Charter review tackles city manager residency, city secretary reporting and municipal court roles

At a meeting of the Anna Charter Review Commission, members discussed multiple provisions in Article 4 of the Anna Home Rule Charter covering the city manager, city secretary, municipal court and personnel evaluations.

The largest discussion focused on whether the charter should require the city manager to live in Anna. Commissioners noted an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) survey cited at the meeting that roughly 60% of surveyed jurisdictions did not impose a residency requirement for city managers. Several commissioners said residency language in the charter could limit the pool of qualified candidates; others said residents expect top officials to live locally. One commissioner summarized the trade-off as a question of whether that decision should remain in the charter or be left to the City Council and the employment contract.

City Manager Ryan…