When voters in the City of Slidell go to the polls on November 18 (or early voting starting Nov. 3), they will be asked to vote on several proposed charter amendments requested by the Slidell City Council.
Mayoral Residency: COS Prop. 1 of 7
PROPOSAL: Shall Article III, Section 3-03.A. of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Slidell, Louisiana, be amended to read: “The mayor shall be at least twenty-five (25) years of age, a qualified elector of the municipality and shall have been legally domiciled and shall have actually resided within the City for at least two (2) years immediately preceding the time established by law for qualifying for office.”, thereby changing the City residency requirement for the mayor from one year to two years, immediately prior to qualifying?
- A YES vote would adopt the above proposal.
- A NO vote would maintain the current mayoral domicile/residency requirement, which is 1 year immediately prior to qualifying.
City Council Residency: COS Prop. 2 of 7
PROPOSAL: Shall the first sentence of Article II, Section 2-01.D. of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Slidell, Louisiana, be amended to read: “A council member shall have been legally domiciled and shall have actually resided within the City for at least two (2) years and, where applicable, within the district from which elected, for at least one (1) year, immediately preceding the time established by law for qualifying for office.”, thereby changing the City residency requirement for council members from one year to two years and, where applicable, the district residency requirement for council members from six months to one year, each immediately prior to qualifying?
- A YES vote would adopt the above proposal.
- A NO vote would maintain the current city council domicile/residency requirements, which are 1 year immediately prior to qualifying, and, where applicable, 6 months immediately prior to qualifying within the specific district for which the council seat is sought.
Council Appointees: COS Prop. 3 of 7
PROPOSAL: Shall Article II, Section 2-03.C.1. of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Slidell, Louisiana, be amended to read: “A vacancy on the Council shall be filled by appointment within fifteen (15) days after the vacancy occurs by a person meeting the qualifications for that office by the favorable vote of a majority of the remaining members of the Council. The appointee shall not have the right to seek any council office seat, whether district or at-large, at the next regular election held for the purpose of filling council offices.”, thereby restricting a person appointed to fill a vacancy in a council office seat from running for any council office seat, and not just the one he/she filled, at the next regular election for council?
- A YES vote would adopt the above proposal.
- A NO vote would maintain the current restriction wording regarding council appointees, which restricts such any such appointee, at the next regular election, from seeking the council office in which he/she served.
Council Administrator: COS Prop. 4 of 7
PROPOSAL: Shall Article II, Section 2-08. of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Slidell, Louisiana, be amended to read: “The council shall appoint a council administrator who shall serve in this capacity at the pleasure of the council. The council administrator shall give notice of council meetings to its members and the public, keep the journal of its proceedings, be official secretary of the council and perform such other duties as are assigned to the position by this charter or by the council. No officer or employee in the executive branch may serve as council administrator.”, thereby removing any option for an officer or employee in the City’s executive branch to serve as council administrator?
- A YES vote would adopt the above proposal.
- A NO vote would maintain the city council’s right to choose an executive branch employee to serve as council administrator.
Ordinance Lay Over: COS Prop. 5 of 7
PROPOSAL: Shall Article II, Section 2-11.B. of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Slidell, Louisiana, be amended to read: “All proposed ordinances shall be read by title and published in full or by title after introduction. Except as otherwise provided in this charter, no ordinance shall be considered for final passage until it has laid over at least seven (7) days from its publication and unless a public hearing has been held on the ordinance.”, thereby clarifying that reading and publishing of ordinances, as stated, is required after their introduction, and changing the time an ordinance must lay over from 14 days after publication to 7 days after publication, subject to any exceptions in the Charter?
- A YES vote would adopt the above proposal.
- A NO vote would maintain the current general language regarding proposed ordinance publication, reading, and lay over, including the minimum 14 day lay over period from publication.
Emergency Ordinances: COS Prop. 6 of 7
PROPOSAL: Shall Article II, Section 2-13.C. of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Slidell, Louisiana, be amended to read: “Emergency ordinances shall be effective for no longer than ninety (90) days. The council, however, upon a favorable vote of at least a majority of the authorized membership may extend the life of an emergency ordinance for an additional ninety (90) days, but no such ordinance may be extended beyond that period.”, thereby changing the maximum effective period for an emergency ordinance from 30 to 90 days and the maximum extension of such an emergency ordinance from an additional 30 days to an additional 90 days?
- A YES vote would adopt the above proposal.
- A NO vote would maintain the current emergency ordinance effective period limitations of 30 days, with one 30 day extension.
Chief of Police Vacancy: COS Prop. 7 of 7
PROPOSAL: Shall Article IV, Section 4-05.H.4. be added to the Home Rule Charter of the City of Slidell, Louisiana, to read: “4. In the event the chief of police, prior to his or her vacancy of the office, did not designate, in a signed writing on file with the city council office, an assistant chief of police duly qualified to serve as acting chief of police for the limited period set forth above, or if said designee is unwilling or unable to serve as acting chief of police, the mayor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by a majority vote of the council’s authorized membership, a duly qualified acting chief of police to serve for the limited period set forth above. The person designated, or appointed and confirmed, as the case may be, to serve as acting chief of police for such limited time period shall be considered duly qualified if he or she is a qualified elector of St. Tammany Parish who has been legally domiciled, and actually residing, in Wards 8 or 9 for at least one (1) year prior to the vacancy and remains so domiciled and residing during his or her vacancy term.”?
- A YES vote would adopt the above proposal.
- A NO vote would maintain the current Charter silence on the process to fill a vacancy in the office of chief of police if there is no designated assistant chief of police.
