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Gainesville council advances multiple charter amendments for May 2026 ballot
Summary
The council voted to add several proposed charter amendments to the May 2026 ballot—including switching May elections to November, a Cemetery Fund amendment (with removal of Section D), a 10-year charter review cycle, and term limits—after debate; a motion to form a Charter Amendments committee failed for lack of a second.
Mayor Tommy Moore convened the Gainesville City Council on Dec. 2, 2025, as members considered language for multiple proposed amendments to the city charter to be submitted to voters in May 2026. City Attorney Susan Thomas provided an update on the draft amendments and City Manager Barry Sullivan summarized the potential financial impact of the Cemetery Fund amendment.
Councilmember Randy Jones moved to add an amendment changing the citys May elections to November to the slate of proposed amendments; Councilmember Gary Sutton seconded and the motion carried 4–2, with Mayor Tommy Moore and Mayor Pro Tem Mary Jo Dollar voting nay. A separate motion by Mayor Moore to establish a Charter Amendments committee failed when it did not receive a second.
Council agreed to place a Cemetery Fund amendment on the ballot but requested that staff remove Section D from the drafted language before a final submission. Council also agreed to replace a previously proposed item with a provision calling for a mandatory charter review every 10 years with a two-year waiting period between reviews. The council moved forward language for proposed term limits: four consecutive regular terms, with a vacated term counting as a term if an officeholder serves more than 50% of it; after reaching the limit a candidate must sit out one full term before being eligible to run again. City Attorney Susan Thomas said she would draft formal ballot language and return it for a formal vote at the next meeting.
Councilmember Dakota Nichols submitted a list of additional proposed charter changes and asked staff to review whether some items could be adopted by ordinance or policy rather than by charter amendment. The council requested clearer procedural language clarifying whether the mayor may make motions during council meetings; that wording will be developed along with other draft changes.
The councils actions at this meeting set the scope of what voters will see on the May 2026 charter ballot, though final wording and any technical edits will return for the councils review before placement on the ballot.
