City of Thibodaux voters to decide mayor term limits

Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete and the City Council have proposed four amendments to the Home Rule Charter for the city’s residents to judge on Saturday’s ballot.

Voters will decide on a term limit for the mayor’s seat, whether or not the council must confirm existing department heads each year, a deadline for the civil service director to submit pay scale recommendations, and if the city’s pre-budget hearing should happen two months sooner than it currently does.

Thibodaux voters will determine whether or not to impose a term limit on the mayor’s seat. The Home Rule Charter does not currently set a limitation on how many consecutive terms one mayor can seek re-election.

Proposition No. 1 reads: “Shall Article III, Section 3B of the City Charter of the City of Thibodaux be amended to read as follows: ‘Article III, Organization, Structure and Distribution of Powers and Functions Section 3. The Executive Branch B. Qualifications of a Candidate for Election as Mayor (1) To qualify as a candidate for the Office of Mayor, the prospective candidate shall have resided in, and been a qualified elector in, the City for at least one year prior to the end of the period for qualifying as a candidate for that position. (2) A candidate for election as Mayor shall not qualify as a candidate for any other elected public office. (3) The Mayor shall be elected according to the election laws of the State of Louisiana for a four (4) year term concurrent with that of the Council and shall be eligible for re-election; but no person, including the Mayor in Office at the time of the adoption of this amended Section, shall be eligible as a candidate for election or re-election to the Office of Mayor for the term immediately following the third consecutive term to which that person was elected as Mayor. (4) A candidate for Mayor shall be elected when he/she receives a majority of the votes of the electors in an election for Mayor’?”

A vote in the affirmative would agree to a limit of three consecutive terms, or 12 years.

The city’s voters will decide whether or not to require the mayor to get council approval each year for existing department heads to maintain their current posts. The Home Rule Charter does not currently give the council the opportunity to confirm or deny current cabinet members.

Proposition No. 2 reads: “Article III, Organization, Structure and Distribution of Powers and Functions Section 3. The Executive Branch E. Departments, Offices, Boards, Commissions and Agencies (7) Within sixty days after assuming office, a newly elected Mayor shall submit his/her nominations for the heads of all departments, except Civil Service, to the Council for confirmation. A re-elected Mayor shall be required to submit existing department heads under his/her supervision to the Council for reconfirmation. Within thirty days thereafter, the Council shall vote to either confirm or reject each nomination. If a nomination for head of a department is confirmed by the Council, the person confirmed shall assume the office and serve thereafter at the pleasure of the Mayor. If a nomination for head of a department is rejected by the Council, the person rejected shall not assume the office to which nominated, and the Mayor shall submit a new nomination within sixty days after the date of the rejection. The person rejected shall not be eligible for re-nomination for the position involved for a period of six months after the date of the rejection vote. The Mayor may appoint an interim department head who shall serve until a permanent department head is confirmed. If a vacancy occurs in the office of any department head after a person has been initially confirmed in that position, the Mayor shall submit a nomination to fill the vacancy to the Council within sixty days after the date on which the vacancy occurs. The Council shall act on the nomination within thirty days thereafter?”

A vote in the affirmative would agree to give the council authority on re-approving department heads at the beginning of each calendar year.

Voters will determine whether or not the civil service director must abide by the current annual deadline of April 1 to set the city employees’ pay scale for the civil service board to approve. The Home Rule Charter currently states that the director must submit the salary ranges for approval by April 1.

Proposition No. 3 reads: “Shall Article IV, Section 10 of the City Charter of the City of Thibodaux be amended to read as follows: ‘Article IV, Civil Service Department Section 10. Duties of the Civil Service Director B. Development and, upon adoption, administration of a uniform plan of salary ranges for all positions in City Service. Before implementation, the plan shall be submitted to the Board which, after a public hearing, shall submit it together with all amendments it deems necessary, to the Council for its approval. The Council shall approve or reject the plan prior to the commencement of the next fiscal year. If the Council fails to approve the submitted plan, then the previously existing plan shall continue in effect for the next fiscal year?'”

A vote in the affirmative would agree to remove the April 1 deadline.

Voters will determine whether or not to move forward the city’s pre-budget hearing by two months, from September to July. The Home Rule Charter currently dictates that the pre-budget hearing is held during the council’s first meeting in September.

Proposition No. 4 reads: “Shall Article VI, Section 1A of the City Charter of the City of Thibodaux be amended to read as follows: ‘Article VI- Finance Section 1. The Annual Comprehensive Budget A. Pre-Budget Conference the Council shall call a special meeting of the Council to be held during the week following the first regular Council meeting in July of each year for the sole purpose of having a pre-budget conference between the Mayor and the members of the Council. Each member of the Council may submit to the Mayor in writing his/her suggested budget proposals for revenues, expenditures, and/or projects. Any resident of the City shall have a right to speak on the suggested proposals or present their suggestions at the pre-budget conference’?”

A vote in the affirmative would agree to move the city’s pre-budget hearing forward by two months to the council’s first meeting in July.

The city’s ballot will also include two property tax renewal propositions.

The first, at 1.83 mills over 10 years, is for maintenance and operation of the city’s fire departments. It is projected to raise $167,500 annually.

Proposition No. 1 reads: “Shall the City of Thibodaux, State of Louisiana (the ‘City’), continue to levy and collect a special tax of one and eighty-three hundredths (1.83) mills on all the property subject to taxation in said City (an estimated $167,500 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year), for a period of ten (10) years, beginning with the year 2013 and ending with the year 2022, for the purpose of maintaining and operating the fire department facilities of said City?”

A vote in the affirmative would agree to the renewal.

The second tax proposition is also a 10-year renewal at 2.74 mills for funding public street, road and alley projects. It is projected to raise $250,000 per year.

Proposition No. 2 reads: “Shall the City of Thibodaux, State of Louisiana (the ‘City’), continue to levy and collect a special tax of two and seventy-four hundredths (2.74) mills on all the property subject to taxation in said City (an estimated $250,000 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year), for a period of ten (10) years beginning with the year 2013 and ending with the year 2022, for the purpose of the maintenance of the public streets, roads and alleys within the City?”

A vote in the affirmative would agree to the renewal.

Thibodaux City Hall, located on 2nd street. Thibodaux voters will decide on five amendments to the city’s Home Rule Charter Saturday. Among them, Mayor Tommy Eschete’s initiative to impose a three-term limit on his seat. ERIC BESSON