The City of White House City Council on July 22 voted to place nine substantive Home Rule charter amendment recommendations from the Home Rule Charter Commission on the next available uniform election date, with one modification: the council directed that the ballot language for the provision limiting the immediate hiring of former elected officials be changed to a three-year waiting period.

City staff described the commission’s work to identify non-substantive and substantive changes. The substantive recommendations include: clarifying petition-signature procedures by fixing a trigger date for counting registered voters, removing the charter’s age restriction for candidates to match state law, aligning candidate eligibility language with state law, and moving some employment and contract provisions for the city manager from the charter into contract language. The commission also recommended removing a prohibition on former employees running for council and mayor; the council discussed concerns about the related employment restrictions and potential legal challenges.

During discussion several council members flagged item number 5 (restrictions on moving between elected office and city employment) as potentially vulnerable to legal challenge and raised concerns about undue influence or a “revolving door.” After debate the council adopted the recommendation package for ballot placement but amended item 5 to specify a three-year waiting period before a former elected official could be hired by the city rather than the version proposed by the commission. The vote to place the items on the ballot and the amendment was approved by roll call.

Staff said if the council proceeds to order the election, city officials cannot advocate for or against the measures but may provide fact-based information to voters. If approved by voters, the substantive charter changes would take effect according to election and charter procedures.