11.14.05 Charter Commission MinutesPage 1 of 2
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1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Those present included: Joe Anselmo, George Dupont, Carol Faulkner, David Griffin, Mitch Humble, Shanae Jennings,
Reverdy Jones, Doug Mousel, Barbara Newell, Ryan Nordhaus, Rick Shamblin, Bob Sherrill, Ray Smith and Danny Wilson.
Those absent included: David Bristol, Kevin Drown, Bob Sherrill, and Ryan Nordhaus.
3. Consider and act upon minutes of the October 10, 2005 meeting of the Home Rule and Charter Exploratory Committee.
Carol Faulkner’s name was left of the list off those members present at the October 10 meeting, and needs to be added.
Motioned by George Dupont, seconded by Reverdy Jones to approve the minutes, subject to adding Carol Faulkner’s name to
the minutes. Motion approved unanimously, with the exception of Joe Anselmo.
Joe Anselmo abstained due to the fact that he was absent at the last meeting and did not want to vote to approve minutes of a
meeting he did not attend.
4. Discuss the potential timing of a charter election.
Based on the current timeline for elections and the amount of time it will take to write and prepare a comprehensive charter,
Doug Mousel recommended a November 2006 goal for the charter election.
Motion by Reverdy Jones, seconded by Joe Anselmo to focus on November 2006 as the anticipated date to conduct the charter
election. Motion approved unanimously.
5. Discuss a potential schedule for the Home Rule and Charter Exploratory Committee to identify: a) Advantages and disadvantages of the Town becoming a home rule municipality versus a general law municipality; and
This item was briefly discussed and it was decided that benefits and determinants to becoming a home rule government
would continue to be discussed over various meetings.
b) Topics that may be desirable for the Town of Prosper to include in a charter.
The following topics were discussed as desirable or not-desirable for the charter at tonight’s meeting:
• Form of Government: The committee discussed whether a home rule government or a general law government
would be more beneficial for the Town of Prosper.
• Size of Council: The committee discussed how many council members should sit on the council in addition to the
mayor.
Minutes (unapproved)
Home Rule and Charter Exploratory Committee
800 Somerville Drive, Prosper, Texas
Folsom Elementary School Community Room
Monday, November 14, 2005 -- 6:00 p.m.
Page 2 of 2
• Length of Term: The committee discussed how long each council member’s terms should be, and whether or not
there should be term limits.
• Method of Election: The committee discussed whether the council should be elected at large, through a combination
of special districts and at large, or by districts only.
• Election by Majority or Plurality: The committee discussed whether the council and mayor should be elected by a
majority, which would be a total of 51% or more of the vote; or if they should be elected by plurality, which would
mean the individual who garners the most votes wins.
6. Discuss, debate, and act upon:
a) Advantages and disadvantages of the Town becoming a home rule municipality versus a general law municipality; and
On the whole, the committee agreed that the benefits of a home rule municipality outweigh the benefit of being a general
law municipality.
b) Topics that may be desirable for the Town of Prosper to include in a charter.
Form of Government – Motion by Reverdy Jones, seconded by Carol Faulkner to move forward with a Home Rule form
of government. Motion approved unanimously.
Authority/Power of Mayor – The committee was split on this; however, it was the majority of the committee opinion that
the Mayor should be responsible to his/her constituents by having to vote. Motion by Shanae Jennings, seconded by
Ray Smith for the Mayor to be a voting member of the government body along with the council members. Motion
approved by a majority of votes, with one member in opposition. David Griffin opposed the motion.
Size of Council – Motion by Shanae Jennings, seconded by Ray Smith for the Council to be comprised of six council
members and the mayor. Motion approved by a majority of votes, with two members in opposition. Those members who
opposed were Stephen Coffman and James Hodges.
Length of Term – Motion by Ray Smith, seconded by Joe Anselmo to have three year terms with no term limits. Motion
approved by a majority of votes, with five members in opposition. Those members who opposed were James Hodges,
Reverdy Jones, Mitch Humble, Rick Shamblin and Danny Wilson.
Method of Election - Motion by Reverdy Jones, seconded by Ray Smith for the Mayor and the Council to be elected at
large. Motion approved unanimously.
Election by Majority or Plurality – Motion by Stephen Coffman, seconded by Ray Smith to elect council and the mayor by
a plurality of votes. Motion approved by a majority of votes, with four members in opposition. Those members who
opposed were James Hodges, Shanae Jennings, Reverdy Jones and Danny Wilson.
7. Adjourn
Motion by Reverdy Jones, seconded by Ray Smith to adjourn. Motion approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at
approximately 7:50 p.m.
Attest:
________________________________ ___________________________________
Shanae Jennings, Acting Committee Secretary David Griffin, Committee Chairperson