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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this article, a person does not violate any provision of this division for conduct undertaken in reasonable reliance, either directly or indirectly, upon a written opinion of the city attorney that was either provided prior to the conduct complained against or requested prior to the conduct complained against and provided not later than 15 business days following the date of such request.
(Ord. 20548-12-2012, § 1, passed 12-18-2012, eff. 12-22-2012)
Editor’s note:
Ord. 20548-12-2012, § 1, adopted December 18, 2012, amended this division in its entirety as set forth below. Prior to the passage of that ordinance, this division pertained to the Ethics Review Committee and derived from Ord. 10617, § 1(3), adopted June 26, 1990.
(a) Creation. There is hereby created an Ethics Review Commission ("ERC"). The ERC shall be composed of five persons, one of whom shall be an attorney appointed in accordance with subsection (b). The remaining four persons shall be selected by random draw method from certain existing city boards and commissions in accordance with subsection (c).
(b) Attorney appointee to the ERC. The city council shall appoint by majority vote an attorney who is in good standing with the State Bar of Texas and has been licensed to practice law in the State of Texas for at least five consecutive years. The attorney shall not be appointed for a definite fixed time and may be removed by the city council at any time and for any reason by majority vote. The attorney appointed pursuant to this subsection (b) may not be a member of another city board, commission or committee if the ERC has jurisdiction under this article to review the conduct of that person as a member of such other board, commission or committee. This provision does not prohibit other persons selected pursuant to subsection (c) and who are also licensed attorneys from serving on the ERC.
(c) Other appointees to the ERC.
(1) The remaining four persons shall be selected to serve on the ERC in accordance with the process outlined in this subsection (c) in the following circumstances:
b. The city council by majority vote or the city manager of his or her own volition requests the city secretary to convene the ERC for purposes of exercising any other of its delegated powers under § 2-241.
(2) Upon the occurrence of one of the qualifying events set forth in subsection (c)(1), the city secretary shall compile the names of all then-current members of the zoning commission, the plan commission, and the boards of adjustment and then use a random draw method to select four persons on those boards to serve as members of the ERC. Each of the four persons selected must be Residents of different city council districts. If the city secretary draws the name of a person who resides in the same city council district as a person whose name already has been drawn, the city secretary shall discard that name and proceed to draw another name until four persons who are residents of different city council districts have been selected. The city secretary promptly shall notify in writing the four persons selected to serve on the ERC for that complaint and shall also provide written notice of those selections to the city council, the city manager, and the city attorney.
(3) If the ERC is being convened to hear an ethics complaint, the four persons selected to serve on the ERC pursuant to this subsection (c) shall serve until that complaint has been fully adjudicated by the ERC pursuant to and in accordance with § 2-251 and, if applicable, § 2-252. If the ERC is being convened to exercise any other of its delegated powers under § 2-241, the four persons selected to serve on the ERC pursuant to this subsection (c) shall serve until the ERC has fulfilled the stated purpose for its assembly. There is no limit to the number of times a person may serve on the ERC pursuant to the selection process outlined in this subsection (c).
(4) If the ERC is being convened to hear an ethics complaint, and the person who filed the complaint or the person complained against is a member of the zoning commission, the plan commission, or the boards of adjustment, the persons selected to serve on the ERC pursuant to this subsection (c) may not be members of those boards.
(5) If the ERC is being convened to hear an ethics complaint, and the person who filed the complaint or the person complained against is a member of the city council, the persons selected to serve on the ERC pursuant to this subsection (c) may not be residents of the city council district represented by the city council member who is involved in the complaint.
(6) If a person selected to serve on the ERC pursuant to this subsection (c) cannot fulfill his or her duties as a member of the ERC due to illness, travel, or another bona fide reason, or otherwise refuses to serve on the ERC, that person shall be requested to confirm that fact with the city secretary in writing within 15 calendar days of receipt of the service notification. In this event, the city secretary shall repeat the process outlined in subsection (c)(2) until a substitute has been selected.
(d) Qualifications. All members shall be residents of the city who are at least 18 years of age. Additionally, no member of the ERC may be:
(1) A member of the city council or the spouse or domestic partner of a member of the city council;
(2) An employee or the spouse or domestic partner of an employee;
(3) An elected public official; or
(4) A candidate for elected public office.
(e) Chairperson; quorum; number of members necessary to act. Once the ERC is convened, it shall at its first meeting thereafter elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson to serve in that capacity until the ERC has concluded its business. The vice-chairperson shall act as chairperson in the absence of the chairperson. Three or more members of the ERC shall constitute a quorum. No action of the ERC shall be of any force or effect unless it is adopted by the favorable votes of three or more of the members.
(Ord. 20548-12-2012, § 1, passed 12-18-2012, eff. 12-22-2012; Ord. 23992-12-2019, § 1, passed 12-17-2019)
(a) Jurisdiction. The ERC shall have jurisdiction to review and make findings and conclusions concerning an alleged violation of Division 1 of this article and, if a violation of Division 1 of this article is determined to have occurred pursuant to the process outlined herein, to levy sanctions in accordance with Division 4.
(b) Powers. Once the ERC is convened in accordance with and subject to the purposes set forth in § 2-240(c), the ERC shall have the following powers:
(1) To establish rules and procedures governing its own internal organization and operations, consistent with this article and the city’s Charter and ordinances;
(2) To prescribe forms for reports, statements, notices and other documents required by this article;
(3) To cause sufficient copies of this ordinance, and other ordinances, City Charter provisions and state statutes defining and prohibiting conflicts of interest, to be prepared and published and see that the same are made available to officers, employees, advisory board members, elected officials and the general public;
(4) To provide or assist in providing orientations to officers, employees and advisory board members concerning the provisions of this article;
(5) To review all statements and reports filed with the ERC in order to obtain compliance with this article;
(6) To direct the city secretary to preserve statements and reports filed with the ERC for a period of five years from the date of receipt;
(7) To review this article when deemed necessary and make appropriate recommendations to the city council;
(8) To request the city attorney’s interpretation of or opinion on any provision of this article except in cases involving a complaint filed in accordance with this article, in which case § 2-248 shall apply;
(9) In accordance with this article, to review, conduct hearings and make determinations regarding all sworn complaints alleging violations of Division 1 of this article by persons other than members of the city council;
(10) In any hearing conducted pursuant to this article, to administer oaths and affirmations, take evidence, request and issue subpoenas for witnesses to attend and testify, and request and, subject to § 2-255, issue subpoenas for the production of books, papers, records, or other evidence needed for the performance of the ERC’s duties or the exercise of its powers;
(11) To request the city council and city manager to provide such assistance as the ERC may require in the discharge of its duties;
(12) On the ERC’s own motion or at the request of the city council, to report to the city council when deemed necessary concerning the activities of the ERC; and
(13) To exercise such other powers and duties as may be established by this article.
(c) Meetings. The ERC shall meet as necessary to fulfill its responsibilities. The city secretary, the chairperson, or any three members of the ERC may call a meeting provided that notice is given to each member and written notice is posted in accordance with provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Tex. Government Code Chapter 551.
(Ord. 20548-12-2012, § 1, passed 12-18-2012, eff. 12-22-2012; Ord. 23992-12-2019, § 2, passed 12-17-2019)
(a) Purpose. The city council will appoint one or more hearing officers each year to hear appeals of determinations made by the ERC in the disposition of complaints alleging a violation of Division 1 of this article and to make recommendations to the city council regarding those appeals.
(b) Qualifications. A hearing officer shall be a resident who is an attorney in good standing with the state bar of Texas and has been licensed to practice in the State of Texas for at least ten consecutive years. No hearing officer may be:
(1) A member of the city council or the spouse or domestic partner of a member of the city council;
(2) An employee or the spouse or domestic partner of an employee;
(3) An elected public official;
(4) A candidate for elected public office; or
(5) A member of another city board, commission or committee if the ERC has jurisdiction under this article to review the conduct of that person as a member of such other board, commission or committee.
(c) Terms. The city council will appoint hearing officers each at its first meeting in January of each year or as soon thereafter as practicable. The city council shall set the prescribed compensation, if any, that hearing officers are to receive during their terms of service. A hearing officer shall serve a term of one year or until his or her successor is duly appointed, and may be reappointed at the pleasure of the city council. A hearing officer may be removed at any time and for any reason by majority vote of the city council, except that a hearing officer that has initiated the hearing of an appeal of a determination made by the ERC in the disposition of a complaint shall continue to serve until final disposition of the matter before him or her.
(d) Selection of hearing officer to hear complaint or appeal. If the city council appoints more than one hearing officer to serve during a particular year, the city secretary shall maintain a list of such hearing officers in order of appointment. In the event that the service of a hearing officer is required under this article to hear the appeal of a determination made by the ERC in the disposition of a complaint, the city secretary shall designate a hearing officer from such list on a rotation basis.
(Ord. 20548-12-2012, § 1, passed 12-18-2012, eff. 12-22-2012)
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