ALPINE — Municipal leaders are proposing nine amendments to the City of Alpine’s charter that voters will choose whether not to greenlight in the November 5 general election.
Alpine became a “home rule” city and adopted its current charter — a legal document that details how the city is run — in 1993. Any amendments to the charter must be approved by voters. City Manager Megan Antrim said many of the proposed changes came about because the charter has not been updated since 2005.
Propositions A through I are detailed on the city’s website in English and Spanish. Proposition A requires city council to review the charter every five years. “The reason we want to look at it is as state legislation changes, updates get made, we have to also make sure that our charter is in line with state law,” Antrim said.
Propositions B and C would update the charter to remove provisions, outlawed in 2019 by H.B. 347, regarding the city’s ability to annex property without the permission of the property owner.
The goal of Proposition D is to “clean up terminology,” Antrim said, asking voters to approve the use of “ward” over “district” in city documents and discussions. “Ward” has traditionally been used to refer to different sections of the city, Antrim said, but when Alpine became a home rule city in 1993 the word “district” was ushered in.
“We wanted to clean it up where it’s just consistent across the whole entire charter and everything we do moving forward, and it says ‘wards,’” Antrim said.
Proposition E proposes altering term limits for city council members and the mayor. The current laws state that council members and the mayor serve two-year terms and can be reelected a total of three times, resulting in a six-year consecutive term. It also states that an elected official who has served a full six-year term is required to sit out for two years before running for office again.
The amendment proposes changing council member and mayoral terms to three years, for a maximum of two terms. It also proposes changing the waiting period before running again to one year.
Antrim said the thinking behind the proposition is to give elected officials more time to learn how the city works and get things done on behalf of their constituents without having to seek reelection so frequently. “We thought it would be better, especially for newly-elected people; the first year they have the year to learn everything going on in the city, the second year they’re implementing everything, and then the third year they’re running for office again,” Antrim said. “It kind of gives that break between –– I got elected, I have to run again. I got elected, I have to run again.”
She said it will also give city administrators and department heads — full-time employees with the city — more time to work with council members. “Every two years we may or may not have people in and out, and so there’s always that turnover that makes it a little hard,” Antrim said.
If Proposition E passes, the new term limits will be phased in, starting with wards 1 and 3 in 2025, followed by Ward 5 and the mayor in 2026, and wards 2 and 4 in 2027. “It’s a little wonky, but there’s no perfect way to do it,” Antrim said.
Propositions F, G and H are further clarifications to existing rules on the books. Proposition F clarifies that the mayor pro tem, if acting as the mayor in running a council meeting, will do as the mayor and only vote to break a tie. Proposition G outlines specific procedures for how to fill a vacancy on the council, and Proposition H states that the city is legally allowed to appoint a city attorney, whether that be an individual or a law firm.
The final amendment, Proposition I, proposes amending the term of the municipal judge. Antrim said that because the municipal judge is appointed by the mayor, council is proposing the same term limit change as council members, two three-year terms, so the judge is in step with the mayor.
Early voting times and locations can be found in this week’s paper. To view a copy of the propositions, visit cityofalpine.com/news_detail_T10_R561.php. To view a sample ballot, visit brewstercounty.gov/page/elections.information.
