Amending Bedford’s City Charter
March 28, 2024
Among seven propositions to amend the City Charter, Bedford voters will decide in about a month on a proposal to begin compensating City Council members with a one-dollar-per-month stipend. The stipend would be in addition to the expense reimbursement they already receive.
The primary purpose of the stipend, according to Tom Bresnahan, a member of Bedford’s Charter Review Commission, is to allow the council members to be insured under a city policy. For example, they would be covered “in case they get in an accident going to or from a meeting” while on official duty, he said.
Other areas covered by the propositions include an update to the residency requirement for Council members, the process for removing a council member and the council’s voting parameters for appointing the city attorney, according to Exhibit A of the city’s Ordinance 2024, which orders the election. The last of the propositions is geared toward simplifying the adoption of a city master plan by removing some of the detail.
Election Day is Saturday, May 4th, with early voting running from April 22nd to April 30th, according to the City’s website. Voters will also be deciding on the races for mayor, city council and the Tarrant County Appraisal Board. Based on the ordinance, the seven propositions are covered below in more detail:
PROPOSITION A
An amendment modifying the minimum one-year residency requirement to serve on City Council to be one “continuous year.” It also requires any Council member who is “convicted of a Class A or a Class B misdemeanor or felony” to “immediately” vacate their seat. Currently, the requirement to vacate is limited to a felony conviction.
PROPOSITION B
Would provide a one-dollar-per-month “stipend” as compensation for members of the City Council. Currently, Council members receive no compensation other than reimbursement for expenses “while on official duty.”
PROPOSITION C
Would be an addition to the Charter, which would set the protocols for the removal of a City Council member for having “violated the City Charter.” The procedure would require a sworn complaint, for the complainant to be identified, no expiration of the complaint and a vote by a simple majority of the Council to remove from office.
PROPOSITION D
An amendment requiring the City Manager to reside within 30 miles of Bedford’s City Hall, rather than currently requiring them to be a Bedford resident.
PROPOSITION E
Sets to clarify the Council “vote” for appointing a city attorney by requiring “a minimum of four (4) affirmative votes on the City Council” for approval.
PROPOSITION F
Adds the requirements of a one-year Bedford residency and “competent practicing lawyer” provision for Municipal Judge to the Charter by specifying that qualified candidates need to “maintain” a law office or are employed at a law office in Tarrant County. This amendment also specifies that the Municipal Judge is appointed and serves at the discretion of the City Council and “may be removed after notice and an opportunity to be heard at a public hearing.”
PROPOSITION G
Amends the City Charter by deleting the requirement of the Master Plan for “widening, narrowing, re-locating, vacating or change in the use of any street, alley or public way or ground or the sale of any public building or real property shall be subject to similar submission and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and, failure to approve, may be similarly overruled by the City Council.”
The full text of Ordinance 2024 can be accessed here… https://bit.ly/4ahXT2k
Bedford Journal Project
Bedford, TX
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Copyright 2024
Community journalism for Bedford based on the premise that an informed community is an empowered community.
