BY Moses Leos III
A resolution passed by the Kyle City Council will provide clarity in how the city appoints members to the upcoming Charter Review Commission.
The resolution, passed by a 5-0 vote on Oct. 8, will allow council members to nominate one person to be considered for appointment. A total of five votes from the city council are needed to approve the appointment.
Several other measures were added, including allowing council members to place an amendment to the charter for possible action in a city council meeting.
The path toward the resolution began on Sept. 16, when councilwoman Diane Hervol brought the idea of reviewing the charter to council.
According to the Kyle City Charter, council must review the charter every two years to consider if any amendments should be added. Council must appoint a charter review commission of seven qualified voters every fifth year.
“I felt it’s necessary that we move forward with this,” Hervol said on the dais on Sept. 16. “The city is changing. [The charter] is due to be reviewed.”
However, coming up with the right way to appoint commission members wasn’t an easy consensus. There is no language specifying how many appointments a council member can make, and how many votes are needed to appoint a potential candidate.
Those issues were the focus of a late night discussion on the dais on Sept. 16.
Councilmember Shane Arabie initially held concerns on the voting aspect. Arabie, who vied for a super majority vote, believed council needed to vote on appointments as a group.
In addition, he was concerned that the process could keep citizens with city government knowledge from the commission. He believes maintaining that aspect is necessary for a city’s charter review.
“It means coming in with an understanding of what’s going on and how a government can run,” Arabie said. “It’s so they understand the verbage that’s implied in [a charter review committee].”
For Mayor Todd Webster, the goal was to redefine the appointment process in order to create a consensus for potential appointees.
However, the initial draft from City Attorney Ken Johnson held several issues. A major aspect was the addition of an ad hoc committee, comprised of no less than four council members, to determine if an amendment to the charter should be forwarded to the Charter Commission.
It also specified how commission meetings were to be conducted, and that those contemplating appointment must provide written proof that they are a qualified voter of the city.
Those provisions were removed from the final resolution.
“Ken prepared a comprehensive resolution and on the morning of the [Oct. 8] meeting, I worked with him on the issues at hand,” Webster said.
The measure was met with approval from councilman David Wilson.
“We need people that we are comfortable with, and that are going to do a quality job for us,” Wilson said. “To work and consult with people that are assigned (to the Charter Review Commission). That’s what we’re interested in.”
