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12 Discuss need for Charter Amendments UIj;IH!~UU\) H:.lO tiU lJU.J OlJllilJOl VUI' tll~1IJir1ll ~ IIIIS & JltClATI .... JIfIin r.ftui plllfa: 903-597-495' 922 S. College Ave. Tyler, TX 75701 e.maif"danbon@cox-intemetcom DATE: August 4,2006 TO: Tony Williams, City Manager FROM: Don R. Edmonds, Consultant SUBJECT: Comprehensive amendment ofthe Paris home rule charter This is to respond to your informal invitation to review the Paris charter and to comment on its current condition. It is my understanding that you may use all or part of this information in further discussion with your city council about this matter. ~ GENERAL To put it simply and based on my cursory review, Paris's home rule charter is in fairly serious disrepair. Adopted in 1948, it was last amended in January 1996 when Paris voters approved seven ballot propositions put to them by action of the council. These approvals bad the cumulative effect of changing twtlve separate 5C'Ctions of the charter. (Certain of the ballot propositions dealt with more than one charter section-an unusual approach in the world of charter amendment.) In that same election the voters failed to approve five other ballot propositions that would have further changed the charter in various ways. So, as it is the Paris charter is not in the worst shape of any charter that rve ever seen, but it is still sadly out of date. In form and style, the charter in its original fonn is rather nicely drafted. Irs fairly standard in content and language. With one exception, there are no obvious inconsistencies and no apparent editorial deficiencies (as in spelling or grammar.) That exception is to be found in Sec. 97. This section 15 titled, "Election of councilmen by majority." But, to the contrary, the language within the section itself clearly describes election by plurality. This is a curious editorial error, and I understand that this matter has been the source of contention in the recent past. The larger problem, however, is that the charter does not accurately describe the way the city actually conducts much of its business. To CUfe this fact and to bring the charter up to date will be a somewhat involved process and, in my estimation, could eventually require the voter.; of the city to face a ballot with as many as twenty-five or thirty separate ballot propositions. This is based on my experience consulting with several other cities with simdar charter situations One thing is almost certain: if not attended to now, the magnitude of this problem will grow steadily. ~V, r'" 08/04/2006 14:35 FAX 903 5974951 VUN l::l)~lUMV~ Page 2. Mr. Tony Williams August 4, 2006 ONE POTENTIALLY SENSfTIVE ISSUE There appears to be at least one potentially sensitive issue here-the matter of recall of council members. When Paris changed its charter, in 1996, to provide for a system of single-member districts in council election, there was DO amendment made to Sec. 113, governing ~a11 petitions. The eJtisting requirement of a minimum of 700 signatures on a valid recall petition is a virtually impossible bar if applied to a single-member district. I understand that this matter is one that is currently under legal contention in the city. VARIANCES FROM CURRENT CHARTER PROVISIONS The principal problem in the current chaner is that a good many of its provisions are either not enforced or are not enforceable. There is a significant difference between the two, but the effect is much the same. I class aU such as "variances." (In the following discussion, I will refer to various issues by section number only. Since the CWTent charter is arranged so that each section is numbered consecutively, 1 through 150, there is no particular reason to also refer to particular articles, of which there are twelve. denoted by Roman numerals.) There are three reasons that actual city operations may differ radically from standing charter provisions. rn briefly mention each of these reasons separately and give examples of each to be found in the Paris charter. State Legislation Like it or not. the state legislature routinely convenes every other year and makes new laws or amends old laws. These actions often conflict with and/or effectively set aside provisions of home rule charters llC10SS the state. It could be fairly said that the basic concept of "home rule" has been severely curtailed by legislative action in the past fifty years. For this reason, Sections 83-92, having to do tax administration, are largely inapplicable to today's city operation Similarly, Sections 100-118. having to do with initIative, referendum and recall have been materially affected because the state severely limits the number of election dates available to cities-to only two each year And, Sections 119-130, having to do with franchise regulations, will have to be largely rewritten. in order to reflect current realities imposed by state law. ~\I') U~/U~/~UUD l~:J~ tAA ~UJ ~~(~~~l lIlJ1\ .tlljtllJJW~ Page 3. Mr. Tony Williams. August 4,2006. Court DecIsions Charter provisions are sometimes and over the years invalidated by court decisions. For example, Section 17 specifies that no person can be qualified to serve as a city councilman if that person is "found to be in arrears in the payment of any taxes or other liability due to the city." (This policy is reiterated in Section 135.) But the courts have held in recent years that such a qualification is not enforceable by a city. Local Determination It is not uncommon for variances in charters to occur as the result of the CIty manager and/or the governing body deciding to simply ignore, as inconvenient, certain charter provisions. Without some additional research, I can't be sure how many such variances are now occurring in the Paris situation, but there are a number. TIlE PROCESS OF COMPREHENSIVE AMENDMENT As a consultant, I have assisted a number of cities that had charter situatioIl5 similar to yours. The approach has been fairly standard. The council acknowledges the problem and authorizes the retention of a qualified consultant to assist in resolving it. Then, by resolution the council appoints a fifteen- member group of citizens-usually referred to Wi the Charter Review Committee. In some cases, the council designates a chairman for this committee, leaving it up to the committee to elect a vice chairman; in other cases the council defers to the committee to eject its own chairman and vice chairman. The city secretary ordinarily serves as secreta.Iy to the committee. handling the posting of meetings, the circulation of agendas and the recording of minutes. This committee is given a simple charge: to review the existing city charter, front to back and, with the help of the consultant, agree on specific amendments to all those sections in the charter that are identified as outdated, not in force or otherwise not appropriate at this time. From these determinations would come a written report and recommendations to the COuncIl. It is important for everyone involved to understand that this report is advisory only. The council will retain the authority to decide which, if any, of the recommended amendments will ultimately be placed on the ballot for voter consideration. Once the council makes this determination. a number of steps must follow. A ballot must be devised The proposed amendments must be mailed to all registered voters. (These documents have to be transJated into Spanish.) The amendments have to be submitted to U.S. Department of Justice for "pre-clearance." And various other administrative ~I)'j r"" U~!U"~UUO 11:V~ rAA ~UJ ~~(.~~l Vl);~ !:.Vll1~JJl1V;:' Page 4. Mr. Tony Williams. August 4,2006. measures must be undertaken precedent to the election on the proposed amendments. The entire process usually requires some seven or eight months and the schedule has to be carefully constructed in view of the next available municipal election date. SUMMARY Paris's home rule charter is badly in need of updating-the unavoidable and natural consequence of not having been routinely and appropriately amended over the years since its adoptiOIL Its condition will almost certainly worsen and the number of variances will increase if an amendment effort is further postponed Thanks for the opportunity to make the foregoing preliminary assessment Let me know if I can be of further assistance to you and the city council. I would be honored to do so. As requested, I am attaching to this memorandum (a) a biographical swnrnary and (b) a list of the charter projects that I have been associated with in the past few years. ~V" r-'