The Lago Vista Charter Review Committee elected officers, set meeting logistics and outlined a six-month review plan at its organizational meeting, agreeing to present recommendations to the City Council for potential inclusion on the November ballot.

The committee elected Linda Ayers as chair, Jennifer Minton as vice chair and Robert Owen as secretary in unanimous votes. Paul Prince, one of the Council liaisons, told the group that “the intent is that you all would make recommendations to city council who then would deliberate and decide what to put on the ballot in November of this calendar year.”

The committee agreed that its scope covers any provision of the city charter — from typos and internal inconsistencies to substantive changes — and that the group should aim to complete recommendations by roughly the end of June, possibly bleeding into early July. Committee members asked that staff provide a Word version of the charter and other reference materials before the next meeting.

On scheduling, the committee set a regular meeting cadence of the first and third Wednesdays, 4 to 6 p.m., and also approved a special called meeting for Jan. 22, 4 to 6 p.m., to begin work and discuss process. Members debated meeting in person versus virtual meetings and expressed a preference for in-person, small-table discussion when feasible; staff said it would confirm room availability and recording/notification requirements with the city attorney and calendar staff.

Members discussed basic process items including officer roles, options for dividing homework (for example, reviewing chapters by assignment), and information sources. Committee members noted the charter has 11 chapters and suggested ways to approach review (one member recommended reading two chapters a month; another recommended each member read the entire charter at least once to spot internal inconsistencies). The interim city manager and staff liaison said she would circulate a Word version of the charter, a model charter from the National Civic League and other materials the committee requested.

The group also asked about application of the Texas Open Meetings Act to an advisory charter committee. City liaisons said advisory committees are typically not subject to the same physical-quorum requirements as governing bodies, but they will seek formal guidance from the city attorney and report back to the committee after the City Council meeting later this week. The committee agreed to follow at least a 72-hour posting practice for agendas while staff confirms any legal posting/recording requirements.

Discussion items left for the next meeting included: deciding how members will divide sections of the charter for review, agreeing a standard way to collect suggested redlines, and confirming whether meetings will be recorded and held in the council chambers or the adjacent conference room depending on public attendance.

The committee adjourned after agreeing to the officers, schedule and the Jan. 22 special meeting and asking staff to circulate the charter in an editable format and reference materials ahead of that meeting.