Chapter 1 · Administration

Article 1. General Provisions

Sections 1-101 to 1-117 · 17 sections

1-101 Code designated.

The chapters, articles and sections herein shall constitute and be designated as “The Code of the City of Oberlin, Kansas”, and may be so cited. The code may also be cited as the “Oberlin City Code”.

1-102 Definitions.

For the purpose of this code, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

(a)City. The City of Oberlin, Kansas.

(b)Code. The code of the City of Oberlin, Kansas.

(c)Computation Of Time. The time within which an act is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first and including the last day; and if the last day be a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, that day shall be excluded.

(d)County. The County of Decatur in the State of Kansas.

(e)Delegation of Authority. Whenever a provision appears requiring or authorizing the head of a department or officer of the city to do some act or perform some duty, it shall be construed to authorize such department head or officer to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to do the required act or perform the required duty unless the terms of the provision designate otherwise.

(f)Gender. Words importing the masculine gender include the feminine and neuter.

(g)Governing Body. The Mayor and City Council of the city, or those persons appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor or the Council, as provided in this code.

(h)In the City. Includes all territory in which the city now has, or shall hereafter acquire jurisdiction for the exercise of its police powers or other regulatory powers.

(i)Joint Authority. All words giving a joint authority to three or more persons or officers shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such persons or officers.

(j)Month. A calendar month.

(k)Number. Words used in the singular include the plural, and words used in the plural include the singular.

(l)Oath. Includes an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an Oath, and in such cases the word “swear” is equivalent to the word “affirm”.

(m)Officers, Departments and the Like. Officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees referred to in this code shall mean officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees of the city, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(n)Owner. Applied to a building or land, shall include not only the owner of the whole, but any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common or joint tenant of the whole or a part of such building or land.

(o)Person. Includes a firm, partnership, association of persons, corporation, organization or any other group acting as a unit, as well as an individual.

(p)Property. Includes real, personal and mixed property.

(q)Real Property. Includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interest therein, equitable as well as legal.

(r)Shall, May. Shall is mandatory and May is permissive.

(s)Sidewalk. Any portion of a street between the curb line and the adjacent property line intended for the use of pedestrians.

(t)Signature, Subscription. Includes a mark when the person cannot write, when their name is written near such mark, and is witnessed by a person who writes their own name as a witness.

(u)State. The State of Kansas.

(v)Street. Includes public streets, avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts, bridges and the approaches thereto and all other public thoroughfares in the city.

(w)Tenant or Occupant. Applied to a building or land, shall include any person holding a written or oral lease of, or who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

(x)Tenses. Words used in the past or present tense include the future as well as the past and present.

(y)Writing or Written. May include printing, engraving, lithography and any other mode of representing words and letters, except those cases where the written signature or the mark of any person is required by law.

(z)Year. A calendar year, except where otherwise provided.

1-103 Existing ordinances.

The provisions appearing in this code, so far as they are in substance the same as those of ordinances existing at the time of the effective date of this code, shall be considered as continuations thereof and not as new enactments.

1-104 Effect of repeal.

The repeal of an ordinance shall not revive an ordinance previously repealed, nor shall such repeal affect any right that has accrued, any duty imposed, any penalty incurred, or any proceeding commenced under or by virtue of the ordinance repealed, except as shall be expressly stated therein.

1-105 Catchlines of sections.

The catchlines of the sections of this code printed in capital letters are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the section and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections, nor as any part of any section, nor unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any section, including its catchline, is amended or reenacted.

1-106 Parenthetical and reference matter.

The matter in parenthesis at the ends of sections is only for information purposes and is not a part of the code. Citations indicate only the source and the text may or may not be changed by this code. This code is a new enactment under the provisions of K.S.A. 12-3014 and 12-3015. Reference matter not in parenthesis is only for information purposes and is not a part of this code.

1-107 Amendments; repeal.

Any portion of this code may be amended by specific reference to the section number as follows:

“Section___ of the code of the City of Oberlin is hereby amended to read as follows: (the new provisions shall then be set out in full)... “

A new section not heretofore existing in the code may be added as follows:

“The code of the City of Oberlin is hereby amended by adding a section (or article or chapter) which reads as follows:... (the new provisions shall be set out in full).. “

All sections, or articles, or chapters to be repealed shall be repealed by specific reference as follows:

“Section (or article or chapter) ____ of the code of the City of Oberlin is hereby repealed”.

1-108 Ordinances.

The governing body shall have the care, management and control of the city and its finances, and shall pass all ordinances needed for the welfare of the city. All ordinances shall be valid when a majority of all the members-elect of the City Council shall vote in favor. Where the number of favorable votes is one less than required, the Mayor shall have power to cast the deciding vote in favor of the ordinance.

(K.S.A. 12-3002)

1-109 Same; subject and title; amendment.

No ordinance shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title; and no section or sections of an ordinance shall be amended unless the amending ordinance contains the entire section or sections as amended and the section or sections amended shall be repealed.

1-110 Same; publication.

(a)No ordinance, except those appropriating money, shall be in force until published in the official city newspaper by the City Clerk. One publication of any such ordinance shall be sufficient unless additional publications are required by statute or ordinance. The publisher of the newspaper shall prefix such published ordinance by a line in brackets stating the month, day and year of such publication.

(b)In lieu of subsection (a) above, the city may opt to publish a summary of an ordinance so long as:

(1)The publication is identified as a “summary” and contains notice that the complete text of the ordinance may be obtained or viewed free of charge at the office of the City Clerk;

(2)The City Attorney certifies the summary of the ordinance prior to publication to ensure that the summary is legally accurate and sufficient; and

(3)The publication contains the city’s official website address where a reproduction of the original ordinance is available for a minimum of one week following the summary publication in the newspaper.

(c)If an ordinance is subject to petition pursuant to state law, then the summary shall contain a statement that the ordinance is subject to petition.

(K.S.A. 12-3007)

1-111 Same; ordinance book.

Following final passage and approval of each ordinance, the City Clerk shall enter the same in the ordinance book of the city as provided by law. Each ordinance shall have appended thereto the manner in which the ordinance was passed, the date of passage, the page of the journal containing the record of the final vote on its passage, the name of the newspaper in which published and the date of publication.

(K.S.A. 12-3008)

1-112 Resolutions, motions.

Except where a state statute or city ordinance specifically requires otherwise, all resolutions and motions shall be passed if voted upon favorably by a majority present at a meeting of the City Council.

1-113 City records.

The City Clerk or any other officer or employee having custody of city records and documents shall maintain such records and documents in accordance with K.S.A. 12-120 to 12-121 inclusive, which is incorporated by reference herein as if set out in full and as provided in the open records act and the city policy regarding open public records.

(K.S.A. 12-120:121)

1-114 Altering code.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to change or amend by additions or deletions, any part or portion of this code, or to insert or delete pages, or portions thereof, or to alter or tamper with such code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the city to be misrepresented thereby. This restriction shall not apply to amendments or revisions of this code authorized by ordinance duly adopted by the governing body.

1-115 Scope of application.

Any person convicted of doing any of the acts or things prohibited, made unlawful, or the failing to do any of the things commanded to be done, as specified and set forth in this code, shall be deemed in violation of this code and punished in accordance with section 1-116. Each day any violation of this code continues shall constitute a separate offense.

1-116 General penalty.

Whenever any offense is declared by any provision of this code, absent a specific or unique punishment prescribed, the offender shall be punished in accordance with this section:

(a)A fine of not more than $1,000;

(b)Imprisonment in jail for not more than 179 days; or

(c)Both such fine and imprisonment not to exceed provisions (a) and (b) above.

1-117 Severability.

If for any reason any chapter, article, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this code or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is declared to be unconstitutional or invalid or unenforceable, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this code.