The legislative and governing bodies of the City shall consist of a Mayor and eight (8) council members and shall be known as the City Council of the City of La Grange, Texas. The Mayor shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the City. Two (2) council members shall be elected from each of the four (4) wards of the City. The term for the Mayor and council members shall be for two (2) years. Each member of the City Council shall serve until his/her successor is elected and qualified.
The terms of the council members shall be staggered so that the council member from each ward in the second year of his/her term in office shall stand for election. The Mayor shall be elected in odd numbered years.
(Amnd. at an election held 5/1/21)
The Mayor and each member of the City Council shall be a resident citizen of the City of La Grange and shall be a qualified voter of the State of Texas, shall have been such resident citizen of the City of La Grange for a period of not less then [than] twelve (12) months immediately preceding the election; provided, however, that any person with the above qualifications, except as to residence, who shall have been a resident for a period of not less then [than] twelve (12) months immediately preceding his election of any of the territory not formerly within the corporate limits of said City, but which is annexed under the provisions of this Charter, shall be eligible for said office. If any council member fails to maintain the foregoing qualifications, the City Council must at its next regular meeting declare a vacancy to exist and shall fill said vacancy as set forth in Section 3.07 of this Charter. If any council member shall be absent from three (3) consecutive meetings without valid excuse, the City Council may declare a vacancy to exist and fill said vacancy as set forth in Section 3.07 of this Charter.
(Amnd. by 5/1/21)
The Council may determine the annual salary of the Mayor and council members by ordinance, but no ordinance increasing such salary shall become effective until the date of commencements of the terms of council members elected at the next regular election, provided that such elections follow the adoption of such ordinance by at least six (6) months. The Mayor and each council member shall receive their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office.
The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council and shall be entitled to vote upon all matters considered by the Council in case of a tie vote; the Mayor shall exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as are or may be conferred and imposed upon him/her by the charter and the ordinances of the City. He/She shall be recognized as the head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes, by the courts for civil process and by the government for purposes of military law. In times of public danger or emergency, the Mayor shall take command of the police, maintain law and order and enforce the law. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor or in case of his/her absence or disability, the Mayor Pro Tem shall act as Mayor until a successor is elected and has qualified.
(Amnd. at an election held 5/1/21)
At its first regular meeting after election each year, the City Council shall elect from among its members a Mayor Pro Tem who shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council. In the absence or inability of the Mayor to perform the duties of office, the Mayor Pro Tem shall perform the duties of office and in this capacity shall be vested with all of the powers conferred on the Mayor.
When a vacancy occurs in the City Council, the remaining members of the Council shall, within thirty (30) days, appoint a qualified person residing in the Ward in which there is a vacancy, to fill the vacancy until the next regular City election, at which time the unexpired term of such vacancy shall be filled by election.
(Amnd. at an election held 6/11/01)
Neither the City Council nor any of its members shall in any manner dictate the appointment or removal of any City Administrative Officers or Employees whom the City Manager or any of his/her subordinates are empowered to appoint, unless otherwise provided in this Charter, but the City Council may express its views and fully and freely discuss with the City Manager anything pertaining to appointment and removal of such officers and employees. Except for the purposes of inquiry into the affairs of the City, the City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative part of the government solely through the City Manager, and neither the Council nor any member shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately.
(Amnd. at an election held 5/1/21)
City Council meetings shall be held at City Hall and the City Council shall meet regularly at least once in every month at such time as the City Council may prescribe by rule. Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor or five (5) council members and whenever practicable upon not less than twelve (12) hours notice to each council member; provided, however, that all meetings shall be open to the public, except for closed and/or executive meetings and sessions as provided and authorized by the Statutes of the State of Texas, as now or hereafter amended, and written public notice thereof given as required by the Statutes of the State of Texas, as now or hereafter amended.
The City Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall provide for keeping of minutes of its proceedings. These minutes shall be a public record. Voting, except on procedural motions, shall be by roll call and the ayes and nays shall be recorded in the minutes.
Five (5) members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum. No action of the City Council, except as otherwise provided in the preceding sentence, and Section 3.02 of this Charter shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire City Council.
(Amnd. at an election held 5/1/21)
The City Council shall legislate by ordinance, and the enacting clause of every ordinance shall be “Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of La Grange”. The City Attorney shall approve all ordinances adopted by the City Council, as to the legality thereof, or shall file with the City Secretary his/her written legal objections thereto. Evidence of the approval of an ordinance by the City Attorney may be by notation on the ordinance itself or by separate paper or instrument. Every ordinance enacted by the City Council shall be signed by the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem or two (2) council members and shall be filed with and recorded by the City Secretary. All ordinances shall be read in open meeting of the City Council on two (2) separate days provided that all readings of any ordinance may be by descriptive caption only, except that one member of the council may require a complete reading of any ordinance upon the first reading thereof, and all ordinances shall be posted at City Hall. In case of any “emergency” which may be declared by a five-eighths (5/8) vote of the City Council, it shall be necessary that the ordinance be read only one (1) time.
Except as otherwise provided by law or this Charter, the City Secretary shall give notice of the enactment of every ordinance imposing any penalty, fine or forfeiture for any violation of any of its provisions, and of every other ordinance required by law or this Charter to be published, by causing the said ordinance, or its caption and penalty, to be published at least one time within ten (10) days after final passage thereof in a newspaper of general circulation of the City of La Grange. The affidavit of such publication by the publisher of such newspaper taken before any officer authorized to administer oaths and filed with the City Secretary, shall be conclusive proof of the legal publication and promulgation of such ordinance in all courts. Such ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days after the date of such publication, provided that any ordinance passed as an emergency measure as prescribed in this section shall take effect immediately on its publication.
(Amnd. at an election held 5/1/21)
The City Manager and the City Secretary and such other City officers and employees as the City Council may require, shall, before entering upon the duties of their offices, enter into a good and sufficient fidelity bond in a sum to be determined by the City Council, payable to the City of La Grange and conditioned upon a faithful discharge of the duties of such persons and upon a faithful accounting for all monies, credits and things of value coming into the hands of such persons, and such bonds shall be signed as surety by some company authorized to do business under the laws of the State of Texas, and the premium of such bonds shall be paid by the City of La Grange, and such bonds must be acceptable to the City Council.
The City Council shall have the power to inquire into the conduct of any office, department, agency, officer or employee of the City and to make investigations as to municipal affairs, and for that purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and compel the production of books, papers, and other evidence. Failure to obey such subpoena or to produce such books, papers or other evidence as ordered under the provisions of this section shall be punishable by fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00) and/or cancellation of a faithful performance bond.
The City Council shall cause an annual audit to be made of the books and accounts of each and every department of the City. A complete audit shall be made at the end of each fiscal year, and at such other times as may be necessary, by an independent certified public accountant who shall be selected by the City Council. The audit report shall be filed with the City Council and shall be available for public inspection and a summary thereof shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation of the City of La Grange. The auditor selected shall not maintain or keep any of the City accounts or records.