Princeton Home Rule Charter Commission had a civics class session with City Attorney David Overcash who described each section of a home rule charter to members.

The commission was scheduled to discuss the first three sections of a draft charter during its Wednesday, Feb. 16 meeting, but tabled discussions until the next meeting because of Overcash’s extensive presentation. Commissioners also received the 2010 copy of a handbook from the Texas Municipal League to provide them with useful data throughout the process.

Overcash said his role is mostly advisory to the commission and he will advise them and answer any questions along the way but he has no final say on what goes into the draft charter that will be presented to voters. He added the city’s charter will always be subordinate to any state or federal law if conflicts exist between them and a charter provision.

Any conflicting provisions would also be unenforceable leaving the charter without teeth on some items. Charters also provide a very general structure to the city’s government but typically get cumbersome if too many enumerated powers exist, said Overcash.

“Most charters, almost all of them,  are drafted in a very expansive way giving as much discretion as they can provide to city councils so they can exercise the most powers of local self-government,” Overcash said. “That’s as opposed to only exercising as much power as the Texas Legislature allows, which  is the general law approach we’re under now.”

For the full story, see the Feb. 24 issue of the Princeton Herald.