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Min 12/27/1966 _ 974 - -~ Wichita Falls, Texas Memorial Auditorium Building December 27, 1966 Items 1 $ 2 The Board of Aldermen of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, met in called session on the above date in the Council Room of the Memorial Auditorium Building at 5:30 o'clock P.M. , with the following members present: R. C. Rancier Mayor R. Kenneth Hill X Dr. D. C. Burross X James M. Davis X Aldermen Leroy Daniel X Max Kruger j Cletus C. Schenk X Jack Davis City Manager H. P. Hodge, Jr. City Attorney Wilma J. Thomas City Clerk The invocation was given by Alderman Hill. ' I i Mayor Rancier read a statement regarding the initiative petitions submitted concerning the work hours of the firemen and of a charter election concerning sal- aries of firemen. They are two separate propositions and separate and unrelated action is required. Under the initiative petition regarding the 56-hour duty week, our charter requires referral to a committee for study and recommendation. The petition concerning salaries requires an ordinance setting an election for that purpose. H. P. Hodge, Jr. , City Attorney, pointed out that Section 42 of our City Charter explains the procedure to follow on the matter submitted regarding duty hours. RESOLUTION 672 WHEREAS, an initiative-petition has been filed with the City Clerk requesting the passage of an ordinance providing that all Firemen shall be required and per- mitted to work not more than an average, during any 21 day period, of 56 hours per j week; that said hours shall be worked in 24 hour shifts, except that, in cases of emergency, Firemen may be required to work as provided for under State Law; and, WHEREAS, the City Clerk has certified that she has found that such initiative petition contains sufficient number of signatures, and has submitted the measure to the Board of Aldermen at this meeting; and, WHEREAS, the Board of Aldermen has read such petition. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, THAT: i Such initiative petition is hereby referred to a committee composed of Aldermen Daniel, Kruger, Hill and Burross; provisions shall be made for a public hearing upon this proposed measure before such committee, and the committee shall report the measure to the Board of Aldermen, with its recommendations thereon, not later than 60 days after this date. Moved by Alderman Kruger that Resolution No. 672 be passed. Motion seconded by Alderman Hill, and carried by the following vote: Ayes: Mayor Rancier, Aldermen Hill, Burross, Davis, Daniel, Kruger, and Schenk. Nays: None i H. P. Hodge, Jr. , City Attorney, stated the petition concerning the charter amendment came under the state law, and this statute does not provide for referral to a committee, but that an election may be called not less than 30 days nor=more than 90 days from the passage of this ordinance calling an election. Alderman Daniel read a statement from the Council regarding the peititions. (statement attached). 975 ORDINANCE NO. 2288 AN ORDINANCE CALLING AN ELECTION ON A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS. Moved by Alderman Schenk that Ordinance No. 2288 be passed, calling a charter election on January 31, 1967. Motion seconded by Alderman Burross, with one correction made in Section 2, paragraph 2. (The last line was corrected to read "less than the compensation paid to the Battalion Chief in the Fire Department, nor more than the sum paid to the Chief in the Fire Department." Motion carried by the following vote: Ayes: Mayor Rancier, Aldermen Hill, Burross, Davis, Daniel, Kruger, and Schenk. Nays: None Mayor Rancier stated the Council was under legal compulsion to take this action; however, he felt it was no more fair for one department to ask to be equated in salary than it was for any other. He stated he had as much compassion for one city employee as for another. ORDINANCE NO. 2289 AN ORDINANCE MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FROM THE UNAPPROPRIATED GENERAL FUND TO ACCOUNT NUMBER 012-4507, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Moved by Alderman Hill that Ordinance No. 2289 be passed, appropriating money for an election. Motion seconded by Alderman Daniel, and carried by the following vote: Ayes: Mayor Rancier, Aldermen Hill, Burross, Davis, Daniel, Kruger, and Schenk. Nays: None Mr. Ray Martin, Attorney for the firemen, stated it was not their intention to spend more money for a special election; also that members of the fire department feel their work is comparable to that of policemen, and that firemen and policemen have always been classified together. They also feel their salaries should be in line with those in other cities of this size. Alderman Burross Stated that other cities have already begun to separate the two departments; that their duty and pay should not be comparable. Alderman Kruger asked Mr. Martin if their petition did not request a special election, and he stated that it did, but that he thought it could be combined with a regular election. Mayor Rancier stated he hoped the public did not want to become involved in setting salaries for city employees. This would detract from the authority of the administration. He stated all city employees are entitled to the same con- sideration. City Manager Jack Davis explained to Mr. Martin that salaries was not one of the factors involved in computing fire insurance rates, as he had stated earlier. Equipment is a factor, but not salary. Moved by Alderman Schenk that the meeting be adjourned. Motion seconded by Alderman Kruger, and carried unanimously. The Board of Aldermen adjourned at 6:15 P.M. PASSED AND APPROVED this clay of , 1967. ATTEST: Mayor `" + City Clerk December 23, 1966 After receipt of the petitions by the City Clerk, the Council met with our staff and attorneys to discuss the proper procedure for the two issues involved. The initiative petition requesting a 56-hour duty week is a clearly defined procedure in our charter and must be hand-Led in the prescribed method. However, the charter petition is governed by State Statutes and leaves some flexibility in procedure. It is the position of the members of the City Council that the setting of salaries is clearly a duty and responsibility of the governing body and that all employees should be considered rather than members of a specific department only. However, an apparently valid petition has been presented with the minimum number of qualified voters. Therefore, the City Council is obligated to call a special election as set forth in the petition. The City Attorney has prepared an ordinance--for adoption calling the i special election on Tuesday, January 31, 1967. This meets the require- ment of the statute that such election must be called not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days from the passage of such ordinance calling the election. i Before moving the passage of this ordinance, the reasons for setting this date should be explained so that the voters of this community clearly understand the issues involved and the feelings of the members of the Council on these issues: i 1. The petition as signed and presented by the firemen I clearly states that a special election shall be called, therefore, the regular municipal election would not meet the requirement of the petitioners. 2. This is not solely a political issue and should thus not be a part of the normal procedure for election of aldermen. We feel that the voters of the City should be able to elect their representatives on the basis of qualifications and that a potentially emotional factor should not be injected into a campaign for public office. Since this proposition must be submitted for a vote, we agree that a special election is in the public interest. The City Council assures each voter that sufficient facts will be made available to afford the opportunity of casting an informed vote. The special election will cost approximately $3,000.00. However, the Council members feel that it would be in the public interest to resolve this question at the earliest possible time to avoid a long campaign and possible resulting bitterness. When the $3,000.00 election cost is realistically compared with the $130,000.00 permanent annual cost of the salary increase, it is an insignificant amount. We want to urge every qualified voter to exercise his responsibility to vote on the date of this election.