Beaumont finalizes charter change proposals for November ballot

The city of Beaumont Charter Review Committee met a total of five times between May and July to gather their recommendations for city charter adjustments, most notably the recommendation of extending terms, enacting term limits, and eliminating unnecessary language in the charter, according to a presentation made to the elected body on Aug. 1.

Now that Beaumont City Council has determined which proposals will be sent to voters for acceptance – or denial – sample ballots were finalized detailing 5 propositions to change the city charger:

• City of Beaumont Proposition A: Shall the City Charter of the City of Beaumont be amended to increase City Council terms from two (2) years to four (4) year staggered terms with a three-term limit totaling twelve (12) years per office? Currently, city council terms are set to two years without a term limit. Currently, Councilmember Ward III Audwin Samuel is the longest-standing elected public servant, having served 24 consecutive years and a total of 33 years on behalf of Ward III. Should voters decide to put term limits into place, they will not be retroactive, and each councilmember would be eligible for a new 12-year limit.

• City of Beaumont Proposition B: Shall the City Charter of the City of Beaumont be amended to require the City Council to hold such regular meetings as necessary to efficiently conduct the affairs of the City? The current charter requires weekly meetings with exceptions for holidays; however, during the Aug. 1 meeting, council expressed a desire for a more flexible meeting schedule to allow for skipping meetings or creating a calendar to include vacations.

• City of Beaumont Proposition C: Shall the City Charter of the City of Beaumont be amended to clarify the authority of the City Manager and City Council’s role? Council has dis- cussed moving the city clerk position to be managed by the city manager rather than by council, which was stated to be the trend statewide. City Manager Ken- neth Williams stated that, although this wasn’t his idea, there are benefits to operating the city so that the clerks are under the direction of the city manager in that it would allow for smoother pro- cesses.

• City of Beaumont Proposition D: Shall the City Charter of the City of Beaumont be amended for consistency and compliance with State Law? Upon the advice of counsel, Austin attorney Charles Zech, Proposition D was created to amend the charter language for consistency and compliance with state law.

• City of Beaumont Proposition E: Shall the City Charter for the City of Beaumont be amended to delete repetitive and unnecessary provisions? According to Zech, who assisted in explaining the recommendations to both the Charter Review Committee and City Council on Aug. 1, repetitive and unnecessary provisions would be removed so long as they pertained to issues already covered by state regulations.

November’s election will also feature 14 proposed constitutional amendments, as detailed in the Oct. 4 edition of The Examiner, as well as propositions for other taxing entities in Jefferson County.

Voters of the city of Nome will decide whether to adopt a 1.5% local sales and use tax, an increase of .50% from its existing 1%. The increase would put Nome at the state maximum of 8.25% and will reportedly be used to assist in repairing roads inside city limits.

The city of Port Neches will decide between Mike Beaty and Jim Wallace for Councilmember Place 3, while Terry Schwertner runs for Place 5 unopposed.

The Port Neches Special Election will decide if .25% of the sales and use tax can be reauthorized to continue providing revenue for the maintenance and repair of municipal streets, as the tax expires on the fourth anniversary of the date of this election unless it is reauthorized.

Port Neches-Groves ISD residents will decide between Brenda Duhon and Melanie Plaia Miller for Trustee Place 6, and between Jake Lefort and Jordyn Collida for Place 7.

Sabine Pass ISD proposes ratifying the ad valorem tax rate, which would result in a 4.48% maintenance and operations tax revenue equaling an additional $681,590 in tax revenue for the current year.

Jefferson County Water Control & Improvement District No. 10 (Central Gardens/347 between Nederland and Beaumont) will consider a proposition for the issuance of $3,700,000 in tax bonds and levying the tax to pay the prin- cipal of and interest on said bonds to pay for and finance the design, construction and equipping of the wastewater collection transportation, and treatment facilities of the district.

In short, General Manager Tommy McDonald said that the district recently received $6.6 million from the federal government for this project and has the permit allowing them to dump wastewater into the Neches River.

“We just need to fund the rest of the project with a $3.7 million bond so that we can construct the two miles of pipe across Twin City and through the swamp to the river to dump the wastewater,” said McDonald.

McDonald says that the project would include the installation of a pump and chlorine system, as well, and that too much time, money and effort have already gone into the project to date.

“We don’t want to have to increase water bills, but this has to be done one way or another, so if the bond doesn’t pass, that is what we will be looking at next.”

A public hearing on the proposal is set for 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at 3707 Central Blvd. in Nederland. Early voting is Oct. 23 to Nov. 3 and the election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.