At the Buda City Council meeting Aug. 5, the council called a special election Nov. 4 where constituents will vote on potential amendments to the Home-Rule City Charter of the city of Buda.
The special election will coincide with the general election.
Latest update
Based on the recommendations of a council-appointed Charter Review Committee, the council approved several amendments, which will go to the public for a vote Nov. 4.
The specifics
Residents will vote on eight propositions for amendments to the charter, ranging from increasing compensation for City Council meeting attendance to the removal of outdated language and grammatical errors.
- Proposition A: will uniformly and consistently compensate the mayor $300 per City Council meeting and compensate council members $200 per City Council meeting. If this proposition passes it will double the compensation rates outlined in the current charter.
- Proposition B: will amend the charter to provide that Buda City Council appoints the city attorney. Under the current charter, the city manager appoints the city attorney.
- Proposition C: will specify that notices of City Council action on a proposed budget will be in compliance with state law
- Proposition D: will require that the annual budget be structurally balanced
- Proposition E: Capital appropriation will be deemed abandoned if unused or unencumbered for three years.
- Proposition F: will clarify that the City Council shall appoint an accountant to complete an audit of every department and present a report to the council every fiscal year
- Proposition G: will remove outdated language, nonsubstantive grammar and typographical errors from the charter
- Proposition H: will grant City Council the ability to make nonsubstantive changes to the charter
The background
The Home-Rule City Charter was adopted in 2007 and was amended in 2012 and 2017, according to an editor’s note in the charter. The city charter states that a review of the charter must occur every six years.
Most recently, a Charter Review Committee analyzed the city charter and gave a presentation to Buda City Council on Aug. 1, 2023. A special election was initially scheduled for November 2023 but was later delayed until 2025.
Propositions A-G were suggested by the charter review committee and approved in 2023, and Proposition H was presented and approved at the Buda City Council meeting Aug. 5. The newest proposition would grant Buda City Council the ability to make nonsubstantive amendments to the charter without holding an election.
What’s next?
Polls open at 7 a.m. Nov. 4.
According to a draft of polling locations, early voters can cast their ballots from Oct. 20-31, excluding Sunday, Oct. 26, at various locations throughout Hays County. The main early voting location will be Hays County Election Office.
Voting times and locations are subject to change, pending the decision of the Hays County Commissioners Court.
