Palo Alto Municipal Code Art. VII Miscellaneous

Sec. 1. Interest of officers in contracts.

No officer of the city shall be interested in any contract entered into by the city, and the general laws of the state forbidding city officials to be so interested are hereby made a part of this charter.

Sec. 2. Public utilities revenue.

The revenue of each public utility shall be kept in a separate fund from all other receipts and shall be used for the purposes and in the order as follows:

(a) For the payment of the operating and maintenance expenses of such utility, including the necessary contribution to retirement of its employees.

(b) For the payment of interest on the bonded debt incurred for the construction or acquisition of such utility.

(c) For the payment of the principal of said debt, as it may become due.

(d) For capital expenditures of such utility.

(e) For the annual payment into a reserve fund for contingencies, of an amount not to exceed ten percent of the expenditure for capital outlay for the year, exclusive of bond fund expenditures. The total accumulated in this reserve for contingencies shall at no time exceed five percent of the book value of the utility's capital in service. This reserve fund shall be available for use by the utility, only for replacements or emergency repairs and after special appropriation by the council.

(f) The remainder shall be paid into the general fund by quarterly allotments.

Sec. 3. Candidates' designation.

No ballot used at any municipal election shall contain any reference to a political party, and no designation or symbol shall be placed in connection with the name of any candidate. The order of listing of candidates' names on the ballot shall be determined by lot.

(Amended by Stats. 1967, Ch. 103, ACR No. 106 and by Stats. 1969, Ch. 223, 6-26-69 and by Stats. 1972, Ch. 71, 7-7-72)

Sec. 4. No franchise without grant.

No person, firm or corporation shall ever exercise any franchise, license, permit, easement, privilege or other use, except in so far as he or it may be entitled to do so by direct authority of the Constitution of the State of California, or of the Constitution or laws of the United States, in, upon, over, under or along any street, highway or other public place in the city unless he or it shall have first obtained a grant therefor in accordance with the provisions of this charter.

Sec. 5. Effective date of tax liens.

(Repealed by Stats. 1968, Ch. 163, 7-8-68)

Sec. 6. Contracts - Lowest responsible bidder.

In the erection, improvement or repair of all public buildings and works, and in all street and sewer work, the cost of which is to be paid from funds realized by bonded indebtedness of the city or by assessment against any particular property in the city, the work shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder; provided, however, the council may reject any and all bids if deemed excessive, and readvertise for bids, or provide for the work to be done by the city.

In case no bid is received, the council may likewise provide for the work to be done by the city.

When the estimate of the cost of said work by the city engineer shows the said work can be done for an equal or less cost than that of the lowest bid, then any of the work herein mentioned may be done by the city, and the city shall be deemed the contractor, with the right to enforce all liens, and with the same powers, rights, duties, and obligations as are made and provided by the laws of the state for contractors who have entered into contracts to do such work as the lowest responsible bidder.

The council shall have power to adopt ordinances for the purpose of carrying out these provisions, and such ordinances shall be supplemental to the existing laws of the state, and shall have the same force and effect.

Sec. 7. Lease of city land.

The council may lease or sub-lease real property owned or leased by the city for a period not to exceed fifty years. Nothing herein shall be deemed to ratify, validate or extend the term of any lease outstanding on the effective date of this section.

(Amended by Stats. 1961, Ch. 190, 6-7-61)

Sec. 8. Effect of charter amendments - Officers.

All officers, deputies, assistants, and employees in office or employment when this charter or its amendments take effect, shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices or employment, under the terms of this charter, until removed or until the appointment and qualification of their successors.

Sec. 9. Charter amendment - Vested rights - Contracts - Etc.

All vested rights of the city shall continue and shall not in any manner be affected by the amendment of this charter, unless specifically so provided, nor shall any right, liability, pending suit or prosecution, either in behalf of or against the city, be affected by the amendment of this charter, unless otherwise herein expressly provided. All contracts entered into by the city prior to the taking effect of the amendments to this charter shall be continued and perfected thereunder. Public improvements for which legislative steps shall have been taken under laws in force at the time these amendments take effect, may be carried to completion in accordance with the provisions of such laws.

The pension and retirement rights and privileges of officers and employees of the city at the time this charter is amended, shall not be adversely affected by its provisions unless specifically provided herein.

If any section or part of a section of this charter proves to be invalid, it shall not be held to invalidate or impair the validity of any other section or part of a section, unless it clearly appears that such other section or part of a section is dependent for its operation upon this section or part of a section so held invalid.