BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL TO HEAR INFO ON CHARTER AMENDMENT ELECTION PROPOSITIONS, APPOINT NEW MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE

  

The Brenham City Council will receive a preview on Thursday of the propositions for the planned charter amendment election in the spring.

In a work session item, the council will learn more about the 11 propositions that, with council approval at a later date, will appear on the May 2025 ballot.

At their last meeting on November 21^st, councilmembers went over the timelines associated with both the anticipated charter election and the regular council election.  This would be the city’s first charter amendment election since 2015.

According to the agenda packet, many of the proposed changes to the charter are to correct punctuation, spelling and grammar and to modernize wording.  Some of the propositions, though, cover topics such as how many terms a councilmember can serve and how much the mayor and council are compensated for their service.

Two other work session items will provide the council with an update on the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street exhibit opening in Brenham this weekend and go over the guidelines and criteria for granting tax phase-in in a city reinvestment zone. 

Once in regular session, councilmembers will act on appointing a presiding judge and associate judge for the Brenham Municipal Court, both for two-year terms ending on December 31, 2026.  They will then vote on setting their compensation. 

The current presiding judge, John Winkelmann, is stepping down at the end of the month to begin his service as the newly elected 335^th District Court Judge.  Winkelmann has been the presiding judge since January 2020.  The city is recommending Jonas Lacina, who previously served as the city prosecutor in 2015, to fill the vacancy. 

For the associate judge position, the city recommends the reappointment of Robert Wright, who has served in the role since September 2005.

Also on Thursday, the council will consider:

• An ordinance on its second reading amending the city’s 2023-24 adopted budget.
• A master services and purchasing agreement between the city and Axon Enterprise, Inc. related to body-worn cameras and in-car fleet cameras for the Brenham Police Department. 
• Executive session discussion concerning the roles and responsibilities of an assistant city manager.  No action is scheduled to be taken.

The council will meet Thursday at 1 p.m. at Brenham City Hall.

Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.