Webster wisely advocates moving elections to November, or: Recommendations on fixing Kyle’s abysmal voting rate

During last night’s discussion on proposed changes to Kyle’s charter, Mayor Todd Webster brought up the subject of moving municipal elections from May to November. If the goal is to increase voter turnout — and that is a reasonable goal — the evidence proves holding municipal elections in November will accomplish that.

The principle argument against holding elections in November is the desire not to have the city’s elections buried beneath those of the President, senators, house members, legislators, etc., especially since those are partisan elections and Kyle’s are non-partisan. One of the arguments is that voters who vote straight ticket will simply do that and not even bother to cast ballots for locally elected officials. But there is a simple way to prevent this from happening, which I will get to shortly, when I suggest my remedies for fixing Kyle’s City Council election process.

I was amused when I read in today’s Austin American-Statesman that election officials in the capitol city were lamenting that only 11.4 percent of the registered voters turned out Tuesday to vote on whether to issue bonds for a new court house. In Tuesday’s elections, 11.2 percent of the registered voters cast ballots in San Marcos, 10.8 percent turned out in Buda and 30.61 percent voted in Mountain City. Neither San Marcos nor Buda should brag about voter turnout but those numbers are more than twice the number of voters in Kyle’s last general election when 4.91 percent turned out in May.

I will predict that moving Kyle’s municipal elections from May to November, as the mayor so adroitly recommended, will at least double the percentage of voters that now come to the polls here.

Now, back to how to avoid being buried beneath those partisan ballot choices. That’s simple. Those elections take place in Texas in even numbered years. Simply hold the Kyle municipal elections in odd numbered years and that partisan subject is no longer an issue.

But other changes need to be made to allow this to happen and these changes also will increase voter turnout.

Currently, Kyle holds a City Council election every single year. That’s way too many. That results in election fatigue for Kyle voters. Cut that number in half, thus allowing a council election in odd-numbered years only. To accomplish this, the terms of the council members must be changed. I recommend two-year terms with a limit of four terms for each office holder. That way, in November of every odd numbered years, voters will be voting on all six council members, plus the mayor. That also will increase interest in the election and thus increase the number of voters going to the polls.

It also solves another problem, one raised by council member Damon Fogley during last night’s discussion. State law requires that officials elected to positions that have terms of longer than two years must be elected by a majority of the voters. Fogley lamented that in the general election he received 49.7 percent of the vote and, thus was subjected to a runoff. By limiting the council member’s terms to two years, you could have the elections decided by a plurality vote (i.e., the person with the most votes wins, regardless of the percentage) and avoid the need of and the costs for a runoff election. This also would increase voter turnout.

But, one may ask, if you stage elections this way, how do you avoid having a turnover of all seven council members every eight years? Well, there’s no way you can eliminate that possibility 100 percent, but you can reduce the chances of it happening almost to zero. On the first election after the charter change required to make all of the above a reality, voters cast ballots for all seven council members — the mayor and the six other council members. Out of those six, the two candidates receiving the most votes fall under the four-term limitation rule. The two winning candidates receiving the third and fourth most votes are limited to three terms and the final two are limited to two terms. After that, the four-term limit applies to all persons newly elected to the council.

Finally, I’m going to address the argument of single member versus at-large districts. Currently Kyle elects three council members from individual districts and three at-large. The argument for increasing the number of single member districts is that, at present, it is easily feasible the council could be composed of five individuals who all live in the same subdivision. The argument I’ve heard most against single member districts is that constituents desire to have more than one council member to listen to their concerns.

Here’s a solution to both problems, and one that I expressed during the citizen comments section of last night’s charter discussion. Have all six council members and the mayor elected by all Kyle voters (another step that will increase voter participation) but require that any candidate running for Places 1 and 4 on the council must reside in District 1, candidates seeking Places 2 and 5 must live in District 2 and those going for Places 3 and 6 have to reside in District 3. That provides the even geographical distribution but makes all council members directly accountable to all the citizens of Kyle.

And isn’t that what we really want?

Mayor pro tem wants to eliminate shoppers’ freedom of choice

Mayor Pro Tem David Wilson threw a hissy-fit last night over the fact that someone in Kyle has the temerity to shop at the H-E-B and the Wal-Mart in San Marcos instead of the ones here. Now there’s good reasons to encourage people to spend sales tax money here and not in another city. I remember when I was shopping for new furniture while I lived in Dallas and I absolutely rejected my then-girlfriend’s pleas to check out furniture stores in the suburbs. I wasn’t about to send sales tax revenue to another city, especially when I was an employee of the City of Dallas. But that was my choice.

Wilson, on the other hand, wants to actually deny freedom of choice to this particular unnamed Kyle resident by stripping this person of the transportation he or she uses to shop in San Marcos. Wilson is siding with council member Damon Fogley (who had the audacity, during the discussion of this subject, to call himself a "fiscal conservative" even though he voted to subject Kyle property owners to the highest taxes in Hays County. "Just pay to attention to what I say," he seemed to say, "and ignore everything I do.") on the notion to end the city’s subsidy to the Demand Response transportation service provided by Capital Area Rural Transportation Service (CARTS).

At Fogley’s behest, Kyle Chief of Staff Jerry Hendrix gave a presentation to the City Council last night that suggests the city isn’t getting the return on its investment when it comes to CARTS. I would guess every city in the nine-county area served by CARTS would say the same thing, but Kyle is the only one of them preparing to take the service away. The problem with Hendrix’s presentation was that it was strictly about numbers and had nothing to do with humanity. I guess to Kyle city officials, the people who live here are simply another commodity to be considered collectively: "Here in Kyle we have stores and houses and sewers and people and roads and manholes and apartments and a whole lot of other things," without ever stopping to contemplate the individuality of those "people."

To put it bluntly, this action last night displayed a total lack of empathy on the part of Kyle government officials towards the citizens it is supposed to be serving as well as an ignorance of the responsibilities of government. Let me explain: As far as I know, no one sought this shopper’s input into why he or she prefers to shop at the stores in San Marcos. If they did, they certainly didn’t share it last night. But personal reasons don’t matter to Wilson or Fogley: "You either voluntarily do all your shopping in Kyle or we will take steps to force you to shop within the city limits. We are the dictatorial leaders of Kyle and we can do that." Unfortunately this type of George Orwellian thinking is running rampant these days, which is why we are seeing governments denying voting rights to those who don’t agree with them or eliminating health care options for poor women and minorities.

One of my two closest living friends, someone who was a principle at my wedding and who was my son’s godfather, died last week and Friday I, together with my son and granddaughter, drove to Dallas to participate in his funeral services. The day before I decided to purchase a new solid black tie to wear so I hopped in the car and drove over to Kohl’s on Kyle Parkway. I can’t recall when I ever been subjected to as terrible customer service as I received at that store. I finally left without ever purchasing the tie, promising myself I would never shop in that store again. I walked down the way to the Ross store where I received satisfactory customer service and actually purchased the tie at one-third the price than I would have paid at Kohl’s.

There may be times in the future when I might want to shop at Kohl’s, but I promise you when that time comes I will be going to a Kohl’s in Austin or San Marcos and not the one here in Kyle and I don’t think big, bad government has any right to tell me otherwise. Unfortunately, Wilson and Fogley don’t agree with this idea of freedom of choice and I’m afraid a majority of the council may agree with them as well.

I've heard rumors that H-E-B intends to build a Central Market at or near the intersection of highways 1626 and 967 in Buda. I love me some Central Market. If these rumors are true, there's an excellent chance the bakery there will provide Challah, something the Kyle H-E-B has no intention of selling. And anyone who knows anything about proper food preparation knows that Challah is a necessary ingredient in the preparation of quality French Toast. Regardless, if a Central Market does wind up there, I'll be spending more of my grocery dollars in Buda and less in Kyle. It's my choice and regardless of how Wilson and Fogley want to deny me my freedoms, I'm going to exercise my freedom of choice.

I only hope that other nameless shopper is afforded the same rights.

Proposed stop signs in Waterleaf highlight upcoming council agenda

At the request of CM Damon Fogley, the Kyle City Council will consider Wednesday installing three stop signs in the Waterleaf subdivision which Fogley calls home. The locations for the stop signs are at the intersections of New Bridge and Gina drives, Waterleaf Boulevard and Connor Elkins Drive and New Country Road and Gina Drive.

Fogley says the stop signs are needed to reduce speeding in the neighborhood.

No public hearing is planned for this item, so citizens who want to express an opinion on the proposal will need to do so during the Citizen Comments section of the meeting, which takes place at the beginning of the 7 p.m. session at City Hall. This week's meeting is being held on Wednesday because Tuesday, the council's normal meeting day, is when Texas celebrates National Night Out.

Fogley fumbles recusal attempt

It is a given that the Kyle City Council does not follow Robert’s Rules of Order or any other accepted parliamentary procedures, but there are certain ethical guidelines that are so tantamount to good government, they must be obeyed. Every single person who serves on a city council or a city board/commission/committee in Kyle should know how to recuse themselves so as to avoid any hint of conflict of interest.

Now different municipalities have different procedures for initiating the recusal process. For the sake of example, let’s use a member of a city council as our subject here because the situation I’m talking about involved a neophyte city council member, Damon Fogley, at last Tuesday’s city council meeting. Normally what happens in situations like this is council members will prepare somewhat before they come to council meetings. They will have at least carefully read the council’s agenda and, thus, will be aware of any item which may pose a conflict of interest before the meeting even starts. I don’t know the exact procedure here in Kyle, but in the civilized world of municipal government, a council person wishing to be recused because a particular agenda item may pose a potential conflict will file a signed affidavit noting that possible conflict with the city secretary, who will then notify the council’s presiding officer just prior to the commencement of that meeting.

The key here is "preparation," a council member actually studying the agenda somewhat a day or two, or even an hour or two, prior to the start of the council meeting. I am not sure that every member of the Kyle City Council takes any time preparing for these meetings.

However it’s handled, there are certain rules that apply in all situations of recusal. The presiding officer must know of a council person’s recusal intent before the agenda item comes up for discussion. And the council member who has been recused must physically leave the chamber where the item is being discussed and voted upon. Fogley did neither Tuesday.

The item in question was a rezoning issue to allow a convenience store/gas station type use on a 1.75 acres that was zoned single family residential. at 2050 E. RR 150. Instead of saying anything ahead of time, Fogley sat through the entire discussion of the item and, just as the vote was about to be taken, asked to be recused. But then, instead of getting up and leaving the chamber as is required in any recusal motion, even one as illegal as Fogley’s was, he just sat there like the Say-No-Evil monkey and simply didn’t cast a vote. Not voting or abstaining from voting on an item is not the same thing as a recusal. The item passed 5-0.

Now I’m not going to put the entire blame for this foolishness on Fogley. Just as much responsibility for this inexcusable behavior needs to be shared with city staff. And there is a very simple way to guard against having our city leaders acting like idiots in the future. Between the time a person is elected for the first time to the city council and that person is sworn in, the staff, led the city attorney, must conduct some form of orientation program for these individuals so that they are aware of the basic rules of Robert’s as well as the reasons to recuse oneself and the proper procedure for a recusal. Staff should conduct the same program for all new members to city boards and commissions as well. If handled correctly, such an orientation class could be held in under an hour.

In other action Tuesday night, the council:

• Seemed receptive the idea presented by an organization called Appa Aguilas to form a soccer program in Kyle, especially if that meant Appa Aguilas was going to relieve the city of the responsibility of maintaining Waterleaf Park.
• Reappointed Mike Wilson, Irene Melendez and Timothy Kay to the Planning & Zoning Commission and appointed former city council candidate Dex Ellison to the commission to replace retiring commissioner Dan Ryan.
• Denied a request to permit overhead electrical service along Bebee Road.
• Approved 5-1 (CM Diane Hervol cast the lone dissenting vote and CM Daphne Tenorio had an excused absence due to illness) a zoning request that will allow the construction of a pair of warehouses on Lehman Road near RR 150.
• Unanimously approved a zoning request to permit the construction 82 rental duplexes directly behind these warehouses.
• In one of the quickest annexation moves on record, the council voted 5-0 (CM Becky Selbera left the meeting without announcing why just prior to discussing this item) to annex the 135.78 acres where David Weekley Homes and Scott Felder Homes are planning a subdivision immediately west of Hometown Kyle. The entire discussion on this issue and the vote consumed less than two minutes of the council’s time. Moments later, the council allowed 2.681 acres of this property to be rezoned so it could be used for retail services right at the intersection of North Old Stagecoach and Cypress roads.
• Discussed the possibility of installing up to three stop signs in the Waterleaf subdivision in an attempt to slow drivers who are apparently racing through the streets of this area at speeds close to 40 miles an hour.
• Heard that, although construction has begun on the Marketplace-to-Burleson road project, the official groundbreaking ceremonies will take place Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 9:30 a.m.
• Was reminded that the council’s first meeting in October will be on the first Wednesday of the month, not the usual first Tuesday, because that Tuesday is National Night Out in Texas and Florida.
• Was informed by City Manager Scott Sellers that Stage 2 water restrictions were returning because (1) water consumption in Kyle was 33 percent greater this year than last and (2) the Barton Springs Pool of the Edwards Aquifer is "steadily dropping" and the San Antonio Pool of the Edwards is in Stage 2.

City Council tries to blame others for its own shortcomings and then fails to demand accountability

Somewhere between the strange worlds of George Orwell and Joseph Heller, you’ll find the planet inhabited by Kyle City Council. Take Tuesday night, for instance. The council tried to penalize two organizations seeking special event application approvals for following the rules the council has in place for such applications instead of trying to find a way to adhere to unexplained policies that are not in place.

The applications in question were for a two-day music festival for veterans Nov. 7 and 8 and a Hays CISD-sponsored Mariachi festival Nov. 7.

Mayor Todd Webster seemed to think these applications should go to the Parks and Recreation Board either before or instead of the council. And perhaps they should, but that’s not the policy in effect now. Or, as CM Diane Hervol so appropriately stated "To tell these people now, at the 12^th hour, that they have to come back through the system, is just not fair."

"It’s not the 12^th hour," Webster retorted.

"But they’re here tonight," Hervol countered. "We put these items on the agenda for whatever reason. Granted these two events don’t appear on the calendar until November ... but now these two events are coming before us and we’re saying ‘Hey, let’s go ahead and put another step in the process and go this way.’ If it was me, I wouldn’t like my time being wasted. I don’t disagree with the idea of changing the process. I’m just saying these two items are before us now."

But then it got even more bizarre when CM Damon Fogley chimed in.

"I think we need to have a very specific, whether it’s through Parks or the city council, we need to have a program in place where we make sure we have guidelines or whatever that may be for each organization that approaches us and asks us for funds," Fogley said.

So then — I kid you not — Fogley voted against the applications because the city did not have in place, "whether it’s through Parks or the city council," unspecified "guidelines or whatever," as if this failure of the city's was the applicants' fault.

But wait, it gets worse. The council actually agreed for the City of Kyle to be a sponsor and attach the city’s logo to what is being billed as the Hays Veterans Music Fest. Now, according to the application she filed with the city, promoter Sylvia Gallo listed this as a for profit event. In speaking before the council, however, she said it was designed to raise funds for several Central Texas veterans organizations. Personally, I could care less whether it’s a for-profit venture or a fund raiser, but if it is the latter I’m convinced the city council should be have installed some accountability into the proceedings. How is the city to know after the event it is sponsoring is over how the festival promoters distribute the moneys it collects? How much, if any, is actually going to veterans organizations? Should the council have insisted that a certain percentage of the proceeds actually go to veterans organizations? As far as I can tell, none of these issues were addressed; I know for a fact they weren’t addressed at Tuesday night’s council meeting. The only subject the council was concerned about was why these applicants didn’t follow rules that weren’t in effect and, in so doing, left themselves open to the possibility that Kyle might, in some circles, become known as "the town that ripped off American veterans."