Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/17/1995 City Counciloob 70 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON May 17, 1995 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on the 17th day of May, 1995 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William Manning, Mayor Present Bill Longo, Councilman Present Mary Blair Watts, Councilman Present Kay Hardin, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Absent John Dillard, Mayor Pro-tern Present David Heiman, Councilman Present and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE HOME RULE CHARTER The Council is preparing to call a Charter amendment election in August. At this time they reviewed the twelve (12) propositions recommended by the Charter Review Committee, comprised of Councilman Rob Burchard, City Secretary Patti Hicks and City Attorney Pete Eckert. Members Hicks and Eckert were present at this meeting along with the City Manager, Johnny Smith. Mayor Manning advised that discussion would be held on any of the twelve propositions about which the council had questions. Amendments to the Charter are proposed in the following sections:(Proposed Amendments: See Attachment "A") Section 2.02 relating to terms of councilmembers. The proposed amendment would add term limits. It was clarified that this amendment, if passed would be effective with the next general election of council in May 1996. After a brief discussion Mayor Manning and Councilmembers Longo, Watts and Dillard stated they are not in favor of placing this proposition on the ballot. Councilmember Hardin was in favor of leaving this on the ballot and Councilmember Heiman stated either way would be fine. Section 2.04 (b) relating to qualifications for councilmembers. This proposed amendment changes the words "moral turpitude" to "felony or Class A misdemeanor". There was discussion regarding the phrase "or whose indebtedness to the City of The Colony is delinquent". It's validity was questioned and Mr. Eckert said he would do some research on this and bring a recommendation back on June 5. All agreed to leave 2 00870.:, on the ballot as is with the possible exception o£ the phrase regarding indebtedness. Section 2.04 (e) relating to eouncilmembers running for other offices. ff passed, this amendment will require councilmembers to resign from their current council seat if they file for another seat on the council. The resignation would be effective the date of the election. For example, if councilmember Place 5 runs for Place 6 and loses, he will automatically relinquish his Place $ seat. This amendment will allow councilmembers to file for other elected offices outside of city council without forfeiting their council seat. They would vacate their council seat only when elected and sworn in to the new office. If they lose, they would be able to retain their council seat. A~ter lengthy discussion council chose to leave this proposition on the ballot. Section 2.06 relating to filing of unexpired terms. This proposition, if passed will allow appointed councilmembers to serve in their seat until the term expires. Currently, appointed councilmembers have to run in the next election after their appointment and then again in the next election. All agreed to leave on the ballot as presented. Section 3.02 relating to Franchise fees. The proposed amendment adds cable television to this section as an entity from which the city can receive franchise fees. A~ter discussion, it was decided to add the phrase, "as required by applicable law". This addition would allow the council to asses franchise fees from other utilities not specifically named. Section 3.07 relating to councilmembers becoming employees of the city. The proposed amendment changes the time from one year to two years after leaving office before a councilmember or the Mayor may be appointed or employed by the City. This complies with Section 4.01 which currently states the city manager may not run for council within two years after leaving the employ of the city. All agreed to leave on the ballot as presented. Section 4.06 relating to residency requirements £or employees. Currently the Charter requires the city manager, the city secretary and all department heads to live within the city. It does allow the council the right to waive this requirement, however State law states that cities may not require department heads, other than the city manager and city secretary, to live within the city. The proposed amendment deletes department heads and adds a one year time frame for the city manager and city secretary to comply with the requirement. 3 005700 Section 4.10 relating to the Department of police. (a) Chief of Police - Several members of council asked why the chief of police is addressed in the charter when other department heads are not and expressed concern that this section exists. Mr. Eckert and Mr. Smith said this section does eliminate the "at will" employment, by allowing the council to have final say on the hiring and firing of this employee. It was also noted that according to Sections 4.07 and 4.08, the city council is forbidden to become involved in personnel matters relating to employees that report directly to the City Manager. After a lengthy discussion it was decided the proposed amendment should be to delete this paragraph. Section 7.01 relating to the date of general city elections. Currently the Charter calls for the general election to be held on the first Saturday in April. According to the Texas Election Code, the date for municipal elections of officers has been changed to the first Saturday in May. Since the city must adhere to the Election Code, the proposed amendment is to hold general city elections on the date prescribed by the Texas Election Code. All agreed to place this proposition on the ballot as presented. Section 7.07 relating to power of recall. The proposed amendment adds specific details regarding how a petition for recall should be prepared, steps the city secretary must take and adds a time limit of 45 days for the petition to be returned. All agreed to place this proposition on the ballot as presented. Section 9.01 relating to Tax assessor-collector. The proposed amendment will delete the word "assessor". All taxes are assessed by appraisal districts. Section 9.08, 9.09 and 9.10 relating to the Board of Equalization These sections are no longer necessary and it is recommended they be deleted it in their entirety. All agreed. 4 Mr. Eckert advised the ordinance calling the Charter Election for August 12, will be on the June 5, 1995 council agenda. This will allow time for pre-clearance from the Justice Department. The council will at that time be able to discuss each proposition again and vote on them individually, if they choose. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. APPROVED: William W. Manning, Mayor ATFEST: Patti A. Hicks,TRMC, CMC/AAE City Secretary