Missouri City City Council formally called a special election during its Feb. 1 meeting. During the election—which is set to take place May 1—residents will vote on nine proposed changes to the city’s charter.
The city charter outlines how the city government is structured as well as its rules and procedures.
The nine charter amendments include the six that were recommended by the 2020 Charter Review Commission and three that were added by members of council during the Jan. 19 City Council meeting.
The nine proposed charter amendments are as follows:
Charter Proposition No. A
Shall Section 3.05 of Article III of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to clarify that the mayor may not act as chief administrative officer and fulfill the duties of the city manager?
City Attorney E. Joyce Iyamu said this amendment was proposed because the current language of the charter is inconsistent with other sections of the charter which say the mayor cannot serve as the city manager.
Charter Proposition No. B
Shall Section 3.05 of Article III of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to establish a one-year term for the mayor pro tem position?
Currently, a new mayor pro tem is selected every year following each election. However, if term lengths are increased by the approval of Proposition E, then there would be some years without a City Council election. This proposition would clarify that the term of mayor pro tem would still be one year.
Charter Proposition No. C
Shall Section 4.01 of Article IV of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to clarify that the city manager must obtain the City Council of Missouri City’s advice and consent to appoint, suspend or remove all or any one of the City’s department directors?
This proposed amendment was added by some members of City Council and would require the city manager to receive approval by the majority of council regarding the appointment, suspension or removal of city department heads.
Charter Proposition No. D
Shall Section 4.01 of Article IV of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to require that, if a contract is entered into for the employment of the city manager, the compensation of the city manager shall be set forth in such contract which must be voted on by a majority vote of the City Council of Missouri City?
This proposed charter amendment would require a majority of City Council to approve the city manager’s contract.
Charter Proposition No. E
Shall Section 6.01 of Article VI of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to extend the term of office for the mayor, district council members, and council member at-large positions from two to three years?
While City Council initially approved extending the length of a City Council term from two to four years, a majority of council voted Jan. 19 to extend term lengths from two to three years instead. The new term lengths would become effective beginning in November 2021 for district council members and in November 2022 for at-large positions and the mayor.
Charter Proposition No. F
Shall Section 6.01 of Article VI of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to provide that a person is limited to twelve consecutive years on the city council before the person is required to sit out for a period of two-years before holding another position on the city council?
This item would limit the number of years someone can serve on City Council consecutively to 12 years with a two-year sit-out period before being elected back to City Council. If Proposition E is also approved, this would mean a council member could serve four consecutive three-year terms.
Charter Proposition No. G
Shall Section 9.04 of Article IX of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to extend the time the city manager can transfer or request to transfer unencumbered appropriations from sixty days to ninety days after the end of the fiscal year?
Charter Proposition No. H
Shall Section 9.10 of Article IX of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to clarify that the requirement of the city council to receive and consider bids for the sale of bonds applies to competitive sales only?
Charter Proposition No. I
Shall Section 11.13 of Article XI of the Charter of the City of Missouri City be amended to change the appointment date of charter review commissioners from July to January?