All officers of the City, whether elective or appointive shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by the Constitution of this State and by executing such bond as may be required under the provisions of this Charter and the ordinances and resolutions of the City.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957)
The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Council and shall appoint all committees and subcommittees of the Council; he/she shall have the power to conduct hearings, summon witnesses and conduct investigations and do any and all other acts authorized by the City Council. He/She shall be the official representative of the City and shall do all in his/her power to further its best interests.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957)
The Mayor shall have power to administer oaths of office. He/She shall have authority in case of a natural disaster or riot or any unlawful assemblage, or with a view of preserving peace and good order in said city, to act in accordance with Chapter 418 of the Texas Government Code. He/She shall perform such other duties and possess and exercise such other power and authority as may be prescribed and conferred by the City Council.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
The Secretary-Manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the City and shall see that its laws and ordinances are enforced. He/She shall supervise all appointed city officials, their conduct and the performance of their duties, and report thereon to the City Council. He/She, or a duly authorized assistant, shall attend all meetings of the Council and keep accurate minutes of all proceedings, engross and enroll all laws, resolutions and ordinances, keep the corporate seal, keep and preserve all books, records and archives of the City, countersign all commissions issued to City officials, and all licenses issued by the City, and keep a record thereof, issue all notices required by law or by ordinance.
He/She shall oversee the general accounting of the City, and shall ensure that the City maintains regular accounts of the receipts and disbursements for the City, and separately, under proper heads, each cause of receipt and disbursement, and also accounts with each person, including officers who have money transactions with the City, crediting accounts allowed by proper authority and specifying any particular transaction to which such entries apply. He/She shall keep a register of bonds and bills issued by the City, and all evidence of debt due and payable to it, noting the particulars thereof, and all facts connected therewith, as they occur. He/She shall carefully keep all contracts made by the City Council and he/she shall perform all such other duties as may be required of him by law, ordinance, resolution or order of the City Council.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
The Finance Director shall give bond in favor of the City in such amount and in such form as the City Council may require, with sufficient security to be approved by the City Council, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his/her duties. He/She shall receive and securely keep all moneys belonging to the City, and make all payments from the same upon authorization of the City Council. He/She shall render a full and correct statement of his/her receipts and payments to the City Council at their first regular meeting in every quarter and whensoever, at other times, he/she may be required by them to do so. On the 30th of April of each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, he/she shall cause to be published, at the expense of the City, a statement showing the amount of receipts and expenditures for the city for the twelve months next preceding; and the general condition of the treasury. He/She shall do and perform such other acts and duties as the City Council shall require.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
The Police Chief shall be in charge of the police department and shall have all of the powers and duties as is provided for under state law, provided that the power to appoint police officers or other police department employees shall be vested in the City Council and provided further that the Police Chief shall have such other duties and responsibilities as the City Council or Secretary-Manager from time to time may assign to him.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
The city attorney shall be the legal adviser and counsel of the Mayor, City Council, department heads and city boards and commissions. He/She shall prepare or approve all City ordinances and resolutions and shall attend all meetings of the City Council and may be the City Prosecutor. He/She shall be employed or contracted and shall have such other duties and responsibilities as may from time to time be assigned to him by the City Council.
The City Council shall have the authority to employ and compensate special counsel to represent the City in collecting taxes, or to represent the City in legal proceedings filed by or against the City and in any extraordinary legal matters.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
The city engineer shall be responsible for overseeing all engineering work to be done by the City. He/She shall be the adviser to the Mayor and City Council and to all boards and commissions of the City on all engineering matters and shall have such other responsibilities as the City Council may assign to him from time to time.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957)
The fire chief shall be responsible for the City's fire prevention program and shall be in charge of the Fire Department, if any.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
If, as and when a taxing program shall be instituted and an assessor and collector of taxes shall have been appointed or contracted by the City Council, he/she shall have the responsibility of assessing and collecting all ad valorem taxes and keeping complete and accurate records of the same, and shall have such other duties as may be hereafter assigned to him by the City Council.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
The judge of the Municipal Court shall preside over the Municipal Court as provided for herein. He/She shall be a competent, duly qualified and a licensed attorney in the State of Texas and a qualified elector and be a resident of the City.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 2, approved at election of 5/6/2017)
The City Council shall have power from time to time to require other and further duties of all officers whose duties are herein prescribed, and to define and prescribe the powers and duties of all officers appointed or elected to any office under this Charter whose duties are not herein specially mentioned, and fix their compensation.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957)
The City Council shall have the right to require bond from any appointive officers or employees of the City in such amounts as the City Council from time to time may fix by ordinance or resolution and conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his/her office and accounting for all moneys, credits and things of value coming into the hands of such officers or employees, and all such bonds shall be signed as surety by some surety company authorized to do business under the laws of the State of Texas, and the premiums accruing thereon shall be paid by the City.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957)
The Mayor and Councilmembers may resign upon written application to the City Council, such resignation shall be effective at the time indicated in the application and if no time is indicated, it shall be effective in accordance with the Texas Election Code. Any appointed officer or employee of the City may resign by filing a written resignation with the Secretary-Manager.
(Charter adopted 12/2/1957; Ordinance 1415 adopted 2/13/2017, prop. 1, approved at election of 5/6/2017)