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San Marcos council accepts Charter Review Commission report and votes to put 4-year mayoral term on ballot
Summary
After eight meetings and discussion of more than a dozen recommendations, the City Council accepted the Charter Review Commission’s report and voted to place a proposal to extend the mayor’s term from two to four years on the ballot, while directing staff to draft final ballot language for several companion changes.
The San Marcos City Council on Tuesday accepted a final report from the Charter Review Commission and voted to send a package of proposed charter changes to the ballot, including a proposal to change the mayoral term from two years to four years.
The Charter Review Commission’s chair, John Tomaitis, presented the commission’s executive summary, saying the group had reviewed the charter “virtually every word” and sought clarifications and modernization in multiple sections. “The charter is our city’s constitution,” Tomaitis told the council during his presentation, summarizing the panel’s charge and key recommendations.
The commission deliberated over a set of suggested amendments: gender-neutral language updates; requiring website and social-media posting of public notices; changing the mayor’s term length; minor changes to meeting and attendance rules; and other housekeeping items. Council discussion was longest and most heated over the mayoral term length. Supporters said longer terms reduce the frequency of costly campaigns and let elected officials focus on governance rather than perpetual fundraising; opponents said two-year cycles better preserve accountability and voter contact.
Councilmembers ultimately agreed to place the mayoral-term proposal — a change from two-year to four-year terms, effective with the 2028 election — on the ballot. The body recorded a 4–3 division among members on that choice. Councilmembers also signaled support to forward some housekeeping changes recommended by the commission, such as modernizing public-notice language and adding the option to post notices to the city website and “applicable social media.” Other recommendations — notably proposals that would change council terms or move council elections to four-year cycles — did not receive majority support to move forward as written.
Councilmembers and the commission emphasized that most charter changes now approved for staff drafting will return to council with precise ballot wording before they are placed before voters. Several councilmembers asked staff to reframe or reword provisions such as term-limit timing and the mayoral “two-year break” language so the provisions would operate cleanly if voters approve them.
Why it matters: The charter sets the city’s basic governing rules. Any changes placed on the ballot will be decided by voters; some of the commission’s proposals would affect election timing, how the council meets, and rules the public uses to interact with city government.
What’s next: Staff will prepare formal ballot language and related ordinance drafts for council review, then return to council for final approval of wording before those items are certified for the ballot. The council directed staff to bring back clarifications on how term limits and start dates would apply to incumbents and special circumstances.
Votes at a glance: - Place mayoral term change (2 years → 4 years) on ballot: approved to place on ballot (4 yes, 3 no).
