(A) (1) The City Council shall appoint the Board of Public Works. The Board shall consist of five members who are residents of the city. The members of the Board shall serve a four-year term of office at a salary set by ordinance of the City Council. Each of the members shall be required to give a bond to the city in the sum of $5,000 and shall be conditioned on the faithful performance of the duties of their office; provided, the premium on the bond shall be paid out of a city fund designated by the City Council. The members of the Board shall be required to take an oath to faithfully perform the duties of their office before entering upon the discharge thereof. At the time of the Board’s first meeting in June of each year, the Board members shall organize by selecting from among their number a Chairperson and Secretary. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep the full and correct minutes and records of all meetings and to file the same with the City Clerk where they shall be available for public inspection at any time. The minutes of each meeting shall be published in a legal newspaper of general circulation in the city within 30 days after it is held.
(2) The Board shall meet at such times as the City Council may designate. Special meetings may be held upon the call of the Chairperson or any three members of the Board. A majority of the Board members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. It shall be the duty of the Board to operate any utility owned by the city and to exercise all powers conferred by law upon the city for the operation of utilities to the same extent as the City Council, except that the Board shall not make an expenditure other than ordinary operational expenses exceeding the amount of $40,000 without first obtaining the approval of the City Council. The Board may, in its discretion employ a Commissioner to operate one or more of the city utilities and who shall be under the immediate authority of the Board of Public Works. All actions of the Board shall be subject to the review and supervision of the City Council. The Board shall be responsible for making the reports and performing other duties as the City Council may, from time to time, designate. No member of the City Council shall serve as a member of the Board of Public Works while serving a term of office as a member of the City Council. No member of the Board of Public Works shall serve in the capacity of both the Chairperson and Secretary of the Board.
(Prior Code, § 2-206)
(B) The Board of Public Works shall perform the duties and have the powers as are provided therefor by the laws of the state, including, but not limited to, Neb. RS 17-802 through 17-806, 17-808 and 17-810, as amended or superseded. The Board of Public Works shall have full and complete control, charge and management of the electric light plant and system, the water plant and system, the sewer system and the sewage disposal plant. The Board of Public Works shall exercise alt powers conferred by law upon the city for the operation and government of the aforementioned utilities to the same extent, in the same manner and under the same restrictions as the City Council could do, except that the Board of Public Works shall not make any expenditure or contract any indebtedness, other than for ordinary running expenses, exceeding in amount $40,000, without first obtaining approval of the City Council; and provided, further, that, in any event, before the Board of Public Works shall enter into any contract for any personal services or for materials, work, building or improvement, which exceeds $40,000 in cost, an estimate of the cost thereof shall be made by the City Engineer and submitted to the City Council and no contract shall be entered into for any construction, work or improvements without first advertising for bids where the advertisement is required by the laws of the state, including, but not limited to, Neb. RS 17-568.01(1) and 17-533, as amended or superseded. Where the advertisement for bids is required, it shall be carried out in compliance with the laws of the state, including, but not limited to, Neb. RS 17-533 and 17-568.01(2), as amended or superseded. In advertising for bids for any work, the City Council, by and through its Board of Public Works, may cause the amount of the estimate of the City Engineer to be published therein. The Board of Public Works shall enforce the performance of all contracts and works with respect to the separate utilities and shall have charge and custody of all books, property and assets belonging to each utility. The Board of Public Works shall also exercise other powers and perform other duties in the superintendence of each utility and the improvement and repairs thereof as are necessary. The Board of Public Works shall make all necessary regulations for the government of each of the separate utilities not inconsistent with the laws of the state or the laws of the city relating thereto.
(Prior Code, § 2-207)
(C) The Board of Public Works shall keep separate books of account for each utility showing current entries of the receipts and expenditures of the Board and duplicate vouchers of all its expenditures for each of the utilities, which records shall, at all times, be open to the examination of the City Council or a committee thereof. The Board of Public Works shall make a monthly report of their receipts and expenditures for each separate utility to the City Council. The audit and report, at the close of the fiscal year, of the financial transactions and affairs of the public utilities, operating through the Board of Public Works, shall be entirely separate from the general audit of the city’s account, at the close of the fiscal year and may be carried out by a different accountant than the one making the general audit.
(Prior Code, § 2-208)
(D) The assessment and collection of rates for power, water, sewer use or other services furnished and rendered by the separate city utilities shall be under the control and supervision of the Board of Public Works, subject to the review and supervision of the City Council. All revenues of the separate city utilities shall be segregated from all other funds and revenues of the city and shall be paid and deposited in separate funds, as designated by the Board of Public Works, the funds to be administered solely by the Board of Public Works, solely for the purpose of paying the operating expenses of the separate city utilities, the maintenance and repair of each of the utilities and for paying the interest on and principal of all revenue bonds or combined revenue bonds of the utilities; provided that, any surplus funds arising out of the operation of any of the city utilities by the Board of Public Works may, if not invested pursuant to the provisions of any other law upon the subject, be invested by the Board, with the approval of the City Council, as provided by the laws of the state, including but not limited to, Neb. RS 17-540, 16-691.01 and 17-803, as amended or superseded. The Board of Public Works shall be bound by the terms of any ordinance, duly passed and adopted by the City Council, in respect to all city utility funds in the issuance of bonds and all other matters.
(Prior Code, § 2-209)
(E)
The Board of Public Works shall not be entitled to or have authority over any money raised by taxation for street lighting purposes. Funds so raised shall be under the control to the City Council. The Board of Public Works may, by mutual contract or agreement with the City Council furnish electric power for street lighting and water pumping for the operation of the sewage disposal plant, at rates as may be agreed upon.
(Prior Code, § 2-210)
(F) Except as may otherwise be provided by the laws of the state, no member of the Board of Public Works shall ever be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract entered into by them on behalf of the city for more than $10,000 in one year.
(Prior Code, § 2-211)
(G) If the Board of Public Works determines that the best interests of the city and the patrons of the utility will be better or more economically served thereby, they may pay the City Clerk as ex officio bookkeeper and collector for one or more of the city utilities under their operation and control and he or she may be paid a reasonable salary for the extra services required of him or her in a position in addition to his or her salary as City Clerk.
(Prior Code, § 2-212)
(Ord. 3-99, passed 6-14-1999)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see Neb. RS 17-533, 17-540, 17-543, 17-568.01, 17-611, 17-801 through 17-808, 17-810, 18-301, 19-2903