CHAPTER XIX
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 19.1 Vested Rights and Liabilities Continued.
a. After the effective date of this Charter, the City shall be vested with and obligated for all property, monies, contracts, rights, credits, effects and the records, files, books, documents and papers, belonging to it, under and by virtue of its previous existence and operation under the Statutes governing second class cities of Colorado.
b. No right or liability, suite or prosecution, either in favor of or against the City, existing at the time this Charter becomes effective,. shall in any manner be affected by the adoption of this Charter, but the same shall remain in effect and proceed as if no change in the organization of this City had been made.
c. All fines and penalties imposed prior to the effective date of this Charter shall continue valid and in effect after the effective date of this Charter.
d. No municipal bonds outstanding on the effective date of this Charter shall be affected by the adoption of this Charter.
Section 19.2 Limitation on Notice of Claim Against City.
a. No action against the City shall be maintained for damages allegedly sustained by any person either to his person or property by reason of negligence of the City, its officers or employees, or by reason of any defective highway, street, bridge, sidewalk, crosswalk or culvert, or by reason of any construction, ice, snow or other encumbrance upon such highway, street, bridge, sidewalk, crosswalk, or culvert for which the city is responsible, unless such person shall serve or cause to be served upon the City Clerk within sixty (60) days after such alleged damages shall have occurred, a notice in writing and a statement that the person sustaining such alleged damages intends to hold the City liable for such alleged damages as may have been sustained by him. Such notice shall set forth substantially the time and place of the alleged damages, the manner in which they occurred, the extent of such alleged damages, so far as the same have become known, and the names and addresses of the witnesses known at the time by the claimant.
b. No person shall bring any action against the City for any damages to person or property arising out of any of the reasons or circumstances aforesaid unless he shall have first presented to the City Clerk his claim in writing and under oath, setting forth particularly the nature and extent of such injury and the amount of damages claimed by reason thereof, which claim shall be presented to the Council or its authorized representative for necessary action.
c. It shall be a sufficient bar and answer in any Court to any action or proceeding for any collection, demand or claim against the City, that the notice of damages and the verified proof of this claim, as are in this Section required, were not present and filed within the time and in the manner as herein provided.
d. This Section shall not be construed as a waiver of any governmental immunity the City may have.
Section 19.3 Construction of Words.
Except as otherwise specifically provided or indicated by the context of this Charter:
a. All words used in this Charter indicating the present tense shall not be limited to the time of the adoption of this Charter but shall extend to and include the time of the happening of any event or requirement for which provision is made herein.
b. The singular number shall include the plural number, the plural number shall include the singular number and the masculine gender shall extend to and include the feminine gender and the neuter.
c. The word “person” may extend to and be applied to bodies politic and corporate and to partnerships as well as to individuals.
d. The words “printed” and “printing” shall include reproductions by printing, engraving, stencil duplicating, lithographing or any similar method.
e. Except in reference to signatures, the words “written” and “in writing” shall include printing and typewriting.
f. The words “elective office” shall include the offices of Mayor and other positions of the City Council.
g. The words “appointed office” shall include the offices of the City Manager, Department Heads, City Treasurer and positions on City boards and commissions created by or pursuant to this Charter.
h. All references to section numbers or chapter numbers refer to section numbers and chapter numbers respectively in this Charter.
Section 19.4 Definitions.
As used in this Charter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, except as otherwise specifically provided or indicated by the context:
a. APPROPRIATION. The authorized amount of monies set aside for expenditure during a specified time for a specified purpose.
b. CITY. City of Glendale, Colorado, a municipal corporation.
c. CLERK. The City Clerk of Glendale or such office designation as may be used in place of the office of City Clerk.
d. CONSTITUTION. The Constitution of the State of Colorado.
e. COUNCIL OR CITY COUNCIL. The City Council of the City of Glendale, Colorado, including the Mayor.
f. ELECTOR OR QUALIFIED ELECTOR. A person who is legally qualified to register to vote under the Constitution and the Statutes of the State of Colorado.
g. EMERGENCY. An existing condition actually arising from unforeseen contingencies which immediately endanger public property, health, peace or safety.
h. EMPLOYEE. Any person employed by the City of Glendale.
i. EFFECTIVE DATE OF CHARTER. That date provided in Section 5, Article XX of the Constitution as to when the Charter for the City shall go into effect.
j. FRANCHISE. A privilege granted by the City to a public utility permitting a specified use of public property for a specified length of time, involving the element of regulation.
k. GENERAL PROPERTY OR AD VALOREM TAX. A tax levied on property in the form of a percentage of the value of the property.
l. GENERAL OR REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION. A municipal election held every two (2) years at which candidates for elective office of the City are voted upon in accordance with this Charter.
m. MANAGER. The City Manager of the City of Glendale appointed pursuant to Section 7.3.
n. OFFICER. A person holding either an elective or appointive office as defined in Section 19.3.
o. REGISTERED ELECTOR. An elector who has registered in compliance with the provisions for registration to vote as set forth in the Statutes of Colorado.
p. REGISTERED TAX-PAYING ELECTOR. A tax-paying elector who has registered in compliance with the provisions for registration to vote as set forth in the Statutes of Colorado.
q. STATUTES OR GENERAL LAW. The laws of the State of Colorado applicable to Home Rule Cities as such laws now exist or as they may be amended, changed, repealed or otherwise modified by legislation procedure.
r. TAX-PAYING ELECTOR OR QUALIFIED TAX-PAYING ELECTOR. An elector or qualified elector who is legally qualified to register to vote under the constitution of the Statutes of the State of Colorado and who during the twelve (12) months next preceding the said election, has paid an ad valorem tax upon real property situated within the City and owned by the said person.
s. TREASURER. The City Treasurer of Glendale, or such office designation as may be used in place of the office of Treasurer.
Section 19.5 Definition of Publication and Mailing of Notices.
a. Any requirements contained in this Charter or ordinances of the City for publishing legal notices, ordinances, documents or other legal publications of the City shall be met by publishing in a newspaper published in the English language for the dissemination of news of a general character and which newspaper meets the following additional requirements: (1) Such newspaper must have had a general circulation in the City for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the time that a legal notice, ordinance, document or other legal publication is published therein.
b. The requirements set out here for the legal newspaper for the City publications shall constitute minimum requirements for said legal newspaper for legal publications for the City.
c. A change in the name of the newspaper shall not affect the legal status of a newspaper otherwise meeting the requirements of this Section.
e. Such newspaper shall not lose its right as a legal publication if it should fail to publish one or more of its issues by reason of a work stoppage, or other casualty beyond the control of the publishers.
f. Any legal notice or ordinance which fails a publication for the required number of insertions by reason of work stoppage or other casualties beyond the control of the publishers shall not be declared illegal, if publication has been made in one issue of said newspaper.
g. The affidavit of the printer or publisher of such newspaper, or his foreman or principal clerk, attached to a printed copy of such publication taken from the paper in which it was published and specifying the times of publication shall be prima facie evidence of such publication.
h. In any case in which this Charter or City ordinance requires the mailing of notices, the affidavit of the officer or employee responsible for such mailing, that such notice was mailed, shall be prima facie evidence of such mailing.
Section 19.6 Determination of Due Dates.
Whenever the date fixed by this Charter or by City ordinance for the doing of any act, falls on a date when the office or agency responsible for receiving or performing such act is legally closed, such act shall be done or completed on the next succeeding day when such office or agency is open or legally required to open.
Section 19.7 Legal Process.
a. Any process issued by the City shall be in the corporate name thereof.
b. All processes against the City shall run against the City in the corporate name thereof and may be served by leaving a true copy with the Mayor, City Clerk or City Attorney.
Section 19.8 Chapter and Section Headings.
The Chapter, Section, and subsection headings used in this Charter are for convenience and reference only and shall not be construed to limit, describe, or control the scope or intent of any provision therein.
Section 19.9 Amendments to Charter.
This Charter may be amended at any time in the manner provided by the Constitution of Colorado. Should two (2) or more amendments adopted at the same election have conflicting provisions, the one receiving the largest affirmative vote shall prevail as to those provisions.
Section 19.10 Severability of Charter Provisions.
If a Court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge to be invalid or unconstitutional any word, clause, sentence, paragraph, section, chapter, or part of this Charter, such judgment or decree shall not affect, impair, invalidate or nullify the remainder of this Charter; but the effect thereof shall be confined to the word, clause, sentence, paragraph, section, chapter, or part of this Charter so adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional and to this end this Charter is declared to be severable.
Section 19.11 Penalties for Violation of Charter.
a. Any violation of a provision of this Charter shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and may be tried in the Municipal Court of Glendale or in any Court having jurisdiction under the Statutes of Colorado.
b. Unless otherwise provided by ordinance or permitted by State Statute, any person convicted of such violation may be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00) or by imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
c. Any officer or employee of the City so convicted may be deprived of his office or employment and may be ineligible for any future City office or employment.
d. The power to suspend or remove an elected official or any other officer or employee of the City shall be as provided in this Charter or by ordinance.
Section 19.12 Provision for Civil Remedies.
In any case of a failure to comply with any requirements of this Charter or ordinance of the City, the City or any person affected by such failure, may in addition to the penalties provided by law, initiate a civil action for injunction, mandamus, abatement or any other appropriate relief to prevent, enjoin, abate, remove or eliminate such violation of this Charter or ordinance of the City.