Liberty Hill is Growing Up!

Home Rule Charter on the Ballot

AS LIBERTY HILL CONTINUES TO GROW, SO DOES ITS APPROACH TO GOVERNING. WITH A POPULATION NOW EXCEEDING 8,700, THE CITY IS TAKING STEPS TO TRANSITION FROM A GENERAL LAW CITY TO A HOME RULE CITY, GRANTING OUR LEADERSHIP MORE LOCAL CONTROL OVER DECISIONS. ON NOVEMBER 5, VOTERS WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE ACTION ON A PROPOSED HOME RULE CHARTER THAT WOULD GRANT THE CITY MORE CONTROL OVER LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND FLEXIBILITY IN ADDRESSING COMMUNITY NEEDS.

Texas has two types of city governments — general law and home rule. General law cities are municipalities with a population under 5,000 that can only make decisions specifically authorized by state law. Because Liberty Hill's population has exceeded 5,000, the state allows the city to establish its own rules for municipal government by adopting a home rule charter. Under home rule, a city may make decisions based on local needs, rather than being required to follow a one-size-fits-all model decided by state leaders.

Essentially a local constitution, a home rule charter defines the structure and duties of a city’s government, including qualifications and terms of council members and how they are elected, duties of the mayor, council, and staff members, as well as city procedures and ethics. Several surrounding home rule cities include Georgetown, Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander, Round Rock, Taylor, and Burnet.

Liberty Hill’s home rule charter also proposes restructuring the City Council by adding one more council member and allows the mayor to vote during meetings whereas, currently, the mayor votes only in the event of a tie.

“I know it sounds super patriotic and constructional, but to me I see it as what our forefathers wanted was for us – to govern ourselves,” says Bryan Rivera, chairman of the Home Rule Charter Commission. "Our neighbor cities, almost every one of them are able to govern themselves. We're no longer at a population of a thousand. We are one of the fastest growing cities in Williamson County. I think this is an opportunity to help spread our growth and to be ready for the future.”

COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

The Home Rule Charter Commission is made up of 15 dedicated citizens with diverse backgrounds, from doctors and paralegals to teachers, school board members, and school district staff. “To have all those people come together once a month for a little over a year and work on this charter for three or four hours sometimes, that was incredible,” Bryan says. “There were some times when we didn’t agree, but we all wanted a charter and came up with a plan that we all knew would best fit our city now and for the future.”

Early voting is October 21 through November 1 and Election Day is November 5. For more information, visit libertyhilltx.gov/632/HomeRule-Charter.