Austin City Council MINUTES SPECIAL CALLED MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2002 The following represents the actions taken by the Austin City Council in the order they occurred during the meeting. While the minutes are not in sequential order, all agenda items were discussed. The City Council of Austin, Texas, convened in a Special Called meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at City Hall, 124 W. 8th Street, Room 304. Mayor Garcia called the meeting to order at 3:15 p.m. 1. Consideration of and possible action on an ordinance to place proposed charter amendments on the May 4, 2002, ballot, including the following: Items approved by Council resolution at March 7, 2002 meeting: A. To change the terms and the method of election of the City Council from election at-large to a method combining election of members from geographical districts and election of members at-large. The first reading of an ordinance to adopt the wording in Version A of the proposed ordinance, both the concept (Part 2, Proposition 1) and the language for the ballot (Part 8), was approved on Council Member Slusher's motion, Council Member Wynn's second by a 6-1 vote. Council Member Griffith voted no. B. Repeal of term limits for Mayor and Council. (Article 2, Section 3) The first reading of an ordinance to adopt the wording in Version A of the proposed ordinance, both the concept (Part 2, Proposition 2) and the language for the ballot (Part 9), was approved on Mayor Pro Tern Goodman's motion, Council Member Griffith's second by a 4-3 vote. Those voting aye were: Mayor Garcia, Mayor Pro Tern Goodman, and Council Members Griffith and Slusher. Those voting nay were: Council Members Alvarez, Thomas and Wynn. F. Repeal of the Charter section regarding campaign contributions and expenditures. (Article 3, Section 8) The first reading of an ordinance to adopt the wording in Version A of the proposed ordinance, both the concept (Part 2, Proposition 3) and the language for the ballot (Part 10), was approved as amended below on Council Member Slusher's motion, Council Member Wynn's second by a 4-3 vote. Those voting aye were: Mayor Garcia, Mayor Pro Tern Goodman, and Council Members Slusher and Wynn. Those voting nay were: Council Members MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MARCH 19, 2002 Alvarez, Griffith, and Thomas. The proposition was amended to read, "Repeal of the campaign finance charter amendment adopted in 1997 that provided for a $100 limit on campaign contributions and other regulations." C. Repeal of the Charter provision requiring newly elected city officers publish a campaign expense statement in an Austin newspaper. (Article 3, Section 7) The first reading of an ordinance to adopt the wording in Version A of the proposed ordinance, both the concept (Part 2, Proposition 5) and the language for the ballot (Part 12), was approved as amended below on Mayor Pro Tern Goodman's motion, Mayor Garcia's second by a 6-0 vote. Council Member Griffith was off the dais. The amended wording will be added by the Law Department to set the length of time the financial information will remain on the website. D. A resign-to-run provision for municipal court judges. See item "E" for the action taken on D and E as a joint motion. E. A resign-to-run provision for officers or employees appointed by the Council. The first reading of an ordinance to adopt the wording in Version A of the proposed ordinance, both the concept (Part 2, Proposition 6) and the language for the ballot (Part 13), was approved on Council Member Slusher's motion, Mayor Garcia's second by a 6-1 vote. Council Member Thomas voted no. G. City Council appointment of an electric utility consumer advocate. The first reading of an ordinance to adopt the wording in Version A of the proposed ordinance, both the concept (Part 2, Proposition 4) and the language for the ballot (Part 11), was approved as amended below on Council Member Alvarez' motion, Mayor Pro Tern Goodman's second by a 4-3 vote. Those voting aye were: Mayor Pro Tern Goodman and Council Members Alvarez, Griffith and Thomas. Those voting nay were: Mayor Garcia and Council Members Slusher and Wynn. The wording describing the duties of the Electric Utility Consumer Advocate will be revised after Council Members have had opportunities to make suggestions to the Law Department on what they would like included. K. City Council appointment of a police monitor and a police oversight board. The motion to include the following language in the ordinance calling for a Charter Review Election failed on Council Member Alvarez' motion, Council Member Griffith's second by a 3-4 vote. Those voting aye were: Mayor Pro Tern Goodman and Council Members Alvarez and Griffith. Those voting nay were: Mayor Garcia and Council Members Slusher, Thomas and Wynn. The proposed wording was as follows, "City Council may appoint a police monitor and a police oversight board." H. Charter amendment providing that the city shall not maintain a confidential personnel file for a police officer. This item died for lack of a motion. I. City Council appointment of the City Attorney. The motion to include the following language in the ordinance calling for a Charter Review Election failed on Mayor Pro Tern Goodman's motion, Council Member Griffith's second by a 3-4 vote. Those voting aye were: MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MARCH 19, 2002 Mayor Pro Tern Goodman and Council Members Griffith and Thomas. Those voting nay were: Mayor Garcia and Council Members Alvarez, Slusher, and Wynn. The wording was amended to read, "City Council shall have the right to retain an attorney when they need one from a policy perspective." J. Increasing the City Manager's administrative purchase authority and clarifying that the City Manager's administrative purchase authority with respect to any one contract applies to each year of the contract rather than the entire life of the contract. (Article 7, Section 15) Action on this item was postponed to March 20, 2002. The motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 p.m. was approved on Council Member Slusher's motion, Council Member Wynn's second by a 7-0 vote. The minutes from the Special Called meeting of March 19, 2002, the Work Session of March 20, 2002 and the regular meeting of March 21, 2002 were approved on Council Member Thomas' motion, Council Member Wynn's second by a 7-0 vote.