Webster, Wilson work to improve charter changes

Mayor Todd Webster and Mayor Pro Temp David Wilson successfully proposed two major changes to the proposed city charter during last night’s City Council meeting — one, if approved, would increase participation in municipal elections while reducing their costs and another which restored the manner in which council members are remunerated, before the council voted to send the proposed changes to the electorate next May.

Personally speaking, Webster’s and Wilson’s efforts transformed the proposed document from one I could not support to one I can now enthusiastically endorse.

Another significant change made to the document that was recommended by the Charter Review Commission, a change engineered chiefly by council member Daphne Tenorio, would significantly raise the cap on the dollar amount the city could go into debt before requiring voter approval.

The major change was one offered by Wilson, but strongly supported by Webster, to move council elections from May to December, a move designed to increase voter turnout and to save taxpayer dollars. The fact that Wilson offered the change was significant because during the recent council workshop discussion on the proposed charter change, he supported keeping the elections in May. He said he was convinced to move the date to November because the neighboring cities of San Marcos, Buda and Austin hold their municipal elections in November, and because his independent research convinced him the move would increase voter turnout and save the city a minimum of $5,000 a year by eliminating one election. It is interesting to note that in last month’s election, one that had little or no direct bearing on Kyle residents, the turnout here in the city was more than twice as large as it was for the most recent May city council elections.

The change was approved 5-2, with Tenorio and council member Diane Hervol casting the dissenting votes. Interestingly, just prior to the start of the council session, Mayor Webster confided he wasn’t sure he had enough support to get the proposed change passed. Some of the five who voted for the change said they did so not necessarily because the favored the idea of November municipal elections, but because they believed the voters of Kyle should have the opportunity to express their opinions on the idea. Council Member Shane Arabie said after the council meeting that plank in the charter could face rough sledding at the polls and Jo Fenety, the vice chair of the Charter Review Commission and a strong advocate of keeping the elections in May, told me after the council’s decision she would actively campaign to defeat the proposed change. "Expect to see lots of yard signs saying ‘Vote No’," she said as she left the chamber.

The other significant change, also introduced by Wilson, eliminated the Charter Review Commission’s recommendation that "City Council compensation shall be set in a public forum by ordinance of the city council." The council voted 7-0 to keep the council’s compensation the way it is — $200 a month to the mayor and $100 for the remaining council members. Even though all the council members agreed the charter should actually specify council compensation, Webster and council member Shane Arabie said after the meeting the level of compensation is going to be revisited as the city grows.

The Charter Review Commission recommended restricting the amount the city could go into debt without voter approval to 10 percent of the city’s annual tax revenues. But Finance Director Perwez Moheet told the council that because the city’s annual tax revenues are $1.5 million, that would mean the city would need approval for every proposed indebtedness of $115,000 or more, which is impractical. Initially, Mayor Webster seemed inclined to scrap the entire idea of a cap, but Tenorio successfully argued some kind of limit was necessary and after some back-and-fort negotiations over various percentages, it was finally decided the cap should be 5 percent of the city’s total assessed tax valuations, which puts the ceiling currently at $80 million. This provision has no effect on the issuance of General Obligation bonds, such as those recently issued for the Kyle road projects, all of which need voter approval before they can be sold, regardless of the amount.

There was also some disagreement about a proposed change to Section 4.03 (a) of the charter. The Review Commission voted to strike language saying the dismissal of the city’s finance director would have to be confirmed by a majority vote of the council. Tenorio and Hervol wanted to restore that language, but the other five council members prevailed, arguing that if the city manager has the sole authority to hire someone he or she should also have the sole authority to dismiss that individual.

The Charter Review Commission recommended removing reasons not bringing proposed ordinances back for a second reading, but the council disagreed with the commission and decided to keep the language in that section unchanged.

The city’s attorney said he planned to have an ordinance on the charter changes ready for the council’s approval no later than the first week in January so that the language can be placed on an election ballot in May.

In other action last night:

• Sylvia Gallo, the organizer of the November music festival designed to raise money for various veterans groups, told the council how much she appreciated the city’s support of her endeavor although she noticeably, at least to me, failed to mention how much, if any, funds were raised for the benefit of veterans,
• The council unanimously approved the nominations of Lourdes Cervantes, an elementary school librarian since 2002 and 15-year resident of Kyle, and C. Matthew Bonhamgregory, a fifth grade math and science teacher at Buda Elementary and a seven-year Kyle resident, to the Library Board. The council took time to commend board Chair Dr. Anita Perez in her efforts to recruit "quality" candidates for the board.
• The council hesitatingly decided to pursue the idea of asking Hays County for assistance in the city’s efforts in the post-Halloween flood remediation on its storm drains, although many were skeptical about just what assistance the county might provide as well as the quality of that assistance.
• Assistant City Manager James Earp announced that persons whose homes were damaged during the Halloween floods are now eligible for FEMA reimbursement "if they are uninsured whether they’re in the city or outside the city." Earp said FEMA would be opening assistance centers locally beginning today. "The closest one to the folks in our area," Earp said, "will be located at the Precinct 2 offices over on Jack C. Hays Trail between the Barton Middle School and the storage area on the other side." He said the center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Saturday "and they’ll keep hours Mondays through Saturdays as long as they need to — as long as people keep coming in asking for assistance."
• The council, without explanation, voted 5-2 to cast all 216 of the city’s votes for the Hays County Appraisal District’s board of directors for Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector Luanne Caraway. These 216 votes are part of 7,000 possible votes that could be cast with the largest share, 1,679 votes, belonging to the Hays Independent School District. The city had a choice of eight different candidates who are vying for seven vacant positions on the board.
• A new, but unfortunately accurate, mantra was unveiled for the city’s development efforts when Wilson, in supporting creating a warehouse district on prime real estate along southbound I-35, said "We want the best that we can get. If the best we can get is warehouse, I’m happy to oblige." The motion to create the district, which will generate little if any sales tax revenue for the city, passed 6-0. Interestingly, although during a discussion about a similar zoning change a month ago some city council members raised the point that warehouse zoning permitted sexually oriented businesses, no one on the council mentioned the possibility of an adult video store or a strip joint could wind up greeting newcomers to Kyle on I-35. Just saying.