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ORDINANCE NO. 2026-002
<br />AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS,
<br />TEXAS, EXTENDING THE MAYOR'S DECLARATION OF LOCAL
<br />DISASTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY AND ORDER DATED
<br />JANUARY 24, 2026 FOR AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY (30) DAYS;
<br />MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE
<br />SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
<br />WHEREAS, Texas Government Code Chapter 418, Section 418.108 authorizes
<br />the Mayor of Paris, Texas to declare a local state of disaster, and exercise the powers
<br />granted therein on an appropriate local scale; and
<br />WHEREAS, Section 418.004 (1) of the Texas Government Code defines
<br />disaster to be the "occurrence or imminent threat of widespread of severe damage,
<br />injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made cause,
<br />including fire, flood, earthquake, wind, storm, wave action, oil spill or other water
<br />contamination, volcanic activity, epidemic, air contamination, blight, drought,
<br />infestation, explosion, riot, hostile military or paramilitary action, other public
<br />calamity requiring emergency action, or energy emergency;" and
<br />WHEREAS, a declaration of local disaster includes the ability to take measures
<br />to reduce the possibility of exposure to disease, control the risk and promote the
<br />health and safety of individuals in the City of Paris, Texas; and
<br />WHEREAS, on Friday, January 24, 2026 at 3:15 p.m., the Mayor of the City of
<br />Paris, Texas determined, from statements and information provided by the Office of
<br />the Texas Governor, City of Paris Emergency Management personnel, the Texas
<br />Department of Emergency Management, and the National Weather Service that over
<br />the next several days, severe winter weather posed an imminent threat of widespread
<br />and severe property damage, injury, and loss of life due to prolonged freezing
<br />temperatures, heavy snow, icy conditions, and freezing rain throughout the City; and
<br />whereas
<br />WHEREAS, beginning on the evening of January 24, 2026, and lasting
<br />throughout the weekend, the City experienced extreme cold, freezing rain, snow,
<br />sleet, and ice resulting in power outages to the water treatment plant and to residents,
<br />downed trees and power lines, water and sewer main breaks, and treacherous
<br />roadways well into the following week; and
<br />WHEREAS, said conditions required significant expenditures of City resources
<br />including but not limited to payment of staff overtime; and
<br />WHEREAS, the City is still working to overcome the damage caused by this
<br />winter storm and is expecting that significantly cold weather over the next several
<br />days will slow the thawing of remaining ice on roadways and could result in
<br />additional water and sewer main breaks;
<br />WHEREAS, therefore, the City Council finds that it is in the best interest of the
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