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 Henderson and staff told the commission that the charter now contemplates a residency window — candidates may be given time to relocate — and that councils can address residency through employment contracts even if the charter does not impose an explicit requirement. Commissioners suggested compromise options discussed at the meeting included allowing candidates a year to move to Anna, allowing extensions (one suggestion was up to six months), or specifying a maximum reasonable commuting distance rather than a strict city-limits requirement.

The panel also debated whether the city secretary should remain a charter officer appointed and removable by the City Council or be placed under the city manager as an administrative position. Section 4.02.A, read at the meeting, says the city council "may appoint or remove without cause the city secretary upon the affirmative vote of the majority of the full membership of the city council." Supporters of keeping the current structure said the city secretary’s independent reporting line protects records retention and the handling of public information requests from political influence. Supporters of moving the office under the city manager argued the change would improve day-to-day operational oversight and simplify supervision.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it — we like the buffer," one commissioner said, reflecting the view that the council benefits from a direct reporting relationship to the city secretary. City staff and several commissioners also noted that, whether or not reporting changed, the city manager and city secretary work closely day to day and that communication practices would continue.

On municipal court, commissioners supported updating job titles to allow the court administrator and a recently hired bailiff to administer oaths as part of municipal-court operations. Staff said adding "administrator" and "bailiff" to the list of roles that can administer oaths would speed proceedings.

Regarding personnel reviews, commissioners discussed shifting mandatory annual performance evaluations for the municipal court judge and other charter officers to a model of periodic or "as needed" reviews to preserve judicial independence while allowing oversight when problems arise. The commission noted state law requires the municipal court judge’s appointment be revisited every two years and that a judge may be removed only for cause.

No charter amendments were adopted at the meeting. Commissioners said the topics had generated sufficient input to include recommendations or options in the commission’s report to City Council and to revisit language in a future session.