Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Town of Callahan Referendums
On November 3rd the Citizens of Callahan will have the opportunity to choose the future governing of the Town by voting “yes” or “no” on two referendum questions.
Referendum 1: Should the Charter of the Town of Callahan be amended to make the Mayor an office held by a member of the Town Council who is chosen by the Town Council, with the chief administrative duties that the Mayor used to perform being transferred to a Town Manager employed by the Town, along with the former Mayor’s veto power over ordinances being eliminated, with all changes happening when the current Mayor’s term ends?
Referendum 2: Should the Charter of the Town of Callahan be amended to make the Town Clerk an employee of the Town instead of an elected official, with the change happening when the current clerk’s term ends?
Referendum 1 would have the Town Council select one of the Council members to be a ceremonial Mayor. The duties of the Town’s chief administrative officer, that the Mayor, currently performs will be performed by a Town Manager. A majority vote of the Council will be needed to hire or fire a Town Manager.
Implications of a yes vote:
The Town Manager would be directly responsible to the Council. The Council could remove the Manager at any time. An elected Mayor has a term of four years and is extremely hard to remove. The Mayor is not directly responsible to any other elected officials. The Town Manager would not have the residency requirement that the Mayor has so the pool of qualified persons is greatly increased.
Implications of a no vote:
The Citizens get to pick the Town’s chief administrator. The Mayor is not a fulltime position and less expensive.
Referendum 2 would have the Town Clerk also become an employee hired and fired by the Council. The implications for and against are virtually the same as those for referendum 1.
Callahan’s future is very uncertain with the growth of the Town and County affecting what Callahan will be in the future. The Citizens will have the opportunity to decide how they want their officials to be chosen.