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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 1340 Calling the Election .001 ORDINANCE NUMBER 1340 AN ORDINANCE CALLING AN ELECTION WITHIN THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS, FOR THE SIXTH (6TH) DAY OF MAY, 1989, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELECTING A MAYOR AND FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS; DRDERING A CONCURRENT ELECTION FOR THE SAME DATE FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMITTING PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE; DESIGNATING PRECINCTS AND POLLING PLACES; APPOINTING ELECTION OFFICIALS; CONTAINING FINDINGS AND OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED TO SAID ELECTION; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS: SECTION 1. A general e lecti on is hereby ordered and sha 11 be held in the City of West University Place, Texas, ("City") on Saturday, the 6th day of May, 1989, for the purpose of electing a Mayor and four (4) Council Members of said city. SECTION 2. A special election is hereby ordered and shall be held in the City of West University Place, Texas, concurrently with said general election, on Saturday, the 6th day of May, 1989, for the '. purpose of submitting proposed charter amendments to the qualified voters of the City. Such proposed amendments, which are submitted on the City Coundl's own motion after receiving recommendations from the City1s charter review committee, are set forth below: 'i I Such proposed amendments are set forth below: ,_ . AMENDMENT NO.1 TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE Section 2.05 of Article II of the Charter of the City of West University shall hereafter read as follows: "Sec. 2.05 Vacancies. a. When a vacancy is declared, a special election to fill the office shall be ordered for the first election date permitted under State law that is at least 45 days after the first public notice of such order, except as provided in Section 2.05b. Candidates must qualify according to Section 2.02. b. If pursuant to Section 2.05a, a special election to fill a vacant office or offices would be held on the permitted election date.immediately preceding the regular election of members of the Council, then no special election under Section2.05a shall be required, unless the five-member Council is left with fewer than three members." I~-.."II , 0I,[i11-11'1 .. !T'1: :~llllll~mllll!l';.11i T~'-l "'~',-1-:'TTnrm':'rili:-i';' ..lI":'!II!.ll.IlD.J:LL_~ :...:L.!I. ~~k.h'J'1 J..Jl!Df-P'-~'l'-"T-' - II. ..],1 _II --c:::r::1-~- --IT ~-~ --.:. Ordinance Number 1340 002 AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE J Section 2.11 of Article II of the Charter of the City of West University shall hereafter read as follows: "Sec.2.11. Procedure to Enact Leqislation. The Council shall legislate by ordinance. Every ordinance shall be introduced in writing or printed form and have a clearly summarized and fully descriptive title or caption. The enacting clause of every ordinance shall be BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE. Every ordinance enacted by the Council shall be signed by the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tern, or in their absence by two Council Members, and shall be filed with and recorded by the City Secretary. All ordinances shall be read and considered at two regular meetings of Council before final passage, except when a state of emergency is declared by the Councilor as otherwise provided by this Charter. The reading aloud of the title or caption of the ordinance shall suffice as a reading provided that printed copies of the ordinance, in the form required for adoption, are available to all members of Council and that a reasonable number of additional copies is available to interested citizens present at the Council meeting. A majority of the Council qualified and serving may JI~ require an ordinance to be read in its entirety. An ordinance, including an ordinance enacted prior to May 6, 1989, may not be held invalid on the basis of an insufficient title, caption, or enacting clause." AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE Section 3.01 of Article III of the Charter of the City of West University Place shall hereafter read as follows: "Section 3.01 Reqular Elections The regular election of members of the Council shall be held on the last uniform election date allowed by state law prior to June 1 of each odd-numbered year. Each qualified voter of the City may vote for not, more than one candidate for Mayor and for not more than four candidates for Council Member. The election shall be ordered by the Mayor or by the Council. The City Secretary shall give notice of the election in the manner required by the laws of the State of Texas." AMENDMENT NO. 4 TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE LJ Section 3.04 of Article III of the Charter of the City of West University Place shall hereafter read as follows: "Section 3.04 Filinq for Office. n o [j ,- Ordinance Number 1340 003 A qualified citizen who desires to become a candidate for City office shall file with the City Secretary a signed, sworn application for the citizen's name to appear on the ballot and a petition signed by at least 25 qualified voters recommending the candidacy. The time of filing shall be determined by the provisions of the Texas Election Code or other applicable State Law. II AMENDMENT NO. 5 TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE Section 7.07 of Article VII of the Charter of the City of West University Place shall hereafter read as follows: "Section 7.07. Issuance of Bond and Other Obligations of the City. The City shall have the right and power to borrow money on the credit of the City for permanent public improvements or for other public purposes as determined by the Council, and the power to issue bonds, certificates of obligation, warrants, or other evidences of indebtedness of the City as authorized by the laws of -the State of Texas. On the date of any bond issue, the total bonded indebtedness of the City, including such issue, shall not exceed fi ve percent of the ,net taxable val ue of property on the tax roll s of the City, and any i ssueof bonds in excess of said sum shall be void as to such excess. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter to the contrary, ordinances authorizing the issuance of bonds, certificates of ,obligation" warrants, or other evidences of indebtedness, or ordinances authorizing the levy of taxes or the pledge of revenues to secure payment of indebtedness shall require' only one reading, shall become effective immediately, and shall not be subject to referendum. Nothing in this Section excuses compliance with Section 7.08 of the Charter." AMENDMENT NO. 6 TO THE CHARTER OF THE ,CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE Section 10.04 of Article X of the Charter of the City of West University Place shall hereafter read as follows: "Section 10.04 Conflicts of Interest Prohibited. a. General. During the term of office or employment, no employee or elected or appointed office of the City may act in any way which places or tends to place personal interest in conflict with the interest of the City. b. Prohibited acts. No employee or elected or appointed officer of the City may: (l) Accept directily or indirectly a gift, favor, privilege, or employment from a person or business entity that does business with the City or that enjoys a franchise, privilege, .:_ IL_ . _ 1:L':':::l.. :~ I' ! i II . - 'i:mi:ii!lniiW- 'IT'l:':::''.::~]~TTTITIljjnili~iT I. _j__~i:_"L.J!r:rrrt1: ..IJUlll~J.lfJ!1 IUBI" . " 1;;,,11>1 i. LJj~j I I I II II! LI Ordi nance Number 1340 004 license, or easement from the City, except as authorized by l ordinance. (2) Have a pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in a ~ contract with or job, work, or service for the City; have an interest, directly or indirectly, in the sale of land, tangibles, or intangibles to the City. (3) Serve as surety for the performance of a person doing business with the City nor serve as surety for a City officer or employee required by this Charter to make a surety bond. c. Rules The Council shall adopt rules, by ordinance, for investigating and declaring violation of this section. d. Penalties (1) 'Violations of this section, if declared in accordance with such rules, shall result in forfeiture of City office or employment. (2) A contract in which an employee or elected or appointed official has or acquires an interest may be declared void by the Council. o e. Compliance with State law This section is not violated in case of actions involving business entities or real property under circumstances where there is no violation of Chapter 171 of the Texas Local Government Code, as heretofore or hereafter amended or codified. For purposes of this subsection, all employees and elected or appointed officers, with respect to their areas of responsibility, shall be subject to the same State law standards as Council Members, and any required affidavits shall be filed before any action is taken by the officer or employee.1I AMENDMENT NO. 7 TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE Section 10.07 of Article X of the Charter of the City of West University Place shall hereafter read as follows: "Se'ction 10.07 Notice of Claim The City shall not be held liable for the death of or injury to a person, or for damage to property, unless the claimant or legal representative files a written statement of claim with the City I.] Secretary within 100 days after the event alleged to have caused the death, injury, or damage. The statement must describe the nature and extend of the injury or damage; describe the place and circumstances of the alleged causal event; itemize by monetary Ordinance Number 1340 005 U'.' :1 il 'I amount the injury and damage; and, for personal injuries, name witnesses, if any, to the event." SECTION 3. (a) An electronic voting system and punch-card ballots shall be used for such ~lections, and absentee voting shall be by use of paper ballots for absentee voting by personal appearance and by mail. (b) (1) Punch-card ballots and punch~card ballot labels and absentee ballots for the general election shall be prepared in accordance with the applicable provisions of the TEXAS ELECTION CODE (i n Engl i shand in Spani sh) so that the voters may cast thei r ball ots for the candidates of their choice by making a punch hole (or appropriate mark, in the case of a paper ballot) in the space provided adjacent to the name of that candidate. (2) Punch-card ballots, and ballot labels, and absentee ballots for the charter amendment election shall be prepared in accordance with the TEXAS ELECTION CODE so as to permit the electors to vote IIFORII or IIAGAINSTII each of the aforesaid amendments separately. The propos i Hons for such proposed amendments sha 11 be set for,th on such ballot cards, ballot labels, and absentee ballots in substantially the form as presented below, in English and in Spanish: AMENDMENT NO. 1 (Filling Vacancies on City Council) Shall Section 2.05 of the Charter of. the, City of West University Place be amended to provide that a special election to fill a vacancy on Council is not required if the special election would be held on the State-permitted election date immediately preceding the regular Council election (unless the Council would be left with fewer than three members)? AMENDMENT NO. 2 (Form of Ordinances) Shall Section 2.11 of the Charter of the City of West University Place be amended to provide that an ordinance may not be held invalid on the basis of an insufficient title, caption or enacting clause? AMENDMENT NO. 3 (Regular Election Date) Shall Section 3~01 of the Charter of the City of West University Place be amended to provide that the regular Council election shall be held on the last uniform election date allowed by state law prior to June 1 of each odd-numbered year? AMENDMENT NO. 4 (Time Of Filing for Office) L~.... .....cc..,.........'-......-~: fl. ._ _1:L:::1.~~...__L.._, ,_. r:-c:__L_JI~ I'-I':"ll':llllflllll'l Irl::-;"'TrErnliIiJrilli:Ti'"" . .Jl11~JllJ !l. l'II'IIUll~11 '. _U~Jlll I L I' Ll L_ Ordinance Number 1340 006 Shall Section 3.04 of the Charter of the City of West University Place be amended to provide that the time of filing applications for city office shall be controlled by State law. l ~ AMENDMENT NO. 5 (Limitation on Bonded Indebtedness) Shall Section 7.07 of the Charter of the City of West University Place be amended to specify that the existing limit on bonded indebtedness: . * applies as of the date of each particular bond issue and * limits the total bonded indebtedness of the City, including the particular bond issue in question? AMENDMENT NO. 6 (Regulating Conflicts of Interest) Shall Section 10.04 of the Charter of the City of West UniVersity Place be amended to provide for: Adoption of rules, by ordinance, for 'investigating and dec 1 ari ng confli cts .of interest. A provision that violations of this 'Charter, if declared in accordance with such rules, shall result in a forfeiture of office or employment. * A provision that the Charter is not violated when there is compliance with the state law governing conflicts of interest? * L~ * AMENDMENT NO. 7 (Notice of Claim) Shall Section 10.07 of the City Charter of the City of West University Place be amended to provide that notices of claims against the City must be filed within 100 days, rather than the current limit of 60 days? (c) The City Council hereby appoints a Presiding Judge, Gene DeLaveaga, for the Central Counting Station, which for purposes of this election shall be located at the West University Place City Hall, 3800 University Boulevard. Victor Hansen shall serve as the Manager of the Central Counting Station and Audrey Nithols as Tabulation Supervisor for the election. (d) The appropriate election officials shall conduct a test of the automatic tabulating equipment on Thursday, May 4, 1989, at 3 o'clock P.M. in Conference Room at the Municipal Building, 3800 University Blvd., Houston, Texas 77005, open to the public. SECTION 4. (a) The City shall be divided into four election precincts for the concurrent elections, and the polling places I' L [.'.1. ' I i [ [ Ordinance Number 1340 007 designated for each election precinct and the persons hereby appointed to serve, for these concurrent elections only, as Presiding Judge and Alternate Presiding Judge for each polling place, are as follows: Votin~ Precinct #183 . West nlVerslty Community Building 6104 Auden Bond Blackman, Jr., Presiding Judge Sally McCandless, Alternate Presiding Judge Votin~ Precinct #133 Colonlal Park Recreation Center 4130 Byron Hazel Pitts, Presiding Judge Terri Grainger, Alternate Presiding Judge Voting Precinct #87 West University Elementary School 3756 University Blvd. John B. Hurst, Presiding Judge Joan Worley, Alternate Pre,siding Judge Voting Precinct #15 St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church 5308 Buffalo Speedway Burt Ballanfant, Presiding Judge Ramsay Elder, Alternate Presiding Judge (b) Said precincts shall'bethe same as the Harris County voter precincts bearing the same numbers indicated above, as such precincts were most recently established by the Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas. (c) Each Presiding Judge shall appoint not fewer than two and not more than five qualified clerks to serve and assist at the polling place under his/her jurisdiction in holding said election; provided that~ if any Presiding Judge herein appointed actually serves in holding said election, the Alternate Presiding Judge for the precinct in question shall be one of the clerks. (d) On election day, the polls shall be open from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. (e) Absentee voting by personal appearance shall be conducted at the City Hall in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Blvd., Houston, Texas 77005, during the hours the City Secretary's main business office is regularly opened for business, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, April 17 through May 2, 1989, in accordance with the provisions of the TEXAS ELECTION CODE, which address shall also be the absentee voting clerk's mailing address to -II 1"'i""""""TJ.: ___:.:-J:J _ ll-~_ ,__' IJ 'IT1'''''~h I, rrrmUlnmr:Ti' 1--r-7i i III1iirI,___~, _;____~___:~jUl!lDllitlll1ll lMum~J.lrJ:1 JljHlllllil LlJlLl.Q,LJ i' II LJ ~ - - i --'-"-- . Ordinance Number 1340 008 which ballot applications and ballots voted by mail may be sent. The absentee voting clerk is the City Secretary of the City. Applications for ballots by mail must be neceived no later than the close of business on Fridays April 28. 1989. For purposes of processing absentee voting results. the precinct election officers serving Precinct #15 shall serve as the Absentee Ballot Board for this election. -1 I '----"' SECTION 5: All qualified electors of the City shall be permitted to vote at said election. Not withstanding any provisions to the contrary in this ordinance, this election shall be held and conducted in accordance with the TEXAS ELECTION CODE, and, as may be required by laws all election materials and proceedings shall be printed in both English and Spanish. SECTION 6: A substantial copy of this Ordinance shall serve as proper notice of said election. Said notice. including a Spanish translation thereof. shall be given by publishing it and posting it in accordance with Section 4.003. TEXAS ELECTION CODE and Section 9.004 of the TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. SECTION 7: The Mayors the Mayor Pro Tern. the City Manager. the City Secretary and the Assistant City Secretary, or anyone of them, are authorized on behalf of the City Council to evidence adoption of this Ordinance and to do any and all other things legal and necessary in connection with the holding and consummation of such elections and to give effect to the intent of this Ordinance. SECTION 8: If any word. phrase. clause. sentence, paragraph. section or other part of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall ever be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction. the remainder of this Ordinance and the application of such word. phrase. clause, sentence. paragraph. section or other part of this Ordinance to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. J SECTION 9: All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only. I -, ~ Ordinance Number 1340 009 r I I SECTION 10: The City Council officially finds, determines and declares that a sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of each meeting at which this ordinance was discussed, considered or acted upon was given in the manner required by the Open Meetings Law, TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 6252-17, as amended, and that each such meeti ng has been open to the public as requi red by law at all times during such discussion, consideration and action. The City Council ratifies, approves and confirms such notices and the contents and posting thereof. Section 11. The public importance of this measure and the requirements of the law create an emergency and an urgent public necessity requiring that this Ordinance be passed and take effect as an emergency measure, and a state of emergency is hereby declared, and this Ordinance is accordingly passed as an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force immediately from and after its passage. PASSED AND APPROVED ON FIRST AND FINAL READING, this 13th day of March . 1989. Voting Aye: wl Voting No: Absent: Signed: Michael L. Parks, Mayor ATTEST: Audrey Nichols Ci ty Secretary Approved as to Form: ( SEAL) James L.Dougherty, Jr. City Attorney n L___~~_~;- ..~=- n u:J~::::: u. _ I:r-:=:I.~_.LL:~JL .. j . . I _ Lot:. 1~_"I[lrrr~L~_-_L~~~ On-j". -..~]~rmuJjjnmr:.iL.