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Katy council accepts Charter Review Commission report and directs staff to draft ballot language
Summary
Council accepted the final report from the 2024–2025 Charter Review Commission and voted to direct staff to prepare ordinances and ballot language for proposed charter amendments; council discussed changes including mayor pro tem quorum language, vacancy rules, appeal process alignment, and removing term limits.
The City of Katy on Jan. 27 accepted the final report from the 2024–2025 Charter Review Commission and directed staff to draft ordinance text and ballot language for several proposed charter amendments.
Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris and other council members reviewed four broad categories of proposed changes: clarifying that a mayor pro tem may perform mayoral duties in the mayor’s absence without creating a quorum issue, aligning vacancy language so positions become vacant if an official is elected or appointed to another public office, resolving conflicting charter language about department‑head termination appeals, and adding uniform language on three‑year terms while removing the existing term‑limit provision so voters could choose on retention.
Council accepted the commission’s report by motion; council also voted to direct staff to prepare ordinance and ballot language for the proposed amendments and to consider placing those measures before voters in a special charter amendment election. City staff explained that accepting the report is a procedural step and that the Charter Review Commission is advisory; if council directs it, staff will draft ordinance language and could call a special election (the city attorney noted an option would be to call a charter amendment election on May 3, which would coincide with the general officer election). Council indicated it would review legal questions and refine proposed language before any ballot call.
Council members discussed pros and cons of removing term limits (some members argued voters ultimately decide incumbency risk), clarified how mayor pro tem duties would operate in tied‑vote situations, and confirmed proposed charter measures would be offered as separate ballot propositions so voters could approve some measures and reject others. The council voted to direct staff to prepare the ordinance and ballot language; that motion passed and will be followed by staff drafting materials for council review.
