1999 Recommendations b RD
; CITY..OF'ROUND" ROCK
221':East Main Street.
Round Rock,Texas 78664`
0- : . . -512=218-5400 .
'November 29,'1999
-Robert'A. Stluka;Jr.,Mayor..'.
Councilmember'Tom Nielson.
Councilmember Earl M:.Hairston.
Councilmember Rick Stewart
Councilmember Earl Palmer
Mayor Pro-tem Martha A:Chavez
Couneilmember,.Jimmy.Joseph _
Re: Round Rock Charter keview Commission
Dear Mayor Stluka:
As Chairman of•the 1999,Charter Review Commission, am pleased'to provide you witha report
of our .findings "and 'commendations for proposed 'amendments: -The- official report of the "
cominission .is.enclosed.herein.and summarizes, the .recommended 'amendments and :includes a
"redlined"version of the_amendments.
In"addition to the recommended amendments in'the.offeial"report, the.Commission considered;but
voted to not recommend the following changes:
1. To.amend Sec.3.01 to provide for term limits for the Mayor and Council;"
•; 2. To amend Sec. 3.12 to allow the Mayor'and Council to abstain'on votin on'an
g. y
matter;and
3. To amend -Sec:-6.02 to decrease'the..nurnber of voters required -to sign-a recall
petition..from 106/o of the. number of registered voters to' '20% of the-votes.cast in.
the-last regular municipal'election. -
Although no;Charter amendment"was proposed for the following issues, at;least,one member of the
Commission felt that the Council should consider'adopting ordinances or policies regarding "th-
e "
`following:
1.: -To provide-a _procedure for citizens to' app,eal.'an adverse",decision by a, city
employee regarding that.citizen's,utility,bill;and `.
To provide a procedure,for the periodic and systematic review.of City_:ordinances.
for-obsolete provisions..,
Mayor
RoberrA.stlaka Jr .. On behalf of each member;of-the Commission I.would like to'express'our appreciation for:all
Mayor l'ro-tem us to serve our community.-It wasboth-an;honor and an educational experience
Mart6 A.Chavez
Council Members - Sincerely,
-Tom Nielson "-
Earl M.Hairston / t.�" %/GW�"�✓-�—"
tewartalmer; M1ke:Robinson;Chairman
Jimmy Joseph CharterReview Commission'
City Manager -
Robert L.Bennett;Jr.
CityAttor_ney''=', Fax:,512'218-709T 1-800-735-2989"TDD. : 1-800 735-2988 Voice
Stephan L:Sheets.`` www:ci.round-rock.tx.as
RECEIVE® DEC 0 a 1999
December 8, 1999
Robert A.Stluka,Jr.,Mayor
Martha A. Chavez,Mayor Pro-tem
Tom Nielson
Earl M.Hairston
Rick Stewart
Earl Palmer
Jimmy Joseph
Re: Charter Review and recommended changes
Mayor and City Council members:
I would like to thank you for honoring me with this opportunity to serve my community.I found it to be very
educational.
I am writing to share with you, my actions and views as they pertain to my serving on the Charter Review Commission.
I engaged this task with care,diligence, and respect. My charge was to review,and recommend improvements,to the
Charter.I began by reading the city's vision and mission statement.Next,I read our charter from front to back three
times before I attended the first meeting. I made notes on portions of the document that I wanted to explore more fully.
To aid me in my research,remove my biases,and incorporate a level of fairness into my review,I solicited from several
of my co-workers, names of ten communities in Texas to be used for data comparison purposes.These communities,in
my co-workers' opinions, were similar to Round Rock in population size,proximity to a major metropolitan area,
experiencing rapid growth, and serving as a home to major businesses,to name just a few conditions.
• My next step was to use the web to locate these cities' charters.I reviewed their charters. I compared their charters to
our charter. As I detected differences,I made note of those differences. I then made note of what proportion of the ten
cities utilized a procedure that was not consistent to our current procedure. Only in cases of a overwhelming majority,
and in most cases a unanimous majority,did I initiate discussion before the commission.
The above process was the driver for the topics of term limits, ability to abstain,and reducing recall petition signature
quantity, as mentioned in the chairman's letter to the council. My research clearly indicated that these procedures were
unanimously embraced by other Texas cities. These procedures are clearly consistent with the city's vision and mission
statement of citizens, government,and business working together.These tools clearly helped the relationship between
citizens and government, which is consistent with the CP tool championed by the Mayor over a year ago.
Disturbingly, a majority of the commission voted to recommend citizen participation be impeded by increasing the
number of signatures required for an initiative or referendum. The recommendation increased the quantity of signatures
needed from 20%of the total number of votes cast in the last election to 10%of the qualified voters in the pool. Using
our most recent election,this equates to a change from 300 signatures to 3000 signatures or an increase of 1000%.The
supporting explanation offered was that this increase was necessary to keep angry citizens from messing with
government. I asked Mr. Sheets how many times the citizens had utilized this process since the creation of the charter.
He indicated that it had been used twice: once in the 70's and then again recently. History is clear that the citizens have
not displayed a propensity for abuse of the referendum petition tool,therefore negating the need for change.
I respectfully request that council reject the commissions' recommendation to increase the number of signatures
required to begin the initiative or referendum process.
Respectfully,
A W'a,
Rodney Howard
THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION'S OFFICIAL REPORT ON
ITS FINDINGS AND PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS PRESENTED TO
THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK MAYOR AND COUNCIL
This report is being presented to the Mayor and Council
pursuant to Section 13 . 12 of the Round Rock Home Rule Charter.
The Round Rock Charter Review Commission ( "Commission") held
four meetings during which the Commission members discussed with
staff and among themselves various issues and concerns with the
present Charter. At each meeting an opportunity was given to
citizens to address the Commission and a public hearing was held on
September 8, 1999 .
On October 13 , 1999 the Commission met and made the following
recommendations for amendments to the Charter.
1 . To amend Sec . 3 . 04 to provide that a Council salary
increase shall not become effective until one year after
the ordinance approving the increase is adopted.
2 . To amend Sec. 5 . 01 to correct a typographical error and
to clear up some confusing language regarding the calling
of elections by the Council .
3 . To amend Sec . 5 . 02 (3) and Sec . 12 . 03 to clarify that City
employees and City Board and Commission members may not
continue to serve after they have filed for a City of
Round Rock elective office .
4 . To amend Sec . 5 . 02 (4) to provide that a candidate may
place his/her name on the ballot by filing a petition as
an alternative to paying a $50 filing fee .
5 . To amend Secs . 5 . 03 (d) , 6 . 02 , 6 . 03 , 6 . 04, and 7 . 08 to
change the terms "registered voter" to "qualified voter"
to be consistent with the Texas Election Code .
6 . To amend Sec . 6 . 02, 6 . 04, and 7 . 03 (b) to change and
clarify the information required of signers of petitions
for recall, initiative, and referendum.
C:\WPDOCS\ACITY\CharterReview\l_stluka2.wpd/sls
• 7 . To amend Sec. 7 . 01 to make it clear that ordinances
related to the issuance of bonds or other obligations are
not subject to referendum.
8 . To amend Secs . 7 . 02 and 7 . 06 to make it clear that a
petitioners' committee for initiative or referendum may
consist of more than five (5) members .
9 . To amend Sec . 7 . 03 (a) to amend the number of voters who
must sign a petition for initiative or referendum from
20% of the votes case in the last regular municipal
election to 10% of the total qualified voters of the
City.
10 . To amend Sec. 8 . 04 (b) to provide the City Manager shall
submit budget reports to the Council on a quarterly basis
rather than on a monthly basis .
A "redlined" version of the foregoing proposed amendments is
attached for your information and convenience .
Dated this I57 day of December, 1999 .
•
Respectfully submitted,
Round Rock Charter Review Commission
;�U4 AL411--
By: Mike Robinson, Chairman
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SECTION 3.04 COMPENSATION
The Mayor and Council members shall receive compensation as may.be fixed by ordinance;
provided,however,that they shall be entitled to all necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
official council duties upon approval by the City Council. Any salary increase sa fxe_Wbyordnance shah
not'become effective"uritis one year affer the ordmarice is adopted
SECTION 5.01 CITY ELECTIONS
(b) Special Elections.
The City Council may, by ordiiiance- or jresolution, order a special election under
conditions specified elsewhere in this Charter, or for initidtiyery or referendnf`-of
ordinances, bond issues, Charter amendments, recall afahe_M_ayor or Council members
or other purposes deemed appropriate by City Council. The City Council will fix time and
place for holding such special elections, and provide all means for holding same.
SECTION 5.02 FILING FOR OFFICE
(b) Additional restrictions.In addition to the foregoing qualifications,the following restrictions
shall apply:
(1) An incumbent seeking reelection must file for the same position number presently
serving.
(2) No candidate may file for more than one office or position number per election.
(3) No employee of the City shall continue in such position after filing for an elective
office ofof tea ,,heeC;ity.
(4) Eaeh eandidate shall pay a filing fee in the amount of fifty dallafs ($59.09).
No candidate xishall t5e placed on the, is or"her application
accompamed�byezther(1)a,filing fee of"fifty dollars,($SO.OQ),or(2) a�pefifion
sgiied^by qualified voters:resrdmg"m theµCttyequal in the number to the greater,
of (a)twenty"fzve, or(b) e-.half of one percent'of the;total vote reee�vedWby all
candidates foramayor_m the most`recent--mayoral regular election ;The sign d
petit o�"n shall be.fIed with nCity Secre&K:ogether uy th the candidate's swo n
a�pli ation Each signer nexf to hi"s or her signature shalr,1hdieate the sgner's-date
df"tiiith;date of sigzung, the signer's printed name, and the street address oflis
her"place of residence, me,uding the county of residence
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C:\WPDOCS\ACITY\CharterReview\amen4_final2.wpd/sls 1
SECTION 5.03 OFFICIAL BALLOTS
(d) Ballots for Ordinances, Bond Issues, and Charter Amendments.
An ordinance, bond issue or Charter amendment, to be voted on by registered quahf ed
voters of the City shall be presented for voting by ballot title. The ballot title of a measure
may differ from its legal title and shall be a clear, concise statement, approved by majority
of the entire City Council describing the substance of the measure without argument or
prejudice. Below the ballot title shall appear the following question: "Shall the above
described (ordinance) (bond issue) (Amendment) be adopted?" Immediately below or to
the left of such question shall appear, in the following order, the words "Yes" and "No"
each with a box in which the voter may cast his or her vote by marking a cross (X).
SECTION 6.02 PETITION FOR RECALL
Before the question of recall of such officer shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the City,
a petition demanding such question to be so submitted shall first be filed with the person performing the
duties of the City Secretary; which said petition shall be signed by qualified voters of the City equal in
number to at least ten percent (10%) of the number of registered quahfie oters as last published
currentl7yL,p�gr fe=by the County Election Administrator.
• pefsanally sign their own flafne thereto in ink or indelible , and shall write aftef their flame, their
plaee of residenee, gMng name of street and mmber, and shall also write thefeon the day, the month and
year their signattife was Such petition shall contain a general statement of the grounds for which
the removal is sought.
A-signature on a petition for recall is valid only;f the diet ian include`es'lhe following M&-matin
wttti respect to;eachsigner
(a} the signer's rresdence address, mclidingtfie county;;
e signer s ate o bar andahe signer voter registration number;;
(c) the-date of-sig,ning, and
Cd) the signers printed na""me
SECTION 6.03 RECALL PROCEDURE
Any registered quahfinjvoters of the City may make and file with the person performing the duties
of City Secretary an affidavit containing the name or names of the officer(s)whose removal is sought and
a statement of the grounds for removal.The City Secretary shall immediately notify in writing the officer(s)
sought to be removed that the affidavit has been filed and shall inform the officer(s) of its statement of
grounds. The City Secretary shall within a period of two (2)working days from the time the affidavit was
filed thereupon make available to the registered, jvoters making such affidavit copies of petition
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blanks demanding such removal. The City Secretary shall keep a sufficient number of such printed petition
blanks on hand for distribution. Such blanks when issued by the City Secretary shall bear the signature of
the City Secretary and be of such form as prescribed in Section 6.04 of this Article, and shall be numbered,
dated, and indicate the name of the person to whom issued. The City Secretary shall enter in a record to
be kept in his or her office the name of the registefed qualified voters to whom the petition blanks were
issued and the number to said person.
SECTION 6.04 FORM OF RECALL PETITION
The recall petition mentioned above must be addressed to the City Council of the City of Round
Rock, must distinctly and specifically state the ground(s) upon which such petition for removal is
predicated, and, if there be more than one ground, such as for incompetency, noncompliance with this
Charter, misconduct or malfeasance in office, shall specifically state each ground with such certainty as
to give the officer sought to be removed,notice of such matters and things with which he or she is charged.
Recall petition papers provided by the person performing the duties of City Secretary shall be in form
substantially as follows:
We the undersigned registered giialifievoters of the City of Round Rock hereby demand
the question of removing (Name of Person) from the office of (Name of Office) be
submitted to a vote of the registered civaTN]voters of the City. The charges and
• specifications upon which this demand for removal is predicated are as follows:
NAME
11.E ADDRESS T A TT
Signature m -Prm-ledmName Address, fncludmg county:TDafe of Birthh-VoterRegistrdtibn No[
The signatures shall be verified by oath in the following form:
"STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF WILLIAMSON §
I, , being first duly sworn, on oath depose and say that I am one
of the signers of the above petition; and that the statements made therein are true, and that
each signature appearing thereto was made in my presence on the day and date it purports
to have been made, and I solemnly swear that the same is the genuine signature of the
person whose name it purports to be.
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• Sworn and subscribed to before me this day of ,
Notary Public in and for
Williamson County, Texas"
SECTION 7.01 GENERAL AUTHORITY
(b) Referendum.
The qualified voters of the City shall have power to require reconsideration by the City
Council of any adopted ordinance and, if the City Council fails to repeal an ordinance so
reconsidered, to approve or reject it at a City election, provided that such power shall not
extend to the budget or eapital program or any emergeney ofdinanee or ardinanee relating
to appropriation of money or levy of taxes, or applieable to zoring, of! te� bonds i8stl
purstiant to the authority of an eleetion or eleetions thelmet-alf-Ofte 11-47
emergent.
or,z durance antes related,tv budgets, capital piograms,�lie issuance of bonds or
Tither obligafiioris, the appropna#rori of money, fh levy of faxes, o r zoning
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SECTION 7.02 COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS;
PETITIONERS' COMMITTEE; AFFIDAVIT
Any five (5) Or rno qualified voters of the City may commence initiative or referendum
proceedings by filing with the City Secretary an affidavit stating that they will constitute the petitioners'
committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form, stating their names
and addresses and specifying the address(es) to which all notices to the committee are to be sent, and
setting out in full the proposed initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be reconsidered.
Immediately after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the person performing the
duties of City Secretary shall issue the appropriate petition blanks to the petitioners' committee.
SECTION 7.06 ACTION ON PETITIONS
(d) Withdrawal of Petition.
An initiative or referendum petition may be withdrawn at any time prior to the time the
• petition has been determined to be sufficient by filing with the City Secretary a request for
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withdrawal signed by at least €mf-(4) eig�rcent;(80%} q tie members of the
petitioners'committee.Upon filing of such request,the petition shall have no further force
or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
SECTION 7.03 PETITIONS
(a) Number of Signatures.
Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by qualified voters of the City equal in
number to at least twenty pereent(28%)ten percent:(hof the number of-f-etea-eas9
6jff q—If @vote s of the Cit3as currently cert fed
t the County Election Admznzstr , or 250, whichever is greater.
(b) Form and Content.
All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size and style and shall be assembled as one
instrument for filing. Faeh signature shall be exeettted in ink and shall be followed by-4he
theplaee-Petitions shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the
full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
• Asignature ona petition for:uutzafzve or,referendum zs valxd only if the petition includes
the followring-information with re,�pect to each signer
(a} the signer's residence address, znclu�duig county;
(�) the signer's�a�e of.lrth and voter_regzs�zonF number;
(c) the date of si�nirig, and
("d) the signer's przxited tame;
SECTION 7.08 RESULTS OF ELECTION
(a) Initiative.
If a majority of the teeters qualified voters voting on a proposed initiative
ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election
results and shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as ordinances of the same
kind adopted by the City Council. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same
election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail.
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(c) Referendum.
If a majority of the registered eleetorsqualified votexsvoting on a referred ordinance vote
against the ordinance, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election
results. If a majority of the eleetors qual iedxvotexs;voting on a referred
ordinance vote for the ordinance, it shall be considered in effect and petition shall become
void.
SECTION 8.04 ADMINISTRATION OF BUDGET
(b) Financial Reports.
The City Manager shall submit to the City Council at
Ieast quarterly the financial condition of the City by budget item, budget estimate versus
accruals for the preeeding fnaflfflh. and for the fiscal year to date. The financial records of
the City will be maintained on an accrual basis to support this type of financial
management.
SECTION 12.03 MEMBERS FILING FOR OFFICE
No member of a Board or Commission shall continue in such position after filing for an elective
office of the City .
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DATE: December 3, 1999
SUBJECT: City Council Meeting—December 9, 1999
ITEM: 10.A.1. Consider a presentation concerning the recommendation by the
Charter Review Commission. Staff Resource Person: Joanne Land,
Assistant City Manager.
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