A limit on the number of terms was also discussed but no specific number of terms was recommended. Committee Chair Bill Cox, who also serves as the chair of the McKinney Planning and Zoning Commission, presented the recommendations to council members at the meeting.
The gist
The 21-person committee created various recommendations for potential changes to the city charter regarding the City Council that could be presented to voters in an upcoming charter election.
Some recommendations presented include:
- Maintaining the current term length of four years for City Council members and the mayor
- Maintaining the current mandatory one-year service pause period for following two full terms in a council seat other than mayor before serving in another council position other than mayor
- Execute miscellaneous changes to the charter to align with state law and remove policies no longer used by the city
- Increase the compensation amount and frequency for council members
Diving deeper
The committee did not provide specific recommendations for a number of items but rather offered data from surveys of the committee to be used in an advisory capacity, according to the presentation.
In the most recent survey of the 21-person committee, 11 expressed support for increasing term limits from two terms to three terms. Two committee members voted in favor of allowing over three terms and eight people voted in favor of retaining the current two-term limit.
In a survey of 20 of the committee members, more than half recommended the composition of the City Council be changed. Ten respondents favored increasing the total number of council members from seven to nine people, while nine respondents opposed changing from the current seven-member composition. One respondent favored an 11-member council composition, according to the presentation.
When considering how the council composition would change if it increased in size, the same 20-person pool responded that:
- Eight favored no change
- Eight favored adding additional single-member district representatives
- Three favored adding additional at-large representatives
- One favored converting the current composition to a different makeup
The charter review committee was convened in May to review four target areas of the city’s charter:
- Term lengths
- Term limits
- Council compensation
- Composition of council member districts
What they’re saying
Council member Patrick Cloutier said he hoped the committee would have recommended the council increase in size from seven to nine members. He also noted that he would prefer to have more at-large members than single-member district representatives if the council did increase in size.
“This city is getting big .. and it's getting bigger and there is so much that comes past us, and this is not our full-time job,” Cloutier said of the responsibilities of council members.
Mayor George Fuller also said that he does not support term limits, noting that the city did not have term limits for council members until a charter election was held in 2006.
“At the local level, we have the ability to determine terms at the ballot box,” Fuller said.
Quote of note
“I’ve had a lot of people approach me in opposition and several in favor of extending the term [limits] and either way, we serve at the pleasure of our residents. ... I think this is a great opportunity to just simply ask a question about what our residents now prefer,” Mayor Pro Tem Geré Feltus said.
Looking ahead
Any proposed changes to the city charter would be voted on by McKinney residents in a charter election. McKinney City Council members have final determination of any items added to the ballot.
Council members are expected to consider an ordinance that would call for a charter election at an Aug. 6 meeting, according to a presentation at the meeting. The last day to call an election for the November general election date is Aug. 19, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website.
