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<br />"I" 6.* <br /> <br />"I" 7.* <br /> <br />"I" 8.* <br /> <br />"Q" 9. <br /> <br />a. Section 16 states that council members shall be elected by majority vote <br />(i.e. winner must receive more than 50%) <br />b. In fact, council members are elected by plurality vote (candidate receiving <br />the highest number of votes is elected) which is eXplained in Section 97, <br />although it is mistakenly misidentified as "majority" vote in that Section also. <br />c. Change "majority" to "plurality." <br />d. The change would correct a mistake and eliminate confusion. <br /> <br />a. Section 16 provides that council members may not serve more than two <br />terms in succession and may not succeed themselves for any additional <br />successive term. <br />b. This section is unclear about a member's ability to succeed himself or <br />herself if he or she was appointed to fill an unexpired term. <br />c. Amend the section to clarify that a member who is appointed to fill an <br />unexpired term may succeed himself or herself for one or two additional <br />term(s). <br />d. The change would clarify the charter provision and should be fairer to a <br />member who is appointed to complete a portion of a term. <br /> <br />a. Section 17 contains the qualifications to hold the office of council member, <br />including a requirement to be 21 years of age, to have resided in the district <br />for 12 months, and to not be in arrears in the payment of any taxes or other <br />liability due to the city. <br />b. State law (Sec. 141.001, Election Code) contains the general qualifications <br />for holding office, which is a requirement to be 18 years of age and to have <br />resided in the territory from which the office is elected for six months. There <br />is no provision related to being in arrears in payment of taxes or other <br />liabilities, and such provisions have been held to be invalid and unenforceable <br />by federal courts. The courts' reasoning is that such provisions deny persons <br />equal protection under the 14th Amendment. <br />c. Amend the section to be consistent with state law; eliminating the <br />requirement that there be no arrears in taxes or liabilities. <br />d. The charter is currently more restrictive than state law, and may prevent <br />well-qualified candidates from applying. More importantly, it contains a <br />provision that is not constitutionally valid, meaning that if it is not amended <br />and is, instead, enforced, a prospective candidate who is in arrears and who is <br />denied the opportunity to run for office may successfully challenge that denial <br />and recover damages. <br /> <br />a. Section 18 provides that members of the city council shall serve without <br />payor compensation other than expenses. <br />b. As the City grows and the time and effort required to exercise the office of <br />council member increases, it may become difficult to attract well-qualified <br />candidates if there is no possibility of compensation for their time and effort. <br /> <br />3 <br />