This story has been updated to provide additional information about the proposed charter changes that would affect the Mayor's authority to dismiss city department heads and their right to appeal to city council.
CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy News) — Proposed changes to the Katy City Charter would eliminate term limits for both the mayor and city council while reducing the mayor's power to unilaterally fire department heads.
The proposals contradict recommendations from the city's charter review commission, which advised against any changes. Former Mayor Skip Conner chaired the commission, which included Otis "Mike" Sadler, Jo Ann Tilton, Shari Boothe and Lynn Freeman.
Ward A Council Member Dan Smith brought forth the proposed amendments for discussion at Monday night's city council meeting.
"As the city continues to mature, I think it's important that we take what we learned and make improvements where we can," Smith said.
The amendments would allow elected officials to serve indefinitely, removing the current two-term limit for both the mayor and council positions. Each term would remain three years in length.
"It would be entirely up to the voters," Smith said.
The changes, shown at the bottom of this story, also protect council members and the mayor who seek other offices. Under current rules, merely filing to run for another position requires them to step down. The proposed changes would only require officials to step down after winning or being appointed to another role.
In a significant shift affecting city administration, the mayor would lose the power to unilaterally fire department heads. The current charter allows the mayor to dismiss department leaders, with no recourse for appeal. The proposed changes would allow the department head to appeal to the city council, and the council could overturn the termination. All other city employees currently have the right to appeal, including the city administrator, and the proposed changes would allow department heads to exercise the same appeal process.
The amendments would clarify the role of mayor pro tem, explicitly stating they retain voting rights and count toward quorum requirements when serving in the mayor's absence. Council Member-at-Large and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris believes the charter’s need clarification and he supports the change.
Smith and every other member of the city council are in their final terms. Thiele is completing his first term and running for another term in May.
The term limits proposal has divided council members. Ward B Council Member Rory Robertson supports removing the limits, while Ward A Council Member Janet Corte opposes the change, saying unlimited terms could create career politicians who would intimidate residents considering running for office.
"You can still vote off someone with a long tenure," said Robertson, citing Katy ISD board member Rebecca Fox as an example. Fox served 15 years before losing re-election in 2019, then won again in 2021. Katy ISD has no term limits.
City Attorney Bridgette Bagle will review the proposals before the Feb. 10 council meeting to ensure they comply with the Texas Constitution. If approved by the council, the amendments would appear on the May 3 ballot.
Katy last amended its charter in 2017, extending council terms from two to three years and changing term limits from three consecutive two-year terms to two consecutive three-year terms.
In other business, the council approved an 88-day extension for the 10th Street bridge repair project, pushing completion to April 16. City Engineer David Kasper attributed delays to utility relocations and water line procurement (31 days), isolation valve installation (48 days), and weather (nine days).
The extension frustrated Corte, who said it took her 20 minutes to reach City Hall despite living nearby.
"We are dying over there," Corte told Kasper.
The document below show the proposed changes to the city charter. The lines with a line through them would be removed from the charter. The highlighted lines would be added to the charter.

City of Katy
The proposed changes to the City of Katy Charter are shown in this document.