The San Antonio City Council has finalized a list of proposed City Charter amendments that will now go to voters for approval on the Nov. 5 ballot, including pay raises and longer terms for council members.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who is in his final term, initiated the changes last year by putting together a Charter Review Commission to discuss a long list of proposed charter revisions.

That initial charge included some long-time goals for the outgoing mayor that didn’t make the final cut, such as creating an independent ethics review board and a Michigan-style independent redistricting commission for council districts.

Still, Nirenberg told reporters after Thursday’s meeting to finalize charter amendment language that he was pleased with the final proposals, which would put San Antonio “on a better path to good government.”

Over the course of a nearly four hour discussion, some members lamented the fact a nine-month public input process still resulted in a slate of ideas that originated almost exclusively from within City Hall. In particular, a community-led push for increased spending on youth services didn’t make the cut.

“This process was a missed opportunity,” said Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), who last week sought unsuccessfully to add two charter amendments she said originated from constituents. “We’re talking about amending the governing processes, and not one of [the proposals] came from the neighborhoods of this city.”

Members of the council voted unanimously on Thursday to approve six separate charter amendments, which will appear individually on the November ballot — but only after they voted on two particularly contentious items separately.

Council members decided to take individual votes on the council pay and council term length proposal. Both ideas were approved 8-3.

Council members Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), Manny Pelaez (D8) and Marc Whyte (D10) voted against the pay raises. Pelaez, Whyte and Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) voted against the longer terms.

“I still believe in two years, this keeps us more accountable to residents,” said Alderete Gavito, who under the new policy could face an unusual special election to complete her eight years of eligibility.

Here’s what voters will see on their ballots this fall:

Longer City Council terms

  • Proposition F would change the term limits for members of the City Council and mayor, from four two-year terms to two four-year terms.
  • Current council members would still be capped at a total of eight years of service, triggering a special election if they reach that limit mid-term. That means District 4 and District 6 would need to hold special elections to choose new representatives in 2027 if Councilwomen Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4) and Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) were reelected in 2025.
  • After the 2025 municipal election, all other seats would be up in 2029.

Council pay raises

  • Proposition E would increase City Council pay to $70,200 per year, from the current $45,700. It would set the mayor’s pay at $87,800 per year, up from $61,700 per year. Current salaries were approved by voters in 2015.
  • The new numbers are based on the HUD Income limits for the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Area, and would adjust automatically with those numbers each June. The City Council threw out higher salaries proposed by the Charter Review Commission, and instead came up with their own numbers.
  • Changes would go into effect after council members are sworn in from the May municipal election.

City manager pay and tenure

  • Proposition C would undo limits on the salary and tenure of the city manager that voters approved in 2018. Instead, the City Council would have the authority to set city manager’s salary and determine how long they serve.
  • This change could have an immediate impact on City Manager Erik Walsh, whose salary of $374,400 is already the highest it can go under the cap of 10 times the amount of the lowest-paid, full-time city employee. Under the current tenure cap, the last year Walsh would be able to serve is 2027.

Lifting prohibition on city employee’s political activity

  • Proposition D would allow city employees to participate in local political activity, something currently prohibited by the city charter. Top city leadership would be excluded from the change.
  • This is the only community-driven proposal that made it onto the ballot. It was brought forward by the union that represents municipal employees, AFSCME, and members of the City Council overwhelmingly agreed that it should be added to the Charter Review Commission’s recommendations.

Ethics

  • Proposition A would make minor changes to the city’s Ethics Review Board, defining what qualifies as a “conflict of interest” and giving the board authority to take up or decline complaints that have already been heard by other entities.
  • The Charter Review Commission declined to propose bigger changes, such as giving the ERB more autonomy, allowing it to compel testimony and creating an ethics auditor position.

Language updates

  • Proposition B makes language modernization updates to the City Charter.

Andrea Drusch writes about local government for the San Antonio Report. She's covered politics in Washington, D.C., and Texas for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, National Journal and Politico.