Lago Vista charter committee recommends full rewrite, targets 2026 ballot

The Lago Vista Charter Review Committee voted unanimously July 23 to approve a “lessons learned” document and to recommend that the city pursue a full rewrite of its charter for placement on a 2026 ballot.

The committee’s city council liaison told members that the city manager had proposed a full rewrite and asked the committee for its view: “maybe we should be doing a full rewrite. And so we are kicking it back to y'all to see what your thoughts are on the what I consider doing a rewrite of the charter,” the liaison said during the meeting.

Committee Chair Linda Ayers called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. and led discussion on a packet of committee observations and recommendations. Members said the packet captured the group’s prior work but still left the charter fragmented and duplicated in places.

“It's not just the handbook, but the other sample charters as well,” committee member Jean Harris said, urging that the Texas Municipal League handbook and sample city charters be added to the group’s pre-reading materials. Members repeatedly cited the TML materials and a model “NCL” charter circulated by staff as useful starting points for restructuring and shortening the document the committee had previously prepared.

The committee debated timing and process. Several members recommended the next charter review commission be seated earlier so it has more time to work; others warned against a lame-duck council appointing future commission members. Committee members discussed two main approaches: (1) adopt the committee’s existing work as the foundation and rewrite from there, or (2) begin from a tightly written model charter (the NCL sample) and add Lago Vista–specific provisions.

Members pressed for legal support during meetings. Member Mike Slaughter said having the city attorney or a representative attend regularly ‘‘would help . . . prepare the ballot initiatives’’ and speed decision-making. Staff confirmed a committee may proceed with virtual attendees only when a quorum is physically present: “As long as we have a quorum in the room, we can do virtual,” the staff liaison said.

On membership and schedule, the committee learned member Tracy Pitts will step down; members recommended council advertise to add one or two replacements to maintain an odd-numbered panel and avoid tie votes. The committee kept its current meeting cadence—twice monthly—and scheduled its next regular meetings for Aug. 6 and Aug. 20. The group also agreed its approved “lessons learned” document should remain a living draft while the rewrite discussion continues.

Formal actions taken included unanimous approval of the July 2 meeting minutes, unanimous approval of the lessons-learned document as amended to add the TML handbook to pre-reading, and a vote to recommend a full charter rewrite targeted for placement on a 2026 ballot (May or November to be determined later). The motion to recommend a full rewrite was amended to specify 2026 as the target year; members said the recommendation leaves flexibility on the specific election (May vs. November) depending on readiness and council timing.

The committee did not finalize whether the rewrite would replace the group’s previously submitted amendments or incorporate them; members noted legal constraints and the council’s final authority over ballot placement. The liaison said the council appeared generally receptive but that opinions among council members were not unanimous.

The committee directed staff to circulate the TML handbook and the set of sample charters it had collected before the next meeting and to advertise any committee openings once council confirms the committee’s recommendation. The group also requested that the council consider making the city attorney (or a representative) available for committee meetings, ideally for the whole meeting so immediate legal questions can be answered.

The meeting ended with unanimous votes on the minutes and lessons-learned document. The committee will continue discussion of the rewrite approach and work plan at its next meeting, after members review the model charters and the TML guidance provided by staff.