HomeMy Public PortalAboutCharter Review Committee Minutes 06-02-1994 ,
Charter Review Committee
Meeting Date: June 2, 1994
Present were: Committee members Michael Logan, Chairman, Don Acker, Vice-
Chairman, Pat Jermyn, Lester Strother, Jean Spieker, City Secretary, Terri Willis, staff
representative.
1. Meeting was called to order 7:35 P.M.
2. D. Acker made the motion to accept the May 5,1994 minutes as written. L. Strother
seconded the motion. Carried unanimously.
Chairman Logan handed out copies of the Charter of the Town of Highland Park, Texas
and the Zoning ordinance of said Town. This material was requested by L. Strother for
the committee's benefit and was obtained by Terri Willis.
3. The Committee continued the review starting at Article VIII: Public Utilities.
Review Notes:
• Article IX: Contracts Section 9.04 Competitive Bidding See Att: Discussion List.
• Article XIII: Taxation Section 13.02 Power to Tax See Att: Amendment
Suggestion.
Review stopped with completion of Article XIII.
Our next meeting will be July 7, 1994 at 7:30 P.M.
4. The meeting was opened to the public. No members of the public were present.
5. Meeting adjourned 9:00 P.M.
,i-%s, Respectfully submitted,
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Approved : / l� OEhairman
Amendment Suggestions :
Article V: City Council
Section 5 . 02 Qualifications
Change due to conflict with State law which deletes "and
shall not be in arrears in the payment of any taxes or other
liability due the City" .
(4/7/94 minutes)
Section 5. 05 Official Ballot
Amend last sentence to read "Filing and withdrawing within
time limits shall be as prescribed by State law"
(4/7/94 minutes)
Section 5 . 08 Judge of Election
Amend to read "a 51% majority is required in all places, or
a runoff will be required"
(4/7/94 minutes)
Section 6. 04 City Manager Sub-section 3 Powers and duties of
the City Manager Item h. Delete provision concerning a
Grievance Committee . Amend to "Establish a local civil
service commission" with an appeal clause to the City
Council .
(5/5/94 minutes)
Article XIII : Taxation Section 13 . 02 Power to Tax. Amend to
read "and shall make such rules" . Deleting "and may" .
(6/2/94 minutes)
Items for Future Discussion
{
Paul Wieneskie, City Attorney, suggested the Committee might
consider an amendment authorizing changes be made to the
Charter covering typographical errors . (would not require a
citizen vote)
(3/3/94 organizational meeting notes)
Lester Strother suggested we consider adding a cross-
reference section to the Charter.
(5/5/94 minutes)
Article II : Boundaries Section 2 . 01 . We will check with
the City Attorney on the meets and bounds of City limits,
should they be specified in some way within the Charter.
(4/7/94 minutes)
Article V: City Council Section 5. 01 City Officials . At
this time the consensus of the committee is to change the
amount of the incidental expenses of the Council and Mayor
to $25 and $50, respectively.
(4/7/94 minutes)
Article V: City Council 5. 03 Date of Election: Candidates to
Run for Places : Places Designated. Discussion pertaining
to limit of terms to 3 consecutive 2 year terms then sit out
2 years ensued.
(4/7/94 minutes)
Article V: City Council Section 5 . 09 Vacancies . Concern was
expressed over "in the case of only one" wording. It was
decided to check with the City Attorney to see if it is
necessary to provide for a "more than one" case .
(4/7/94 minutes)
Article VI : Powers and Duties of Officers Section 6 . 04 City
Manager Sub-section 1 Appointment and Qualifications .
Discussion centered upon the residency requirement implied
in the statement "and need not, when appointed, be a
resident of the City. " One alternative suggested was to see
if the City Council would consider this a more appropriate
subject for an employment contract than a Charter provision.
(5/5/94 minutes)
Article VI : Powers and duties of Officers Section 6 . 08
Municipal Court Sub-section (1) Judge of the Municipal
Court . Held for discussion because typos leave some question
as to meaning in paragraph. T. Willis has agreed to check
master copy of this provision.
(5/5/94 minutes)
Items for Future discussion continued:
temm
Article VI : Powers and Duties of Officers Section 6. 08
Municipal Court Sub-section (2) Clerk of the Municipal
Court. Discussion questioned the fact a 4/5 Council approval
vote is needed to remove the Court Clerk instead of a simple
majority.
(5/5/94 minutes)
Article IX: Contracts Section 9. 04 Competitive Bidding. The
$5, 000 bid amount has possibly been changed to $10, 000 by
the state . Discussion concerned if, indeed it has changed
do we wish to keep it at $5, 000 . Needs to be discussed with
City Attorney and City Manager for their views .
(6/2/94 minutes)