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Beaumont Councilman Taylor Neild. Enterprise file photo
Photo: Ryan Welch / Ryan Welch/The EnterpriseBeaumont Councilman Taylor Neild. Enterprise file photo
Beaumont Councilman Taylor Neild. Enterprise file photo
Beaumont Councilman Taylor Neild. Enterprise file photo
Beaumont residents could, for the first time, have an opportunity to decide whether there should be a limit on how long their local elected officials serve.
The idea to allow residents to vote on term limits was raised by Councilman Taylor Neild during a recent work session regarding potential changes to the city’s charter. He also raised the potential of the council serving staggered terms. And, as a result of both conversations, the council also could review three-year terms.
Council members currently serve two-year terms. While they have to be reelected at the end of each, there is no limit to the number of terms they can serve.
The council at this time appears split on term limits, but the elected body seemed generally receptive to hearing additional information.
The discussion is part of a months-long effort to update that city’s charter, a process that also was prompted by Neild.
To this point, changes suggested by city staff have been largely pro forma — correcting typos and bringing the charter in line with changes made to state law since it was last updated in 2003.
These proposed changes include making wording in the annexation section more general as state law on the issue has changed multiple times, removing language forbidding people who owe the city money from running for office and dropping a requirement to publish a summary of the yearly financial report in a local newspaper.
The suggestions have been turned over to the council, which will vote on what changes will be put on the 2021 ballot.
Term limits, staggered terms and three-year terms were the first suggestions from the council.
Councilman Audwin Samuel, the longest-serving current council member at 33 years, and Mayor Becky Ames voiced the most concerns regarding term limits. Although, both members noted they’re not completely opposed.
“From my experience and what I’ve seen, term limits could push someone out that could be vital to the continuing success of a council,” Samuel said. “But at the same time, someone that remains there could be detrimental to the growth of the community. With that, I believe let the people speak.”
The council has tentatively brought up the restriction of serving two three-year terms.
Ames, who has served on the council for 26 years, added that even if the council extended the length of members’ terms, six years is not long enough to learn what a council member needs to.
“I’m sorry, it’s just not,” she said.
Both Ames and Samuel as well as Councilman Randy Feldschau noted that every election is a potential term limit as voters have an opportunity to remove council members.
However, advocates for term limits often note the advantages held by an incumbent that make it particularly challenging for a newcomer to unseat them. Advantages include name recognition because of previous work and easier access to campaign finance, among others.
Neild also suggested staggering the council members’ terms to avoid the potential that an entire body could be unseated, leaving no institutional knowledge on the board.
Ames said the city previously had staggered terms, but in 2003 voters opted to have each member elected at the same time.
Low voter turnout and the cost of running an election each year, which could run up to $100,000 in years the city can’t split costs with the Port of Beaumont or Beaumont Independent School District, both factored into the decision.
“To me … if we all do something bad enough to get voted out the same time, we probably need to go,” Ames said. “That’s tough to get seven incumbents out at the same time. That would have to be pretty terrible.”
As a part of the term limit and staggered term discussion, the entire body also raised the potential to move from two- to three-year terms, which would aid in staggering them. It also would increase the amount of time an individual could govern should they be limited to a certain number of terms.
Jefferson County’s second-largest city employs a similar system.
The Port Arthur mayor is elected one year, the council members are elected another and then the city has an off year.
The mayor and council members serve three-year terms and are limited to two consecutive terms. However, after taking a break from serving, they can run again.
Ames said she thought the Beaumont City Council previously had discussed the possibility of moving to three-year terms and there were some pitfalls.
The only one City Attorney Tyrone Cooper could recall off the top of his head is that an elected official would have to resign their position if they wanted to run for another office but there was more than a year left in their current term.
However, Feldschau said it would decrease the number of times prospective council members have to spend the time and money to run a campaign.
“In my case, being new, you’re just now getting settled in your seat and I’m looking at having to start gearing up for the next election in the fall,” he said.
“I just wonder if (residents) fully understand the amount of money it takes and the amount of work it takes to get elected to only serve 24 months,” he added later.
City Manager Kyle Hayes said there’s no rush to make decisions about whether the issues should be taken to the voters, especially as the council is expected to have “a lot” in front of them within the next month.
Neild is expected to send an email to city staff listing what specific information he wants to have regarding term limits, staggered terms and three-year terms. Once staff gathers it, it will then be presented to the council.
Once the council finishes discussion on potential charter changes, it will come to a consensus on which to move forward to voters and then take an official vote to put those potential changes on the 2021 ballot.
kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com
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Beaumont council eyes term limits - Beaumont Enterprise
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