City Council
	Agenda Request
Agenda Of:	10-20-09	Agenda Request No:		ix-c
Initiated By:	Joe Morris, City Attorney	Responsible Department:		City Attorney’s Office
Presented By:	Joe Morris	Department Head:		Joe Morris
		Additional Department. Head (s):		n/a
Subject / Proceeding:	Charter Commission Recommendations
Exhibits:	Charter Commission Recommended Revisions (Minor Issues)
Clearances			Approval
Legal:	N/A		Executive Director:	n/a
Purchasing:	n/a		Asst. City Manager:	n/a
Budget:	n/a		City Manager:	Allen Bogard for AB
Budget
Expenditure Required: $			n/a
Current Budget: $			n/a
Additional Funding: $			n/a
Recommended Action
Continue review of Charter Commission Report and Recommendations
Executive Summary
The City Council has reviewed all of the Commission’s Report except for the six “Minor Revisions Recommended.” That portion of the Report has been attached and it addresses those six recommendations for Council’s review and discussion.
Exhibits

Minor Revisions Recommended (From Commission’s Report).

1. Introductory Paragraph to Charter.

The Commission believes it is important to add some explanatory material preceding the Charter for the guidance of the public. Therefore, the Commission recommends that the City add the following information at the beginning of the Charter. Since this will not be part of the Charter, it need not be approved by the voters.

In Texas, a city with more than 5000 inhabitants may become a home-rule city by the adoption of a charter, as authorized by Article XI, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution. Home-rule authority means a city may adopt any ordinance for its governance if the ordinance is not in conflict with or prohibited by Federal or State law. Any amendments of the Charter must also be approved by the voters, but changes in the Charter may not be made more often than every two years. The City Charter was adopted by the City’s voters in 1981 and has been amended on the recommendations of a successive Charter Commissions appointed by the Council to review the Charter every five years. There are numerous State and Federal laws and regulations that apply to city operations that are not referenced in or cited in the Charter.

2. Article I, Section 1.03 (e) - Limit on Franchises.

The Commission recommends that the last sentence of Section 1.03 (e) of the Charter be deleted. Section 1.03 lists various powers that the City retains under its home-rule power, including the powers listed in paragraph (e):

To the full extent allowed by law, to require that any person, utility, or company making use of the city's streets or property to provide any service to the public first obtain the written consent of the city by license, permit, franchise, ordinance or otherwise. A franchise shall not be valid for more than fifty (50) years.

A franchise is a legal term referring to a contract, often long-term, that allows a company to utilize City streets or rights-of-way to provide services to the public. Under State and Federal law, the City retains the

right to require a franchise for electric providers and natural gas providers. However, the City may no longer require new cable television providers or telecommunication companies to receive a City franchise, though under State law they must continue to pay a fee for the use of City rights-of-way.

The fifty year prohibition was probably intended to prevent a council from entering into electric or similar utility franchises for an unreasonably long period of time since some of the original electric franchises ran for fifty years. The Commission feels that the limitation should be deleted since the council should have the

flexibility to decide on the appropriate length of contracts

3. Article I, Section 1.09 (f) -Voters in Area Annexed for Limited Purposes.

In 2007, the State Legislature passed a law that allows persons who reside within an area annexed by a city for limited purposes to vote in city elections for the election or recall of council members and the amendment of the City’s charter. The residents may not vote in bond elections or be elected as a council member. To comply with the change in State law, the Charter Commission recommends that the following paragraph of Section 1.09 be deleted:

(f) The property owners and inhabitants of an area annexed for limited purposes may not vote in any City election or exercise any of the other rights or privileges enjoyed by the property owners and inhabitants within the full-purpose corporate limits of the City area, except as otherwise provided for in this Charter, the ordinance annexing an area for limited purposes, or as provided by other law.

4. Article II – Section 2.01 (d) - Time of Taking Office.

The Commission recommends that §2.01 (d) be revised to provide for a candidate to city council to take office at the earliest possible date. Section 2.01 (d) now reads as follows:

(d) The city secretary shall promptly notify all persons elected to office. A candidate who is elected in a regular, special or runoff city election shall, after taking the oath of office as prescribed in section 10.02 of this charter, take office, and enter upon his duties at the next council meeting.

The current Charter indicates that a person elected to the council takes office at the council meeting following the meeting at which the council canvasses the election and declares the results. The current reference to Section 10.02, which contained a restatement of the required oath of office, was deleted in earlier Charter revisions, and therefore is unnecessary. Finally, the Commission believes the reference to “regular, special, or runoff elections” is also unnecessary for purposes of this paragraph. For these reasons, the Commission suggests Section 2.01 (d) be revised to read as follows:

(d) The city secretary shall promptly notify all persons elected to office. The persons elected shall take their oaths of office and begin their official duties immediately following the council’s adoption of the ordinance or resolution declaring the results of the election.

5. Article VI – Section 6.04 - Financial Reporting to City Council.

The Commission discussed the purpose, the significance, and effectiveness of the requirement of section 6.04. The Commission concluded that since the City’s financial policies indicate that other reports to the council may be necessary, the monthly reporting requirement should be stated as the minimum requirement, but not be limited to the prior month.

Sec. 6.04. Monthly Financial Statement (current). ((currre ()

Prior to the end of each month, the city manager shall provide the city council with an interim financial statement for the prior month.

Sec. 6.04. Financial Statements (Proposed).*(( (Revised)

The city manager shall provide the city council with financial statements at least once a month.