Final Report TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB
FINAL REPORT OF THE 2012 CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
In compliance with Section 11.15 of the Town Charter, the Town Council appointed a nine member
Charter Review Commission in April of 2012 ("2012 CRC" or "Commission"). The 2012 CRC was
served by Chair J.D. Stotts, Vice-Chair Lourdes Hassler, and by Commissioners Dave Dickson, Pearl
Ford, Bert Miller, Larry Mundy, Richard Mayberry, Joel Quile, and Jennifer Rauch. Council member
Jeanette Tiffany served as the Town Council Liaison and Town Manager Mike Slye served as the
Staff Liaison. The 2012 CRC first met on June 25, 2012 and unanimously agreed to review the current
Town Charter with a focus to clarify, simplify and eliminate redundancy and conflict within the current
Charter. They held a total of ten meetings which concluded on January 14, 2013. All meetings of the
Commission were open to the public, and citizens were given the opportunity to provide input and
comments on all topics discussed.
The 2012 CRC reviewed every provision of the existing Town Charter, voted to move forward on draft
amendments, and then attended a joint workshop with the Town Council on January 7, 2013 to discuss
the Commission's findings. At the joint Council workshop, the Commission presented fifteen proposed
amendments to the Town Charter. On January 14, 2013, a public hearing was held in order to receive
citizen input, and after the public hearing, the 2012 CRC reconvened to discuss both Town Council and
citizen input and to finalize its recommendation. On January 21, 2013, the Final Report of the 2012
CRC was presented to the Town Council with the recommendation for the placement of 15 Charter
amendments on the May, 2013 ballot.
The 2012 CRC has proposed the following 15 amendments:
1. Section 3.02— Reduce the minimum age for service on the Town Council from 21 years of age to
18 years of age.
2. Amend Section 3.02(b) to clarify that the Council will be the judge to determine that candidates
meet the requirements to run for office and to amend Section 3.04(b) to clarify that if the Mayor
or a member of the Council is convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude, his office is
automatically vacated without the need for any Council action.
3. Repeal Section 3.06A because it conflicts with Section 3.06. Section 3.06 authorizes the
Mayor to vote on all matters before the Council, but Section 3.06A authorizes the Mayor to vote
only if necessary to break a tie vote of the Town Council. The amendment would clarify that
the Mayor votes on all matters and would retain the requirement that the Mayor present an
annual state of the Town message. The requirement for a state of the Town message is
currently included in Section 3.06A, but would be repealed.
4. Amend Section 3.17 so that in the event of a natural disaster or some other similar emergency
event, necessary emergency ordinances could be approved as allowed by state and federal law.
5. Amend Section 3.19 to be consistent with the Council-Manager form of government
by authorizing the Town Council to investigate the official conduct of any office of the Town,
but removing its' authority to authorize a Council investigation of individual officers or
employees of the Town.
6. Amend Section 3.21 to clarify that the Town's obligation to indemnify officials,
officers, employees, board and commission members, and other volunteers serving the Town is
limited to the type and amount of coverage provided under the Town's general liability coverage.
7. Amend Section 4.05(f) to clarify that a complete report of finances and activities of the Town is
required each year, but repealing the December due date for that report.
8. Amend Section 4.05 and Section 4.08 so that the Town Secretary, rather than the Town
Manager, is designated as the custodian of all municipal records.
100 Municipal Drive • Trophy Club, TX 76262 • Phone 682-831-4600
TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB
9. Amend Section 4.09 to clarify that the Town's obligation is to designate a municipal court to
serve the Town rather to establish and maintain a municipal court within the Town.
10. Amend Section 4.12 to clarify that the Council may adopt ordinances for appointment
and oversight of Court personnel and to clarify that state law will dictate the duties and authority
of Court personnel.
11. Amend Section 5.06 to clarify that if a Charter provision conflicts with a state law
requirement regulating elections, state law will control.
12. Repeal Section 6.01 because it is duplicative of Section 6.01A, repeal the portion of Section
6.01A that authorizes the Town Council to fill a vacancy by appointment, and clarify that the
violation of an express prohibition in the Charter is a ground for recall in order to be consistent
with Section 3.04.
13. Amend Section 9.08 to clarify that the Town Manager is required to submit a five year
capital program to the Council each year, but changing the deadline for the submission of
that report from April to August of each year.
14. Amend the title and content of Section 11.12 to authorize the Council to correct typographical,
grammatical, and clerical errors in the Town Charter via ordinance provided that those
corrections do not change the meaning or effect of a Charter provision.
15. Amend Section 11.15 to change the mandatory time frame for the formation of a Charter
Review Commission from every four years to every seven years. This change does not
prevent the formation of a CRC every two years.
The full text of the proposed amendments and ballot propositions recommended by the Charter Review
Commission are available for review at:
http://www.ci.trophvclub.tx.us/downloads/2013 CRC Proposed Propositions.pdf
Submitted to Trophy Club Town Council on January 21, 2013.
TO •F TRO Y C B CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
JD .toffs, Chairman our.-s Hassler, Vic:Chairman
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i�p i so earl Ford
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Rich:rd Mayberry , BertiM ller
Larry Mundy Joel Quile
J nifer uch
100 Municipal Drive • Trophy Club, TX 76262 • Phone 682-831-4600