Anna commission approves changes to charter article on boards and commissions

The City of Anna Charter Review Commission voted unanimously on June 11 to approve revisions to Charter Article 8, which governs the city’s boards and commissions. The commission approved changing a timeline in Section 8.01(c) from three weeks to six weeks and agreed to revise references to "regular meetings" so that the provision applies to all duly noticed meetings.

Those changes were presented during the commission’s discussion of ‘‘old business’’ on Article 8. The commission asked staff to incorporate the two edits into the redline before finalizing the article for presentation to the city council.

Commission staff warned against adding an explicit decorum or disorderly-conduct clause to the charter text. Clark, the commission’s staff legal adviser, said the office recommended against inserting detailed behavioral restrictions in the charter because doing so could create constitutional challenges; he said that disorderly conduct by a participant can be handled by law enforcement if it disrupts a meeting. Commissioners discussed the trade-off between setting expectations for conduct and avoiding language that could invite legal challenge.

A motion to approve Article 8 as revised — including the change from three to six weeks in Section 8.01(c) and replacing "regular meetings" text with a formulation covering "all duly noticed meetings" — was made and seconded. Roll-call responses were collected and the motion passed unanimously.

What the commission approved will be forwarded in its redline form to the city council for consideration as part of the commission’s final report.

Votes at a glance: The motion to approve Article 8 with the incorporated edits passed unanimously.