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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-007NO We - 1 AN ORDINANCE ORDERING A SPECIAL HOME RULE ELECTION IN THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, TO BE HELD ON SATURDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF APRIL, 1976, FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMITTING TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY, FOR ADOPTION OR REJECTION, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE EXISTING CHARTER OF THE CITY OF DENTON, DESIGNATING THE POLLING PLACE, APPOINTING ELECTION OFFICIALS, PROVIDING THAT ALL DULY QUALIFIED RESIDENT ELECTORS SHALL BE QUALIFIED TO VOTE, PRESCRIB- ING FORM OF BALLOTS, PROVIDING FOR NOTICE OF ELECTION, CONTAINING OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO SAID ELECTION, PROVIDING FOR SEVER - ABILITY, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Denton in the exer- cise of sound discretion purged in it by the Constitution and laws of this State, and more particularly Articles 1165-1174, inclusive, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, relating to the amendment of City Charters by cities having more than five thousand (5,000) in- habitants, deems it wise and expedient to submit proposed amendments to the existing Charter of the City, hereinafter set forth at a special election to be held at said City on Saturday, the 3rd day of April, 1976, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS SECTION I That a special election to be held in the City of Denton, Texas, on Saturday, the 3rd day of April, 1976, for the purpose of submit - tang to the qualified voters of the City, for adoption or rejection, the following proposed amendments to the existing Charter of the City of Denton SECTION II Said election shall be held at one polling place for all qual- ified voters of the City, and the polling place and presiding offi- cers for said election shall be, towit Pollin Place - Community Building of the Civic Center at Be and East McKinney, Denton, Texas Presiding Officers - Lee Knox Presi'�ing Judge, B� siding Judge The p^ r s7 appoint not less than two ig juage at s (2) clerks ernate r on shall SECTION III That said election shall be held in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, and all duly qualified resident electors of the City of Denton, Texas shall be qualified to vote SECTION IV That each proposed charter amendment shall be separate and distinct so that the voters shall pass upon each one separately and a part from another and so that each voter may vote "Yes" or "No" on any amendment or amendments without voting yes or no on all of said amendments That absentee voting shall be on paper ballots, and such ballots shall conform to the requirements of Article 6 05 of the Election Code of the State of Texas, as amended, which provides that a square shall be placed beside the proposed amendment, in which the voter is requested to place an "X" or other clear mark to indicate the way he wishes to vote, but which also provides that a failure of a voter to mark his ballot in strict conformity with the instructions on the ballot shall not invalidate the ballot, and the ballot shall be counted if the intention of the voter is clearly ascertainable, accept where the law expressly pro- hibits the counting of the ballot It is specifically provided that the election officers shall not refuse to count a ballot because of a voter having marked his ballot by scratching out the amendment for which he does not wish to vote SECTION V That the ballots of the election shall conform to the require- ments of the Election Code of the State of Texas, as amended, and the language to be printed thereon include the following OFFICIAL BALLOT Official Ballot Instructions - Place an "X" in the square beside the statement indicating the way you wish to vote Note Vote on all amendments separately either FOR or AGAINST -2- AMENDMENT NO ONE [ ] FOR SECTION 2 01 THE COUNCIL, NUMBER, SELECTION, & TERM [ ] AGAINST The Council shall have five members elected by the qualified voters of the entire city, but each councilperson shall be elected to and occupy a place on the council, such places being Numbered One, Two, Three, Four and Five The places of the councilperson shall be designated on the official ballot as Councilperson Places One, Two, Three, Four, and Five The members of the Council shall be elected in the manner prescribed in Article 3, for a term of two years and until their respective successors have been elected and qualified (b) Three councilpersons shall be elected on the first Saturday in April, 1977 At this election the candidate who receives the majority of the votes cast for each place shall be declared elected to that place The places to be filled shall be Places One, Two and Three The two carry-over members shall fill Places Four and Five and shall serve the balance of their term until their successors are elected and qualified Thereafter, three councilpersons shall be elected in each odd -numbered year for Places One, Two and Three and two councilpersons shall be elected in even -numbered year to Places Four and Five SECTION 3 04 CANVASS ELECTION RETURNS, RESULTS (a) Immediately after counting the votes, the pre- siding judge shall deliver the official returns of the election to the City Secretary On the next Tuesday following the election, the City Council shall canvass the returns and declare the results The returns of every municipal election shall be recorded in the minutes of the Council (b) The candidates receiving the majority of the votes cast for each place shall be declared elected If no candidate receives a majority, or if there is a tie for any one place, the Council shall order a second election to be held on the fourteenth day after the first election to fill that place Only the names of the candidates who tie for the highest number of votes cast for that place, or the two can- didates who receive the highest number of votes with neither having a majority of votes cast for that place, shall be printed on the ballot for each elec- tion In the event of a tie vote at the second elec- tion, the candidates who tie shall cast lots in the presence of the City Secretary to determine which one shall be declared elected, and said lots shall be cast within five days of the second election -3- [ ] FOR AMENDMENT NO TWO SECTION 2 04 VACANCIES IN COUNCIL AGAINST Where a vacancy in any place on the Council shall occur, the vacant place shall be filled by a special election, and, where necessary, by a run- off election, in the same manner as provided in this charter for the regular election of the councilperson Such special election shall be held on a Saturday within sixty days following the crea- tion of the vacancy, and the runoff election, where necessary, shall be held on the fourteenth day after the preceding election, provided, however, that where a vacancy shall occur within one hundred and twenty days of a regular election, no special election to fill the vacancy shall be called, unless more than one vacancy occurs AMENDMENT NO THREE [ ] FOR SECTION 2 06 QUORUM VOTING AGAINST (a) Any three members of the Council shall consti- tute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the affirmative vote of three members of the Council shall be necessary to repeal any ordinance or to take any official action in the name of the city, except that a four -fifths vote of the total membership shall be required to override a decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission and except as otherwise provided in this Charter or by the general laws of the State of Texas AMENDMENT NO FOUR FOR SECTION 2 08 POWERS OF THE COUNCIL AGAINST ( c) To approve members of all Boards, Commissions, and Committees serving the City AMENDMENT NO FIVE FOR SECTION 7 10 PURCHASE PROCEDURE AGAINST (b) The City Manager shall have authority to auth- orize expenditures without approval of the City Council for all budgeted items not exceeding three thousand dollars ($3,000 00) All contracts or pur- chases involving the expenditure of more than three thousand dollars ($3,000 00) shall be expressly approved in advance by the City Council and shall be let to the lowest and best bid by a responsible bidder after there has been an opportunity for com- petitive bidding, provided that City Council shall have the right to reject any and all bids -4- AMENDMENT NO SIX [ ] FOR SECTION 8 03 PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF BUDGET [ ] AGAINST At least sixty days before the end of each fiscal year, the City Manager shall submit to the Council a proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year The budget shall provide a complete financial plan for the fiscal year, and the budget shall be prepared on the basis of policy priorities defined by the Council for the City Manager at least one hundred twenty days before the end of the fiscal year AMENDMENT NO SEVEN [ ] FOR SECTION 10 02 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION [ ] AGAINST (a) There shall be a Planning and Zoning Commission which shall consist of seven real property taxpayers, who during their respective terms of office and for at least one year prior to beginning thereof, shall be residents of the City of Denton They shall be appointed by the Council for a term of two years, provided four members shall be appointed each odd - numbered year and three members each even -numbered year The City Manager, Mayor, and Director of Com- munity Development shall serve as ex-officio members of the Commission, but shall have no vote (b) None of the appointed members shall hold any other public office or position in the City while serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission The Planning and Zoning Commission shall elect its Chair- man from among its members Seven members shall serve without pay and shall adopt such rules and regulations as they deem best governing their actions, proceedings, ditliberations, and times and places of meetings AMENDMENT NO EIGHT FOR SECTION 12 07 THE PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD [ ] AGAINST (a) There is hereby created a Public Utilities Board to be composed of five members, appointed by the Council for four year terms and until their respective successors have been appointed and qualified, pro- vided that the members of the first board appointed under this provision shall at their organizational meeting draw for terms as follows one shall draw a one year term, one a two year term, one a three year term, and two shall draw four year terms, and at the expiration of each of the terms so provided for, a member successor shall be appointed for a term of four years Members of the board may be removed by the Council only for cause and only after charges have been filed and published and the member has been given a reasonable opportunity to defend himself in an open public hearing before the Council Vacancies shall be filled for any unexpired term in the same manner as provided for regular appointments -5- AMENDMENT NO NINE [ ] FOR SECTION 3 01 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS [ ) AGAINST (a) The regular election for the choice of mem- bers of the City Council as provided in Article 2 shall be held each year on the first Saturday in April The Council may by resolution order special elections which shall be held as nearly as practicable according to the provisions for a regular election The hours and places for holding all city elections shall be determined by the City Council SECTION VI That this ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage PASSED and APPROVED this the �2day of February, A D 1976 TO�•': OR CITY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM �nL C ISHAM, CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS cm