HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/21/2012 - Regular Minutes - Citizens Charter Review CommissionMINUTES OF THE CITIZENS' CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
MARCH 21, 2012
STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF BRAZOS §
Present:
Brian Bochner
Terry Childers, Vice Chair
Chuck Ellison
Patrick Gendron
Paul Greer
Gary Halter
Tony Jones
Lynn Mcllhaney, Chair, absent
Buck Prewitt
City Staff,
Carla Robinson, City Attorney
Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary
1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present
With a quorum present, the Citizens' Charter Review Commission was called to order by Vice
Chair Terry Childers at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 in the City Council Chambers
of the City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77842.
2. Hear Visitors
There were no citizen comments.
3. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on minutes for March 7, 2012 Regular
Meeting.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Bochner and a second by Commissioner
Ellison, the Commission voted eight (8) for and none (0) opposed, to approve the minutes of the
March 7, 2012 Regular Meeting. The motion carried unanimously.
4. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on Article XI Franchises and Public
Utilities within the City Charter.
Carla Robinson, City Attorney, presented the changes recommended by the Commission at the
March 7 meeting. She pointed out Section 106 and noted the change was suggested by
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Commissioner Bochner after the March 7 meeting. She stated the Commission will probably
want to review that change.
Related to the request to research language to provide a basis for calculating rates, she
recommended in those instances in which cities may still be able to determine rates, that it is
preferable to determine those through negotiation of the franchise.
Consensus of the Commission was to insert "by ordinance" in the last sentence of the first
paragraph of Section 105. There was also consensus to accept the proposed change in Section
106.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Ellison and a second by Commissioner
Greer, the Commission voted seven (7) for and one (1) opposed, with Commissioner Prewitt
voting against, to approve the changes to Article XI, as submitted. The motion carried.
5. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on Article X Initiative, Referendum and
Recall within the City Charter.
Carla Robinson, City Attorney, presented the redline version of the article reflecting changes
recommended by the Commission at the March 7 meeting.
Commission consensus was to add "but not limited to" to the exception language in Sections 83,
84, and 94. There was consensus to remove the City Attorney's recommended phrase in Section
83.
Commissioner Gendron expressed opposition to including "budget approval" as a grounds for
which recall is not allowed because "budget approval" can potentially deal with a great number
of issues the Council considers, and in Commissioner Gendron's estimation that disqualification
for recall could severely limit the citizenry's ability to use recall when necessary.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Ellison and a second by Commissioner
Halter, the Commission voted six (6) for and two (2) opposed, with Commissioners Gendron and
Prewitt voting against, to re -state the exception language in Section 94 to state, "except when the
grounds for removal are based on the officer's participation as a council member in the
following: land use decisions including, but not limited to zoning or rezoning property, budget
approval, authorizing the issuance of bonds, or authorizing the levy of taxes." The motion
carried.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Halter and a second by Commissioner
Gendron, the Commission voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, with Commissioner Ellison
having left early, to add language stating the petition must be signed by qualified electors "who
actually voted in the election in which the person being recalled was elected ". The motion
carried unanimously.
Staff was asked to bring back at the next meeting a recommendation regarding the number of
days needed for petitioner and for review of petition.
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6. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on amending the attached Plan of Work,
any items on the Plan of Work, and possible criteria to be used in order to add items to the
Plan of Work.
Staff was directed to provide a working draft of the charter reflecting all the changes to date.
7. Discussion and possible action on future agenda items.
No future agenda items were brought forward.
8. Adiournment
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Greer and a second by Commissioner
Prewitt, the Commission voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, with Commissioner Ellison
having left early, to adjourn the regular meeting of the Citizens' Charter Review Advisory
Commission on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 5:33 p.m. The motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
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