elpasospeak

El Chuqueno pointed out the other day that city council wired their recent cultural center vote while in executive session.

What the post did not point out is that city council members should know better.

Section 551.005 of the Texas open meetings act requires each council member to take training relating open meetings and executive sessions within 90 days of taking office.

In other words these people should know what the rules are and should not break them.

Where was our city attorney on this?

We deserve better

Brutus

We have heard talk around town to the effect that the recall petition (of the mayor) being circulated will not be effective even if the required number of signatures are collected.

The theory is that the petition will not be submitted until after the deadline for placing items on the November election.

The city charter required council to pass a recall ordinance back when the charter was approved by the voters.

Council did pass the recall ordinance (number 008066 ) on June 5, 1984.

It reads:

“If the petition shall be found sufficient, the City Clerk shall submit the petition to the City Council without delay, and the City Council, in the event the officer fails to resign, shall order that the recall election be held at the next permitted election date under the laws of Texas.”

If the petition does not make it in before the cutoff for the November election then it will have to be considered at the next election date.

The next “Texas uniform election date” after the November election  will be the first Saturday in May, 2019.

We deserve better

Brutus

We have been searching to see if there is a way to negate the quality of life bond election.

Here it is:

CHAPTER 1252. REVOCATION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE BONDS

Sec. 1252.001. ELECTION TO REVOKE AUTHORITY. The commissioners court of a county or the governing body of a municipality may order an election to determine whether to revoke the authority to issue bonds that:

(1) compose all or part of an issue authorized by an earlier election; and

(2) have not as of the date of the order been sold or delivered.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 227, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 1252.002. ELECTION PROCEDURE. (a) An election to revoke bonds under this chapter shall be held in the same manner as the election originally authorizing the bonds.

(b) In an election held under Subsection (a), the ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: “The revocation of bonds.”

(c) If a revocation election covers bonds of more than one voted issue, there shall be a separate proposition for each voted issue.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 227, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

You can read the entire law here.

We deserve better

Brutus

This slide from a city of Austin lawyer’s presentation to city council explains what franchise fees are all about:

El Paso is a home rule city.

City council is thinking about charging the city owned sanitation department a $4 per month franchise fee for each residential customer.

They want to charge us a fee to allow a city department to use streets that we already own.

This is a tax.

We deserve better

Brutus

This came in from Max Grossman:

Dear Friends,

The Texas Attorney General is a busy man. He just announced that he is seeking to remove 8 of 13 members of the Planning Commission of Austin for being “directly or indirectly connected to real estate and land development,” in violation of the Austin City Charter.

QUESTION: Do we in El Paso have any folks on our Historic Landmark Commission, City Plan Commission or El Paso County Historical Commission who are connected to real estate and land development? Absolutely yes! Anyone on City Council? Yes. Are there any entangling connections between the real estate/development community and our City Government?

Mr. Paxton, please come to El Paso and help us break out of this death grip…

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Our city charter does not have a provision like this.

Should it?

We deserve better

Brutus