A CHARTER

TO PROVIDE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF CAVE JUNCTION, JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON: AND TO REPEAL ALL CHARTER PROVISIONS OF THE CITY ENACTED PRIOR TO THE TIME THAT THIS CHARTER TAKES EFFECT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF CAVE JUNCTION, JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON:

CHAPTER 1
NAMES AND BOUNDARIES

SECTION 1. TITLE OF ENACTMENT. This enactment may be referred to as the Cave Junction Charter of 1981.

SECTION 2. NAME OF CITY. The municipality of Cave Junction, Josephine County, Oregon, shall continue to be a municipal corporation with the name "City of Cave Junction."

SECTION 3. BOUNDARIES. The city shall include all territory encompassed by its boundaries as they now exist or hereafter are modified by voters, by the council, or by any other agency with legal power to modify them. The recorder shall keep in his office at the city hall at least two copies of this charter, in each of which he shall maintain an accurate, up-to-date description of the boundaries and an official boundary map. The copies and descriptions shall be available for public inspection at any time during regular office hours of the recorder.

CHAPTER 2
POWERS

SECTION 4. POWERS OF THE CITY. The city shall have all powers which the Constitution, statutes, and common law of the United States and of this state expressly or impliedly grant or allow municipalities, or which can be granted thereunder, 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 may have all powers necessary or convenient for the conduct of 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.

CHAPTER 3
FORM OF GOVERNMENT

SECTION 6. WHERE POWERS VESTED. Except as this charter provided otherwise all powers of the city shall be vested in the council.

SECTION 7. COUNCIL. The council shall be composed of four councilmen and a mayor elected from the city at large. All references to councilmen in this charter designates both sexes and when the male gender is used, it shall be construed to include both male and female council members.

SECTION 8. COUNCILMEN. The term of office of each councilman in office when this charter is adopted shall continue until the end of the term for which he was elected. At the first biennial general election after the charter is adopted, two councilmen shall be elected for a term of four years. At the next succeeding biennial election, two councilmen shall be elected for a term of four years. At each subsequent biennial election, two councilmen shall be elected, each for a term of four years.

SECTION 9. MAYOR. At the first biennial general election after this charter is adopted, and each subsequent biennial general election, a mayor shall be elected for a term of two years. The incumbent mayor shall hold office until his successor is elected and qualifies.

SECTION 10. OTHER OFFICERS. Additional officers of the city may be a municipal judge, a recorder, and such other officers as the council deems necessary. Each of these officers shall be appointed by the mayor with the approval of the council and may be removed by a majority vote of the entire council. The council may combine any two or more appointive city offices, and may designate any appointive officer to supervise any other appointive officer except the municipal judge in the exercise of his judicial functions.

SECTION 11. SALARIES. The compensation for the services of each city officer and employee, shall be the amount fixed by the council as permitted by law.

SECTION 12. QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS. No person shall be eligible to fill an elective office of the city unless at the time of his election he is a qualified voter within the meaning of the state constitution and has resided in the city one year immediately preceding the election.

CHAPTER 4
COUNCIL

SECTION 13. MEETINGS. Council shall hold a regular meeting at least once each month at a time and at a place in the city which it designates, and shall adopt rules for the government of its members and proceedings. The mayor upon his own motion may, or at the request of three members of the council shall, by giving notice thereof to all members of the council then in the city, call a special meeting of the council for a time not earlier than three nor later than forty-eight hours after the notice is posted.

SECTION 14. QUORUM. A majority of members of the council shall constitute a quorum for its business, but a smaller number may meet and compel the attendance of absent members in a manner provided by ordinance.

SECTION 15. JOURNAL. The council shall cause a journal of its proceedings to be kept. A roll call vote upon any question before it shall be taken and a record of the vote entered in the journal.

SECTION 16. PROCEEDINGS 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 proceedings open to the public.

SECTION 17. MAYOR'S FUNCTIONS AT COUNCIL MEETINGS. The mayor shall be chairman of the council and preside over its deliberations. He shall have a vote on all questions before it. He shall have authority to preserve order, enforce the rules of the council and determine the order of business under the rules of the council.

SECTION 18. PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL. At its first meeting after this charter takes effect and thereafter at its first meeting of each odd-numbered year, the council shall elect a president from its membership. In the mayor's absence from a council meeting, the president shall preside over it. Whenever the mayor is unable to perform the functions of his office, the president shall act as mayor.

SECTION 19. VOTE REQUIRED. Except as this charter otherwise provides, the concurrence of a majority of the members of the entire council shall be necessary to decide any question before the council.

CHAPTER 5
POWERS AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS

SECTION 20. MAYOR. Except as provided to the contrary in this charter, the mayor is the executive and administrative head of the city government. In exercising this power, the mayor shall:

A.

At the beginning of each calendar year, and may at other times, report to the council the affairs and needs of the city and recommend legislation he considers necessary and desirable;

B.

Appoint the committees provided by the rules of the council; appoint all members of boards or commissions, subject to confirmation by the council; and except as provided to the contrary in this charter, appoint and remove other appointive officers and employees; subject to the further requirements that:

1.

An appointment made by the mayor to any board or commission does not take effect unless a majority vote of the entire council approve the appointment or the council fails to act upon the appointment within thirty (30) calendar days after the appointment is made; and

2.

Unless waived by a majority vote of the entire council, a member of any committee, board or commission shall be a resident of the city.

C.

Have with the exception of the council, city attorney, city auditor, or over the judicial activities of the municipal judge, general supervision and control over appointive city officers and employees and their work with power to transfer an employee from one department to another, to the end of obtaining the utmost efficiency of each of them.

D.

He shall have no veto power and shall sign all ordinances passed by the council within three days after their passage. After the council approves a bond of a city officer or a bond for a license, contract, or proposal the mayor shall endorse the bond.

E.

See that all ordinances are enforced and that the provisions of all franchises, leases, contracts, permits and privileges granted by the city are observed.

F.

Act, or in his absence the president of the council, in conjunction with the city recorder, shall approve all expenditures under their control for all city departments.

G.

Submit to the budget committee the annual budget estimates and such reports as that body requests;

H.

Supervise the operation of all public utilities owned or operated by the city and have general supervision over all city property.

SECTION 21. MUNICIPAL JUDGE, MUNICIPAL COURT.

A.

The municipal judge shall be the judicial officer of the city. The council may appoint one or more municipal judges pro tem in the same manner as the municipal judge is appointed.

B.

The municipal judge and municipal judges pro tem shall be members of the Oregon State Bar and be chosen without regard to political considerations and solely with reference to legal and administrative qualifications.

C.

The municipal judges shall hold, at places authorized by the council, a municipal court known as the Municipal Court of the City of Cave Junction. The court shall be open for the transaction of judicial business at times established by the rules and practices of the court.

D.

The municipal judge may exercise original jurisdiction of all crimes, offenses and infractions defined and made punishable by ordinances of the city and may exercise original jurisdiction of actions brought to recover or enforce forfeitures or penalties defined or authorized by ordinances of the city. The municipal judge may issue process for the arrest of any person accused of an offense against the city, commit any such person to jail or admit him or her to bail or order his or her release on recognizance pending trial, issue search warrants, issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to appear and testify in connection with any cause before the court, compel obedience to such subpoenas and other orders of the court, issue any process necessary to carry into effect the judgments and orders of the court, and punish witnesses and others for direct or indirect contempt of court. When not governed by ordinances or this charter, all proceedings in the municipal court shall be governed by the applicable general laws of the state governing justices of the peace and justice courts.

E.

To the extent now or hereafter permitted by state law, the council may by ordinance designate a state court and the judges thereof to perform and exercise all or any part of the municipal court's and municipal judge's powers, functions and jurisdiction. If the designation is complete, the office of the municipal judge is abolished. The council may by ordinance recall any powers, functions and jurisdiction designated and such action shall reestablish the office of municipal judge.

SECTION 22. RECORDER. The recorder shall serve ex-officio as clerk of the council, attend all its meetings unless excused therefrom by the council, keep an accurate record of its proceedings in a book provided for that purpose and in conjunction with the mayor or president of the council sign all orders on the treasury. In his absence from a council meeting, the mayor 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. The recorder shall be bonded as required by city ordinance.

CHAPTER 6
ELECTIONS

SECTION 23. REGULATIONS OF ELECTIONS. The general laws of the state apply to the conduct of all city elections, recounts of the returns therefrom, and contests thereof, except as this charter provides otherwise and as the council may provide otherwise by ordinance.

SECTION 24. REGULAR ELECTIONS. Regular city elections shall be held at the same times and places as biennial primary and general state elections. The recorder, pursuant to directions from the council, shall give at least ten days' notice of each regular city election by posting notice thereof at a conspicuous place in the city hall and in public places in each voting precinct of the city, and by publication thereof at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. The notice shall state the officers to be elected, and ballot Title of each measure to be voted upon, and the time and place of election.

SECTION 25. SPECIAL ELECTIONS. The council shall prescribe the time, manner and means for holding any special election. The recorder shall give the same notice of each special election as for a regular election.

SECTION 26. CANVASS OF RETURNS, RESULTS. To all elections held in conjunction with state and county elections, the state laws governing the filing of returns by the county clerk apply. The results of all elections shall be recorded in the journal of the council. The journal shall contain a statement of the total number of votes cast at the election, of the votes cast for each person elected to office, of the office to which he or she has been elected and of each measure enacted or approved. As soon as practical after the canvass is completed, the recorder shall make and sign a certificate of election of each person so elected. A certificate so made and delivered shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of the statements contained in it.

SECTION 27. TIE VOTES. In the event of a tie vote for candidates for an elective office, the successful candidate shall be determined by a public drawing of lots in a manner prescribed by the council.

SECTION 28. COMMENCEMENT OF TERMS OF OFFICE, OATH OF OFFICE. The term of office of a person elected at a general election commences the first day of the year immediately following the election. Each elected officer, prior to entering office, shall take an oath or make an affirmation to support the Constitution and laws of the United States and Oregon and to faithfully perform his or her official duties.

SECTION 29. NOMINATION FOR ELECTIVE OFFICE. The council shall provide by ordinance the mode for nominating elective officers.

CHAPTER 7
VACANCIES IN ELECTIVE OFFICE

SECTION 30. WHAT CREATES A VACANCY. An elective office shall be declared vacant by the city council upon the incumbent's death, adjudicated incompetence, conviction of a felony or other offense pertaining to his or her office, unlawful destruction of public records, resignation, recall from office, ceasing to possess the qualifications for the office, failure of the person elected or appointed to said office to qualify therefor within ten days after the time for his or her term of office is to commence, or the office holder's absence from four consecutive regular meetings of the council without the consent of the council.

SECTION 31. FILLING VACANCIES.

A.

Except as provided otherwise in this section, a vacancy in an elective office shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the council. The appointee's term of office begins immediately upon his or her appointment and continues throughout the unexpired term of the predecessor.

B.

If a vacancy occurs 90 days or more prior to a general election at which the office would not otherwise normally have been filled by election, the term of the appointment ends on the first day of January of the year following the election. The remaining two years of the predecessor's term shall be filled by nomination and election.

C.

During the disability of any council member, or during his or her temporary absence from the city for any cause, the office may be filled pro tem in the manner provided for permanently filling the vacancies in the office.

CHAPTER 8
ORDINANCES

SECTION 32. ENACTING CLAUSE. The enacting clause of an ordinance passed by the council shall be "The City of Cave Junction ordains as follows."

SECTION 33. MODE OF ENACTMENT.

(1)

Except as the second and third paragraphs of this section provide to the contrary, every ordinance of the council shall, before being put upon its final passage, be read fully and distinctly in open council meeting on two different days.

(2)

Except as the third paragraph of this section provides to the contrary, an ordinance may be enacted at a single meeting of the council by unanimous vote of the full council, upon being read first in full and then by title.

(3)

Any of the readings may be by title only if no council member present at the meeting requests to have the ordinance read in full or if a copy of the ordinance is provided for each member of the council and three copies are provided for public inspection in the office of the city recorder not later than one week before the first reading of the ordinance. An ordinance enacted after being read by title alone may have no legal effect if it differs substantially from its terms as it was thus filed prior to such reading, unless each section incorporating such a difference is read fully and distinctly in open council meeting as finally amended prior to being approved by the council.

(4)

Upon the final vote on an ordinance, the ayes and nays of the members shall be taken and entered in the record of the proceedings.

(5)

Upon enactment of an ordinance, the recorder and mayor shall sign it and the recorder shall affix to it the date of its passage.

SECTION 34. WHEN ORDINANCES TAKE EFFECT. Each ordinance passed by the council shall take effect in 30 days after its passage. When, however, the council deems it expedient, an ordinance may provide a later time when it shall take effect. In the case of emergency, an ordinance may take effect immediately upon unanimous vote of the members of the council present. All ordinances, immediately after being passed, shall be posted for 10 days in a conspicuous place in city hall.

CHAPTER 9

SECTION 35. CONDEMNATION. Any necessity of taking property for the city by condemnation shall be determined by the council and declared by a resolution describing the property and stating the use to which it shall be devoted.

SECTION 36. IMPROVEMENTS. 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 general laws of the state. Action on a proposed public improvement, except a sidewalk or 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 specifically assessed therefor. In this section "owner" shall mean the record holder of legal title or, where land is being purchased under a land sale contract recorded or verified to the recorder in writing by the record holder of legal title to the land, the purchaser shall be deemed the "owner."

SECTION 37. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS. The procedure for levying, 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. A contract in excess of $500.00 shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder for the contract in a public meeting and shall be done in accordance with plans and specification approved by council. All bids are to be opened and approved by the council in a public meeting. ORS 279.011

SECTION 39. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS - DEBT LIMIT. Except by consent of the voters, the city's voluntary floating indebtedness shall not exceed $500.00. All city officials and employees who create or officially approve any indebtedness in excess of this limitation shall be jointly and severally liable for the excess.

SECTION 40. EXISTING ORDINANCES CONTINUED. 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. REPEAL OF PREVIOUSLY ENACTED PROVISIONS. All charter provisions of the city enacted prior to the time that this charter takes effect are hereby repealed.

SECTION 42. SEVERABILITY AND VALIDITY CLAUSE. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this charter is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this charter. The voters of the City of Cave Junction hereby declare that they would have passed this 1981 revision of the Cave Junction Charter, and each section, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, respective of the fact that any one or more sections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.

SECTION 43. TIME OF EFFECT OF CHARTER. This charter shall take effect November 9, 1981.

THIS CHARTER APPROVED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF CAVE JUNCTION AT THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD ON NOVEMBER 3, 1981.