Election
BY ALEX REECE
Compensation, 11 more charter amendments on May ballot
Frisco voters will consider 12 amendments to Frisco’s City Charter in May. Frisco City Council members unanimously placed the propositions on the ballot for a May 3 special election during a Feb. 4 meeting. The special election, which will also feature two propositions related to funding a large-scale per- forming arts center called the Frisco Center for the Arts, will take place alongside the May 3 general election that will feature two council seat races. Explained A city charter acts as a city’s constitution. It is a guiding document that outlines the city’s form of government, powers of the city as well as various processes and rules for its leaders, officials said. Frisco’s charter was first adopted in 1987. The document requires the city to form a charter review commission to look for potential amend- ments every six years. The details The 12 propositions, which will be titled Proposi- tions C-N on the ballot, span a wide range of topics in the charter, including raising the pay for council members and the mayor. Other propositions will deal with updating the charter to align with cur- rent state law. Propositions A and B are reserved for the two Frisco Center for the Arts items. Frisco Council members originally only dis- cussed 10 amendments when the list was first presented in December. A full list of the charter amendments, including official ballot language and the original text the amendments would change, can be found on the city’s website.
Proposition C Would amend the charter to state no person shall serve as a council member and mayor (combined) more than six consecutive elected terms
Proposition D Would increase the
Proposition E Would allow council to fill a vacated seat by appointment if the remainder of the vacated office term is 12 months or less
compensation for the mayor and each council member and allow annual adjustments
Proposition F Would allow City Council to hold one regular meeting per month for up to four months
Proposition G Would update the charter to conform to recent state law processes for ordering a special election
Proposition H Would clarify the scope of the city secretary’s review of petitions
Proposition J Would clarify the scope of the city secretary’s review of initiative petitions
Proposition I Would remove from the scope of the powers of initiative and referendum ordinances or resolutions relating to the Comprehensive Plan, amendments of the Zoning Ordinance, use of the power of eminent domain or other ordinances or resolutions not subject to initiative or referendum as provided by state law, and reorganizing existing language
Proposition K Would clarify the city secretary’s review of referendum petitions
Proposition L Would, if state law allows, remove the requirement for publishing a summary of each independent audit in the city’s official newspaper
Proposition M Would add in state law references to clarify the
standard for determining when a city officer or employee has a conflict of interest
Proposition N Would update the section on a city official’s acceptance, agreement to accept or solicitation of gifts to reference state law
SOURCE: CITY OF FRISCO/COMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: PROPOSITIONS A AND B ARE RESERVED FOR TWO FRISCO CENTER FOR THE ARTS PROPOSITIONS
to put compensation and an update to the ethics policy alongside the Frisco Center for the Arts. A majority of the charter amendments are to align the document with state law, Mayor Jeff Cheney said Jan. 21.
Zooming out Some council members said during a January work session meeting they were concerned about putting too many urgent propositions on the ballot at once. For example, council member Bill Woodard said he was unsure if it was in the city council’s
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