City Charter Prevails

Council Votes To Keep Governing Document, But Several Amendments Are Being Proposed To Voters

Aspecial called meeting of the Sulphur City Council to discuss amending or repealing the City Charter all together was held last Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m.

Council members agreed to keep the charter as the governing constitution of the city. Had the charter been repealed, the city would have become a “statutory city” governed by state statutes.

A couple of the key components to a charter form of government include:

•The charter can be have more stringent measures that the state statutes but not less.

•Charters are also voted on by the citizens, therefore allowing citizens to have a voice in how their city is governed.

During the meeting, several areas of the charter were discussed for amendments.

The amendment changes will appear as four separate resolutions to be voted on by local citizens in a special election to be held on October 14, 2025. Voters will be allowed to vote yes or no for each of the amendments. This means some of the recommended changes may pass, others may not.

At the previous regular council meeting on Monday, August 11, City Manager Andy Freeman and City Attorney Tom Marcum presented several change recommendations.

One of the changes was to completely strike Article 4 of the Charter titled: Recall of Elective Officers.

Ward 1 Councilman Alan McKay stated he was not for removing that Article from the charter and Ward 3 Councilman Darrell Cole agreed. McKay did make a recommendation to add a Section 7 to Article 4 defining a warning referendum on signing a petition.

Council members approved a Resolution on the amendment to appear on the ballot as Resolution No. 25-4.

Another change pertains to Article 5-Appointive Officers (City Manager). The discussion mainly centered on whether or not the city manager should reside in the city limits as a condition of employment. The amendment and new wording approved by council members will appear on the ballot as Resolution No. 25-2.

A major amendment change will be from Article 11-General Provision. Section 2 of theArticle states no expenditures of more than $1,500.00 shall be made by the City of Sulphur except by sealed bids. The new wording appearing on the ballot as Resolution No. 25-3 will remove the spending limit amount to be established by council members in a city ordinance if the measure passes. Members approved the proposed amendment change.

Lastly, a change in Article 2-Elective Officers, City Council, Section 4 strikes the sitting mayor from signing warrants and checks. The Resolution approved for the ballot will be No. 25-5.

In other agenda action, members approved the following:

•payment of $25,032.64 to Marsau Enterprises, Inc. for Invoice No. 5 for the water main replacement along Wynnewood Ave.;

•payment of $8,197.50 to Del Sol for storm debris consultant services; and

•payment of $9,248.82 to Associated Supply Company Inc., for replacing two fuel injectors in the 580SN backhoe.

All five council members were present at the meeting.