Item 96 - Charter Amendments

[Vanessa Fuentes]

Colleagues,

As I mentioned during the May 30, 2024 council meeting, I will be proposing an alternative to the draft ballot proposition for Charter Amendment H (Item 96) regarding the City Attorney.

My substitute would bring the reporting structure of the City Attorney in alignment with the overwhelming majority (73%) of home-rule cities in Texas and make the City Attorney more appropriately accountable to the public directly through their elected representatives.

CM Fuentes Alternative Proposition H: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 152858.pdf

Currently, the city attorney is employed at the will of the city manager. My proposed alternative would provide that the City Council appoint the City Attorney and have the authority to remove them by a majority vote.

I look forward to discussing this with you on Thursday as we consider proposed charter amendments to appear on the November ballot.

Yours in community,
Vanessa Fuentes

[Nici Huff]

Posting on behalf of MPT Leslie Pool:

Colleagues, I propose the City Charter be amended to remove the restriction that officeholders must wait until after leaving office in order to solicit and accept political contributions to pay unpaid campaign expenses or to reimburse campaign expenditures made from personal funds. The existing restriction that only the amount of the unpaid expenses and unreimbursed expenditures can be recovered does not change and shall remain in the charter.

Charter changes if proposition passes: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 195924.pdf.

Leslie