Which of the following forms of government is the most common in home rule cities in Texas?

Home Rule Charter Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The City of Fulshear commissioned the drafting of a Home Rule Charter last year. If approved, the Home Rule Charter will give the citizens of Fulshear the privilege of managing their own affairs at the grass roots level with minimal interference from the State. Home Rule assumes that government issues should be solved at the level closest to the people and that local self-government is the cornerstone of democratic government.

Thirteen (13) dedicated citizens selected from a broad range of backgrounds, which represented a racially diverse cross section of men and women took up the challenge laid out by the Mayor and City Council to draft the City’s first Home Rule Charter.  The commission was selected to represent not only a diverse group demographically, but also geographically with a balanced number of individuals from Cross Creek Ranch and the older parts of town.

The Charter itself will serve in essence as the Constitution of the City if adopted by you the Voters in the May 7th election. Below you will find several Questions and Answers about the document, process and nature of the powers associated with a Home Rule Charter.

We invite you to also please add to the list should you have questions that are not answered below.

The Questions:

1)     What is Home Rule?

To best answer this question we need to first look at how the State of Texas allows Cities to govern themselves.  Since the days of the Republic this has been an issue as advocates of strong local control have wrestled with those who prefer a more centralized control.  In the end, the State developed a two tiered system for Municipal governance: General Law Cities and Home Rule Cities.

General Law Cities are generally smaller communities with populations under 5,000 that have their powers expressly limited to the specific authorities given to them by the State. Fulshear currently is a Type A General Law City meaning that it is among the larger General Law Cities, however its power and authority to regulate are limited by the constraints of the State.  Examples of those limitations include limitations on the City’s ability to annex property unilaterally and also to limit the ability of the City to regulate where Registered Sex Offenders can reside.  Both of those powers are generally available to Home Rule Cities.

Home Rule Cities are required to write and adopt a Charter that specifically enumerates the structure, power, duties and authorities the people of the community wish to grant their local government.  From a legal standpoint Home Rule Cities operate in an inverse manner from General Law Cities in that their power is derived expressly from the citizens and you the resident gets to define how and in what manner your City government operates.  The City will still be subject to statutory and Constitutional constraints but the powers available to the City are greatly expanded to the limits allowed by you, the citizens of Fulshear, not the State.  Those would include unilateral annexation which is a huge tool in guiding future development and the ability to regulate where Registered Sex Offenders reside, among others.

2)     What is a Home Rule Charter?

Home Rule cities are required to write and adopt a Charter. The Charter, for all practical purposes, is a Municipal Constitution that is written and adopted by the citizens of the Home Rule city via an election.  The Charter defines and limits the powers, duties and responsibility of local government based on local preferences and desires.  It defines the form of local government and establishes organizational provisions.  The citizens determine the necessary controls over their city government such as elections, referendums, initiatives and recall, and definition of the procedures to amend the Charter.  Essentially, the City Charter describes and defines local government based on local preferences and controls as opposed to general laws which have been written by the Texas legislature.

3)     Who gets to decide if the Charter gets enacted?

The Charter will be submitted to you the Voters for approval and is on the ballot for the Regular City elections which will be held on May 7, 2016.

4)     What will the makeup of Council be? How will my area be represented?

The Charter Commission looking with an eye towards the rapid growth of Fulshear decided that the optimal number of voting Council Members was seven (7).  Five (5) of those members will be elected from Single Member Districts the other two shall be elected on an At-Large Basis.

This means that five (5) of the Members will come from Districts that are divided on the basis of balanced populations. They will not be based on simple geographic divisions as some have stated.  Federal law mandates that these Districts be based on similar numbers of residents within themselves.  For example if the City has a population of 8,000 at the time the Districts go into effect then there would be five (5) districts with populations of 1,600 persons each.

The other two positions will be elected on an At-Large basis meaning that they will be voted on by all of the Voters within the City.  Section 3.03 of the Charter does give the City Council the authority to create “Super Wards/ Districts” for these At-Large positions; however there is no such process planned or in place currently for Council to take such action.

5)     How are those Districts determined?

The City will have to hire specialist consultants and legal counsel to determine the geographic boundaries for each Single Member District that are balanced from a population standpoint. These districts would be revisited over time to ensure that they maintained a proportional balance of population based on demographic analysis conducted by third party consultants selected by the City Council.

There is currently a case before the Supreme Court for which a decision will likely be released in late May or June that will help guide these professionals in drawing the districts.  All districts regardless of what local individuals or politicians may want must meet Department of Justice guidelines and the final decision of the Supreme Court.

6)     What about Term Limits?

The proposed Charter does include Term Limits for all of the Elected Officials. Those Term Limits would allow for a total of six (6) years’ service by those serving in elective positions.  The six (6) years would allow for three (3) consecutive two (2) year terms in a given office (Council Member or Mayor).

Hypothetically, a Council Member could serve three (3) consecutive two (2) year terms and then run for Mayor and serve another three (3) consecutive two (2) year terms. They also could run for and serve three (3) consecutive two (2) year terms as a Council Member; then take a year off and run for another Council position if eligible in either a Single Member or At-Large District.

7)     What form of government is being proposed?

The proposed Charter calls for a transition from a Council-Mayor form of government to a Council-Manager form of government.   Council-Manager government combines the strong political leadership of elected officials with the strong managerial experience of an appointed manager or administrator. All power and authority to set policy rests with an elected governing body, which includes the Mayor and Council Members. The City Council in turn appoints a nonpartisan professional manager who has broad authority and responsibility to run the City.  This is similar to how a CEO and board of director’s functions in the private industry.

This form of government was born out of the U.S. progressive reform movement at the turn of the 20th century, the Council-Manager system was designed to combat corruption and unethical activity in local government by promoting effective management within a transparent, responsive, and accountable structure.  Since its establishment, the Council-Manager form has become the most popular structure of local government in the United States. The form municipal government is also widely used throughout the world in countries such as Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

8)     If the City Manager isn’t elected how do they know how to run our community the way we want it run?

Policy making resides with the City Council, while oversight of the day-to-day operations of the community resides with the City Manager. In this way, the elected officials are free to devote time to policy planning and development.

The City Manager carries out the policies established by the City Council with an emphasis on effective, efficient, and equitable service delivery.  Even with a transition to the Council-Manager form of government the City will continue to engage and involve their residents in decision making. Residents guide their community by electing their city councilmember’s, serving on boards and commissions, participating in visioning and strategic planning, and designing community-oriented local government services.

The City Manager is hired/ appointed to serve the City Council and the community and brings to the City all of the benefits of his/her training and experience in administering municipal projects and programs. The City Manager prepares a budget for the City Council’s consideration; recruits, hires, terminates, and supervises government staff; serves as the Council’s chief advisor; and carries out the council’s policies.

Council Members and residents count on the City Manager to provide complete and objective information about local operations, discuss the pros and cons of alternatives, and offer an assessment of the long-term consequences of their decisions. Appointed City Managers serve at the pleasure of the City Council. They can be fired by the City Council, consistent with local laws, or any employment agreements. The City Manager can make policy recommendations to the City Council for consideration and final decision; but the City Manager is bound by whatever action the City Council takes, and control is always in the hands of the elected representatives of the people.

9)     What’s the value of a Council-Manager form of government?

Professional managers contribute value to a community because they:

• Work in partnership with elected officials to develop sound approaches to community challenges by bringing together resources to make the right things happen and produce results that matter;
• Bring a community-wide perspective to policy discussions and strive to connect the past and future while focusing on the present. They help the governing body develop the long-term vision for the community that provides a framework for policy development and goal setting;
• Promote ethical government through commitment to a set of ethical standards that goes beyond those required by law. City Managers who are members of the International City Management Association (ICMA) or Texas City Management Association (TCMA) subscribe to the organizations’ Code of Ethics, which requires them to “affirm the dignity and worth of the services rendered by government and maintain. . .a deep sense of social responsibility as a trusted public servant” (the current City Administrator and Assistant City Administrator are both members of TCMA);        
• Encourage inclusion and build consensus among diverse interests (including those of elected officials, the business community, and citizens) by focusing on what is best for the entire community rather than the centralized interests of only a few individuals;
• Promote equity and fairness by ensuring that services are fairly distributed and that administrative decisions (such as hiring and contracting) are based on merit rather than favoritism;
• Develop and sustain organizational excellence and promote innovation. Professional managers focus relentlessly on efficient and equitable service delivery, policy implementation, and evaluation. They align the local government’s administrative systems with the values, mission, and policy goals defined by the community and elected officials;
• Nearly all Texas cities over 5000 in population have chosen the Home Rule form of government and many of Texas’ most successful Cities have chosen the Council-Manager form of government including: Austin, Dallas, Frisco, Southlake, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Plano and Richardson. Locally Katy, Missouri City, Mont Belvieu, Pearland, Richmond, Rosenberg, Sugar Land, and West University Place are all Council-Manager governments.

10)  So what happens to the Mayor?

Under the proposed Charter the Mayor will still:

• The Mayor shall nominate, and by and with the approval of the City Council, shall appoint the members of all boards and commissions of the City, and may remove the same at any time.
• The Mayor shall annually address the City Council as to the State of the City.
• The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of the City Council and shall be recognized as the head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes, for emergency management purposes and by the governor for purposes of military law.
• The Mayor shall, when authorized as necessary by the City Council, sign all official documents.
• The Mayor will continue to vote only on items where there is a tie on City Council.

 11)  How does this potential change impact me? Do I really have more power as a voter under the Charter than I do    right now?

Absolutely.  In most instances the citizens of Fulshear will have the ability to choose the course of the City instead of the legislature in Austin.  In addition an expansion of powers given to the City, the Charter provides the residents with several key powers to chart the course of City government directly through the Initiative, Referendum and Recall powers.

This means that if enough registered Voters agree that they may enact Ordinances based on Initiatives presented directly to the Voters. Voters may also hold Referendums to repeal certain Ordinances.

That doesn’t mean that direct democracy will rule the day or that Ordinances will come flying in from every direction. Nor would the power of Initiative and Referendum be able to modify the City budget or any capital expenditure; the appropriation of money; the levying of taxes; the adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan; the adoption, amendment, or repeal of zoning districts or regulations; the annexation or dis-annexation of land; the setting of rates, fees, charges, or assessments; the setting of salary or compensation of officers or employees; or the granting of franchises.

Additionally Voters would have the power to recall their Elected Officials if they felt they weren’t doing the job the way Voters wanted.  Currently those authorities don’t exist or are greatly constricted under our current General Law provisions.

12)  What if we decide that we really don’t like the Charter if gets it adopted?

Like all government instruments, the Charter is a living, breathing document that can be modified to meet the needs of the times as they change.  Under the proposed Charter, the City Council is required to appoint a Charter Review Commission at a minimum interval of five (5) years to ensure the document is keeping pace with the City and meeting the needs of the residents.  Such reviews can be made more frequently if needed but cannot take place any sooner than two (2) years following its adoption or amendment.