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Four proposed amendments to Hutto’s city charter will not be on the ballot this November. Instead, City Council opted to push the election to May during an Aug. 6 meeting.
What happened
Council members and legal staff discussed several potential propositions, including rules for filling council vacancies, city manager contracts and the budget approval process.
Additionally, members talked about adding holdover language to the charter.
Council member Aaron King said the proposed holdover language would allow a council member to continue serving even after they've moved out of the city, until their replacement is appointed.
“To me, no, that's not OK,” King said. “If you, during your time as a city council member, choose to move to another city, then you've essentially said, ‘I'm done serving on [council].’”
The council also considered adjusting members’ pay as part of the amendment process.
The action taken
Ultimately, Council decided not to place the charter amendments on the November ballot, opting instead to revisit the proposal for a future May election.
As it stands, the four proposed amendments are as follows:
Proposition A: Amends the charter to include a provision for holdover of a vacancy on City Council unless the vacancy occurred due to a removal from office or because of dual office holding
Proposition B: Amends the quorum to clarify that four or more members of the City Council are required to convene a meeting to be consistent with state law, and that no action shall be valid unless adopted by four or more members of the Council
Proposition C: Clarifies that exchanging bonds is treated the same as refunding bonds
Proposition D: Removes language requiring the Planning and Zoning Commission to make an annual recommendation for an annexation plan to City Council because an annexation plan is no longer required by state law
