopted 2/17/15, prop. 8, approved at election of 5/9/15.