CONROE, Texas (KTRK) — The city of Conroe is asking voters to consider changing how City Hall operates. It includes lowering the salaries of the mayor and city council members and putting a city manager in charge of running day-to-day operations.
There are 15 ballot propositions in Conroe that would alter the city charter. They have drawn a lot of attention ahead of Nov. 4, and for some, a line in the sand.
Conroe first became a city in 1904. A year later, the first mayor, J.F. Collier, and the city council were elected. Now, 120 years later, a politically divided city council wants voters to choose whether to change their form of government.
“You can see the council is sort of split in a way,” said Councilmember Marsha Porter during the August 14 meeting. “And that’s why it needs to be on the ballot for the citizens to decide.”
November’s ballot will offer fifteen proposed changes to the city’s charter, which would, among other things, change the form of government from one run by a mayor and city council to one that gives the power to an appointed city manager and would lower the threshold for a quorum, meaning fewer elected officials would need to be present for a public meeting.
The council meeting in August laid bare the discord, but the council decided to put the measures, some of which would bring the city into compliance with state law, into the hands of the public.
“My only request of all of you is to take the time to understand what this is,” said Councilmember Harry Hardman during that same meeting.
While the city cannot advocate for the propositions-there is a Facebook page called Moving Conroe Forward that lauds the benefits of moving to a city manager form of government.
It’s a measure, along with the others on the ballot, that residents Kim Attaya and Doug Frankhouser support fully.
“We’re trying our best to take the city back to the right direction financially,” Attaya told ABC13. “We have got focus for our police, for our fire, for our roads, for our critical infrastructure.”
“A city manager would go a long way to bring that consistency,” Frankhouser added.
Another Facebook page is on the opposite side of the fence, wanting voters to vote down all of the measures. The people behind it have formed a political action committee so they can hand out yard signs and print mailers.
John Sellars is a politically active third-generation Conroe resident who is part of the committee.
“We’re all looking for more representation on our Conroe council, and what we were given was a slew of choices that was going to consolidate power into a group of unelected administrators,” he said.
Kristin Hoisington also says she opposes all fifteen of the proposals on the ballot.
She’s lived in Conroe for more than forty years.
“I’m concerned about a power grab,” she said. “I think people are pretty fed up with the political side of things in Conroe right now, but I think that people think that this is important.”
We did reach out to the city, asking for background about the propositions. Nobody agreed to go on camera. But on the city’s website, there is this language. It writes that a city manager form of government “provides better oversight, communication, and accountability.” And having a lower threshold for quorum would “aim to strengthen transparency and accountability.”
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