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Charter Review Commission recommends five charter changes; Everman council orders May ballot
Summary
The Charter Review Commission proposed five amendments — increasing council pay, changing special-meeting rules, aligning election qualifications with state law, clarifying boards’ terms, and raising the gifts threshold to $50. Council approved an ordinance to place the charter amendments on the May 3 ballot.
The Everman City Council on Feb. 11 received a report from the Charter Review Commission and voted to order a special election on May 3 to place five proposed charter amendments before voters.
The proposed amendments recommended by the commission include increasing monthly compensation for city leaders (the mayor from $500 to $800 per month, and councilmembers from $100 to $300 per month), changing the rules for calling special meetings to require three councilmembers rather than one, aligning candidate qualifications with recent state law changes about felony convictions, clarifying boards-and-commissions term language, and raising the dollar threshold for gifts that city officers and employees may accept from $25 to $50.
Judith Graham, president of the Charter Review Commission, told council the commission’s work reflected concerns about time commitments and inflation since the last pay change in 2020: commissioners noted council members often serve on multiple committees and face weeks of extra meetings during budget season. “Sometimes they have more than two meetings a month,” Graham said as part of the commission’s justification for moving from per-meeting pay to a consistent monthly stipend. Staff estimated the compensation amendment would raise the city’s annual allocation for mayor and council to $31,200 — an $18,000 increase over prior annual payouts — though initial fiscal-year impact would be limited because implementation depends on the May election outcome.
City Attorney–initiated language changes in the proposed charter also include tightening the process to call special meetings (to avoid abuse of staff time and expense) and updating eligibility language to match state law around final felony convictions and pardons. The commission also proposed a modest technical change clarifying that board-and-commission terms shall not exceed two years and that reappointment is at council discretion.
Council voted to approve Ordinance No. 828 to call the special election on May 3, 2025, to place the charter amendments before voters. The ordinance passed on a recorded roll-call with all members voting in the affirmative.
If approved by voters, the amendment increasing the gifts threshold would allow noncash, nonnegotiable items valued under $50 to be accepted in line with state law; the charter language still prohibits cash, gift cards and negotiable instruments regardless of value.
The council packet includes the full proposed charter language and supporting materials; staff said required election-related notices and joint-election agreements with Tarrant County will follow the normal timetable for a May special election.
