HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 10780T'
ORDINANCE N0. ~~
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE IX, "PERSONAL
LIABILITY INDEMNITY PLAN", OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
FORT WORTH, TEXAS (1986}, AS AMENDED, BY CHANGING
SECTION 2-294, WHICH ESTABLISHES CERTAIN EXCLUSIONS TO
THE PERSONAL LIABILITY INDEMNITY PLAN; PROVIDING THAT
THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERA-
BILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLL-
MENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
WORTH, TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
That Chapter 2, Article IX, "Personal Liability Indemnity
Plan", of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as
amended, is hereby amended by changing subsection (j) in
Section 2-294, "Exclusions", to read as follows:
"(j) Any claim or lawsuit alleging violations of consti-
tutional rights, civil rights, or federal law; provided
that nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the City
in its discretion on a case-by-case basis from other-
wise providing legal representation and paying actual
damages, court costs and attorney's fees required to be
paid by a plan member in such a claim or lawsuit;
.'
SECTION 2.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordi-
nances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986),
as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in
direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such
Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances
and such Code are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City
Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and
.-. - ~•
phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any phrase,
clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be
declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall
not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, para-
graphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have
been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in
this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sen-
tence, paragraph or section.
SECTION 4.
The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby
directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the
caption and Section 5 in the minutes of the City Council and by
filing the ordinance in the ordinance records of the City.
SECTION 5.
This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and
effect from and after its passage, and it is so ordained.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
City Attorney
Date : i - a` °l ' ~,
ADOPTED : ~'"c5~~ [
EFFECTIVE : ~'~ ~ l
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DATE REFERENCE
NUMBER SUBJECT ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING PAGE
2=5-9.~1
**G-9028 PERSONAL LIABILITY INDEMNITY PLAN 1__
1 of - _
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance which
amends the Personal Liability Indemnity Plan for city officers and employees.
DISCUSSION:
On September 1, 1987, the City Council adopted Chapter 2, Article IX of the
City Code. This article established the Personal Liability Indemnity Plan for
city officers and employees. The plan states the conditions under which the
City is required to indemnify city officers and employees for damages which
they are required to pay because of acts which they commit in the course of
their duties.
Section 2-294 specifically excludes certain types of claims and lawsuits from
the City's duty to indemnify an officer or employee. Section 2-294 (j)
contains the following exclusion:
"(j) Any claim or lawsuit alleging violations of constitutional rights,
civil rights, or federal law; provided that nothing in this subsection shall
prohibit the city from otherwise providing legal representation and paying
actual damages in such claim or lawsuit on a case-by-case basis at the
discretion of the city;.."
The Chief Judge of the Municipal Court has expressed concern that in a lawsuit
alleging violations of constitutional rights, civil rights, or federal law,
this wording would permit the City to pay only actual damages assessed against
a city officer or employee and that the city could be prohibited from paying
attorney's fees and court costs assessed against the officer or employee.
The attached ordinance would add "attorney's fees and court costs" to
subsection (j) to make it clear that the City is not prohibited from paying
these expenses on behalf of an officer or employee in the City's discretion on
a case-by-case basis.
Risk Management and the Department of Law are of the opinion that the proposed
amendment does not change the City's current practices and does not increase
the City's potential liability.
APPROVED RY
CITY COI~I~CIL
WA:w
12LIABIL ~~ ~ i99i
SUBMITTED FOR Ilit
CITY MANAGER'S Mike Groomer 6140
DISPOSITION BY COUNCIL. ,~.,,....,.
-°PROCES"SED BY
OFFICE BY ^ APPROVED _ _
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ORIGINATING Wade Adkins 7623 ~ OTHER (DESCRIBEy,g4ffF~ia~'t.~ ma~{,`
DEPARTMENT HEAD
CITY SECRETARY
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Wade Adkins 7623
CONTACT
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