07.13.16 Charter Commission Minutes1.
2.
3.
ISPER
OWN OF
Prosper is a place where everyone matters.
Call to Order/Roll Call.
The meeting was called to order at 6:10 p.m.
Commission Members in Attendance:
Kenneth Dugger
Roger Thedford
Bill Beavers
Tom Aiken
Teague Griffin
Charles Cotten
Cameron Reeves
J.D. Sanders
Commission Members Absent:
Mike Goddard
Robert Griffis
Mike Korbuly (Alternate)
Staff Members Present:
Robyn Battle, Town Secretary/Public Information Officer
Terry Welch, Town Attorney
MINUTES
Charter Review Commission
Prosper Municipal Chambers
108 W. Broadway
Prosper, TX 75078
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Approve Minutes from the June 22, 2016, Charter Review Commission Meeting.
Roger Thedford made a motion and Charles Cotten seconded the motion to approve the minutes
from the June 22, 2016, Charter Review Commission meeting. The motion was approved.
Discuss proposed amendments to the Prosper Town Charter.
The Charter Review Commission discussed Articles 1-4 of the Prosper Town Charter.
Article 1
The Commission discussed the use of eminent domain, condemnation, and annexation
procedures. Terry Welch, Town Attorney, explained the process for each. The Commission
was satisfied that state law sufficiently addresses all three topics, and did not recommend any
changes.
Town Secretary Robyn Battle has identified several grammatical errors in the text of the Charter
and will make the appropriate corrections. Grammatical corrections will be addressed as one
proposition on the Charter amendment ballot.
Article 2
The Charter Review Commission did not recommend any changes to Article 2.
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The Commission skipped to Article 4 at this time.
Article 4
The Commission reviewed Section 4.03 regarding term limits for the Municipal Judge. The
Municipal Judge currently has no term limits, and the Commission did not recommend any
changes to this provision.
Regarding Section 4.05, the Commission discussed the Town's process for collecting taxes.
Currently, the town contracts with Collin County to collect property taxes. No changes were
recommended.
Article 3
The Commission discussed the advantaged and disadvantages of single -member districts, but
did not recommend any changes to the current Charter provision.
The Commission reviewed Section 3.02 regarding term limits for the Town Council. Several
members noted that a small, growing community should encourage qualified individuals to
continue to serve on the Town Council if they choose to do so, and if the voters continue to
reelect them. The Commission recommended revising the Town Charter to remove term limits
for Town Council members by repealing Section 3.02 in its entirety.
In Section 3.04, the Commission recommended the following provision regarding compensation
be revised to read as follows:
"The Town Council shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual reasonable expenses incurred
in the performance of official duties." Examples of reimbursable expenses are mileage, meals,
and other travel -related expenses. Ms. Battle will research the Town's current travel policies
and forward to the Commission for review. The Commission may make additional revisions to
this section to ensure that the Charter language remain consistent with current Town policy.
The Commission discussed whether Town Council members should be compensated on a
monthly or per -meeting basis, but did not recommend changes to the current Charter.
A recent change in state law now allows municipalities more flexibility in filling a vacancy on the
Town Council. The legislation permits municipalities to fill a vacancy by appointment, rather than
special election, if the unexpired term is 12 months or less. The Commission approved the
following revision:
In Section 3.06, "Vacancies, Forfeiture and Filling of Vacancies," repeal existing subsections
(4), (5) and (6) and replace them with a new subsection (4) to read as follows:
"(4) A vacancy on the Town Council shall be filled by election in accordance with the Texas
Constitution; however, a vacancy may be filled by appointment if the vacancy is created in an
unexpired term having twelve (12) months or less remaining thereupon. The Mayor or Council
Member thus elected or appointed shall serve for the unexpired portion of the term of the vacated
position."
The Charter does not currently contain a specific provision for removing a Town Council from
office due to a code of ethics violation; however, the Charter and state law both address
consequences for felony and/or misdemeanor violations involving moral turpitude and conflict
of interest. Mr. Welch reviewed the Charter provision for recall elections which may be
conducted on grounds of incompetency, misconduct, or malfeasance in office. The Town's most
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recent Code of Ethics ordinance was adopted in 2015. Mr. Welch did not recommend any
additional changes related to code of ethics violations, and the Commission agreed.
The Commission recommended removing obsolete language in Section 3.06 (2). The new
provision will read as follows:
"If any member of the Town Council is absent from three (3) consecutive regular meetings, or
twenty-five percent (25%) of regularly scheduled meetings during the twelve-month (12-month)
period immediately preceding and including the absence in question without explanation
acceptable to a majority of the remaining members of the Town Council, his or her office shall
be declared vacant at the next regular meeting of the Town Council by resolution.
The Commission discussed Section 3.07 (4) as it relates to the process by which items are
placed on the Town Council agenda. The Commission may discuss this provision again at a
future meeting.
The current Charter provides that if a Town Council member chooses to abstain from voting on
any item where no conflict of interest exists, the person's vote is recorded as a negative vote.
The Commission discussed whether to keep the provision as it is, or to allow Council members
the option of abstaining. The Commission recommended the following revision:
In Section 3.12, repeal the provision that counts an abstention in voting as a negative vote. The
new Section 3.12 would read as follows:
"Should any person on the Town Council choose to abstain from voting on any question before
the Town Council, where no conflict of interest exists, the person's vote shall be recorded as an
abstention in the official minutes of the meeting."
With no further comments on Articles 1-4 of the Charter, Kenneth Dugger asked the Commission
to review Articles 5-9 for the next meeting to be held on July 27, 2016.
4. Adjourn.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.
These minutes approved on the 27th day of July, 2016.
1_1
Robyn Battle, Town Secretary
APP OVE :
A
KAheth Dugge , irman
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