We, the people of the City of Mustang, exercising the powers of home rule granted to us by the Constitution and the Laws of the State of Oklahoma, in order to provide for more efficient, adequate, and economical government, do hereby ordain, ratify, and establish the Charter of the City of Mustang, Oklahoma.

(a)

The City of Mustang, Oklahoma, within the corporate limits as now established, or as hereafter may be established, shall be a municipal body politic and corporate in perpetuity under the name of "City of Mustang." The City is the legal successor of the Town; and as such, it succeeded to and possesses all the property and rights belonging to the Town, and shall be liable for all debts and other obligations for which the Town was legally bound at the time of the succession in government.

(b)

The City of Mustang, Oklahoma, may not be annexed by or to, or be consolidated with, any other city or other political subdivision, or merged into a combined county-city government, unless a majority of the qualified electors of the City of Mustang voting on the question approve such annexation, consolidation, or merging; and such questions may be submitted to the qualified electors of the City only by the City Council or by the Mayor on proper initiative petition at special election; provided that nothing herein shall prohibit the City of Mustang from annexing additional territory to the City as provided by law.

The municipal government provided by this Charter shall be known as a "Council-Manager Government." All powers of the City shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by this Charter, or, if the manner is not thus prescribed, then in such manner as the Council may prescribe by ordinance.

(a)

The City shall have all powers, functions, rights, privileges, franchises, and immunities granted to cities by the State Constitution and Law, and all the implied powers necessary to carry into execution all the powers granted. Except as prohibited by the State Constitution or Law, the City shall have all municipal powers, functions, rights, privileges, franchises, and immunities of every name and nature whatsoever.

(b)

The City shall have the power to adopt a corporate seal and to alter it at pleasure, to sue and to be sued, and to make contracts. It shall have power to acquire property within or without its corporate limits for any City purpose, including public utilities, works and ways, in fee simple or any lessor [lesser] interest or estate, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation, or other legal means; and to hold, maintain, improve, enlarge, manage, control, operate, lease, sell, convey, or otherwise dispose of, such property as its interests may require, including public utilities, works, and ways. It shall have power to incur indebtedness and to issue bonds within the limitations prescribed by the State Constitution. It shall have power to accept and administer federal and state grants-in-aid and to do everything necessary to accomplish the purpose or purposes for which such grants may be made. It shall have power to ordain and to enforce local legislation for the proper organization and functioning of the city government, for the preservation and enforcement of good government and order, for the protection of health, life, morals, and property, for the prevention, summary abatement, and removal of nuisances, and otherwise for the promotion of the common welfare. It shall have power to grant, extend, and renew franchises in accordance with the State Constitution.

(c)

The enumeration or mention of particular powers by this Charter shall not be deemed to be exclusive or limiting; and in addition to the powers enumerated or mentioned herein or implied hereby, the City shall have all powers which, under the State Constitution and Law, it would be competent for this Charter specifically to enumerate or mention.

(d)

Provisions of State Law relating to matters which may be regulated by cities operating under charters, shall be in effect only insofar as they are applicable and are not superseded by this Charter or by ordinance.

There shall be a Council of seven (7) members, which shall consist of the Mayor as Councilmember at large, and one Councilmember from each of the six (6) wards of the City, as the wards are constituted in this Charter, or as they may hereafter be constituted by ordinance.

(a)

Qualified electors who are candidates for the office of Mayor shall meet a residency requirement of at least one (1) year before the closing of the filing period.

(b)

Qualified electors who are candidates for the office of Councilmember shall meet a residency requirement of at least one (1) year in the ward they are to represent, before the filing period.

(c)

The Mayor shall be a resident and a registered voter of the City. If he ceases to be a resident of the City, he shall thereupon cease to be Mayor.

(d)

A Councilman shall be a resident and registered voter of the ward in which he was elected. If he ceases to be a resident of the ward in which he was elected, he shall cease to be a Councilman; however, a temporary loss of residency in said ward of no more than six (6) months shall not disqualify said Councilman, provided, he shall remain a resident of the City.

(e)

No Councilmember may hold any office in the City Government by appointment by the City Manager or by any subordinate of the City Manager.

(f)

If the Mayor or any other Councilmember is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, the office shall become vacant immediately when the case is finally determined.

(g)

An incumbent Councilmember whose term is not expiring in the current election year shall be required to resign as Councilmember in order to become eligible as a candidate for Mayor.

(a)

The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council. The Mayor shall be recognized as head of the City Government for all ceremonial purposes and by the Governor for purposes of military law. The Mayor shall have no regular administrative duties except that the Mayor shall sign written obligations of the City as the Council may require. As a Councilmember, the Mayor shall have all powers, rights, privileges, duties and responsibilities of a Councilmember, including the right to vote on questions.

(b)

At the first meeting after the time prescribed for the beginning of the terms of newly elected Council members, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the Council shall elect from its membership, a Vice-Mayor, who shall serve as such until the next such first meeting. The Vice-Mayor shall act as Mayor during the absence, disability, or suspension of the Mayor, until another Mayor is elected by the Council for the completion of the unexpired term and qualifies. If the office of Vice-Mayor becomes vacant, the Council shall elect from its membership another Vice-Mayor for completion of the unexpired term.

Neither the Mayor nor any other Councilmember may receive any compensation as Mayor or Councilmember, nor for any other service rendered the City, but may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties.

Except as otherwise provided for in this Charter, all powers of the City, including the determination of all matters of policy, shall be vested in the Council. Without limitation of the foregoing, the Council shall have the power, subject to the State Constitution, Law, and this Charter:

(a)

To appoint and remove the City Manager.

(b)

By ordinance, to enact municipal legislation.

(c)

To raise revenue and make appropriations, and to regulate bond elections, the issuance of bonds, sinking funds, and refunding of indebtedness, set salaries and wages, and all other fiscal affairs of the City.

(d)

To inquire into the conduct of any office, department, or agency of the City Government, and investigate municipal affairs.

(e)

To appoint or elect and remove the City Attorney, the members of the Personnel Board, the members of the Planning Commission, the members of the Board of Adjustments, and other quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial, or advisory officers and authorities, now or when and if established, or to prescribe the method of appointing or electing and removing them.

(f)

To grant pardons for violations of the Charter and Ordinances, including the remission of fines and costs, upon application by a person convicted and public hearing thereon.

(g)

To regulate elections, the initiative and referendum, and recall.

(h)

To create, change, and abolish all offices, departments, and agencies of the City Government other than the offices, departments, and agencies created by this Charter; and to assign additional powers, duties and functions to offices, departments and agencies created by this Charter.

Neither the Council, the Mayor, nor any of its other members may direct or request the appointment of any person to, or removal from, office or employment by the City Manager or by any other authority, or except as provided in this Charter, participate in any manner in the appointment or removal of officers and employees of the City. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the City Manager; and neither the Council nor any member thereof may give orders on administrative matters to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately.

The Council shall hold at least one regular meeting every month, at such time as it may prescribe by ordinance or otherwise. The Mayor or majority of Councilmembers may call special meetings. The City Clerk shall attempt to notify all Councilmembers by special delivery, certified mail, registered mail, or other verifiable means, at least twenty-four (24) hours before such special meetings. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, and the journal of its proceedings shall be open to the public inspection, provided the Council may hold executive sessions when authorized by the Oklahoma Open Meeting Law.

If the Mayor or any other Councilmembers shall be absent from more than one-half of all the meetings of the Council, regular and special, held within any period of four consecutive calendar months, the member shall thereupon cease to hold office.

The Mayor or any other Councilman may be removed from office for any cause specified by applicable State Law for the removal of officers, and by the method or methods prescribed thereby, and by recall as provided in this Charter.

State Law reference— Grounds for removal of officers and procedures therefor, 22 O.S. § 1181 et seq.

(a)

When a vacancy occurs in the office of a Councilmember, except the Mayor, the governing body shall appoint, by a majority vote of the remaining members, a person who resides in the ward of the vacant office to fill the vacancy until the next general municipal election, and until a successor is elected and qualifies. Any vacancy shall then be filled at the next general municipal election by election of a person to complete the balance of any unexpired term. If the vacancy has not been filled within sixty (60) days after it occurs, the governing body shall call for a special election for the purpose of filling the vacancy for the duration of the unexpired term, unless such vacancy occurs within one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the first day of a filing period for the next general municipal election.

(b)

When a majority of governing body offices are vacant more than sixty (60) days before the beginning of a regular filing period for general municipal elections, the remaining members of the governing body shall call for a special election to be held in the municipality for the purpose of filling all vacant offices for the remainder of their unexpired terms.

(c)

When a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor, a special election shall be held to fill that vacancy.

A majority of all the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number any adjourn from day to day or from time to time. The Council may determine its own rules. On the demand of any member, the vote on any question shall be by yeas and nays, and shall be entered in the journal.

The enacting clause of all ordinances passed by the Council shall be, "Be it ordained by the Council of the City of Mustang, Oklahoma," and of all ordinances proposed by the voters under their power of initiative, "Be it ordained by the People of the City of Mustang, Oklahoma."

Every proposed ordinance shall be read, and a vote of the majority of all Councilmembers shall be required for its passage. The vote on final passage of every ordinance shall be by yeas and nays, and shall be entered in the journal. The Mayor shall have no power of veto. Within ten (10) days after its passage, every ordinance shall be published in full, or by number and title, in a newspaper of general circulation within the City. Every ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, so published, shall become effective thirty days after its final passage, unless it specifies a later time; provided that an ordinance granting a franchise to a public utility or an ordinance de-annexing territory from the City shall not go into effect until the ordinance has been published in full in a newspaper of general circulation within the City, and has been approved at an election by a vote of a majority of the qualified electors voting on the question.

An emergency ordinance is an ordinance which, in the judgment of the Council, is necessary for the immediate preservation of peace, health, or safety, and which should become effective prior to the time when an ordinary ordinance would become effective. Every such ordinance shall contain, as a part of its title, the words, "and declare an emergency"; and in a separate section, herein called the emergency section, shall declare the emergency, and state the reasons why it is necessary that the measure become effective immediately. An affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of the Councilmembers shall be required for the passage of an emergency ordinance. An emergency ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage and publication.

The Council, by ordinance, may adopt by reference codes, ordinances, standards, and regulations relating to building, plumbing, electrical installations, milk and milk products, and other matters which it has power to regulate otherwise. Such code, ordinance, standard, or regulation so adopted need not be enrolled in the Book of Ordinances; but three (3) copies shall be filed and kept in the office of the City Clerk.

The permanent, general ordinances of the City shall be codified and published in book or pamphlet form at least every ten (10) years, unless the Council, by use of looseleaf system, provides for keeping the code up-to-date. The ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the code may be revised, rearranged, and reorganized; and the code may contain new matter, provisions of the State Constitution and Law Applicable to City, and this Charter. Three (3) copies of the published code shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk after the Council adopts the code by ordinance, but the code need not be enrolled in the Book of Ordinances. The ordinances shall be made available in book or pamphlet form for distribution or sale to the public, at the costs of copies.

State Law reference— Ordinance codification, 11 O.S. § 14-108; compilation of penal ordinances, 11 O.S. § 14-109 et seq.

There shall be a City Manager. The Council shall appoint the City Manager for an indefinite term, by a vote of the majority of all its members. The Council shall choose the City Manager solely on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications, with special reference to actual experience in, or knowledge of, accepted practice in respect to the duties of the office. Neither the Mayor nor any members of the City Council may be appointed City Manager during the terms for which the Councilmember shall have been elected, nor within two (2) years after the expiration of the Councilmember's term. At the time of the City Manager's appointment, the City Manager need not be a resident of the City or State, but, during the tenure of office, the City Manager shall reside within the City, except, if part-time, the Council may give permission to live outside the City. The Council may suspend or remove the City Manager at any time by a vote of a majority of all its members; provided that the Council shall give written statement of the reason for removal at least twenty (20) days before removal, and on request, shall give the City Manager an opportunity for a public hearing thereon after the expiration of such time before removal.

The City Manager, by letter filed with [the] City Clerk, may appoint a qualified administrative officer of the City to be Acting City Manager during the temporary absence or disability of the City Manager. The Council may appoint an Acting City Manager whenever:

(a)

The City Manager fails to make such designation.

(b)

The Council suspends the City Manager.

(c)

There is a vacancy in the office of the City Manager.

The City Manager shall be the Chief Executive Officer and head of the administrative branch of the City Government. The City Manager shall execute the laws and administer the government of the City, and shall be responsible therefor to the Council. The City Manager shall:

(a)

Appoint, and when necessary for the good of the service, remove, demote, lay off or suspend all heads of administrative departments and other administrative officers and employees of the City, except as otherwise provided by law. The Manager, or the Council, by ordinance, may authorize the head of a department, office or agency to appoint and remove the subordinates in such departments, office or agency.

(b)

Supervise and control all administrative departments, officers and agencies.

(c)

Prepare a budget annually and submit it to the Council and be responsible for the administration of the budget after it goes into effect and recommend to the Council any changes in the budget which the City Manager deems desirable.

(d)

Submit to the Council a report after the end of the fiscal year on the finances and administrative activities of the City for the preceding year.

(e)

Keep the Council advised of the financial condition and future needs of the City, and make recommendations as he deems desirable.

(f)

Perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

The City Clerk shall be an officer of the City, appointed by the City Manager for an indefinite term. The City Clerk shall serve as clerical officer for the Council. Subject to such regulations as the Council may prescribe, the City Clerk shall:

(a)

Keep the journal of the proceedings of the Council.

(b)

Enroll in a book or books kept for the purpose, all ordinances and resolutions passed by the Council.

(c)

Have custody of documents, records and archives as may be provided by law or ordinance and have custody of the seal of the City.

(d)

Attest and affix the seal of the City to documents as required by law or ordinance.

(e)

Have such other powers, duties and functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

There shall be a Department of Finance and such other administrative departments, offices, and agencies as this Charter establishes and as the Council may establish.

There shall be a Finance Director, who shall be an officer of the City appointed by the City Manager for an indefinite term, and who shall be head of the Department of Finance. Except as the Council, by ordinance, provides otherwise, the Finance Director shall collect or receive revenue and other money for the City and shall deposit the same with the City Treasurer. The Finance Director shall maintain a general accounting system for the City Government. The Finance Director shall have such other powers, duties and functions as may be prescribed by the Charter, by applicable law, or by ordinance.

Within the Department of Finance, there shall be a City Treasurer, who shall be an officer of the City, appointed by the City Manager for an indefinite term. Subject to such regulations as the Council may prescribe, the City Treasurer shall deposit daily, all funds received for the City in such depositories as the Council shall designate. The City Treasurer shall have such other powers, duties, and functions as may be prescribed by the Charter, by applicable law, or by ordinance.

(a)

The City Manager, subject to any regulations which the Council may prescribe, shall contract for and purchase or issue purchase authorizations for, all supplies, materials, and equipment for the offices, departments, and agencies of the City Government or sell surplus or obsolete supplies, materials, and equipment, subject to such regulations as the Council may prescribe.

(b)

Before the purchase of, or contract for, any supplies, materials, or equipment, or sales of any surplus or obsolete supplies, materials, or equipment, ample opportunity for competitive bidding, under such regulations and with such general exceptions, as the Council may prescribe, shall be given; but the Council shall not exempt an individual contract, purchase or sale from the requirement of competitive bidding.

(c)

The Council, by ordinance, may transfer some or all of the powers granted to the City Manager by this section to an administrative officer appointed by, and subordinate to, the City Manager.

The sales of any property, real or personal, including public utilities, or of any interest therein, the cash value of which is more than $10,000, may be made only by (1) authority of an affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the City who vote on the question of approving or authorizing the sale at an election, or by (2) authority of a special nonemergency ordinance. Such ordinance shall be published in full in a newspaper of general circulation within the City within ten (10) days after its passage, and shall include a section reading substantially as follows: "Section _____. This ordinance shall be referred to a vote of the electors of the City if a legal and sufficient referendum petition is properly filed within thirty (30) days after its passage; otherwise, it shall go into effect thirty (30) days after its passage." The sale of an entire public utility may be authorized only as provided in (1) hereinabove.

Public improvements may be made by the City Government itself or by contract. The Council shall award all contracts for such improvements; provided that the Council may authorize the City Manager to award such contracts not exceeding an amount to be determined by the Council and subject to such regulations as the Council may prescribe. A contract for public improvements of more than $25,000.00 may be awarded only to the lowest and best responsible bidder after such notice and opportunity for competitive bidding as the Council may prescribe. All bids may be rejected, and further notice and opportunity for competitive bidding may be given. As used herein, "Public Improvement" means any beneficial or valuable change or addition, betterment, enhancement, or amelioration of or upon any real property or interest thereon. The term does not include the direct purchase of materials, equipment or supplies by a public agency.

(Election of 4-6-2004)

The fiscal year for the City Government shall begin on the first day of July, and shall end on the last day of June, of every calendar year.

The Council shall designate a qualified public accountant or accountants who shall make an independent audit of the accounts and evidences of financial transactions of the Department of Finance and of all other departments, offices and agencies keeping separate or subordinate accounts or making financial transactions, as of the end of every fiscal year at least, and who shall report to the Council and to the City Manager.

The Council shall cause to be published in October of each year, a condensed statement of the receipts, expenditures and indebtedness of the City for the period ending the last day of June. This condensed statement shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. A full and detailed statement of the receipts, expenditures and indebtedness of the City shall be made available to the public for review.

Cases arising out of violations of the Charter and ordinances of the City shall continue to be tried by the municipal court created by State Law; provided, that the Council, by ordinance, shall have the power to create a municipal court to hear and determine such cases if and when it deems it necessary or desirable to do so.

(a)

The Mayor and Councilmembers shall be elected for three (3) year terms. A change in the name, boundaries or number of wards shall not disqualify a Councilmember from completing the term for which the member was elected.

(b)

Their terms shall begin on the first Monday in May in the year in which they are elected. If a Mayor-Elect or other Councilmember-Elect fails to qualify within one month after the beginning of his term, that member's office shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled as other vacancies in the Council are filled.

(c)

Beginning with the 1985 elections, the candidates for Mayor shall be nominated at large, and the Mayor shall be elected at large by the qualified electors of the entire city; the candidates for Councilmembers from the wards shall be nominated by ward, by the qualified electors of their respective wards, and the Councilmembers from the wards shall be elected by the qualified electors of their respective wards.

(d)

Both the primary and the general election shall be nonpartisan; and no party designation or emblem shall be placed on the ballots.

(e)

Nothing in this Charter shall prohibit the use of voting machines.

Any qualified person may have their name placed on the ballot of the primary election as a candidate for Mayor or other Councilmember by filing, no earlier than 8:00 a.m. on the first Monday in December and no later than 4:30 p.m. on the next succeeding Wednesday (three full days), with the secretary of the County Election Board, a sworn statement of candidacy, specifying the office for which the individual is a candidate.

(Election of 4-3-2001, § 1; Election of 7-25-2006, § 1; Election of 2-5-2008, §§ 1, 2)

A primary election shall be held on the second Tuesday in February of every year to nominate candidates for Mayor and other Councilmembers to succeed those whose terms are expiring in the respective year, except in any year when a Presidential Preferential Primary Election is held in February, the date for the primary election shall be the same date as the Presidential Preferential Primary Election. In the event that a regular or special election date occurs on an official state holiday, the election shall be scheduled for the next following Tuesday. If only one (1) person is a candidate for an office to be filled, the candidate shall be not only nominated, but also elected ipso facto; and the candidate's name shall not appear on the primary or general election ballot. If only two (2) persons are candidates for Councilmember from the same ward, they shall both be nominated ipso facto; and their names shall not appear on the primary election ballot. Every qualified elector of the City shall be entitled to vote for one candidate for Mayor, and every qualified elector of a ward shall be entitled to vote for one candidate for Councilmember from their respective ward.

(Election of 4-5-2005, § 1; Election of 2-5-2008, §§ 1, 2)

In a primary election, the two (2) candidates for each office to be filled receiving the greatest number of votes for that office shall be nominated except as otherwise provided in the next sentence. If one of the candidates for each office to be filled for both Mayor and Council Member received a majority of all votes cast for all candidates for that office to be filled, the candidate shall be not only nominated, but also elected ipso facto; and the candidate's name shall not appear on the ballot for the general election. In case of failure to nominate one or both nominees because of a tie, the nominee or nominees, as the case may be, shall be determined from among those tying, fairly by lot, by the County Election Board in a public meeting. If one of the two candidates for an office nominated in a primary election dies or withdraws before the general election, the remaining candidate shall be elected ipso facto; and the candidate's name need not appear on the ballot for the general election.

(Election of 4-6-2004)

A general election shall be held in the City on the first Tuesday in April of every year to elect the Mayor and Councilmembers to succeed those whose terms are expiring in the respective year. Every qualified elector of this City shall be entitled to vote for one of the two candidates for the office of Mayor. Every qualified elector of a ward shall be entitled to vote for one of the two candidates for the office of Councilmember from their respective ward.

If there are no candidates and no questions to be voted upon at a primary or general election, the election shall not be held.

Only electors residing in this City who have the qualifications prescribed for electors by the State Constitution and Law, and who are registered, as may be required by law, may vote in City elections.

(a)

No officer or employee of the City, except for the Mayor and other Councilmembers and personnel who receive no compensation for their services, may work for or against, or attempt to influence, the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate for Mayor or other Councilmember, or the recall of the Mayor or any other Councilmember, except as may be specifically allowed by State Law, which controls over this Charter, but this shall not prohibit the ordinary exercise of one's right to express individual opinions and to vote.

(b)

Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of an offense, and upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding Seventy Dollars ($70.00) including costs. Such violation shall constitute cause of removal from office or employment; and if the regular removal authority has not already removed a person who violates this section, he or she shall be automatically removed by conviction of violating this section effective at the time the conviction becomes final.

State Law reference— Political activities by municipal employees, 11 O.S. § 22-101.1.

At the elections in 1983, the Mayor and Councilmembers from Wards ONE and THREE shall be elected for two-year terms. At the elections in 1984, the Councilmembers from Wards TWO and FOUR shall be elected for two-year terms. In the 1983 election, the candidates for Mayor shall be nominated, and the Mayor shall be elected, at large, by the qualified electors of the entire City. The candidates for Councilmembers from the four wards shall be nominated by ward, by the qualified electors of their respective wards, but the Councilmembers from the wards shall be elected at large by the qualified electors of the entire City for both the 1983 and 1984 elections.

Beginning with the elections in 1985, the Mayor and Councilmembers from Wards ONE and THREE shall be elected for three-year terms, and Councilmembers from Wards FIVE and SIX shall be elected for two-year terms. In 1986, the Councilmembers from Wards TWO and FOUR shall be elected for three-year terms, and in 1987, Councilmembers from Wards FIVE and SIX shall be elected for three-year terms.

The provisions of the State Constitution and Law applicable to City elections, shall govern such elections in this City insofar as they are applicable and are not superseded by this Charter or by ordinance.

State Law reference— Municipal elections, 11 O.S. § 16-101 et seq.

The incumbent for any elective City office, including a person appointed to fill a vacancy in any such office, may be recalled from office by the electors qualified to vote for the election of a successor to the incumbent, in the manner provided in this article.

(a)

To initiate recall proceedings, a written statement in duplicate, proposing the recall of the incumbent of an elective office, shall be signed by a number of registered qualified electors of the ward for Councilmember, or City at large for Mayor, equal to at least twenty (20) percent of the qualified electors of the ward for Councilmember, or City at large for Mayor, who voted at the last general state-wide election, and shall be filed with the City Clerk after the incumbent has held office at least six months. The statement shall also contain the reason or reasons for which the recall is sought, in not more than two hundred (200) words. Within five days, the City Clerk shall mail a copy of such statement by registered, certified, or similar special mail to the officer at the incumbent's residential address. Within ten days after the statement is mailed to the officer, the officer may make and file with the City Clerk a written statement in duplicate, justifying the officer's conduct in office, in not more than two hundred (200) words; and the City Clerk, on request, shall deliver one copy to one of the persons filing the statement proposing the recall.

(b)

The petition for recall shall include a demand that a successor to the incumbent sought to be recalled be elected, and shall also include, before the space where the signatures are to be written, the statement giving the reason or reasons for recall under the heading "STATEMENT FOR RECALL," and if the officer has filed a statement as authorized, the statement justifying his conduct in office under the heading "STATEMENT AGAINST RECALL." The two statements shall be in letters of the same size. A copy of the petition shall be filed with the City Clerk within one month after recall proceedings are initiated by the filing of the first statement, and before the petition is circulated.

(c)

A number of registered qualified electors of the ward for Councilmember, or City at large for Mayor, equal to at least thirty-three and one-third (33⅓) percent of the qualified electors of the ward for Councilmember, or City at large for Mayor, who voted at the last general state-wide election must sign the petition. Each signer shall write after the signer's name, his or her address within the City, giving street or avenue and number, if any. Not more than one hundred (100) signatures may appear on a single copy of the Petition. Petitions may be circulated only by registered qualified electors of the area; and the person who circulates each copy of the petition shall sign an affidavit on the copy stating that each signer signed the petition in his or her presence, and that each signature on the petition is genuine, and that he or she believes each signer to be a registered qualified elector of the ward or City at large, as the case may be.

(d)

The circulated petition shall be filed with the City Clerk no later than one month after the filing of a copy as provided in Section 7-2(a). Within one month after the date of filing of the circulated petition, the City Clerk shall examine it and ascertain whether the required number of registered qualified electors of the ward, or City at large, as the case may be, have signed it. The City Clerk shall then attach his or her certificate to the petition. If his or her certificate states that the petition has not been prepared and circulated as required and/or lacks a sufficient number of signatures, the petition shall have no effect. But, if the City Clerk's certificate states that the petition has been prepared and circulated as required and has a sufficient number of signatures, the City Clerk shall submit the petition and certificate to the Council at its next meeting.

(a)

The Council, by resolution or ordinance passed at the next regularly scheduled Council Meeting, after receiving the petition and certificate of the City Clerk, shall order and fix the date for a recall election, which shall be held not less than forty (40) days, nor more than fifty (50) days, after passage of the resolution or ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the resolution or ordinance ordering the election to be published in full in a newspaper of general circulation within the City within ten (10) days after its passage; and such publication shall be sufficient notice of the election.

(b)

The qualified electors of the affected ward or the City at large, as the case may be, may vote in a recall election on the election of successors to more than one officer on the same day.

(a)

The recall election shall be an election to fill the office held by the incumbent sought to be recalled. There shall be no primary. Any qualified person, including the incumbent, may file as a candidate for the office. The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes in the recall election shall be elected. If a candidate other than the incumbent is elected, the incumbent shall be recalled from office effective as of the time when the result of the election is certified. The successful candidate must qualify within one month thereafter; and if he or she fails to do so, the office shall be vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled as other vacancies in the Council are filled. A candidate thus elected and qualifying shall serve for the unexpired term. If the incumbent is a candidate and receives the greatest number of votes, he or she shall continue in office without interruption; and recall proceedings may not again be initiated against him or her within one year after the election.

(b)

The provisions of this Charter relating to City elections shall also govern recall elections insofar as they are applicable and are not superseded by the provisions of this article.

A person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from such office while recall proceedings were pending against him or her, may not hold any office or position of employment in the City Government within three years after his or her recall or resignation.

(a)

Appointments and promotions in the service of the City shall be made solely on the basis of merit and fitness; and layoffs, suspensions, demotions, and removals shall be made solely for the good of the service.

(b)

The Council, by ordinance, may establish a merit system.

Neither the City Manager, the Council, nor any other authority of the City Government, may appoint or elect any person related to the Mayor or any other Councilmember, to the City Manager, or to himself or herself, or, in the case of a plural authority, to one of its members, by affinity or consanguinity within the third degree, to any office or position of profit in the City Government; but this shall not prohibit an officer or employee already in the service of the City from continuing therein.

Except as may be otherwise provided in this Charter or by ordinance, the same person may hold more than one such office, through appointment by himself, by the Council, or by other City authority having power to fill the particular office, subject to any regulations which the Council may make by ordinance; but he or she may not receive compensation for service in such other offices. Also, the Council, by ordinance, may provide that the City Manager shall hold ex officio designated offices subordinate to the City Manager, as well as other designated compatible City offices, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter.

The City Manager, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer, and such other officers and employees as the Council may designate, before entering upon their duties, shall provide bonds for the faithful performance of their respective duties, payable to the City, in such form and in such amounts as the Council may prescribe, with a surety company authorized to operate within the state. The City shall pay the premiums on such bonds.

Every officer of the City, before entering upon the duties of office, shall take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation of office prescribed by the State Constitution. The oath or affirmation shall be filed in the City Clerk's office.

All officers authorized by Federal or State Law, the Mayor, the City Manager, the City Clerk, the Municipal Judge, and such other officers as the Council may authorize, may administer oaths and affirmations in any manner pertaining to the affairs and government of the City.

The power to lay off, suspend, demote and remove accompanies the power to appoint or elect, and the City Manager, the Council, or other appointing or electing authority at any time may lay off, suspend, demote, or remove any officer or employee to whom he or she, the Council, or the other appointing or electing authority respectively may appoint or elect a successor.

The appointing or electing authority who may appoint or elect the successor of an officer or employee, may appoint or elect a person to act during the temporary absence, leave, disability, or suspension of such officer or employee, or, in case of a vacancy, until a successor is appointed or elected and qualifies, unless the Council provides by general ordinance that a particular superior or subordinate of such officer or employee shall act. The Council, by general ordinance, may provide for a deputy to act in such cases.

Every Officer who is elected or appointed for a term ending at a definite time, shall continue to serve thereafter until his or her successor is elected or appointed and qualifies, unless his or her services are sooner terminated by resignation, removal, disqualification, death, abolition of the office, or other legal manner.

(a)

Neither the Mayor, any other Councilmember, nor the City Manager shall sell or barter anything to the City or to a contractor to be supplied to the City; or to make any contract with the City; or purchase anything from the City other than those things which the City offers generally to the public (as for example, utility services) and then only on the same terms as are offered to the public. Any such officer violating this section, upon conviction thereof, shall thereby forfeit his or her office. Any violation of this section, with the knowledge, express or implied, of the person or corporation contracting with the City, shall render the contract voidable by the City Manager or the Council. This subsection shall not apply in cases where the City acquires property by condemnation or threat of condemnation.

(b)

The Council, by ordinance, or the City Manager, by personnel rules, may further regulate conflict of interest and ethics of officers and employees of the City.

When the masculine gender is used in this Charter, it shall also include the feminine.

The powers of initiative and referendum are reserved to the people of the City. In the exercise of these powers, the requirements of the State Constitution and Law shall be observed.

State Law reference— Municipal initiative and referendum, 11 O.S. § 15-101 et seq.

This Charter may be amended by proposals thereof submitted by the Council or by the Mayor upon initiative petition of the electors as provided by the State Constitution, at a general or special election, ratified by a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon, and approved by the Governor as provided by the State Constitution. If more than one amendment is proposed, all of them, except those which are so interrelated that they should be ratified or rejected together, shall be submitted in such a manner that the electors may vote on them separately. A proposition to amend this Charter may be either in the form of a proposed amendment to a part or parts of the Charter or of a proposed new Charter.

(a)

If a court of competent jurisdiction holds any section or part of the Charter invalid, such holding shall not affect the remainder of this Charter, nor the context in which such section or part so held invalid may appear, except to the extent that an entire section or part may be inseparably connected in meaning and effect with that section or part.

(b)

If a court of competent jurisdiction holds a part of this Charter invalid, or if a change in the State Constitution or Law renders a part of this Charter invalid or inapplicable, the Council, by ordinance, may take such appropriate action as will enable the City Government to function properly.

This Charter shall go into effect immediately upon its ratification by a vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the City voting upon the question at an election and its approval by the Governor as provided by the State Constitution; and the government created by this Charter shall supersede the heretofore existing City Government as of that time.

Beginning with 1985, there shall be six wards in the City of Mustang which shall be created and/or adjusted based on compactness and contiguity of territory and distribution of population. The six wards shall be created and defined by the City Council by ordinance by January, 1985, and the additional wards shall be filled as provided in this Charter. Until 1985, the City of Mustang will continue with the present four wards.

As soon as practicable, following each federal census, and again ten years later, the municipal governing body shall review the wards and ward boundaries of the municipality. Any change in the boundaries of wards shall be made by ordinance with due regard to the convenience and contiguity of the wards. The effective date of a change in the names or boundaries of wards shall be the effective date of the governing body ordinance making such change, unless the governing body provides otherwise. Election of Councilmembers for wards which have no representation due to such change shall take place at the next regular municipal elections and their terms of office shall be as provided by the Charter or ordinances adopted hereunder.

All ordinances, insofar as they are not inconsistent with this Charter, shall continue in effect until they are repealed or until they expire by their own limitations.

The adoption of this Charter shall not abate or otherwise affect any action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending when it takes effect, brought by or against the municipality or any office, department, agency, or officer thereof.

This City Charter shall be reviewed at least every ten years by a committee of freeholders, appointed by the City Council, commencing with the year, 1982.

Certified by:
Richard L. Weathers, Mayor
March 7, 1983

Attest:
Linda R. Hazell, City Clerk