Any ordinance in effect at the time this Charter is adopted,
and not otherwise in conflict with this Charter, which refers to some
office or employment of the City which ceases to exist under this
Charter, shall continue in force and the powers and duties therein
prescribed shall be the powers and duties of the office of employment
which under this Charter, succeeds to the same general powers and
duties of such office or employment under some ordinance.
All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations in force
in the City on the effective date of this Charter, and not in conflict
with this Charter, shall remain in force until altered, amended or
repealed. All taxes, assessments, liens, encumbrances and demands,
of or against the City, fixed or established before such date, or
for the fixing or establishing of which proceedings have begun at
such date, shall be valid when properly fixed or established either
under the law in force at the time of beginning of such proceedings
or under the law after the adoption of this Charter.
All officers of the City shall, before entering upon the duties
of their respective offices, take and subscribe to the official oath
prescribed in the Constitution of the State of Texas. Oath of office
shall be administered by any person authorized by law to administer
oaths.
State law reference — Oath, Tex. Const. art.
XVI, § 1.
[Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023]
All meetings of the Council and all Boards or Commissions appointed
by the Council shall be open to the public, except those authorized
by law to be closed. Minutes of all public meetings shall be kept
and such minutes shall constitute public records.
The City shall comply with State law with regard to releasing
records to the public.
State law reference–Public records law, V.T.C.A.,
Government Code § 552.001, et seq.
[Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023]
The Council shall have the power to designate by resolution
a newspaper of general circulation in the City as the official newspaper,
and shall cause to be published therein all captions and necessary
notices.
Recognizing that cities and other public entities whose operations
are not motivated by profit, but rather by service, are unique in
turnover of personnel, and that in order to adequately defend the
interests of the public the officials must have timely notice of claims
against the city, these reasonable rules are adopted. Any person,
firm or corporation who has a claim for property damage, personal
injury or death against this City must give the City written notice
of the claim within six months from the date of occurrence. Such written
claim notice must be given to the Mayor or City Manager and must contain
the following information:
(1)
Name
and address of claimant;
(2)
Date
of occurrence;
(3)
Place
of occurrence;
(4)
Extent
of injury;
(5)
Names
and addresses of witnesses;
(6)
How
the injury occurred.
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If such notice is not timely given, no action will lie against
the City. The notice called for in this section need not be sworn
to or verified but must be signed by the claimant or his attorney
and delivered to the Mayor or City Manager, either in person or by
certified or registered mail. It shall not suffice to give oral notice
nor shall it suffice to deliver or mail the notice to some other employee
of the City. The provisions of this Section shall apply to persons
seeking a money judgment against the City for any type of damages
whether the claim involves personal injury or damages arising from
some other cause. The written notice required herein must be given
to one of the officials set out above within six months from the time
when the cause of action arose, or the action shall not lie.
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Property, real or personal, belonging to the City, shall not
be liable for sale or appropriation under any writ of execution or
cost bill. Funds belonging to the City, in the hands of any person,
firm or corporation shall not be liable to garnishment, attachment
or sequestration, nor shall the City be liable to garnishment on account
of any debt it may owe or funds or property it may have on hand or
owing to any person. Neither the City, nor any of its officers or
agents, shall be required to answer any writ of garnishment or any
account whatsoever. The City shall not be liable to the assignee of
any wages of any officer, agent or employee of said City, whether
earned or unearned, upon any claim or account whatsoever, and as to
the City such assignment shall be absolutely void.
It shall not be necessary in any action, suit or proceeding
in which the City is a party, for any bond, undertaking or security
to be executed in behalf of said City but all such actions, suits,
appeals or proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as if
each bond, undertaking or security had been given, and said City shall
be liable as if such obligation had been duly given and executed.
This Charter shall be deemed a public act and shall have the
force and effect of a general law; it may be read in evidence without
pleading or proof, and judicial notice shall be taken thereof by all
courts and places without further proof.
The City shall be entitled to counterclaim and offset against
any debt, claim, demand or account owed by the City to any person,
firm or corporation in arrears to the City for any debt, claim, demand
or account or [of] any nature whatsoever including taxes, penalty
and interest. No assignment or transfer of any such debt, claim, demand
or account owed by the City shall affect the right of the City to
offset the sum owed to the City.
No person related within the second degree by affinity, or the
third degree by consanguinity, to a member of the Council or the City
Manager shall be appointed to any paid office or board, commission,
or committee of the City. This prohibition shall not apply, however,
to any person who shall have been continuously employed by the City
for at least six months prior to the election of the Councilmember
or 30 days prior to the appointment of the City Manager so related
to the employee.
[Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023]
(a)
No elected
or appointed officer or employee of the City shall benefit unduly
by reason of his/her holding public office.
(b)
No officer
or employee of the City shall have a substantial interest in the sale
of any land, materials, supplies or service to the City. Any elected
officer shall publicly disclose any such interest upon assumption
of office or prior to consideration of any such matters. “Substantial
interest” as used in this section shall have the same meaning
as given in the Texas Local Government Code, as amended.
(c)
Failure to comply with any provisions of the foregoing Sections 17.13(a) or 17.13(b) shall constitute malfeasance in office and any officer failing to so comply shall immediately be suspended pending an outcome of an investigation of the charges. Within five (5) days of said suspension the officer shall receive written notice detailing the specific charges brought against him. A Public Hearing will be held within fifteen (15) days after the written notice to determine whether the charges are well founded and whether said officer shall be reinstated or shall be terminated and the position declared vacant.
[Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023]
No person in the service of the City, or seeking admission thereto,
shall be employed, promoted, demoted, discharged, or in any way favored
or discriminated against because of political opinions or affiliations
or because of race, color, religious beliefs, sex, or national origin,
provided that such opinions, affiliations or beliefs do not advocate
the overthrow of the government of the United States of America by
force or violence.
[Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023]
(a)
No person
seeking appointment to or promotion in the administrative service
of the City shall either directly or indirectly give, render, or pay
any money, service, or other valuable thing to any person for, or
on account of, or in connection with his/her appointment or promotion
or any examination conducted therefor.
(b)
Any person who either by himself/herself, or with others, willfully violates any provision of the foregoing Section 17.15(a) shall be ineligible for appointment or election to a position in the City for a period of four (4) years, and if he/she is an officer or employee of the City at the time of such violation, he/she shall immediately forfeit the office or position he/she holds.
[Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023]
The City of Richland Hills shall have power to prohibit the
erection or construction of any building or structure of any kind
within the City of Richland Hills without a permit first having been
issued by the City for the construction or erection of such building
or structure, and may authorize a fee to be charged for such permit,
and in pursuance of said authority may authorize the inspection by
the City of all buildings or structures during the progress of their
construction and may require that all buildings shall be constructed
in conformity with the building code which exists in said City or
shall hereafter be passed.
(Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023)
[1]
Editor’s note– Former section pertaining to building
permits was deleted in its entirety by Ordinance 1473-23 adopted 5/16/2023.
Prior to the deletion, this section derived from the following: Ordinance
adopted 8/11/1986; Ordinance adopted 5/3/1993; Ordinance adopted 5/8/1995;
and Ordinance adopted 11/5/2013.
The City of Richland Hills shall have power to control or prohibit
the construction of pools, ponds, or lakes, receiving water from a
recognizable stream, creek, branch or natural drainage. The City may
control location, construction, height of structure, depth and size
of body of water to be impounded. No pool, pond or lake, receiving
water from recognizable stream, creek, branch or natural drainage,
shall be constructed without first obtaining a permit issued by the
City.
In addition to any bonding provision herein provided, the Council
may require any City official, department director or City employee,
before entering upon his duties, to execute a good and sufficient
bond with a surety company doing business in the State of Texas and
approved by the Council, as surety thereon, said bond to be in such
amounts as the Council may demand, payable to the City of Richland
Hills, and conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties
of his/her office; premium of such bond to be paid by the City.
The governing body of the City of Richland Hills shall require
good and sufficient bonds of all contractors, with a good corporate
surety thereon, acceptable to the governing body of the City of Richland
Hills.
This Charter may be amended no more than once every two (2)
years as provided by the laws of the State of Texas.
In wording of this Charter, the use of the singular number shall
include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular. Words
used in the masculine gender shall include the feminine also, unless
by reasonable construction, it appears that such was not the intention
of this Charter.
The Council shall have the power, by ordinance, to renumber
and rearrange all articles, sections and paragraphs of the Charter
or any amendments thereto, as it shall deem appropriate, and upon
passage of any such ordinance, a copy thereof certified by the City
Secretary shall be forwarded to Secretary of State for filing.
