01-10-2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Regular Council Meeting January 10, 2022 Page 7 who and who could not serve. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said Article 12 Section 149 covers the requirements of serving on City Council. Next, Mr. Path covered Article III Sections 16-19 and said these were the largest amendments to be considered. He explained the considerations given to the Mayor At -Large item and said the Commission recommended having a Mayor elected At -Large, and he or she would be the eighth member of City Council without the ability to vote unless in case of a tie vote, and added language addressing if City Council Members choose to run for Mayor. Mr. Path reminded everyone of the 1976 Federal Court Order that addressed racial inequality in the City of Paris' election process and the Order that divided the City into seven single member districts. Mr. Path also said the CRC discussed the attendance requirement for Council Members and stated a member would be required to attend 75% of Council meetings. Mr. Path also said there was cleanup language to reflect current duties of City Manager and the current retirement program. Mayor Portugal inquired about the legality of going to a Mayor At -Large city. Ms. Harris said they would first have to locate the petitioners of the previous lawsuit. She also said they would have to seek Court approval from the 1976 Court Order and that could take months or years. She expressed concern about a minority ever being elected as Mayor should they move to a Mayor At -Large city, because it would dilute the minority population. Council Member Knox said she did not like the fact that the Mayor would not be a voting position. Council Member Pankaj said technically the Mayor would not have voting rights but was still a high position. Council Member Knox said you could not undermine the true power to vote. Council Member Savage questioned as to why anyone would recommend a Mayor At -Large system because it would set Paris back decades and that a minority would never be elected to the Mayor position. He said the City would be opening itself up for lawsuits. Council Member Savage said the population of Paris was 72% white and 28% black, and that anyone who stands for equality would not go for having a Mayor elected At -Large. Ms. Harris said that at the time the Charter Commission made this recommendation, they had not heard from the attorney regarding the need to go to the Federal Court on this. A Motion to not carry the Mayor At -Large proposition was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 1 nay, with Council Member Stone casting the dissenting vote. With regard to absences, Mayor Portugal said she favored what the boards and commissions followed. She said that would mean that Council Members would need to attend 16 meetings out of one year or 75% attendance. A Motion to move forward with the proposal of Council Members must attend 75% of City Council meetings from May through April of each year, unless excused by City Council, was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Pankaj. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. As to Article IV, Mr. Path said the only amendment was cleanup language to reflect current duties of the City Manager. With regard to Article V, he said there was cleanup language to reflect current budget practices as well as remove outdated language. Mr. Path explained that Article VI was a complete re -write to reflect practices that were more modern and streamline those practices to address long-term indebtedness laws in the State of Texas. As to Article VII, Mr. Path said there was cleanup language to reflect current practices and/or remove outdated language for duties of the Finance Director and surety coverage for employees. He also said language was added to provide for the option of security local loans for longer than one year