The following individuals were selected by current Council Members and the Mayor: Theresa Bledsoe appointed by Doug Knowlton, Place 1; Bill Garretson appointed by Travis Malone, Place 2; Athena Campbell appointed by Curtis Bergthold, Place 3; Stacey Morse appointed by Javiar Alvarez, Place 4; Roland Goveas appointed by G.W. Estep, Place 5; Sheleen Jaymes appointed by Ed Lopez, Mayor

These individuals will serve from 11/29/22 to January 2023 (or until review completed).

Link to Current City Charter – Last Amended November 5, 2013

https://www.richlandhills.com/DocumentCenter/View/385/2013-City-Charter-PDF?bidId=

Summary of Changes to RH Charter to be Presented by Charter Review Committee.

If passed in May of 2023, these changes will become effective immediately.  One of the changes suggested (mayoral qualifications) could impact the elections in May 2024 and beyond, significantly.

1. Section 5.01 -City Council: Expand the governing body from five (5) to six (6) council members plus the Mayor, with the Mayor being a voting member (currently non-voting). 6^th place would be appointed by council if this measure passed in May 2023 elections.
2. Section 5.02 – Qualifications – Adding:  To run for Mayor, the candidate must have served a full term as Council Member or Mayor previously (to include service in another city).*
   • *had this been a part of the City Charter in 2021, I (Joyce Z Fiaccone) would have been disqualified for running for Mayor.  It would also disqualify anyone who has not already served a full term on council, as there would be no time for a full term prior to next Mayoral election in May of 2024. This would limit the number of eligible candidates, and choices for the voters.
3. Remove Sections 5.04 (hours of election), 5.05 (official ballot), 5.06 (qualified voters) – these would be governed by Texas Election Laws.
4. Section 5.11 – council member or the mayor may be removed following four (4) unexcused absences (change from 4 consecutive regular meetings to 4 meetings in a year, May-May).
5. Section 5.12 – Expanding term limits from two (2)  to three (3) consecutive three (3) year terms
   • Limitations on successive terms: length of years from 2 to 3.  A person may service as a council member for three (3) consecutive terms, then immediately serve as Mayor for three (3) consecutive terms, then must sit out for one (1) election cycle before serving again.
     1. Concern – 18 years in office before having to sit out an election cycle (1 yr).
     2. Thought – 2 terms of 3 years would promote consistency (seeing projects to completion) and encourage new ideas/solutions from more rotation on council.
6. Section 5.13 – Increase pay for council members from $10/month to $10/session per council member.
7. Additional Language Clarifications
8. There were items in our charter that would be removed to make them legislative items (items more easily changed by council, than a city charter that requires voter approval).
9. There are items in our charter today and possibly in the future as state law changes, that conflict with state law
10. Removing some items from the City Charter makes the Charter more fluid, but may put some items in the ordinance realm (City Council) as opposed to Voter realm. Need to review these potential changes carefully. The minutes of the meeting that proposed these changes has not yet been published (as of 12/28/22)

*City Attorney Alicia Kreh clarified that Election Code preempts City’s Charter and most qualifications exceeding what is listed in the Election Code would not be allowed.