Chapter II.
INCORPORATION, FORM OF GOVERNMENT, CITY POWERS, AND BOUNDARIES

Section 1.  Incorporation

The residents of the City of Litchfield Park, within the corporate limits as now established or as hereafter established in the manner provided by law, shall continue to be a municipal body politic and corporate in perpetuity under the name of the “City of Litchfield Park, Arizona.”

Section 2.  Form of Government

The municipal government provided by this Charter shall be known as Council-Manager Government. Pursuant to its provisions and subject only to the limitations imposed by state law and this Charter, all powers of the City shall be vested in an elective Council, which shall exercise such powers and enact local legislation, adopt budgets, determine policies, and appoint the City Manager and such other officers deemed necessary and proper for the orderly governance and administration of the affairs of the City, as prescribed by state law and City ordinances.

Section 3.  Powers of the City

A.    The City has all the powers, functions, rights, privileges, and immunities possible under state law as fully as though they were specifically enumerated in this Charter, and all the powers, functions, rights, privileges, and immunities granted or to be granted, either expressly or by implication, to charter cities and cities and towns incorporated under state law, not in conflict with this Charter. Additionally, the City has the power to:

(1)    Acquire property within or without its corporate limits for any City purposes, in fee simple or lesser interest or estate, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, or condemnation. The City may lease, sell, convey, and otherwise dispose of any real or personal property owned by the City in the manner, for such consideration, and upon such conditions as may be determined by the Council.

(2)    Require all persons, firms, or corporations responsible for new physical development within the City to provide for, furnish, or pay a fee for furnishing: (a) public utility easements; (b) water production, storage, and transmission; (c) sewage collection, treatment, and disposal; (d) park land and development; (e) school sites; (f) dedication and improvement of public rights-of-way; (g) trails and pathways; (h) drainage; (i) flood control; and (j) other public facilities necessary to maintain satisfactory levels of service for said new development, as provided by ordinance which shall include definite standards basing the foregoing requirements on the needs of the residents of said new development.

(3)    Levy and collect assessments and file liens on real property to collect amounts owed to the City for reasonable amounts expended by the City in the abatement of any nuisance, demolition, and removal of any legally condemned building or structure and the cleaning and renovating of vacant lots which are offensive to the sight or smell or hazardous to the public health.

(4)    Prescribe the frequency, location, and format of publication for notices mandated or authorized by law.

(5)    Have exclusive jurisdiction to control and regulate the use and enjoyment of its streets and alleys, public grounds, and rights-of way.

(6)    Join with the United States, the State, any political subdivision, board, commission, or agency, or any combination of them, to acquire and develop jointly sources of water, electricity, or gas, and to construct works for their joint operation and to unite with such entities in bond issues therefor.

(7)    Receive bequests, donations, and gifts of all kinds of property, in fee simple, or in trust for charitable and other purposes, and to do all acts necessary to carry out the purposes of such bequests, gifts, and donations, with power to manage, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the same in accordance with the terms of the bequest, gift, or donation of trust, or absolutely in case such bequest, gift, or trust be unconditional.

B.    In this Charter, mention of a particular power shall not be construed to be exclusive or to restrict the scope of the powers which the City would have if the particular power were not mentioned. This Charter shall be liberally construed to the end that the City has all powers necessary or convenient for the conduct of its municipal affairs, and for the health, safety, and general welfare of its residents, including all powers that cities may assume pursuant to state law.

C.    This Charter vests in the City all powers not in conflict with state law, this Charter, or ordinances adopted by the people of the City.

Section 4.  Boundaries

The boundaries of the City shall be the boundaries as established at the time this Charter takes effect, or as such boundaries may be changed thereafter in the manner authorized by law.