1999-101 ORDINANCE NO q 0/_ t/0 !
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 99-057 ORDERING AN ELECTION TO
BE HELD ON MAY 1, 1999 AND ORDINANCE NO 99-086, FOR THE PURPOSES OF
SUBMITTING TO THE REGISTERED VOTERS OF DENTON, TEXAS AMENDMENTS TO
THE DENTON CITY CHARTER, BY AMENDING AMENDMENT NO 2 AND
AMENDMENT NO 5 TO ADD SOME ADDITIONAL STATUTORY REFERENCES, BY
AMENDING AMENDMENT NO 23 TO EXPAND THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
BOARD MEMBERS AND TO MAKE IT SUBJECT TO THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, TO
AMEND AMENDMENT NO 25 TO ADD ADDITIONAL WORDING, TO AMEND
PROPOSITION NOS 2 AND 4 TO CORRECT STATUTORY AND SECTION
REFERENCES, TO AMEND PROPOSITION NOS 5, AND 7 TO ELIMINATE
REDUNDANT AND UNNECESSARY PHRASES, TO AMEND PROPOSITION NOS 8
AND 14 TO CHANGE WORD REFERENCES, TO AMEND PROPOSITION NO 11 TO
DIVIDE IT INTO THREE SEPARATE PROPOSITIONS AND TO RENUMBER THE
REMAINING PROPOSITIONS ACCORDINGLY, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PROVIDING AN OPEN MEETINGS
CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the City Attorney has found it necessary to make non-substantml teehmcal
changes to Amendment Nos 2, 5, 25, Proposition Nos 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 14 of Ordmance
No 99-057 calhng a C~ty Charter Elect~on to correct statutory, section, and other references in
order to slmphfy and correct the language of the ordinance and ballot, to change Amendment
No 23 to expand the Pubhc Utlhtles Board and to make it subject to the Open Meetings Act, and
to &wde Propomt~on No 11 ~nto three separate propositions, expan&ng the total number of
propositions from 14 to 17, and
WHEREAS, the C~ty Council deems it in the public interest to amend the Ordmance to
make these changes, NOW, THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I That Section I, Amendment No 2 of Ordmance No 99-057, passed by the
C~ty Council on February 16, 1999, m hereby amended to add an ad&t~onal statutory reference
so that Amendment No 2 hereby now reads as follows
AMENDMENT NO 2
That Artmle I of the Charter shall be amended by amending Section 1 05 "Powers of the
c~ty" so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
Sec. 1 05. Powers of the city.
The C~ty of Denton shall have and may exercise all the powers granted to c~t~es by the
Constitution or laws of Texas ~nclu&ng spemfically those powers made avadable to reties of
more than five thousand (5,000) inhabitants by what is known as the Home Rule Amendment to
the Constatut~on of Texas (Article XI, Section 5 and the Home Rule Enabling Act ( .... ~... ! ~,
Annotated, Texas Local Government Code Sectton 5 004, Chapter 9, Chapter 26, and
Subchapter E of Chapter 51), as these la~s now read or may hereafter be amended The C~ty
may acquire property w~thm or w~thout ~ts corporate hnuts for any mumc~pal purpose, may
cooperate with the government of Texas or any agency thereof, or w~th the federal government
or any agency thereof, or w~th the government of any county, city, or poht;cal subd~v~smn to
accomphsh any lawful purpose for the advancement of the health, morals, safety, convemence,
or welfare of the c~ty or ~ts inhabitants, may sell, lease, mortgage, hold, manage, and control such
property as ~ts interest may reqmre, provided the City shall not sell, convey, lease, mortgage, or
otherwise ahanate the entire assets of any pubh¢ utility system or any port~on thereof essential to
contmued effective utthty service w~thont the prior approval by a major~ty of the qualified voters
of the City ~ho vote at an electwn heM for thtspurpose, and may exercise the power of eminent
domain when necessary or desirable to carry out any of the powers conferred upon it by fins
Charter or the Constatutlon or laws of Texas The enumeration of particular powers m fins
Charter shall not be held or deemed to be exclusive, but m addttion to the powers enumerated
herein, ~mphed thereby or appropriate to the exercise thereof, the C~ty shall have and may
exercise all other powers wtneh under the Const~tuuon and general laws of tins state it would be
competent for fins Charter to specifically enumerate
SECTION II. That Section I, Amendment No 5 of Orrhnance No 99-057, passed by the
City Council on February 16, 1999, as hereby amended to correct the statutory reference m
subsection 4 of Sect~un 2 02 "Quahficat~ons" so the same shall hereafter read as follows
AMENDMENT NO. 5
That Article II of the Charter shall be amended by amending Section 2 02 Quahficatmns'
so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
Sec 2.02. Qualifications
(a) Each member of the Council, ~n addltwn to hawng the other quah~cat~ons prescribed
by law
(1) Shall be .....~'~ ....... :
- -t ............... regnstered to vote tn the City,
(2) Shall have restded for at least one year next preceding h~s or her electxon wtfinn the
corpc ate hmtts of Denton and, ~f runmng within ~ smgle membe, geographic distrwt
as se~ forth m Section 2 01, m the dlstrtct tn which elected,
(4) (3) Shall not hold any other pubhc office of emolument,
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(4) Shall have and matntam the ehgtbthty requirements for municipal officers set forth in
Section 141 001 of the Texas Election Code, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes .4nnotated
hereinafter referred to as "Election Code" as it may now read or hereafter be
amended
(5) ~'~' -~' "~ '-~ .... ~'~ '- '~ ....' ..... *~ :.f an:, .......... ~' .... " ........... ~ ~'
(6) Shall --' ~- ....= ..... '~ ........ ~ ....... x., ............... , ........ x.._ ,~_ t-., ....
{b) If a member of the Council shall, after bein~ elected, cease to possess any of these
quahficatlons or ehglbzhty requirements, or shall hold another office of emolument, or enter a
plea ofgudty to a felony, or be convicted of a felony he or she shall lmmcdlately forfeit his or
her office
SECTION III That Section I, Amendment No 23 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by
the City Council on February 16, 1999, is hereby amended so that thc same shall hercal~cr read
as follows
AMENDMENT NO. 23
That Article XII of the Charter shall be amended by amending Section 12 07 '~rhe public
utilities board" so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
Sec 12 07. The public utilities board
(a) There is hereby created a public utilities board to be composed of .ti;'; (5~ seven (7)
members, or as many members ax there are eouncz[member$, whichever is greater, appointed by
thc Council for four-year terms and until their respective successors have been appointed and
Members of the board may be removed by the Council only for cause and only after charges
have been filed and pubhshed and thc member has been given a reasonable opportunity to defend
himself ill an open public heanng before the Ccanc]l Vacan les shall be filled for any
unexpired term in the same manner as provided for regular appomtments
Co) The city manager and director of utilities shall be ex officio members of the board
They sh dl attend all meetings of the board and shall have the right to discuss any matter that is
under consideration by the board but shall have no vote
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(c) Members of the pubhc utilities board shall have the same quahficatlons as are
reqmred by membershIp on the City Council
(d) At its orgamzattonal meeting, and annually thereafter as soon as the newly appointed
member (or members) has quahfied, the board shall select from its own membersbap a chmrman,
wee-chairman, and secretary Any three (3) of the regularly appmnted members shall constitute
a quorum The board shall determine ~ts own rules and order of business The board shall meet
at least once each month, all meetings shall beY,~v.. ....... .v _.~"~ ~uS!:~ conducted tn accordance with
the Texas Open Meetings Act, chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, as tt may now read or
hereafter be amended and all other apphcable laws and a permanent record of proceedings
maintained
SECTION ~ That Section I, Amendment No 25 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by
the C~ty Council on February 16, 1999, ~s hereby amended to add the phrase "or real property"
so the same shall hereafter read as follows
AMENDMENT NO. 25
That Artmle XIV of the Charter shall be amended by amending Section 14 04 "Personal
interest" so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
Sec. 14.04. Personal interest.
or employee having a substanttal interest tn a business entity or real property, as those terms are
defined tn chapter 171 of the Texas l. ocal Government Code as tt now reads or may hereafter be
amended, shall comply with chapter 171 and, If necessary, shall abstmn from voting on a matter
tnvolvtng the bustness entity or real property and file an affidavit setting forth the substantial
Interest tn the matter to be voted upon
SECTION V That Section II, Proposition No 2 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by the
City Council on Fobruary 16, 1999, ~s hereby amended by amendang Proposition No 2 d~sposal
of utfilt~as and to add the phrase "and to correct statutory references" so that the same ~hall
hereafter read as follows
PROPOSITION NO 2 - D~s~oaal of Utilities Shall Sectmn 1 05 ofArtmle I of the C~ty Charter
and Section 12 04 ofArtmle XII of the City Charter be amended to provide that the C~ty m.y not
sell, lease, mortgage, or otherwme alienate the ent,re assets of any utility system or any essentml
portmn thereof w~thout the approval of a majority of all the qualffied voters voting at an electron
held for that purpose and to correct statutory references'~
PAGE 4
SECTION VI That Section II, Proposition No 4 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by
the City Council on February 16, 1999, is hereby amended to change the reference to Section
1 08 to Section 1 07 so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
PROPOSITION NO 4 - Gender Neutral Shall Article I of the City Charter be amended by
adding a new Section 1 07 so that the Charter becomes gender neutral by extending all references
in the Charter to the masculine gender to apply also to females and where applicable to firms,
partnerships, and corporations9
SECTION VII. That Section II, Proposltaon No 5 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by
the City Council on February 16, 1999, is hereby amended to eliminate unnecessary and
redundant phrases so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
PROPOSITION NO 5 - Mumcmal Elections Shall Article II and Axtlcle III of the City Charter
be amended by amenthng Section 2 02 reqmnng each member of the Council to be a registered
voter and have the minimum ehglblllty requirements for a mumclpal officer set forth in the state
law, reside for one year prior to the election in a single member district for which the person is
running, to eliminate the requirements that a councilmember not be in debt to the City, not be
interested in the emoluments of any contract or transaction with the City, and not be an officer or
director of a public service corporation, and to require forfeiture of the office upon ceasing to
possess these qualifications or upon conviction of a felony, by amending Sections 2 04 and 3 01
to require murampal elections to be held on uniform election dates m accordance w~th applicable
laws, by amending Sections 3 02, and 3 04 to acknowledge awareness of nepotism laws m the
petition to nominate a candidate for councllmember, changing the reqmred number of signatures
on the petition, and to require canvassing and the holding of a runoff election in compliance with
applicable laws?
SECTION VIII. That Section II, Pmpositlon No 7 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by
the City Council on February 16, 1999, is hereby amended to remove the redundant last phrase
so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
PROPOSITION NO 7 - Taxation Shall Section 7 01 of Article VII of the City Charter be
amended to provide the City's power to tax shall be consistent with the Tax Code and to delete
Sections 7 02, 7 03, and 7 04 regarding the payment, collection, levying, seizure, and sale of
property for delinquent taxes, delinquency penalties, and establishment of tax liens, and to
renumber the rem~umng sections, so that these matters will be governed by the Tax Code and
other applicable laws?
SECTION IX That Section Il Proposition No 8 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by
the City Council on February 16, 1999, is hereby amended to change the word in the next to last
line "officers" to "offic,~" so that the same shall hereafter read as follows
PROPOSITION NO 8 - Bud~,et [hall Article VIII of the City Charter be amended by
amending Sections 8 04 and 8 05 to provide for a public heanng on the budget after the 15th day
the proposed budget is filed with the City Secretary but before taxes are levied, to provide for
PAGE 5
notme to be pubhshed ~n accordance wtth apphcable laws, to provide for adoption of the budget
after the pubhc heanng, allowing the proposed budget to take effect ff the Council takes no
actmn before the end of the fiscal year, allowing Council to make changes ~n the budget, and
amenthng Section 8 07 to authorize transfer of certmn unencumbered funds wtthm and between
offices, departments, agencies, and orgamzat~onal umts dunng the fiscal year*
SECTION X. That Section II, Proposmon No 9 of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by the
C~ty Council on February 16, 1999, is hereby amended to change the phrase "$1 milhon" m the
next to last hne to "one mflhon dollars" so that the same shall hereat~er read as follows
PROPOSITION NO 9 - Bonds Shall Sectmns 9 01 and 9 02 of Article IX of the City Charter
be amended to require general obligation bond debt of the City to be ~ncreased only by consent
of the majority of the quahfied voters of the C~ty votmg m an electron for that purpose, and to
ehmmate the requirement for a revenue bond ~ssue m excess of one mflhon dollars to be
approved by a non-binding referendum election?
SECTION X That Section II, Proposition No I 1 of Orthnance No 99-057, passed by
the City Council on February 16, 1999, ~s hereby amended to thvtde flus proposition into three
separate propositions, Propositions No I1, 12, and 14 so that the same shall hemafier read as
follows
PROPOSITION NO I1 - Deletion of Board of Adjustment. Shall Article X, Sectmn 10 07 of
the City Charter be amended by deleting the Board of AdJustment fi.om the City Charter and
requmng that the City Council, by ordinance, establish a Board of AdJustment consisting of at
least seven members hawng the qualifieatmns, powers, dutaes, and terms established by the C~ty
Couned, and provlchng that the current Board of Adjustment shall continue to funetmn under
these provismns of the Charter until the ordinance creating the Board of AdJustment ~s effective*
PROPOSITION NO 12 - Deletion of Park~ ~Ild Recreation Board Shall Article XI, Section
ll 02 of the City Charter be amended by deleting the Parks and Recreatmn Board fi.om the City
Charter and requinng that the City Council, by ordinance, establish a board to advise the Council
on parks and recreation matters eonslstmg of at least seven members having the quahfieat~ons,
powers, duties, and terms established by the City Council, and providing that the current Parks
and Recreation Board shall continue to function under these pmwslons of the Charter until the
orthnance creating the Board is effective9
PROPOSITION NO 14 - Exnansion ofPubll~ lJtlllt~es Board Shall Article XII, Section 12 07
of the City Charter be amended by expanding the Pubhc Utilities Board fi.om five to seven
members or as many members as there are eouncilmembers wbachever is £ reater, and requmng
tul meetings of {he Board to be held m accordance with th~ Texas Open Meetings Act and all
other applicable laws*
SECTION XI. That Section II, Proposition No 14 of Orthnance N) 99-057, passed by
the Cxty Council on February 16, 1999, ~s hereby amended to add the phrase "or real property"
PAGE 6
and make changes consistent therewith and to insert the word "of" after "Article XIV" and to
insert the word "Local" after the word "Texas" so that the same shall hereafier read as follows
PROPOSITION NO 14 - Conflict of Interest Shall Section 14 04 of Article XIV of the City
Charter be amended by ehminatlng the current conflict of interest requirements and substituting
the requirement that any officer or employee having a substantial interest In a business entity or
real property, as those terms are defined by chapter 171 of the Texas Local Government Code,
shall comply with chapter 171 and, if necessary, shall abstain from voting on a matter on which
the person has a substantial interest and file an affidavit setting forth the substantial interest in
the matter to be voted upon9
~ That Section II of Ordinance No 99-057, passed by the City Council on
February 16, 1999, as hereby amended by renumbenng Proposition No 12 - New Utihtles to
Proposition No 13 - New Utilities, Proposition No 13 - Franchise Fees to Proposition No 15 -
Franchise Fees, Proposition No 14 - Conflict of Interest to Proposition No 16 - Conflict of
Interest, and Proposition No 15 - Statutory Reference to Proposition No 17 - Statutory
Reference to expand the total number of propositions from 15 to 17
~ That save and except as amended hereby, all the sections, subsections,
paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No 99-057 shall remain in full force
and effect This ordinance also amends and replaces Ordinance No 99-086, passed by the City
Council on March 23, 1999
~ That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or
word in this ordinance, or application thereof to any person or c~rcumstances is held lnvahd by
any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the vahdlty of the remaining
portions of this ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas hereby declares it
would have enacted such remmmng portions despite any such Invahdlty
~ That the City Council has found and determined that the meeting at
which this ordinance IS considered ~s open to the public and that notice thereof was given m
accordance with provisions of the Texas open meetings law, TEX GOV'T CODE ch 551, as
amended, and that a quorum of the City Council was present
SECTION XVI That this ordinance shall become effective ~mmedlately upon ItS
passage and approval
PASSED AND APPROVED this the ~. day of ~ ,1999
PAGE 7
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
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