Fort Worth council pay hikes, term lengths on May 7 ballot

It’s been a decade since Fort Worth voters have been asked to amend the city charter that’s governed Cowntown since 1924.

On May 7, Fort Worth voters will decide the fate of 11 amendment changes, that if approved, could increase the number of council members, give the members and the mayor pay raises, and determine whether they’ll serve longer terms, among other things.

The City Council called the charter election in February after the findings of an 11-member citizens task force.

The last charter election was in 2006 and the one before that was in 1991. In all, 14 charter elections have been held since 1924. So far, voters have considered 186 changes.

The city charter defines the organization, powers, functions and essential procedures of city government.

Several informational meetings on the election have been held, but two session remain: 6 p.m. Thursday at Christ Centered Missionary Baptist Church, 5205 Carol Ave., and 10 a.m. Saturday at University Christian Church, 2618 S. University Drive.

Residents adopted the current city council/city manager form of government April 15, 1924, with 6,729 votes for and 3,481 votes against.

The more recent elections have addressed council pay and terms. In 1964, voters said yes to electing the mayor every two years by popular vote. The proposal won by a wide margin.

In 1975, voters said no to four-year staggered terms, and that’s when the council went to eight single-member districts. That was also the year the poll tax was repealed, which had been ruled unconstitutional years earlier.

Six years later, in 1981, a measure was defeated that would have raised council pay to $75 from $10 a meeting. Voters again defeated raising compensation in 1983, but in 1989, they approved raises by a 2-to-1 margin.

It wasn’t until 2006 that voters approved the current salaries. If the pay raise passes, $191,000 is needed from the city’s budget beginning Oct. 1 to cover the raise. That would increase again if the proposition passes to add two more council members after redistricting following the 2020 Census.

Council size

The current council has mixed views about the charter propositions, but the most contentious is the proposition that would increase the council size to 10 districts. Mayor Pro Tem Sal Espino and District 5 Councilwoman Gyna Bivens have voiced support for the measure.

District 7 Councilman Dennis Shingleton said he prefers keeping the council the size it is for the sake of unity. Too-large councils tend to become divisive, he said.

“We don’t always agree, but we work it out,” Shingleton said.

District 6 Councilman Jungus Jordan and District 4 Councilman Cary Moon oppose increasing the term to three years.

Jordan said increasing the size of the council, too, would add bureaucracy and he opposes the pay raise saying money should be put to fixing streets and providing more police and firefighters.

“We’ve had a lot of change and we’ve had a lot of growth,” Jordan said. But, he added, approving the first four amendments would change the city’s environment.

“We’re a small town and we act like a small town. But we’re real people and we work as a real community,” Jordan said. “It’s up to the council and others to set that tone.”

Fort Worth’s population is expected to pass the 1 million mark in the next decade.

Support for Proposition 2, or increasing the size of the council, comes primarily from the Hispanic community, which contends that the city’s growth demands the two additional council seats.

Community activist Fernando Florez of Fort Worth's United Hispanic Council, who has been leading the push for a larger council, said that as the city’s population grows, council members become less effective because of the workload.

“That has resulted in many areas and neighborhoods being more disconnected from our city government,” Florez said. “Expanding the City Council from eight to 10 single-member districts is a step in the right direction and will definitely help alleviate this situation.”

Too often, constituents say they feel disconnected from City Hall, Bivens said, and adding more representation is a way to get their voice heard, But, she said, a larger council doesn’t guarantee the seats will add diversity to the council.

“I would think the topics we have on the ballot should bring out many passionate voters,” Bivens said.

The city is hiring the Tarrant County elections administrator for election services for the special election. The election will cost the city $369,945, according to a recent city report.

Early voting begins Monday and ends May 3.

Prop breakdown

Voters must vote for each proposition separately. Here are the 11 propositions:

Proposition 1 would increase the term of office for the City Council from two to three years starting with the 2017 general election.

Proposition 2 asks voters to decide whether to increase the number of council members from nine to 11, one of which is the mayor, beginning with the first election after the 2020 Census and adoption of the new redistricting map by the City Council. A council quorum would stay at two-thirds.

Proposition 3 would increase the compensation of council members from $25,000 to $45,000 a year, and the compensation of the mayor from $29,000 to $60,000 a year starting Oct. 1.

Proposition 4 would allow a majority of the council to appoint a qualified person from the district whose place has been vacated to serve the unexpired term if the vacancy occurs 12 months or less before the next election.

Proposition 5 would allow newly elected council members to be sworn in at the same meeting at which the election results are canvassed.

Proposition 6 clarifies that a person seeking election to the council must have resided in the district in which he or she seeks election for 180 days before the first day to file.

Proposition 7 would add a new section to allow the removal of municipal judges for cause.

Proposition 8 would allow for the publication of notices of public hearings on the budget, the appropriation ordinance, and the tax levy ordinance to follow state law. The appropriation ordinance caption would be published once after adoption instead of publishing the entire ordinance twice as now required, and all documents would be placed on the city’s website and be available in the city secretary’s office.

Proposition 9 clarifies that when competing ordinances are presented to the voters at an election, the ordinance that receives the greatest number of favorable votes wins.

Proposition 10 would allow the city to use electronic notices as a substitute for publishing in the newspaper where allowed by state law.

Proposition 11 would eliminate a section of the charter that requires that municipal employees immediately forfeit their employment on becoming a candidate for public office. This requirement is in conflict with state law.

This story was originally published April 23, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Fort Worth council pay hikes, term lengths on May 7 ballot."