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759 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL January 11, 1996 The City Council of the City of Paris met in special session, Thursday, January 11, 1996, 6:00 P. M. City Council Chambers, City Hail, Paris, Texas. Mayor Pro Tem Charles Fulbright called the meeting to order with the following Councilmembers present: Charles Fulbright, Alan Boyd, John Bell, Aaron Jenkins, Richard Hunt, and Charles Neeley. Also present was City Manager, Michael E. Malone, City Attorney, T. K. Haynes, and City Clerk, Mattie Cunningham. City Manager Malone announced that the purpose of the special meeting was consideration of and action on the initiative ordinance calling for the termination of the City Manager. City Attorney Haynes advised the Council that the initiative petition circulated by a committee of petitioners consisting of William A. Conder, William J. Bone, S. C. Teal, Majle Jones, and Bill Dalton was filed with the City Clerk on the 18th day of December 1995, and was amended by a supplemental petition on the 4th day of January 1996. City Attorney Haynes said on the initial receipt of the petition, the City Clerk was able to determine very quickly wherein the insufficiencies in the form of the petition lie. She advised the committee of petitioners of such insufficiencies, and a supplemental petition was thereafter filed. Until review of the form of the petition was completed, there was no necessity on the part of the City Clerk to seek advised from me; therefore, it was not until after she had completed such review that she sought my opinion as to the content of the proposed ordinance. It was my opinion that the content of the proposed ordinance had several deficiencies, the most important of which was that it dealt with a subject matter which was removed from the field in which the initiatory process is operative; therefore, I advised her to deny certification and to communicate to the committee of petitioners the reasons why which were: 1. The initiative petition proposes an ordinance which is not legislative in character. 2. The initiative petition proposes an ordinance which attempts to circumvent the specific Charter provisions in Sections 21 and 22, which expressly confer upon the City Council the exclusive authority to appoint and remove the City Manager. Section 22 of the Charter states " The action of the Council in suspending or removing the City Manager shall be final, it being the intention of this charter to vest all authority to fix all responsibility for such suspension or removal in the City Council" Therefore, the subject matter of the proposed ordinance has been withdrawn from the field in which the initiatory process is operative. 3. There is no authority for calling a special election for the purpose of firing a City Manager. 4. It is inappropriate to propose legislation applicable to only a single person. William Conder, 404 4th N. W., appeared before the Council telling the Council that on January 4, 1996 when he filed the supplemental petition he also filed two affidavits for recall, and he was mailed a -- certificate of insufficiency. Mr. Conder said he followed the language in Section 112 of the Charter as it exist. Mr. Conder advised that two days later Mr.Haynes called him at home telling him that he might have