The city shall from henceforward be considered a type A municipality and shall be governed by the laws affecting a type A municipality.
(2000 Code, art. 1.200; 2006 Code, art. 1.300)
(a) 
The city shall never be liable for any claim for property damage or for personal injury, whether such personal injury results in death or not, unless the person damaged or injured, or someone in his behalf, or, in the event the injury results in death, the person or persons who may have a cause of action under the law by reason of such death or injury, shall, within sixty (60) days or within six (6) months for good cause shown from the date the damage or injury was received, give notice in writing to the mayor and city council of the following facts:
(1) 
The date and time when the injury occurred and the place where the injured person or property was at the time when the injury was received.
(2) 
The nature of the damage or injury sustained.
(3) 
The apparent extent of the damage or injury sustained.
(4) 
A specific and detailed statement of how and under what circumstances the damage or injury occurred.
(5) 
The amount for which each claimant will settle.
(6) 
The actual place of residence of each claimant by street, number, city and state on the date the claim is presented.
(7) 
In the case of personal injury or death, the names and addresses of all persons who, according to the knowledge or information of the claimant, witnessed the happening of the injury or any part thereof and the names of the doctors, if any, to whose care the injured person is committed.
(8) 
In the case of property damage, the location of the damaged property at the time the claim was submitted along with the names and addresses of all persons who witnessed the happening of the damage or any part thereof.
(b) 
No suit of any nature whatsoever shall be instituted or maintained against the city unless the plaintiff therein shall prove that previous to the filing of the original petition the plaintiff applied to the city council for redress, satisfaction, compensation, or relief, as the case may be, and that the same was by vote of the city council refused.
(c) 
All notices required by this section shall be effectuated by serving them upon the city secretary at the following location: 1094 South Lowrance Road, Pecan Hill, Texas 75154, and all such notices shall be effective only when actually received in the office of the person named above.
(d) 
Neither the mayor, a city council member, nor any other officer or employee of the city shall have the authority to waive any of the provisions of this section.
(e) 
The written notice required under this section shall be sworn to by the person claiming the damage or injuries or by someone authorized by him to do so on his behalf. Failure to swear to the notice as required herein shall not render the notice fatally defective, but failure to so verify the notice may be considered by the city council as a factor relating to the truth of the allegations and to the weight to be given to the allegations contained therein.
(f) 
The above written notice requirements shall be waived if the city has actual knowledge of death, injury or property damage likely to result in a claim against the city. The city shall not be deemed to have actual knowledge unless that knowledge is attributable to an appropriate city official whose job duties include the authority to investigate and/or settle claims against the city. Notice requirements shall likewise be waived in cases in which the plaintiff can demonstrate good cause or civil rights violations.
(2000 Code, art. 1.500; 2006 Code, art. 1.500)
(a) 
Whenever the city is required by statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance to send a notice to an owner of real property for the purpose of enforcing a provision of this code, the notice may include the following statement: “According to the real property records of Ellis County, you own the real property described in this notice. If you no longer own the property, you must execute an affidavit stating that you no longer own the property and stating the name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from you. The affidavit must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to this office not later than the 20th day after the date you receive this notice. If you do not send the affidavit, it will be presumed that you own the property described in this notice, even if you do not.”
(b) 
The notice described in subsection (a) must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(c) 
If the city sends a notice to the owner of the property to which the notice relates, as shown by the real property records of the county in which the property is located on or after the 10th day before the date the notice is sent, and the record owner no longer owns the property, the record owner shall execute an affidavit provided by the city with the notice stating:
(1) 
That the record owner no longer owns the property; and
(2) 
The name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from the record owner.
(d) 
The record owner shall deliver the affidavit in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the city not later than the 20th day after the date the record owner receives the notice.
(e) 
If the city receives an affidavit under subsection (d), the city shall send the appropriate notice to the person named in the affidavit as having acquired the property. A notice sent under this subsection must include the statement authorized by subsection (a).
(f) 
Upon receiving an affidavit under subsection (d), the city shall:
(1) 
Maintain the affidavit on file for at least two years after the date the affidavit was received; and
(2) 
Deliver a copy of the affidavit to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in which the property is located.
(g) 
The city is considered to have provided notice to a property owner if the city complies with the statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance under which the notice is sent and if the city complies with:
(1) 
Subsection (a) and does not receive an affidavit from the record owner; or
(2) 
Subsection (e) and does not receive an affidavit from the person to whom the notice was sent under subsection (e).
(h) 
If the city complies with this section and does not receive an affidavit under subsection (d), the record owner is presumed to be the owner of the property for all purposes to which the notice relates.
(i) 
For purposes of this section, “real property” does not include a mineral interest or royalty interest.
(Ordinance adopting 2006 Code; 2006 Code, art. 1.200)