Article 10. Compensation

§1-1001   Falls City Code   §1-1002

Article 10. Compensation
§1-1001 COMPENSATION; MUNICIPAL OFFICER’S; CHANGE.

A. The officers of the Municipality shall receive such
compensation as the Mayor and City Council shall fix by ordinance.
All salaries shall be on file at the office of the Municipal
Clerk and available for public inspection at any reasonable time.
B. The Mayor’s salary shall not exceed three thousand six
hundred dollars ($3,600.00) per year and the salary of each City
Council member shall not exceed two thousand four hundred dollars
($2,400.00) per year, unless changed by ordinance.
C. The emoluments of any official shall not be increased or
diminished during the term of office for which he was elected,
except that elected officials who are elected to the Council or
other body having more than one (1) member and terms of one (1) or
more members commence and end at different times, the compensation
of all members of the body may be increased or diminished at the
beginning of the full term of any member thereof. No person who
shall have resigned or vacated any elective office shall be again
eligible to hold the office during the term he was elected to if
after resignation the emoluments have been increased. (Ord. #2010-
101)
§1-1002 COMPENSATION; CONFLICT OF INTEREST. For purposes of this
section officer shall mean (a) any member of any Board or
Commission of the Municipality, (b) any Appointed Official if such
Municipal Official (i) serves on a Board or Commission which spends
and administers its own funds and (ii) is dealing with a contract
made by such Board or Commission, or (c) any elected Municipal
Official. Unless specified otherwise, volunteer firefighters and
ambulance drivers shall not be considered officers for purposes of
this section, with respect to their duties as firefighters and
ambulance drivers.
No officer of the Municipality shall be permitted to benefit
from any contract to which the Municipality is a party. The
existence of such an interest in any contract renders the contract
voidable by decree of a court of competent jurisdiction as to any
person who entered into the contract or took assignment thereof
with actual knowledge of the prohibited conflict. An action to have
a contract declared void under this section may be brought within
one (1) year after the contract is signed or assigned. Any such
decree may provide for the reimbursement of any person for the
reasonable value of all money, goods, material, labor, or services
furnished under the contract, to the extent that the Municipality
has benefitted thereby. The prohibition in this section shall apply
only when the officer or his or her parent, spouse, or child (a)
has a business with which the individual or a member of the
individual’s immediate family is a stockholder of a closed
corporation stock worth one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or more at
fair market value or which represents more than five percent (5%)
equity interest, or is a stockholder of publicly traded stock worth
ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or more at fair market value or
which represents more than ten percent (10%) equity interest or (b)
will receive a direct pecuniary fee or commission as a result of
the contract; Provided however, if such officer (a) is an employee
of the business involved in the contract and (b) has no ownership
interest or will not receive a pecuniary fee such officer shall not
be deemed to have an interest within the meaning of this section.
The provisions of this section shall not apply if the
interested officer:
A. Makes a declaration on the record to the Governmental
Body responsible for approving the contract regarding the nature
and extent of his or her interest, prior to official
consideration of the contract;
B. Does not vote on the matter of granting the contract,
except that if the number of members of the Board declaring an
interest in the contract would prevent the Board, with all members
present, from securing a quorum on the issue, then all members may
vote on the matter; and
C. Does not act for the Municipality as to inspection or
performance under the contract in which he or she has an interest.
The receiving of deposits, cashing of checks, and buying and
selling of warrants and bonds of indebtedness of any Municipality
by a financial institution shall not be considered a contract under
the provisions of this section. The ownership of less than five
percent (5%) of the outstanding shares of a corporation shall not
constitute an interest within the meaning of this section.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections A through C above, if
an officer’s parent, spouse or child is an employee of the
Municipality, the officer may vote on all issues of the contract
which are generally applicable to all employees or all employees
within a classification and do not single out his or her parent,
spouse, or child for special action. If an officer has the power
to employ personnel and he or she hires his or her parent, spouse,
or child, such officer shall disclose the hiring pursuant to
subsections 1 through 5 below, except that if the parent, spouse,
or child is already employed in the position at the time the
officer takes office and such position does not change, no
disclosure need be made. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, any contract entered into with an interested officer
shall be subject to applicable competitive bidding requirements and
shall be fair and reasonable to the Municipality.
The Municipal Clerk shall maintain, separately from other
records, a ledger containing the information listed in subsections
1 through 5 of this section about every contract entered into by
the Municipality in which an officer has an interest as specified
above for which disclosure is made as provided in subsections A
through C above. Such information shall be kept in the ledger for
five (5) years from the date of the officer’s last day in office
and shall include the:
1. Names of the contracting parties;
2. Nature of the interest of the officer in question;
3. Date that the contract was approved by the Municipality
involved;
4. Amount of the contract; and
5. Basic terms of the contract.
The information supplied relative to the contract shall be
provided to the Clerk not later than ten (10) days after the
contract has been signed by both parties. The ledger kept by the
Clerk shall be available for public inspection during the normal
working hours of the office in which it is kept.
An open account established for the benefit of any
Municipality or entity thereof, with a business in which an officer
has an interest, shall be deemed a contract subject to the
provisions of this section. The statement required to be filed
pursuant to this section shall be filed within ten (10) days after
such account is opened. Thereafter, the Clerk shall maintain a
running account of all amounts purchased on the open account.
Purchases made from petty cash or a petty cash fund shall not be
subject to the provisions of this section.
Any officer who knowingly violates the provisions of sections
49-14,103.01 through 49-14,103.03 RS Neb., shall be guilty of a
Class III misdemeanor. Any officer who negligently violates
sections 49-14,103.01 through 49-14,103.03 RS Neb. shall be guilty
of a Class V misdemeanor.
The Municipality may enact ordinances exempting from the
provisions of this section, contracts involving one hundred dollars
($100.00) or less in which an officer of such Municipality may have
an interest.
No officer, including volunteer firefighters and ambulance
drivers, shall receive any pay or perquisites from the Municipality
other than his or her salary. The Governing Body shall not pay or
appropriate any money or other valuable thing to pay a person who
is not an officer for the performance of any act, service, or duty,
which shall come within the proper scope of the duties of any
officer of the Municipality. (Ref. 17-611, 18-301.01 through 18-
301.03, 18-305 through 18-312 RS Neb.)
§1-1003 COMPENSATION; CONFLICT OF INTEREST, EXEMPT CONTRACTS.
Pursuant to section 49-14,103.06 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes
and section 1-1002 of the Falls City Municipal Code there is hereby
exempted from the conflict of interest rules contracts involving
one hundred dollars ($100.00) or less in which an officer of the
Municipality may have an interest.