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Council discusses charter-review special election, timing of pay increase; plans executive session on gendered language
Summary
Council asked staff to prepare an ordinance to call a special election for proposed charter amendments and debated whether a potential council pay increase should take effect during the current term or wait until the next. The council also scheduled an executive session to consult legal counsel about gendered language in the charter.
City staff told the Lewisville City Council on Monday that to place charter amendments on the May ballot they must call a special election before the statutory deadline and that staff recommends holding a special-call meeting next week to adopt the ordinance.
A staff presenter said: "We would need to call an ordinance to call that special election at a special call meeting to meet the deadline, so that we are recommending it be next Monday at 6 p.m., if you guys are amenable to that." Council members discussed meeting time conflicts and agreed 7 p.m. would also be possible for some members.
Council members also debated how to handle the timing of a possible council pay increase if voters approve a charter change. One council member summarized concerns raised previously by Council member Patrick Rose about optics: making an increase effective immediately in the current term could be perceived as the council giving itself a raise. Options discussed included making any increase effective only in the council's subsequent term or postponing it for a year or more. Staff said a one-year postponement would create administrative complications and might not meet the goal of avoiding the perception of self-enrichment, while a change effective in the next term would achieve that aim.
Mayor TJ Gilmore repeatedly emphasized that the charter-change question is a citizen initiative and that the council's role is to put the question before voters. "Citizens are the ones doing the voting. The only thing we are is the gatekeeper of whether or not the citizens' request gets voted on," he said.
Council also announced it would go into executive session to consult legal counsel regarding gendered language in the charter under Texas Government Code Section 551.071.
Staff will prepare the ordinance language and logistics to meet the election-call deadline; the council identified timing and language as the remaining policy questions to resolve.
