Photo by Noah Dawson
Amarillo City Council is one step closer to deciding which charter amendment proposals to put on the November ballot.
During their most recent regular meeting, Amarillo City Council was presented with a long list of eight proposed charter amendments, based largely on the four recommended by the Charter Review Committee. Mayor Cole Stanley asked each council member to list their priorities, leading the council to whittle the options down to five.
The charter amendment propositions as they currently stand are:
Proposition A:
Proposition A would make major changes to the recall process.
Currently, to recall the Mayor or Councilmember, a petitioner must collect signatures totaling 30 percent of registered voters in the city within 30 days of beginning the petition. Additionally, one-fifth of those who sign must certify that they voted for the person they are seeking to recall. Once the petition has been submitted, the City Secretary must inform the person who is being recalled. If that person does not resign within five days, a recall election is triggered. A person currently cannot be recalled within 6 months of their election or within 6 months of a failed recall for that office.
The proposed changes would reduce the number of signatures to 30% of the number of votes cast in the election at which the officer was elected. The changes would also double the time to collect signatures from 30 days to 60 days as well as remove the requirement that one-fifth of signatories certify they voted for the person they are seeking to recall. A new lockout period at the end of the term preventing a recall petition from beginning within six months preceding the end of an officer’s term would also be added.
In addition to the above changes, Councilman Tom Scherlen asked for additional language adding a deadline for how long the City Secretary has to verify signatures to be added. Currently, there is no language laying out how long the City Secretary has to verify signatures, which stands in contrast to the 21 days given to the City Secretary to verify signatures for an Initiative & Referendum petition.
Proposition B:
Proposition B would add two new members to Amarillo City Council.
Currently, Amarillo City Council consists of the Mayor and four Councilmembers. The proposal would add two new members, designated Councilmember Place 5 and Councilmember Place 6. All positions would be up for election in the upcoming May regular election.
Mayor Cole Stanley identified adding two members to the council as a priority. Reasons given have included reducing the workload on individual councilmembers and allowing the council to form three-person subcommittees without running afoul of Texas Open Meetings Act requirements.
This proposal was originally combined with another change in the version recommended by the Charter Review Committee. However, that other change was spun off into Proposition E by the council.
Proposition C:
Proposition C would move the council to four-year staggered terms.
Currently, all members of Amarillo City Council serve two-year terms, with all positions being up for election in May of each odd-numbered year.
This proposal would move the Mayor and Councilmembers to four-year staggered terms. Elections would still take place in May of odd-numbered years, but only a portion of the council would be up for election in a given year.
To start, all seats would still be up for election in May of 2025, though some would be elected for four-year terms and some would be elected for initial two-year terms, with those seats then being up for election to four-year terms in May of 2027. If passed, the council would designate which spots would be up for four years and which spots would be up for two years by ordinance following the November Election.
Mayor Stanley had initially fought for having four-year staggered terms for the council while keeping the Mayor at two years. He argued that this would allow voters to elect a majority of the council in each election, as they would have the Mayor and 3 council members on the ballot each year. Councilmen Les Simpson argued against the proposal. Stanley relented on keeping the Mayor at two years but argued that he would like to at least see the Mayor as one of the seats only up for a truncated two-year term in May of 2025.
Like Proposition B, this proposal originally included several other provisions in the version recommended by the Charter Review Committee. One of the other provisions, which would have established term limits, was rejected by the council. The other provision was spun off into Proposition D.
If this proposal sounds familiar, it is because it is nearly identical to a proposition rejected by voters in November of 2020.
Proposition D:
Proposition D, which was initially included alongside the changes now included in Proposition C, would add resign-to-run requirements and would modify requirements for filling a vacancy on the council.
Regarding resign-to-run, currently, the state constitution prohibits a person from holding two paid public officers at the same time. While members of Amarillo City Council are paid $10 per regular meeting, this is enough to count as a paid office. Still, members of the council may run for another office without having to resign unless they win the election.
The proposal would require a member of the council to resign if they choose to seek another office as long as they still have more than a year left in their term.
Regarding filling vacancies, currently, the council may vote to appoint someone to a vacancy on the council.
The proposal would require a special election to be held to fill a vacancy on the council if the term still has one year and thirty days left.
According to state law, the resign-to-run changes would automatically go into effect if the city moves to four-year terms, even if Proposition D didn’t pass. Things are more complicated, however, for the changes to filling vacancies.
Under the Texas Constitution, municipalities with terms of office longer than two years must have a special election to fill a vacancy. This would automatically preempt any charter language, however, the Constitution also states that cities can adopt a measure into their charter allowing for the filling of a vacancy by appointment if there is less than 12 months left in the term.
Proposition E:
Proposition E, which was initially included alongside the changes now included in Proposition B, would divide the city into three “residency requirement” areas.
Currently, all seats on Amarillo City Council are elected at-large, with candidates running for each seat allowed to live anywhere in the city.
The proposal would assign three of the seats on the council to a residency requirement area. A candidate seeking to run for one of those seats would have to reside in the assigned area. Though the candidates for those seats would be required to live in the area, all voters in the city would be allowed to vote for that seat.
The proposal has been touted as a middle-ground between the current at-large system and single-member districts, though it has faced criticism from both sides. Some opponents of single-member districts have expressed concerns that it would decrease unity, while proponents of single-member districts have pointed out that a person could theoretically run and win with support outside of their area even if they fail to win a majority of support within their area.
The proposal is also set to include language where, even if passed, it will not go into effect unless Proposition B also passes.
The only member of the council who pushed to include the item on the ballot was Councilman Place 3 Tom Scherlen. As such, there is a chance that this item will not ultimately make it to the ballot.
Next Steps:
Amarillo City Council will hold a special meeting on Friday, August 2nd, to continue the process. The meeting will begin at 8:30 am and will take place on the third floor of Amarillo City Hall. An initial vote to approve the proposals is expected to be held during this meeting with a second and final vote, as well as a vote to officially call the election, expected during their regular meeting on August 13th.