Junction City Charter
To provide for the government of the CITY OF JUNCTION CITY, Lane County, Oregon: and to repeal all charter provisions of the city enacted prior to the time that this charter is enacted.
Be it enacted by the people of the CITY OF JUNCTION CITY, Lane County, Oregon:
Be it enacted by the people of the CITY OF JUNCTION CITY, Lane County, Oregon:
CHAPTER I: NAMES AND BOUNDARIES
SECTION 1: TITLE OF ENACTMENT
This enactment shall be referred to as the Junction City Charter of 1997.
SECTION 2: NAME OF CITY
The city of Junction City, Oregon, continues under this charter to be a municipal corporation with the name, "City of Junction City."
SECTION 3: BOUNDARIES
The city includes all territory encompassed by its boundaries as now exist or hereafter are modified by voters, by the council, or by any other agency with legal power to modify them. The city administrator shall keep at the city hall at least four (4) copies of this charter and shall maintain an accurate, up-to-date description of the boundaries as filed with the Lane County Department of Assessment and Taxation and/or Deeds and Records. The copies and boundary descriptions shall be available for public inspection at any time during regular office hours at city hall.
CHAPTER II: POWERS
SECTION 4: POWERS OF THE CITY
The city has all powers which the constitution, statutes, and common law of the United States and of this state now or hereafter expressly or impliedly grant or allow municipalities, as fully as though this charter specifically enumerated each of those powers.
SECTION 5: CONSTRUCTION OF CHARTER
In this charter no mention of a particular power shall be construed to be exclusive or to restrict the scope of the powers which the city would have if the particular power were not mentioned. The charter shall be liberally construed to the end that the city has all powers necessary or convenient to conduct its municipal affairs, including all powers that cities may assume pursuant to state laws and to the municipal home rule provisions of the state constitution.
SECTION 6: DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS
Except as this charter prescribes otherwise and as the Oregon Constitution reserves municipal legislative power to the voters of the city, all powers of the city are vested in the council.
The city has all powers which the constitution, statutes, and common law of the United States and of this state now or hereafter expressly or impliedly grant or allow municipalities, as fully as though this charter specifically enumerated each of those powers.
SECTION 5: CONSTRUCTION OF CHARTER
In this charter no mention of a particular power shall be construed to be exclusive or to restrict the scope of the powers which the city would have if the particular power were not mentioned. The charter shall be liberally construed to the end that the city has all powers necessary or convenient to conduct its municipal affairs, including all powers that cities may assume pursuant to state laws and to the municipal home rule provisions of the state constitution.
SECTION 6: DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS
Except as this charter prescribes otherwise and as the Oregon Constitution reserves municipal legislative power to the voters of the city, all powers of the city are vested in the council.
CHAPTER III: FORM OF GOVERNMENT
SECTION 7: COUNCIL
The council is composed of a mayor and six councilors elected from the city at large or, in case of one or more vacancies in the council, the council members whose offices are not vacant.
SECTION 8: COUNCILORS
The term of office of a councilor in office when this charter is adopted is the term of office for which the councilor has been elected before adoption of the charter (or is elected at the time of the adoption). At each general election after the adoption, three council positions shall be voted upon, each for a four-year term.
SECTION 9: MAYOR
The term of office of the mayor in office when this charter is adopted continues until the elected successor to the office assumes the office. At each subsequent general election, a mayor shall be elected for a two-year term.
SECTION 10: TERMS OF OFFICE
The term of office of an elective officer who is elected at a general election begins at the first council meeting of the year immediately after the election and continues until the elected successor to the office assumes the office. When there is both a two-year and four-year vacancy to be filled, those candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall fill the vacancies with the longest terms.
SECTION 11: QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTED OFFICERS
1. No person is eligible for an elective office of the city unless at the time of election the person is a qualified elector within the meaning of the state constitution and has resided in the city one year (365 days) immediately preceding the election. In this subsection "city" means area inside the city limits at the time of the election or appointment. The council is the final judge of the qualifications and election of its own members.
2. No person shall be a candidate at a single election for more than one elective city office.
3. An elective officer may be employed in a city position that is substantially volunteer in nature. Whether the position is so may be decided by the municipal court or in some other manner, whichever the council prescribes or authorizes.
4. No person having been convicted of a felony or capital crime shall be a candidate for an elective office of the city.
SECTION 12: OTHER OFFICERS
Additional officers of the city shall be a municipal judge, city administrator, and such other officers the council deems necessary. Each of these officers shall be appointed and may be removed by the mayor with the consent of the majority of the council. The council may combine any two or more appointive city offices. The council may designate any appointive officer to supervise any other appointive officer; except the municipal judge, who shall be supervised by the Mayor, except in the exercise of the judicial functions.
SECTION 13: COMPENSATION
1. No mayor or councilor may receive compensation for serving in that capacity.
2. The compensation for the services of city officers and employees shall be in such amounts as is fixed by the council.
SECTION 14: OATH
Before assuming city office, an officer shall take an oath or shall affirm that he or she will faithfully perform the duties of the office and support the constitution and laws of the United States and of the state of Oregon.
CHAPTER IV: COUNCIL
SECTION 15: RULES
The council shall, by ordinance, prescribe rules to govern its meetings and proceedings.
SECTION 16: MEETINGS
The council shall meet regularly in the city at least once a month at a time and place designated by council's rules, and may meet at other times in accordance with the rules.
SECTION 17: QUORUM
The mayor and a majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum for its business, but a smaller number of the council may meet and compel the attendance of absent councilors as prescribed by council rules.
SECTION 18: RECORD OF MEETINGS
The council shall cause a record of its meetings to be kept and authenticated in a manner prescribed by the council.
SECTION 19: MEETINGS TO BE PUBLIC
No action by the council shall have legal effect unless the motion for the action and the vote by which it is disposed of take place at meetings open to the public. All meetings of the council shall comply with public meeting laws established by general ordinance and state statute.
SECTION 20: MAYOR'S FUNCTIONS AT COUNCIL MEETINGS
1. When present at council meetings the mayor shall:
1. Preside over deliberations of the council,
2. Preserve order,
3. Enforce council rules, and
4. Determine the order of business under the rules.
2. Notwithstanding subsection 1 of this section, the mayor may temporarily cease to chair a council meeting and delegate the functions described in subsection 1 to another council member.
3. The mayor shall not vote except in case of a tie vote of the members of the council present at a meeting.
SECTION 21: PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
1. At its first meeting after this charter takes effect and at its first meeting of each odd-numbered year, the council shall appoint a president from its councilors.
2. Except in voting on questions before the council, the president shall function as mayor when the mayor is:
1. Absent from a council meeting, or
2. Unable to function as mayor.
SECTION 22: VOTE REQUIRED
Except as this charter otherwise provides, the express concurrence of a majority of the members of the council present, and constituting a quorum of the council, is necessary to decide any question before the council.
SECTION 23: VACANCIES - WHAT CREATES VACANCY
1. The office of a member of the council becomes vacant upon the incumbent's:
1. Death,
2. Adjudicated incompetence, or
3. Recall from the office,
4. Ceasing to reside in the city;
5. Ceasing to be a qualified elector under state law;
6. Conviction of a felony or capital crime, or
2. Upon declaration by the council of the vacancy in case of the incumbent's:
1. Failure, following election or appointment to the office, to qualify for the office within ten days after the time for his or her term of office to begin,
2. Absence from three consecutive meetings of the council without the council's consent, or
3. Resignation from the office.
SECTION 24: VACANCIES - FILLING
A vacancy in the council shall be filled by appointment by a majority of the council. If a tie vote of the council should occur, the mayor shall cast the deciding vote. The appointee's term of office runs from the time he or she qualifies for the office after the appointment and until the next general election, at which time that position will be voted upon for a two-year term unless it would have otherwise been up for election for a four-year term. During a council member's inability to serve on the council or during a mayor's absence from the city, a majority of the other council members may by appointment fill the vacancy pro tem.
CHAPTER V: POWERS AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS
SECTION 25: MAYOR
The mayor shall appoint:
1. Members of committees established by council rules, and
2. Other persons required by the council to be so appointed.
SECTION 26: MUNICIPAL JUDGE
1. If the council creates the office of municipal judge, the appointee shall hold, within the city at a place and times that the council specifies, a court known as the Municipal Court for the City of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon.
2. Except as this charter or city ordinance prescribes to the contrary, proceedings of the court shall conform to general laws of this state governing justices of the peace and justice courts.
3. All area within the city and, to the extent provided by state law, area outside the city is within the territorial jurisdiction of the court.
4. The municipal court has original jurisdiction over every offense that an ordinance of the city makes punishable. The court may enforce forfeitures and other penalties that such ordinances prescribe.
5. The municipal judge may:
a. Render judgments and, for enforcing them, impose sanctions on persons and property within the court's territorial jurisdiction;
b. Order the arrest of anyone accused of an offense against the city;
c. Commit to jail or admit to bail anyone accused of such an offense;
d. Issue and compel obedience to subpoenas;
e. Compel witnesses to appear and testify and jurors to serve in the trial of matters before the court;
f. Penalize contempt of court;
g. Issue process necessary to effectuate judgments and orders of the court;
h. Issue search warrants;
i. Perform other judicial and quasi-judicial functions prescribed by ordinance; and
j. The mayor may appoint municipal judges pro tem for terms of office set by the judge and approved by the Mayor.
k. Notwithstanding this section, the council may transfer some or all of the functions of the municipal court to an appropriate state court.
SECTION 27: CITY ADMINISTRATOR
1. The city administrator is the administrative head of the city government.
2. A majority of the council shall appoint and may remove the administrator. Should the council's vote result in a tie, the mayor shall cast the deciding vote. The appointment shall be without regard to political considerations and solely on the basis of administrative qualifications.
3. Upon accepting the appointment, the administrator shall furnish the city a bond in an amount and with a surety approved by the council. The city shall pay the bond premium.
4. The administrator shall be appointed for a definite or an indefinite term and all personnel policies established by the council shall apply to the administrator unless specifically excluded in the policy.
5. The administrator shall:
a. Attend all council meetings unless excused by the council or mayor;
b. Keep the council advised of the affairs and needs of the city;
c. See that the provisions of all ordinances are administered to the satisfaction of the council;
d. See that all terms of franchises, leases, contracts, permits, and privileges granted by the city are fulfilled;
e. Appoint, discipline and remove appointive personnel, except appointees of the mayor or council;
f. Supervise and control the administrator's appointees in their service to the city;
g. Organize and reorganize the departmental structure of city government, as directed by the council;
h. Prepare and transmit to the council an annual city budget;
i. Supervise city contracts;
j. Supervise operation of all city-owned public utilities and property; and
k. Perform other duties as the council prescribes consistent with this charter.
6. The administrator shall not control:
1. The council;
2. The municipal judge in the judge's judicial functions; or,
3. Except as the council authorizes, appointive personnel of the city whom the administrator does not appoint.
7. The administrator and other personnel whom the council designates may sit with the council but may not vote on questions before it. The administrator may take part in all council discussions.
8. When the administrator is unable to perform the duties as administrator, or when the office of administrator becomes vacant, the council shall appoint an administrator pro tem, who has the powers and duties of administrator, except that the administrator pro tem may appoint or remove personnel only with approval of the council. No person may be administrator pro tem more than six consecutive months.
SECTION 28. RECORDER
The recorder shall serve ex officio as clerk of the council, attend all its meetings unless excused therefrom by the city administrator or council, keep an accurate record of its proceedings in a book provided for that purpose, and may sign on orders of the treasurer. In the recorder's absence from a council meeting the council shall appoint a clerk of the council pro tem, who while acting in that capacity, shall have all the authority and duties of the recorder.
CHAPTER VI: PERSONNEL
SECTION 29: RULES
Subject to council approval and to all collective bargaining agreements between the city and one or more groups of its employees, the city administrator shall prescribe rules governing recruitment, selection, promotion, transfer, demotion, suspension, layoff, and dismissal of city employees.
CHAPTER VII: ELECTIONS
SECTION 30: STATE LAW
Except as this charter or a city ordinance prescribes to the contrary, a city election shall conform to state law applicable to the election.
SECTION 31: NOMINATIONS
A person may be nominated in a manner prescribed by general ordinance to run for an elective office of the city.
SECTION 32: COMMENCEMENT OF TERMS OF OFFICE
The term of office of a person elected to an office at a regular city election shall commence at the first regular council meeting in January of the year immediately following the election.
Except as this charter or a city ordinance prescribes to the contrary, a city election shall conform to state law applicable to the election.
SECTION 31: NOMINATIONS
A person may be nominated in a manner prescribed by general ordinance to run for an elective office of the city.
SECTION 32: COMMENCEMENT OF TERMS OF OFFICE
The term of office of a person elected to an office at a regular city election shall commence at the first regular council meeting in January of the year immediately following the election.
CHAPTER VIII: ORDINANCES
SECTION 33: ENACTING CLAUSE
The enacting clause of all ordinances shall be, "THE CITY OF JUNCTION CITY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:".
SECTION 34: MODE OF ENACTMENT
1. Except as subsection 2 of this section allows adopting at a single meeting, an ordinance shall be considered on two different days before being adopted by the council. The ordinance shall be fully and distinctly read at one open council meeting.
2. The council may adopt an ordinance at a single meeting by the express unanimous vote of all council members present, provided the ordinance is distinctly read first in full and then by title.
3. Upon the final vote on an ordinance, the ayes and nays of the councilors shall be taken and entered in the record of proceedings.
4. Upon the enactment of an ordinance, the City Recorder shall sign and date it with the date of passage; within 10 days thereafter, the mayor either shall sign and date it, or shall veto it. The signatories shall designate the title of their office.
5. If the mayor does not approve an ordinance within 10 days from its adoption by the council, the mayor shall return it to the recorder with reasons for it not being approved. If the mayor neither signs the ordinance nor returns it to the recorder within 10 days, the ordinance shall become a law as though the mayor had approved it.
6. At the next meeting of the council after the return of any ordinance not approved by the mayor, the recorder shall present the same to the council with the mayor's reasons for not approving it. The mayor's reasons must be read to the council, and the ordinance shall again be put for a vote before the council. If the ordinance is passed by a majority vote of the council present, constituting a quorum, it shall be come a law without the approval of the mayor.
7. If an ordinance is put into effect without the mayors signature of approval, the authorization for such action shall be included on the ordinance.
SECTION 35: EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCE
An ordinance enacted by the council takes effect on the thirtieth day after its enactment or on a later date the ordinance prescribes. An ordinance adopted to meet an emergency may take effect as soon as adopted.
CHAPTER IX: PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
SECTION 36: PROCEDURE
1. The procedure for making, altering, vacating, or abandoning a public improvement shall be governed by general ordinance or, to the extent not so governed, by the applicable state law. Action on any proposed public improvement, except a curb or sidewalk, or except an improvement unanimously declared by the council to be needed at once because of an emergency, shall be suspended for six months upon a remonstrance thereto by the owners of two-thirds of the land to be specially assessed for the improvement. The number of owners necessary to suspend the action, without considering the amount of land owned, shall be prescribed by general ordinance. A second such remonstrance suspends the action only with the consent of the council.
2. In this section "owner" means the record holder of legal title or, as to land being purchased under a land-sale contract that is recorded or verified in writing by the record holder of legal title, the purchaser.
SECTION 37: SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS
The procedure for fixing, levying, collecting, and enforcing the payment of special assessments for public improvements or other services to be charged against real property shall be governed by general ordinance.
SECTION 38: BIDS
Contracts for public improvements to be made by a private contractor shall be governed by rules prescribed by general ordinance.
CHAPTER X: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SECTION 39: DEBT LIMIT
The city's indebtedness may not exceed debt limits imposed by state law. A city officer or employee who creates or officially approves indebtedness in excess of this limitation is jointly and severally liable for the excess. A charter amendment is not required to authorize city indebtedness.
SECTION 40: CONTINUATION OF EXISTING ORDINANCES
All ordinances of the city consistent with this charter and in force when it takes effect shall remain in effect until amended or repealed.
SECTION 41: SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this charter is held invalid, the other provisions of the charter shall not be affected.
SECTION 42: PREVIOUS CHARTER PROVISIONS
All charter provisions adopted before this charter takes effect are hereby repealed.
SECTION 43: TIME OF EFFECT OF CHARTER
This charter shall take effect January 1, 1997.
