There is hereby adopted the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Memphis, Texas, as compiled, edited and published by Franklin Legal
Publishing, Inc.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
The ordinances embraced in this chapter and the following chapters,
articles and sections shall constitute and be designated the “Code
of Ordinances, City of Memphis, Texas,” and may be so cited.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
The catchlines of the several articles, divisions and sections
of this code are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents
of the article, division or section and shall not be deemed or taken
to be titles of such articles, divisions and sections, nor as any
part of the articles, divisions and sections, nor, unless expressly
so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such articles, divisions
and sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
In the construction of this code and of all ordinances and resolutions
passed by the city council, the following rules shall be observed,
unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent
of the city council:
Words shall be construed in their common and usual significance
unless the contrary is clearly indicated.
Each means the City of Memphis, Texas.
The term “city administrator,” “city manager,”
“city secretary,” “chief of police” or other
city officer or department shall be construed to mean the city administrator,
city manager, city secretary, chief of police or such other municipal
officer or department, respectively, of the City of Memphis, Texas.
Whenever a notice is required to be given or an act to be
done a certain length of time before any proceeding shall be had,
the first day is excluded and the last day is included. If the last
day of any period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period
is extended to include the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday,
or legal holiday.
Whenever the term “council” or “city council”
or “the council” is used, it shall mean the city council
of the City of Memphis, Texas.
The term “county” or “this county”
shall mean the County of Hall, Texas.
Whenever a provision of this Code of Ordinances requires
or authorizes an officer or employee of the city to do some act or
perform some duty, it shall be construed to authorize such officer
or employee to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform
the act or duty unless the terms of the provision specifically designate
otherwise.
A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and
be applied to females and to firms, partnerships, associations and
corporations, as well as to males.
Words purporting to give authority to three (3) or more officers
or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a
majority of such officers or other persons, unless it is otherwise
declared.
The word “may” is permissive.
The word “month” shall mean a calendar month.
Each is mandatory.
Any word importing the singular number shall include the
plural, and any word importing the plural number shall include the
singular.
The word “oath” shall be construed to include
an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be
substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words “swear”
and “sworn” shall be equivalent to the words “affirm”
and “affirmed.”
Whenever certain hours are named in this code, they shall
mean standard time or daylight saving time, as may be in current use
in the city.
The word “or” may be read “and,”
and the word “and” may be read “or,” as the
sense requires it.
The word “owner,” applied to a building or land,
shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant
in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole
or of a part of such building or land.
The word “person” shall extend and be applied
to associations, corporations, firms, partnerships, organizations,
business trusts, estates, trusts, and bodies politic and corporate,
as well as to individuals.
The terms “preceding” and “following”
mean next before and next after, respectively.
The word “property” shall mean and include real
and personal property.
The term “real property” shall mean and include
lands, tenements and hereditaments.
The word “sidewalk” shall mean that portion of
a street between the curbline and the adjacent property line intended
for the use of pedestrians.
A signature or subscription shall include a mark when a person
cannot write.
The term “the state” or “this state”
shall be construed to mean the State of Texas.
The word “street” shall have its commonly accepted
meaning and shall include highways, sidewalks, alleys, avenues, recessed
parking areas and other public rights-of-way, including the entire
right-of-way.
Words used in the past or present tense include the future,
as well as the past and present.
Such abbreviations refer to the divisions of Vernon’s
Texas Statutes Annotated.
The term “written” or “in writing”
shall be construed to include any representation of words, letters,
or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
The word “year” shall mean a calendar year.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the city council
that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this
code are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph
or section of this code shall be declared unconstitutional by the
valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such
unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases,
clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this code, since the
same would have been enacted by the city council without the incorporation
in the code of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence,
paragraph or section.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
The repeal of an ordinance or any portion thereof shall not
repeal the repealing clause of an ordinance or revive any ordinance
which has been previously repealed.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature, and amendments
to such ordinances, hereafter enacted or presented to the city council
for enactment, shall be drafted, so far as possible, as specific amendments
of, or additions to, the Code of Ordinances. Amendments to this code
shall be made by reference to the chapter and section of the code
which is to be amended, and additions shall bear an appropriate designation
of chapter, article and section; provided, however, the failure to
do so shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of such
ordinances.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
(a)
By
contract or by city personnel, supplements to this code shall be prepared
and printed whenever authorized or directed by the city council. A
supplement to the code shall include all substantive permanent and
general parts of ordinances passed by the city council during the
period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the
code. The pages of a supplement shall be so numbered that they will
fit properly into the code and will, where necessary, replace pages
that have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages
shall be so prepared that, when they have been inserted, the code
will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinance
included in the supplement.
(b)
In
preparing a supplement to this code, all portions of the code which
have been repealed shall be excluded from the code by omission thereof
from reprinted pages.
(c)
When
preparing a supplement to this code, the codifier (meaning the person,
agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement) may make
formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances
included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to
embody them into a unified code. For example, the codifier may:
(1)
Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;
(2)
Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for articles,
sections and other subdivisions of the code printed in the supplement
and make changes in such catchlines, headings and titles;
(3)
Assign appropriate numbers to articles, sections and other subdivisions
to be inserted in the code and, where necessary to accommodate new
material, change existing article or section or other subdivision
numbers;
(4)
Change the words “this ordinance” or words of the same
meaning to “this chapter,” “this article,”
“this section,” “this subsection,” etc., as
the case may be; and
(5)
Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original
meaning of ordinance material inserted into the code, but in no case
shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance
material included in the supplement or already embodied in the code.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
(a)
Whenever
in this code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited
or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor
or whenever in this code or such ordinance the doing of any act is
required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful,
and no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any
such provision of this code or any such ordinance shall be punished
by a fine of not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00).
(b)
A
fine or penalty for the violation of a rule, ordinance or police regulation
that governs fire safety, zoning or public health and sanitation,
other than the dumping of refuse, may not exceed two thousand dollars
($2,000.00).
(c)
A
fine or penalty for the violation of a rule, ordinance, or police
regulation that governs the dumping of refuse may not exceed four
thousand dollars ($4,000.00).
(d)
A
person convicted of an offense under title 7, subtitle C, Transportation
Code (the Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways) for which another
penalty is not provided shall be punished by a fine of not less than
$1.00 or more than $200.00 plus such other penalties and costs as
may be provided by such subtitle C.
(e)
Unless
otherwise specifically stated in this code, any violation of this
code or of any ordinance that is punishable by a fine that does not
exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) does not require a culpable
mental state, and a culpable mental state is hereby not required to
prove any such offense.
(f)
No
penalty shall be greater or less than the penalty provided for the
same or a similar offense under the laws of the state.
(g)
Unless
otherwise stated in this code or in any ordinance, each day any violation
of this code or of any ordinance shall continue shall constitute a
separate offense.
(h)
In
the event that any such violation is designated as a nuisance under
the provisions of this code, such nuisance may be summarily abated
by the city. In addition to the penalty prescribed above, the city
may pursue other remedies such as abatement of nuisances, injunctive
relief and revocation of licenses or permits.
(i)
In
the event authorizing state law is amended, modified, superseded or
otherwise changed to alter the allowable punishment range, then the
city’s range of punishment shall likewise be amended, modified,
superseded or otherwise changed.
(Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
There exists the office of emergency management director of
the city, which shall be held by the mayor in accordance with state
law.
(1)
An
emergency management coordinator may be appointed by and serve at
the pleasure of the director.
(2)
The
director shall be responsible for a program of comprehensive emergency
management within the city and for carrying out the duties and responsibilities
set forth in this article.
(3)
The
operational emergency management organization of the city shall consist
of the officers and employees of the city so designated by the director
in the emergency management plan, as well as organized volunteer groups.
The functions and duties of this organization shall be distributed
among such officers and employees in accordance with the terms of
the emergency management plan.
(Ordinance 601 adopted 2/9/2004; 2005 Code, sec. 1-26)
The duties and responsibilities of the emergency management
director shall include the following:
(1)
Surveying
actual or potential hazards which threaten life and property within
the city and identifying and requiring or recommending the implementation
of measures which would tend to prevent the occurrence or reduce the
impact of such hazards if a disaster did occur.
(2)
Supervision
of the development and approval of an emergency management plan for
the city, and shall recommend for adoption by the city council all
mutual aid arrangements deemed necessary for the implementation of
such plan.
(3)
Authority
to declare a local state of disaster. The declaration may not be continued
or renewed for a period in excess of seven days except by or with
the consent of the city council. Any order or proclamation declaring,
continuing, or terminating a local state of disaster shall be given
prompt and general publicity and shall be filed promptly with the
city secretary.
(4)
Issuance
of necessary proclamations, regulations, or directives which are necessary
for carrying out the purposes of this code. Such proclamations, regulations,
or directives shall be disseminated promptly by means calculated to
bring the contents to the attention of the general public and, unless
circumstances attendant on the disaster prevent or impede, promptly
filed with the city secretary.
(5)
Direction
and control of the operations of the city emergency management organization
as well as the training of emergency management personnel.
(6)
Determination
of all questions of authority and responsibility that may arise within
the emergency management organization of the city.
(7)
Maintenance
of liaison with other municipal, county, district, state, regional
or federal emergency management organizations.
(8)
Marshaling
of all necessary personnel, equipment, or supplies from any department
of the city to aid in the carrying out of the provisions of the emergency
management plan.
(9)
Supervision
of the drafting and execution of mutual aid agreements, in cooperation
with the representatives of the state and of other local political
subdivisions of the state, and the drafting and execution, if deemed
desirable, of an agreement with Hall County and with the other municipalities
within the county, for the county-wide coordination of emergency management
efforts.
(10)
Supervision of, and final authorization for, the procurement of all
necessary supplies and equipment, including acceptance of private
contributions which may be offered for the purpose of improving emergency
management within the city.
(11)
Authorizing of agreements, after approval by the city attorney, for
use of private property for public shelter and other purposes.
(12)
Surveying the availability of existing personnel, equipment, supplies,
and services which could be used during a disaster, as provided for
herein.
(13)
Other requirements as specified in the Texas Disaster Act (chapter
418 of the Government Code).
(2005 Code, sec. 1-27)
A comprehensive emergency management plan shall be developed
and maintained in a current state. The plan shall set forth the form
of the organization; establish and designate divisions and functions;
assign responsibilities, tasks, duties, and powers; and designate
officers and employees to carry out the provisions of this code. As
provided by state law, the plan shall follow the standards and criteria
established by the state division of emergency management. Insofar
as possible, the form of organization, titles, and terminology shall
conform to the recommendations of the state division of emergency
management. When approved, it shall be the duty of all departments
and agencies to perform the functions assigned by the plan and to
maintain their portion of the plan in a current state of readiness
at all times. The emergency management plan shall be considered supplementary
to this code and have the effect of law during the time of a disaster.
(2005 Code, sec. 1-28)
The mayor is hereby authorized to join the county judge of the
County of Hall and the mayors of the other cities in the county in
the formation of an interjurisdictional emergency management program
for the county, and shall have the authority to cooperate in the preparation
of an interjurisdictional emergency management plan and in the appointment
of a joint emergency management coordinator, as well as all powers
necessary to participate in a county-wide program of emergency management
insofar as said program may affect the city.
(2005 Code, sec. 1-29)
At all times when the orders, rules and regulations made and
promulgated pursuant to this article shall be in effect, they shall
supersede and override all existing ordinances, orders, rules, and
regulations insofar as the latter may be inconsistent therewith.
(2005 Code, sec. 1-30)
(a)
This
article is an exercise by the city of its governmental functions for
the protection of the public peace, health, and safety and neither
the city, the agents and representatives of the city, nor any individual,
receiver, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or trustee,
nor any of the agents thereof, in good faith carrying out, complying
with or attempting to comply with any order, rule, or regulation promulgated
pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be liable for any
damage sustained to persons as the result of said activity.
(b)
Any
person owning or controlling real estate or other premises who voluntarily
and without compensation grants to the city a license or privilege
or otherwise permits the city to inspect, designate, and use the whole
or any part or parts of such real estate or premises for the purpose
of sheltering persons during an actual, impending, or practice enemy
attack or natural or man-made disaster shall, together with his successors
in interest, if any, not be civilly liable for the death of, or injury
to, any person on or about such real estate or premises under such
license, privilege or other permission or for loss of, or damage to,
the property of such person.
(2005 Code, sec. 1-31)
No person shall have the right to expend any public funds of
the city in carrying out any emergency management activity authorized
by this article without prior approval by the city council, nor shall
any person have any right to bind the city by contract, agreement,
or otherwise without prior and specific approval of the city council
unless during a declared disaster. During a declared disaster, the
mayor may expend and/or commit public funds of the city when deemed
prudent and necessary for the protection of health, life, or property.
(2005 Code, sec. 1-32)
(a)
It
shall be unlawful for any person willfully to obstruct, hinder, or
delay any member of the emergency management organization in the enforcement
of any rule or regulation issued pursuant to this article.
(b)
It
shall likewise be unlawful for any person to wear, carry, or display
any emblem, insignia, or any other means of identification as a member
of the emergency management organization of the city, unless authority
to do so has been granted to such person by the proper officials.
(c)
Convictions
for violations of the provisions of this article shall be punishable
by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
(2005 Code, sec. 1-36)
