What’s happening?
At a Jan. 27 City Council meeting, Katy City Council directed city staff to move forward with drafting an ordinance for six proposed charter amendments, suggested by council member Dan Smith, to appear on the May uniform election ballot.
The motion to add the amendments to the next agenda was approved in a 5-1 vote, with council member Janet Corte as the dissenting vote.
The request comes after the city’s Charter Review Commission recommended no changes to the charter during the Jan. 27 meeting. The commission was appointed by City Council in October and consisted of residents, including chairman and former Mayor J.W. “Skip” Conner, Otis “Mike” Sadler, Jo Ann Tilton, Shari Boothe and Lynn Freeman, according to agenda documents.
A closer look
Two proposed amendments would allow both City Council and the mayor to serve an unlimited amount of terms rather than two consecutive three-year terms, according to documents provided by the city. The suggestion comes as all five City Council members will term out within a 12-month period due to the limits, Smith said.
“This is a change that gives Katy voters the ability to choose who they want representing them in each election rather than the charter limiting those choices,” Smith said.
Additionally, he proposed removing the mayor’s power to fire department heads without City Council’s approval, according to documents provided by the city.
The other proposed amendments include:
- Clarifying the mayor pro-tem should retain voting privileges to constitute a quorum when filling in for the mayor
- Changing the charter that requires City Council and mayor to resign if they run for another elected position; the amendment would allow the individual to retain their position until after they have been elected or appointed
Smith said he proposed the amendments so voters have the opportunity to be heard as the city continues to mature.
“I think it's important that we take what we have learned and make improvements where we can,” he said.
However, Corte said she was concerned about removing term limits as it could create fear when residents are considering running for a position.
“[Removing] limitations of the terms kind of bothers me,” she said. “I think if you make it unlimited, you’re going to have a career politician come in and be on council for who knows how long and that is going to intimidate residents who might consider running for council.”
Remember this?
The last time city of Katy residents saw charter amendments on the ballot was in May 2021 when voters approved 38 amendments, City Secretary Becky McGrew said in an email.
Looking ahead
The potential charter amendments will return to the agenda for approval at the Feb. 10 meeting, McGrew said.
Council must call for charter amendments to be included on the May election ballot between Feb. 3-14. The uniform election will be held on May 3 with early voting running from April 21-29, according to the Texas Secretary of State website.
