Amarillo City Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, July 16th at 10:00 am to receive the recommendations for charter amendments made by the Charter Review Committee.

According to an agenda packet published by the city, the recommendations are essentially the same as we covered in our story recapping the final meeting of the committee. The packet includes a 164-page report compiled by Baker Tilly, a consulting firm hired by the city to assist with the process. (Baker Tilly has also been hired to assist with reviewing the Governance & Ends policy and was also the consultant group used for the recently concluded city manager search.)

The proposed ballot language for the amendments is as follows:

Proposition A

To Amend Article II, Section 24 of the Amarillo City Charter to change recall provisions to reduce the number of signatures required to qualify the recall of a City official for the ballot from 30% of registered voters with 1/5 certifying that the voted for the official in the last election to 30% of the number of votes cast in the last election at which the official(s) were elected and increase the time limit to submit recall petitions to the City Secretary from 30-days to 60-days.

Proposition B

To Amend Article V, Sections 2, 3, and 5 of the Amarillo City Charter to change the terms of the Mayor and Councilmembers from two-years term to staggered four-years terms; to revise the process to fill any vacancies in accordance with state law; and to establish term limits such that no person shall serve more than two consecutive full terms as a member of the City Council; and allowing a person to again serve as member of the City Council after two years have elapsed since the end of their last term of office.

Proposition C

To Amend Article V, Sections 1, 4, and 5 of the Amarillo City Charter to increase the size of the City Council to include the Mayor and six Councilmembers with all members being elected by citywide majority vote; establish changes to the qualifications of the Mayor and Councilmembers such that the Mayor and three Councilmembers shall be elected on an at-large basis and that three Councilmembers shall be elected subject to residency in one of three geographic places (areas) as established by Ordinance; and that an election shall be held for the Mayor and all six Councilmember Places in May 2025 with the terms established by ordinance.

Proposition D

To Amend Article V, Section 21 of the Amarillo City Charter to require the City Manager to consult with the City Council prior to an employment offer being made to an unclassified employee in an executive position such as assistant or deputy city manager or head of any department.

According to an email obtained by The Amarillo Pioneer, a consultant from Baker Tilly has suggested to categorize Proposition A and Proposition B as improving accountability, Proposition C as maximizing accessibility, and Proposition D as improving clear administrative accountability. The suggestion to group these into these three categories, according to the consultant, is “for purposes of maximizing the public’s understanding of the benefits of the proposed charter amendments.”

While the committee has recommended these changes, Amarillo City Council has the final say as to what will be placed on the ballot and voters will have the final say as to which amendments to the charter are adopted.

If the council does decide to place charter amendments on the ballot, they will share the ballot with the Sanctuary City for the Unborn petition ordinance.

The meeting will begin at 10:00 am and will take place in the Council Chamber on the third floor of City Hall. The full agenda and agenda packet can be found at this link.