How to Vote on the
City Charter Amendments
FOR Proposition A: Ethics Review Board
“Shall Article XIII, entitled Ethics Review Board, of the City Charter be amended to add a definition of “conflicts of interest”; require sufficient funding to the Ethics Review Board so it may perform all its assigned duties, and authorize the Ethics Review Board to accept or decline complaints that have been resolved by an entity other than the Ethics Review Board?”
The Ethics Review Board enforces violations of the City Code related to ethics, lobbying, and municipal campaign finance (noted in Sections 141 of the City Charter and 171 of the Texas Local Government Code). The City Charter allows the Ethics Review Board to request “independent counsel,” instead of a City attorney, to advise or represent the Board when there are “conflicts of interest.” However, the Charter doesn’t currently define “conflicts of interest.” The Charter also does not currently require that the Ethics Review Board receive funding to offset the costs of operating the board. This proposition would define the “conflicts of interest” that may require independent counsel and require that the Ethics Review Board receive “sufficient” funding from the City.
The City’s Ethics Review Board is made up of 11 volunteers. The Mayor and each of the ten council members appoint one person, who is then confirmed by a majority vote of the City Council. According to its 2023 annual report, the Board “strives to promote integrity, independence, and impartiality of service by City Officials, employees, and others whose actions may affect the public faith in City government.” Strengthening the Ethics Review Board with funding and a more thorough definition of “conflicts of interest” will equip the Board with the resources it needs to do its job: transparently review violations and ensure accountability to the City Code.
FOR Proposition B: Language Modernization
“Shall the following sections of the City Charter be amended to revise or eliminate provisions which have been superseded by state law and to update archaic language to current usage: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13,15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 53a, 54, 55, 56, 58, 67, 68, Article V.A., 69, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, Article VIII, 112, 117, 119, 121, 122, 123, 123A, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136?”
This proposition would update and/or modernize language currently in the City Charter, specific to the Articles outlined. This would include, for example, using more inclusive language to refer to council members rather than just “he/him.” It will also revise or remove language that is already superseded by state law.
This proposition will help make the City Charter easier to understand, more inclusive, and current with state law.
AGAINST Proposition C:
City Manager Tenure and Compensation
“Shall the Charter of the City of San Antonio be amended to grant to City Council the authority to set the full terms of the City Manager’s employment including tenure and compensation?”
The current City Charter, approved by 59% of San Antonio voters in 2018, limits the City Manager’s pay to ten times that of the lowest-paid City employee and limits the number of years one person may serve as City Manager to eight years. This proposition would remove these limitations and authorize City Council to determine the City Manager’s pay and tenure.
This proposition neglects the issue of pay equity for the lowest paid City employees.
Pay equity is the practice of ensuring fair wages for all employees in an organization. The City of San Antonio’s compensation structure helps ensure employees in the same job classifications are paid at the same rate. Another aspect of pay equity, however, considers how much the highest-paid employees earn compared to the lowest-paid employees of an organization. In the private sector, this is known as the CEO-to-worker pay ratio.
CEO-worker pay gaps contribute to rising inequality. From 1978-2021, CEO pay in the corporate sector rose 1,460% compared to just 18.1% for the typical worker (Source: Economic Policy Institute). At the City of San Antonio, the City Manager is the highest paid non-uniformed employee. The current City Charter limits the City Manager’s pay to ten times that of the lowest paid non-uniformed employee. This is a 10-to-1 “CEO-to-worker” pay ratio that helps ensure pay equity in local government.
Research shows that equitable pay is a way to recruit top talent. This is true for every job, from city manager to maintenance worker. We don’t have to compromise pay equity for the lowest paid City employees to make the City Manager’s pay more competitive. The City can do both at the same time, and the process is already written into the City Charter: increase the pay of the lowest paid employee. This solution is a win-win for recruiting top talent in every position and ensuring pay equity in our local government. And as one of the largest employers in San Antonio, the City’s employment practices have the ability to influence every other sector towards pay equity.
Resources for Additional Learning
FOR Proposition D:
City Employee Political Activity
“Shall the Charter of the City of San Antonio be amended to allow City employees to participate in local political activity consistent with State and Federal law while protecting employees against political retribution and maintaining a general prohibition on participation in local political activity for the city leadership team?”
Currently, City employees are not allowed to donate to, work for, or campaign for those running in City elections. This proposition would allow City employees to engage in these political activities, while also protecting them from retaliation related to their engagement. This proposition doesn’t override or change Texas Code that prevents City employees from engaging in political activity on City time or with City resources. And this proposition doesn’t change the rule for City executives, who would still be unable to participate in political activity. City executives include: the City Manager, Deputy/Assistant City Managers, Department Directors, and Assistant Directors.
This proposition was brought forth by the union representing civilian City employees. It encourages civic engagement and protects people from retaliation based on their civic engagement.
FOR Proposition E:
City Council Compensation
“Shall the Charter of the City of San Antonio be amended to set and limit the compensation for City Council members and the Mayor at $70,200 and $87,800 annually with annual future adjustments to correlate to the United States Housing and Urban Development 4-member household median income for San Antonio, and authorize a Council member or the Mayor to decline any or all of the established compensation?”
Council members are currently paid $45,722. This salary, based on the median household income in San Antonio in 2015, was approved by San Antonio voters that same year. The mayor’s salary is currently $61,725. This proposition would raise the pay for both Mayor and Council using the 2024 Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) median income for San Antonio—$70,200 for council members and $87,800 for mayor—and allow for annual adjustments using HUD’s updated median income.
People who work in public service, just like any other job, deserve fair wages, and fair wages require regular adjustments. City Council’s current salaries have not changed for nine years. This proposition would update City Council compensation to the 2024 median household income and allow for annual adjustments. Median household income is the midpoint of all household incomes in San Antonio. Half of all San Antonio households earn less than this amount and the other half earn more. By using median household income and allowing for annual adjustments, this proposition makes city council compensation more fair.
Assessing the job requirements and performance of elected officials are important issues often raised hand-in-hand with the issue of pay. They are, however, not issues covered by this proposition. This proposition asks voters whether or not City Council should earn at least the median household income in San Antonio with annual adjustments.
Resources for Additional Learning
FOR Proposition F: City Council Terms
“Shall the Charter of the City of San Antonio be amended to extend the terms of all elected members of City Council, including the Mayor, from two (2) years to four (4) years and changing the term limits from four (4) full terms to two (2) full terms while keeping the terms concurrent?”
City Council term lengths are currently two years with a limit of four terms, for a total of eight years. This proposition would double the length of City Council terms to four years and reduce the number of terms to two, maintaining a total of eight years of service. If passed, the changes will go into effect following the May 2025 municipal election.
Expanding term lengths from two years to four years would allow the Mayor and Council more time for governing without having to campaign every other year for reelection. It would also give newly elected council members more time to learn the ins and outs of City government, work effectively together, and be successful in their job— introducing and influencing policies, including the annual budgeting process.
The City could also divert taxpayer dollars to other public services if they ran elections every four years instead of every two. Municipal Elections, in the City’s budget, are paid for out of the general fund, which also pays for sidewalks, streets, parks, senior centers, libraries, and more public services. The City’s budget for Municipal Elections in 2023, during a municipal election to elect Mayor and Council, was $1,779,847. Fewer elections should mean more money stays in the general fund.
Resources for Additional Learning