Any City official elected by the people shall be subject to
recall and removal from office by the qualified voters of the City
on grounds of misconduct or malfeasance in office.
Before the question of recall of such officer shall be submitted
to the qualified voters of the City, a petition demanding such question
to be so submitted shall first be filed with the person performing
the duties of City Secretary; which said petition shall be signed
by qualified voters of the City equal in number to at least twenty-five
percent (25%) of the number of votes cast at the last regular municipal
election of the City, but in no event, less than 250 such petitioners.
Petitions must comply with Texas Election Code, Chapter 277, as amended.
[Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023]
The recall petition mentioned in Section
15.02 of this Article must be addressed to the City Council of the City of Richland Hills, must distinctly and specifically point out the ground or grounds upon which such petition for removal is predicated, and shall specifically state the facts supporting each ground with such certainty as to give the officer sought to be removed, notice of the matters and things with which he is charged. Each signature page shall be verified by oath in the following form at the bottom of said page:
STATE OF TEXAS
|
X
|
COUNTY OF TARRANT
|
X
|
I, __________, being first duly sworn on oath depose and say
that I am one of the signers of the above petition; and that the statements
made therein are true, and that each signature appearing thereto was
made in my presence on the day and date it purports to have been made,
and I solemnly swear that the same is the genuine signature of the
person whose name it purports to be. Sworn and subscribed to before
me this __________ day of __________, 20_____.
|
Notary Public, STATE OF TEXAS
|
The petition may consist of one or more copies, circulated separately,
and the signatures thereto may be upon the paper or papers containing
the form of petition. Verifications provided for in the next preceding
section of this Article may be made by one or more petitioners, and
the several parts or copies of the petition may be filed separately
and by different persons; but no signatures to such petition shall
remain effective or be counted which were placed thereon more than
forty-five (45) days prior to the filing of such petition or petitions
with the person performing the duties of City Secretary. All papers
comprising a recall petition shall be filed with the person performing
the duties of City Secretary on the same day and the said Secretary
shall immediately notify, in writing, the officer so sought to be
removed, by mailing such notice to his Richland Hills address.
Within fifteen (15) days after the date of the filing of the
papers constituting the recall petition, the person performing the
duties of City Secretary shall present such petition to the City Council
of the City of Richland Hills at the first regular Council meeting
held within said 15 day period. If no Council meeting is scheduled,
there shall be a Special meeting called to receive said petition.
The officer whose removal is sought may, within fifteen (15)
days after such recall petition has been presented to the City Council,
request that a public hearing be held to permit him to present facts
pertinent to the charges specified in the recall petition. In this
event, the City Council shall order such public hearing to be held
not less than five (5) days nor more than fifteen (15) days after
receiving such request for a public hearing.
If the officer whose removal is sought does not resign, then
it shall become the duty of the City Council to order an election
and fix a date for holding such recall election, the date of which
election shall be not less than forty-five (45) nor more than sixty
(60) days from the date such petition was presented to the City Council,
or from the date of the public hearing if one was held, subject to
restrictions of the Texas Election Code.
Ballots used at recall election shall conform to the following
requirements:
(1) With
respect to each person whose removal is sought, the question shall
be submitted:
"Shall (name of person) be removed from the office of (name
of office) by recall?"
(2) Immediately
below each question there shall be printed two following propositions,
one above the other, in the order indicated:
"FOR the removal of (name of person) from office by recall"
"AGAINST the removal of (name of person) from office by recall"
If a majority of the votes cast concerning the recall of an
individual officer at a recall election shall be against the recall
of that officer, he shall continue in office for the remainder of
his unexpired term, subject to recall as before. If a majority of
the votes cast concerning the recall of an individual officer at such
an election be for the recall of that officer, he shall, regardless
of any technical defects in the recall petition, be deemed removed
from office and the vacancy shall be filled as vacancies in the City
Council are filled.
No recall petition shall be filed against any officer of the
City of Richland Hills within six (6) months after his/her election,
nor within six (6) months after an election for such officer's recall.
In case all the requirements of this Charter shall have been
met and the City Council shall fail or refuse to receive the recall
petition, or order such recall election or discharge any other duties
imposed upon said City Council by the provision of this Charter with
reference to such recall, then the County Judge of Tarrant County,
Texas, shall discharge any of such duties herein provided to be discharged
by the person performing the duties of the City Secretary or by the
City Council. Any qualified voter of the City may seek judicial relief
in the district court of Tarrant County in the event the Council fails
to act when presented with a recall petition meeting the requirements
of this Article.