01-22-2015 MinutesMINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
January 22, 2015
A Meeting was held by the Schertz Charter Review Commission of the City of Schertz,
Texas, on January 22, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex City
Manager Conference Room, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #2, Schertz, Texas. The
following members present to -wit:
Mark Davis Chair
Member Bert Crawford
Member Jana Volitis
Staff Present:
City Manager John Kessel
City Attorney Charles Zech
Deputy City Secretary Donna Schmoekel
Guests Present:
Michael Dahle — Vice Chair
Member Reginna Agee
Mr. Robert Brockman, 1000 Elbel Road, Schertz Texas.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Chair Davis welcomed everyone.
1. Review City of Schertz Charter Articles III, IV, and V and consider any
recommendations for amendments thereto.
Chair Davis spoke about the review schedule and stated that he is hoping they can get
through the entire process by the first week in May and make their presentation on May
12th. He said he had noticed that San Antonio had advertised to their citizens about their
Charter Review Committee meetings and invited their residents to attend. Discussion
continued among commission members that we could also maybe put an advertisement
in the Herald Newspaper or the Schertz Magazine as well as use the electronic sign out
in front of city hall along Schertz Parkway to notify our citizens. The commission
members discussed the pros and cons of doing any or all of these suggestions. The city
staff agreed to take action to increase awareness of the Charter Review Commission's
meetings.
Charter Review Commission Members went over the following Charter sections:
Section 4.02 Qualifications.
Commission members recommended changing line 2 to reflect `be a registered voter in
the City,' and `at least twelve consecutive months' and on line 3, change the comma
after office to a period and delete the remainder of the paragraph.
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Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Agee who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Crawford to approve changing registered voter to `registered
voter in the City' and changing at least six consecutive months to `at least twelve
consecutive months' and on line 3 change the comma after office to a period and delete
the remainder of the paragraph. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 4.03 Judge of Election Qualifications.
Commission members discussed this section and City Attorney Charles Zech
recommended that a process be established for doing this; he will bring some language
that allows a process to the next meeting.
Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Agee to approve as written, no recommended changes.
The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 4.04 Compensation.
The commission members discussed what the current compensation is for the mayor
and councilmembers and when it was last amended. City Manager John Kessel had
done some research on what other benchmark cities were currently paying their elected
officials to help commission members determine if the city was still within the normal
pay boundaries for these positions.
Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Volitis who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Crawford to approve as written, no recommended changes.
The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 4.05 Mayor and Mayor Pro -Tem.
Discussion by commission members resulted in changes as listed below in the action
taken. It was also decided to table possible changes to Line 3 of the wording "when
authorized by the City Council" until City Attorney Charles Zech can develop some
other language for consideration at the next meeting.
Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Volitis to approve as written, no recommended changes. The
vote was 4 -1, with Commission Members Agee, Crawford, Dahle, and Volitis
voting yes and Chair Davis voting no. Motion passed.
Section 4.06 Vacancies, Forfeiture, Filling of Vacancies.
After discussion by commission members, it was decided to table sub - sections (a)
Vacancies, and (b) Forfeiture, pending draft proposals from City Attorney Charles Zech
for further consideration at the next meeting.
Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Agee who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Crawford, to make `no change' to sub - section (c)(1) Filling
Vacancies and delete subsection (c)(2). The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
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Section 4.07 Prohibitions.
After discussion by commission members, subsection (a) Holding other Office was
tabled until the next meeting pending a draft proposal from City Attorney Charles Zech
for consideration.
Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Crawford who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Dahle to approve as written sub - section (b) Appointments and
Removals, with no recommended changes. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Volitis to approve as written sub - section (c) Interference with
Administration, no recommended changes. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Chair Davis recognized Vice Chair Dahle who moved, seconded by Commission
Member Volitis to change sub - section (d) Admission of Liability, to delete words `or
employees of the city'. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 4.08 Powers of the City Council.
Chair Davis recognized Commission Member Crawford who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Dable to approve as written, no recommended changes. The vote
was unanimous. Motion passed.
2. As necessary discuss planned review of City of Schertz Charter for next scheduled
meeting.
Commission Members will start the next meeting by reviewing Section 4.09 Meetings
and Procedure and move forward to the next sections. Chair Davis requested the
remainder of Section 4 and all of Section 5 be put on the next agenda. He thanked
everyone for their open dialogue and stated the mayor was very pleased with the
commission and their progress.
A request was made by Commission Member Crawford to get the latest meeting
schedule sent out to the members and also an electronic version of the City Council
Code of Ethics.
Adi ournment
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Crawford who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Volitis to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 9:07 p.m.
ATTEST: Chair Mark Davis
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Donna Schmoekel, Deputy City Secretary
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