The City of Brady shall have the full power granted to cities
by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas unless otherwise
restricted in this Charter to:
(1) Buy,
own, construct, lease, maintain and operate within and without the
limits of the City a system or systems of gas, electricity, telephone,
sewage, sanitation, water, parks, airports, swimming pools, G. Rollie
White Complex, race tracks, transportation, communications, golf course,
cemeteries, or any other public service or utility.
(2) Manufacture,
produce or provide its own electricity, gas or anything else that
may be required by the public for municipal purposes.
(3) Purchase
gas, electricity, or any other commodity or article required by the
public for municipal purposes and to contract with any person, corporation,
or public utility for the purchase of same.
(4) Distribute
and/or sell any utility, commodity or service.
(5) Mortgage
and encumber such public utility or service systems in the manner
provided in Chapter 1502, Public Securities for Municipal Utilities,
Parks or Pools, Government Code as now exists or as amended, or any
other laws of the State.
(6) Regulate
and control the distribution of utilities and services within the
City and its environs and to establish standards of service and quality
of products.
(7) Establish
and enforce the rates to be paid by consumers of any utility or users
of any service within the City and its environs.
These powers shall be vested in the Council and the Council
may exercise the power of eminent domain as provided by State Law
and this Charter whenever proper and necessary for carrying out the
objectives of providing utilities and services to the public for municipal
purposes.
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(Resolution 2015-007 adopted 2/17/15, prop. 24, approved at election of 5/9/15)
The Council shall have the power and authority to grant franchises
for the use and occupancy of streets, avenues, alleys and any and
all public property belonging to or under the control of the City
of Brady, including the airspace over and above the City. Franchise
powers shall be exercised in accordance with State Law and the terms
of this Charter. No individual, organization, political subdivision,
corporation, public utility, or any provider of public service shall
be granted a franchise or permit to use such City facilities without
first making application to and obtaining consent of the Council by
ordinance. The franchise ordinance shall fully describe the terms
of the agreement. The terms of such agreements shall be explicit so
as to protect the interests of the citizens of Brady and shall include
but not be limited to the terms prescribed in this Charter. No franchise
ordinance shall be passed as an emergency ordinance. All franchise
agreements shall be reviewed by the City Attorney.
No exclusive franchise shall ever be granted.
Franchises shall be transferable only to persons, firms, agencies,
or corporations taking all or substantially all of the franchise’s
business in the City and only with the approval of the Council expressed
by ordinance.
The expiration date of all franchises shall be specifically
stated and the terms shall be extended or renewed only after being
considered by the Council and specifically renewed by ordinance.
The Council shall have the power to grant, amend, renew, or
extend by ordinance the franchises of all public utilities of every
character serving the citizens of Brady. Public utilities include,
but are not limited to, individuals, agencies, organizations, and
corporations providing electricity, gas, water, sewage service or
any similar commodity or utility to the public. The effective period
of public utility franchises may be set by the Council but shall not
exceed thirty (30) years unless such extended term is specifically
approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the City voting
in an election called by the Council for that purpose.
The Council shall have the power to grant, amend, renew or extend
by ordinance the franchises of all providers of public services to
the citizens of Brady. Public services include, but are not limited
to, ambulance services, television cable services, transportation
services, communication services, sanitation services, and any other
similar service provided to the citizens either now or in the future.
The effective period of public service franchises may be set by the
Council but shall not exceed ten (10) years.
Even though the franchise agreement or franchise ordinance may
not so state, all grants of franchises as authorized in this Charter
shall be subject to the right of the Council to:
(1) Determine,
fix and regulate the charges or rates of compensation to be charged
by any person, organization, firm or corporation granted a franchise.
(2) Repeal
the franchise by ordinance at any time upon the failure of the franchise
to comply with the terms of the franchise, the ordinance, this Charter,
any applicable statute of the State, or any rule of any applicable
governing body.
(3) Establish
standards and quality of products or service.
(4) Require
such expansion, extension and improvement of plants and facilities
as are necessary to provide adequate service to the public and to
require that maintenance of facilities be performed at the highest
reasonable standard of efficiency.
(5) Prescribe
the accounts and accounting system to be used so that the franchise
will accurately reflect the expenses, receipts, profits and property
values used in rendering its service to the public. It shall be deemed
sufficient compliance with this requirement if the franchisee keeps
its accounts in accordance with the uniform system established by
an applicable federal or state agency for such service.
(6) Examine
and audit at any time the accounts and other records of any franchise
and to require annual and other reports prescribed in the franchise
ordinance.
(7) Require
such compensation, rental and/or franchise fee as may be permitted
by law.
(8) Impose
such regulations and restrictions as may be deemed desirable or conducive
to the health, safety, welfare and accommodation of the public.
(9) Require
the franchisee to restore at his expense all public or private property
to a condition equal to that before being damaged or destroyed by
the franchise.
The Council shall have the power and authority to assess a penalty
for failure to comply and to review any franchise at any time to ensure
that the franchisee is complying with the terms of the franchise agreement,
this Charter, the franchise ordinance and the laws of the State. If
in the opinion of the Council the terms of same are not being met,
the Council shall so notify the franchisee in writing stating where
the franchisee has failed to comply and setting a time for a hearing
and deadline for correction. If after the hearing and time set by
the Council for correction, the Council may repeal the franchise and/or
enforce the penalty for failure to comply.
The consent of abutting and adjacent property owners shall not
be required for the construction, extension, maintenance or operation
of any public utility. Nothing in this Charter or in any franchise
granted hereunder shall ever be construed to deprive any such property
as is now or hereafter may be provided by law.
In determining the just compensation to be paid by the City
for public utility property which the City may acquire by condemnation
or otherwise, nothing shall be included as to the value of any franchise
granted by the City.
All extensions of public utilities shall become a part of the
aggregate property of the public utility and shall be subject to all
the obligations and rights prescribed in this Charter and the original
grant. The right to use and maintain any extension shall terminate
with the original grant.
All franchises heretofore granted are recognized as contracts
between the City and the franchisee and the contractual rights as
contained therein shall not be impaired by the provisions of this
Charter except:
(1) The
power of the City to exercise the right of eminent domain in the acquisition
of any utility property is in all things reserved.
(2) The
general power of the City heretofore existing and herein prescribed
to regulate the rates and services of a utility including the right
to require adequate and reasonable extension of plant and service
and to require that maintenance of facilities be performed at the
highest reasonable standard of efficiency shall be enforced.
(3) The
Council shall review each franchise at its first renewal date subsequent
to the adoption of this Charter and may cause the franchise so reviewed
to meet the provisions of this Charter.
Every public utility or others holding a franchise with the
City of Brady shall file with the City certified copies of all franchises
owned or claimed under which such franchisee is operating within the
City of Brady. The Council shall acknowledge all franchisee [franchises]
in force at that time and shall compile and maintain a public record
of franchises.
(Prop. 16, approved at election of 5/9/09)
In accordance with State law, no City-owned electric utility,
natural gas system, water system, sewer system, park or swimming pool
shall ever be sold or leased in whole or in part without authorization
by a majority vote of the qualified voters of the City voting at an
election held for that purpose, nor shall the same be encumbered except
as authorized by State law and this Charter. Such determination to
sell, lease, or encumber such systems or facilities in whole or in
part shall be ascertained at an election which shall be held in accordance
with the laws applicable to the issuance of municipal bonds by the
City. Any encumbrance herein authorized shall be payable only from
revenues derived from said system.
(Ordinance 1244 adopted 2/20/18, prop. O, approved at election of 5/5/18)
The Council shall have the power to grant, amend, renew or extend
contracts concerning the management and/or use of any city-owned facility
where such contract agreement would be in the best interests of the
citizens. For purposes of this section, examples of such City facilities
are the civic center, lake and related facilities, parks, golf course,
swimming pools, G. Rollie White Complex, racing facilities, and any
other such property. Such contracts shall fully describe the agreement
in explicit terms to protect the interests of the citizens. All contracts
shall be reviewed by the City Attorney prior to acceptance of the
contract.
All such contracts shall not exceed ten (10) years. Such contracts
shall not be renewed, amended or extended without first being reviewed
and approved by the Council.
The Council may authorize the renting of City-owned facilities
for the temporary use of an individual, organization, or group provided
that the Council prescribes the rules and fees by ordinance.
The Council shall by ordinance determine, fix and regulate with proper hearing and notice the rates to be charged for water, gas, electricity and any and all public utilities and public services operating within the City, unless such right is denied by the laws of the State of Texas. The Council shall also regulate the rates to be charged within the City for all public transportation whether for passengers, freight or baggage, including ambulance services. The Council shall by ordinance regulate the rates to be charged for any communication system operating in the City, including cable television, community television antenna services and any other services making use of the airspace over and above the City of Brady. The Council shall not voluntarily transfer the right to regulate utilities and rates for services to any other authority nor shall the Council contract such regulatory right except as authorized by a vote of the people per Section
12.15 of this Charter or when ordered to do so by State Law.
The Council shall have the authority and power to sell and provide
electricity, water, gas, sewer and/or other utility services to persons
or firms outside the City limits of Brady and permit such to connect
with City systems under contract with the City. The Council shall
not deny service to any citizen within the City by reason of providing
service outside the City and shall consider each case on a fair and
equitable basis protecting the interest of the citizens of Brady.
The Council shall have the authority to regulate the rates for such
service, to prescribe the kind of materials used, to inspect same
and require the system to meet City codes the same as if the service
was inside the City limits. Such regulations may include charges for
installing electric or pipe lines. Such regulations may also set penalties
for non-compliance.
If the Council is petitioned for service outside the City, the
petitioner shall adhere to requirements established by the Council
by ordinance as a condition of receiving service.
The Council is authorized to plan, establish, develop, construct,
enlarge, improve, maintain, equip, operate, regulate, protect and
police airports and navigation facilities within or without the limits
of the City. This authority includes buildings and other facilities
related to the airport for purposes of storing and servicing aircraft
as well as for the accommodation of air passengers and crews. The
Council may use any property. The City may own the property or it
may purchase, lease or acquire by eminent domain proceedings any property
needed for such purposes. This includes: easements or land outside
the airport boundaries as are necessary for safe and efficient operation
of the airport. It is intended that this authority is granted in accordance
with Chapter 22 County & Municipal Airports, Transportation Code
and Chapter 23 Airport Security Personnel, Transportation Code as
now exists or as amended.
(Resolution 2015-007 adopted 2/17/15, prop. 25, approved at election of 5/9/15)
The utility customers of the City of Brady have the right to
decline installation and the right to request removal of any product
and/or service of the City which the customer deems harmful to their
person, property or privacy. The City of Brady shall notify customers
by mail of these rights and include the manner and date the customer
must notify the City of their intent to decline installation and/or
request removal of product and/or service. Upon receipt of notification,
the City of Brady shall comply with the customer’s request to
decline installation and/or request removal of the product and/or
service within 30 days. The City shall restore all previously provided
utilities at no charge to the customer. The City shall not impose
a surcharge to customers who decline installation and/or request removal
of any product and/or service. The City of Brady is civilly liable
to the customer for personal injury, property damage or death during
the time the customer was subjected to product and/or service.
(Ordinance 1117 adopted 2/28/13, prop. 27, approved at election of 5/11/13)