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§ 33.013 MINUTES.
   (A)   Each public body shall keep minutes of all meetings showing the time, place, members present and absent, and the substance of all matters discussed.
   (B)   The minutes of all meetings and evidence and documentation received or disclosed in open session shall be public records and open to public inspection during normal business hours.
   (C)   Minutes shall be written and available for inspection within ten working days or prior to the next convened meeting, whichever occurs earlier, except that the city may have an additional ten working days if the employee responsible for writing the minutes is absent due to a serious illness or emergency.
(Neb. RS 84-1413)
§ 33.014 CHANGE IN OFFICE.
   (A)   The Mayor and City Council shall meet at the time and place of the first regular meeting in December in each election year, and the outgoing officers and the outgoing members of the City Council shall present their reports. Upon the outgoing City Council having completed its business, the outgoing members of the City Council shall surrender their offices to the incoming members, and the outgoing officers shall thereupon each surrender to their successors in office all property, records, papers, and moneys belonging to the same.
   (B)   The newly elected members of the City Council and those continuing in office shall convene immediately after the prior City Council adjourns and proceed to organize themselves for the ensuing year. The Mayor shall call the meeting to order. The Clerk shall report to the City Council the names of all City Council members-elect who have qualified for their respective offices. The City Council shall examine the credentials of its members and any other elective officers of the city to see that each has been duly and properly elected and to see that such oaths and bonds as are required have been given. The City Clerk’s report shall be spread upon the minutes of the meeting preceding the roll call.
   (C)   After ascertaining that all City Council members and officers are duly qualified and after the City Clerk has called the roll, the City Council shall elect a President of the City Council. The Mayor shall nominate his or her candidates for appointive offices in which the terms of incumbents are expired and call for a vote on approval of the candidates. The Mayor shall then proceed with the regular order of business.
BONDS AND OATHS
§ 33.030 BONDS; REQUIREMENTS.
   (A)   The city may enact ordinances or bylaws to require from all officers and servants, elected or appointed, bonds and security or evidence of equivalent insurance for the faithful performance of their duties. The city may pay the premium for such bonds or insurance coverage.
(Neb. RS 17-604)
   (B)   (1)   All official bonds of officers of the city shall be in form joint and several and made payable to the city in such penalty as the City Council may fix.
      (2)   In place of the individual bonds required to be furnished by municipal officers, a schedule, position, blanket bond or undertaking, or evidence of equivalent insurance may be given by municipal officers, or a single corporate surety fidelity, schedule, position, or blanket bond or undertaking, or evidence of insurance coverage covering all the officers, including officers required by law to furnish an individual bond or undertaking, may be furnished. The municipality may pay the premium for the bond or insurance coverage. The bond or insurance coverage shall be, at a minimum, an aggregate of the amounts fixed by law or by the City Council, and with such terms and conditions as may be required.
(Neb. RS 11-104)
      (3)   The penalty amount on any bond shall not fall below the legal minimum, when one has been set by the state, for each particular official.
   (C)   (1)   Official bonds, with the oath endorsed thereon, shall be filed in the City Clerk’s office within the following time:
         (a)    Of all officers elected at any general election, following receipt of their election certificate and not later than ten days before the first Thursday after the first Tuesday in January next succeeding the election;
         (b)   Of all appointed officers, within 30 days after their appointment; and
         (c)   Of officers elected at any special election and city officers, within 30 days after the canvass of the votes of the election at which they were chosen.
      (2)   The filing of the bond with the oath endorsed thereon does not authorize a person to take any official action prior to the beginning of his or her term of office pursuant to Article XVII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.
(Neb. RS 11-105)
   (D)   All official bonds of city officers shall be executed by the principal named in such bonds and by at least two sufficient sureties who shall be freeholders of the county in which such bonds are given, or any official bond of a city officer may be executed by the officer as principal and by a guaranty, surety, fidelity, or bonding company as surety, or by two or more such companies. Only such companies as are legally authorized to transact business in this state shall be eligible to suretyship on the bond of a city officer.
(Neb. RS 11-109)
   (E)   The City Clerk shall carefully record and preserve the bonds in his or her office and shall give certified copies thereof, when required, under the seal of his or her office, and shall be entitled to receive for the same the usual fee allowed by law for certified copies of records in other cases.
(Neb. RS 11-110)
   (F)   (1)   The approval of each official bond shall be endorsed upon such bond by the officer approving the same, and no bond shall be filed and recorded until so approved.
(Neb. RS 11-111)
      (2)   No bond shall be deemed to be given or complete until the approval of the City Council and all sureties are endorsed in writing on the instrument by the Mayor and City Clerk pursuant to the approval of the City Council.
   (G)   All official bonds shall obligate the principal and sureties for the faithful discharge of all duties required by law of such principal and shall inure to the benefit of any persons injured by a breach of the conditions of such bonds.
(Neb. RS 11-112)
   (H)   No official bond shall be rendered void by reason of any informality of irregularity in its execution or approval.
(Neb. RS 11-113)
   (I)   No city official shall be taken as security on the bond of any administrator, executor, or other officer from whom by law bond is or may be required.
(Neb. RS 11-114)
   (J)   If any person elected or appointed to any office neglects to have his or her official bond executed and approved as provided by law and filed for record within the time limited by this section, the City Clerk shall immediately issue an order to such person to show cause why he or she has failed to properly file such bond and why his or her office should not be declared vacant. If such person properly files the official bond within ten days of the issuance of the show cause order for appointed officials or before the date for taking office for elected officials, such filing shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section. If such person does not file the bond within ten days of the issuance of such order for appointed officials or before the date for taking office for elected officials and sufficient cause is not shown within that time, his or her office shall thereupon ipso facto become vacant and such vacancy shall thereupon immediately be filled by election or appointment as the law may direct in other cases of vacancy in the same office.
(Neb. RS 11-115)
   (K)   Any person appointed to fill a vacancy, before entering upon the duties of the office, must give a bond corresponding in substance and form with the bond required of the officer originally elected or appointed, as herein provided.
(Neb. RS 11-116)
   (L)   When the incumbent of an office is reelected or reappointed, he or she shall qualify by taking the oath and giving the bond as above directed, but when such officer has had public funds or property in his or her control, his or her bond shall not be approved until he or she has produced and fully accounted for such funds and property. When it is ascertained that the incumbent of an office holds over by reason of the nonelection or nonappointment of a successor or of the neglect or refusal of the successor to qualify, he or she shall qualify anew within ten days from the time at which his or her successor, if elected, should have qualified.
(Neb. RS 11-117)
   (M)      No person shall be surety for the same officer for more than two successive terms of the same office, but this provision shall not apply to incorporated surety companies.
(Neb. RS 11-118)
   (N)   If the sureties on the official bond of any appointed officer of the city, in the opinion of the City Council, become insufficient, the City Council may, by resolution, fix a reasonable time within which the officer may give a new bond or additional sureties as directed. If the officer fails, refuses, or neglects to give a new bond or additional sureties to the satisfaction and approval of the City Council, the office shall, by such failure, refusal, or neglect, become vacant and it shall be the duty of the City Council to appoint a competent and qualified person to fill the office.
§ 33.031 OATH OF OFFICE; CITY OFFICIALS.
   (A)   All officials of the city, whether elected or appointed, except when a different oath is specifically provided herein, shall before entering upon their respective duties take and subscribe the following oath, which shall be endorsed upon their respective bonds:
      “I, ______________________________, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Nebraska, against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely and without mental reservation or for the purpose of evasion; and that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of the office of ____________________, according to law and to the best of my ability. And I do further swear that I do not advocate nor am I a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state by force or violence; and that during such time as I am in this position I will not advocate nor become a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state by force or violence. So help me God”.
   (B)   If any such officer is not required to give bond, the oath shall be filed with the City Clerk.
(Neb. RS 11-101)
COMPENSATION; CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
§ 33.045 COMPENSATION; HOW FIXED; LIMITATIONS.
   No official shall receive any pay or compensation from the city other than his or her salary. The foregoing notwithstanding, any official who shall be a member of the Volunteer Fire Department shall be entitled to any benefits which the city shall provide to members of said Department. The governing body shall not pay or appropriate any money or other valuable thing to pay a person who is not an officer for the performance of any act, service, or duty which shall come within the proper scope of the duties of any officer of the city.
(Prior Code, § 1-902) (Ord. 663, passed 12-18-2013)
Statutory reference:
   Generally, see Neb. RS 17-611, 18-305 through 18-312  
§ 33.046 CONFLICT OF INTEREST INVOLVING CONTRACTS.
   (A)    For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      BUSINESS ASSOCIATION.
         (a)   A business:
            1.   In which the individual is a partner, limited liability company member, director, or officer; or
            2.   In which the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family is a stockholder of closed corporation stock worth $1,000 or more at fair market value or which represents more than a 5% equity interest or is a stockholder of publicly traded stock worth $10,000 or more at fair market value or which represents more than 10% equity interest.
         (b)   An individual who occupies a confidential professional relationship protected by law shall be exempt from this definition. This definition shall not apply to publicly traded stock under a trading account if the filer reports the name and address of the stockbroker.
(Neb. RS 49-1408)
      IMMEDIATE FAMILY. A child residing in an individual's household, a spouse of an individual, or an individual claimed by that individual or that individual's spouse as a dependent for federal income tax purposes.
(Neb. RS 49-1425)
      OFFICER.
         (a)   Includes:
            1.   A member of any board or commission of the city which spends and administers its own funds, who is dealing with a contract made by such board or commission; or
            2.   Any elected city official.
         (b)   OFFICER does not mean volunteer firefighters or ambulance drivers with respect to their duties as firefighters or ambulance drivers.
   (B)   (1)   Except as provided in Neb. RS 49-1499.04 or 70-624.04, no officer may have an interest in any contract to which his or her governing body, or anyone for its benefit, is a party. The existence of such an interest in any contract shall render the contract voidable by decree of a court of competent jurisdiction as to any person who entered into the contract or took assignment of the contract with actual knowledge of the prohibited conflict. An action to have a contract declared void under this section may be brought by the County Attorney, the governing body, or any resident within the jurisdiction of the governing body and shall be brought within one year after the contract is signed or assigned. The decree may provide for the reimbursement of any person for the reasonable value of all money, goods, material, labor, or services furnished under the contract, to the extent that the governing body has benefitted thereby.
      (2)   The prohibition in this division (B) shall apply only when the officer or his or her parent, spouse, or child:
         (a)   Has a business association with the business involved in the contract; or
         (b)   Will receive a payment, fee, or commission as a result of the contract.
   (C)   Division (B) of this section does not apply if the contract is an agenda item approved at a meeting of the governing body and the interested officer:
      (1)   Makes a declaration on the record to the governing body responsible for approving the contract regarding the nature and extent of his or her interest prior to official consideration of the contract;
      (2)   Does not vote on the matters of granting the contract, making payments pursuant to the contract, or accepting performance of work under the contract, or similar matters relating to the contract, except that if the number of members of the governing body declaring an interest in the contract would prevent the body with all members present from securing a quorum on the issue, then all members may vote on the matters; and
      (3)   Does not act for the governing body which is a party to the contract as to inspection or performance under the contract in which he or she has an interest.
   (D)   The receiving of deposits, cashing of checks, and buying and selling of warrants and bonds of indebtedness of any such governing body by a financial institution shall not be considered a contract for purposes of this section. The ownership of less than 5% of the outstanding shares of a corporation shall not constitute an interest within the meaning of this section.
   (E)   If an officer's parent, spouse, or child is an employee of the officer's governing body, the officer may vote on all issues of the contract which are generally applicable to all employees, or all employees within a classification, and do not single out his or her parent, spouse, or child for special action.
   (F)   Neb. RS 49-14,102 does not apply to contracts covered by this section.
(Neb. RS 49-14,103.01)
   (G)   (1)   The person charged with keeping records for the governing body shall maintain separately from other records a ledger containing the information listed in divisions (G)(1)(a) through (G)(1)(e) of this section about every contract entered into by the governing body in which an officer of the body has an interest and for which disclosure is made pursuant to division (C) of this section. This information shall be kept in the ledger for five years from the date of the officer's last day in office and shall include:
         (a)   The names of the contracting parties;
         (b)   The nature of the interest of the officer in question;
         (c)   The date that the contract was approved by the governing body;
         (d)   The amount of the contract; and
         (e)   The basic terms of the contract.
      (2)   The information supplied relative to the contract shall be provided no later than ten days after the contract has been signed by both parties. The ledger kept pursuant to this division (G) shall be available for public inspection during the normal working hours of the office in which it is kept.
(Neb. RS 49-14,103.02)
   (H)   An open account established for the benefit of any governing body with a business in which an officer has an interest shall be deemed a contract subject to this section. The statement required to be filed by division (G) of this section shall be filed within ten days after the account is opened. Thereafter, the person charged with keeping records for the governing body shall maintain a running account of amounts purchased on the open account. Purchases made from petty cash or a petty cash fund shall not be subject to this section.
(Neb. RS 49-14,103.03)
   (I)   Notwithstanding divisions (A) through (H) of this section, the governing body may prohibit contracts over a specific dollar amount in which an officer of the governing body may have an interest.
(Neb. RS 49-14,103.05)
   (J)   The governing body may exempt from divisions (A) through (H) of this section, contracts involving $100 or less in which an officer of that body may have an interest.
(Neb. RS 49-14,103.06) (Ord. 725, passed 2-2-2022)
Statutory reference:
   Other provisions on conflicts of interest, see Neb. RS 18-305 through 18-312 and 49-1499.03 through 49-14,103
   Penalty for violation of restrictions on contracts, see Neb. RS 49-14,103.04
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