The city of Beaumont voted to approve amendments to the city charter to be on the ballot for a special election in November during its Aug. 15 meeting.
Courtney Pedersen/The Enterprise
Beaumont Enterprise
Courtney Pedersen
The Beaumont City Council has eased off a set of term limit propositions headed to voters in the fall.
During its Tuesday meeting, the council voted to reword one of the six previously-approved propositions and eliminate another. The Beaumont City Council on Aug. 15 approved the Nov. 7 special election for the charter propositions.
Previously, Proposition A increased terms from two years to four, and called for council members to be elected in staggered elections. Proposition B required individuals sit out a single term of office after having served two consecutive full terms, with a carve out allowing a council member to avoid sitting out if they're running for the mayor's seat.
However, the council on Tuesday approved changes to Proposition A that would allow council members to serve three terms, for a total of 12 years, and dropped Proposition B. That means even if the term limit proposition passes, council members would be able to run for other seats immediately once their term in another seat is finished.
At-Large Council member Randy Feldschau said he understands there are two schools of thought when it comes to term limits. One believes in term limits, while others are more concerned with institutional knowledge and maintaining consistency and continuity on council. He felt the changes were a compromise between the two.
"You can term out per office after 12 years, thus vacating that chair and making an opportunity for someone new that may never get in otherwise, but yet you could move to another office," Feldschau said. "By doing that and running for that position, we can maintain that experience and that institutional knowledge on the council."
He also expressed concern about the staggered terms, which would continue requiring Beaumont residents to go to the polls for city races every two years.
However, Ward II Council member Mike Getz noted that isn't really a change, because the city's already doing an election every two years in conjunction with other entities. However, he added, it does decrease the ability for the city to save money on elections, as it would if all council members ran together every four years.
Other previously approved charter propositions for the ballot include only requiring monthly city council meetings, editing the charter for consistency and compliance with state law and deleting repetitive and unnecessary provisions.
Early voting for the election will begin Oct. 23 and go until Nov. 3.