Spec. Election Ballot Info Flyer- 2003BALLOT
LANGUAGE
"The adoption of sales
and use tax, for a four
(4) year period, at the
rate of one -half of one
percent for the pur-
pose of
financing programs to
publicly funded educa-
tion institutions
through the
Coppell Education De-
velopment Corporation
for the promotion of lit-
eracy, foreign lan-
guage, and career
technology for the de-
velopment of a skilled
workforce."
Proposed Home
Rule Charter
Amendments
PROPOSITION 1
"Shall Article 3, Sec-
tion 3.01 of the Cop -
pell Charter be
amended to increase
the terms of office for
the Mayor and Council
members from two (2)
years to three (3)
years, beginning with
the regular municipal
election for May
2002."
HOW DO THE PUBLICLY FUNDED EDUCATIONAL INSTI-
TUTIONS OBTAIN THE MONEY?
The first task for board members is to research and develop a plan that
will guide the board and establish goals.
Publicly funded educational institutions located within the Coppell cor-
porate city limits shall submit grant requests for programs that promote a
skilled workforce in the areas of literacy, computer technology and for-
eign languages. Should a request be selected, a grant offer shall be made
to that specific publicly funded institution. It is anticipated that the total
funds offered shall be in proportion to the number of Coppell students at-
tending the publicly funded institution in accordance with total enroll-
ment figures as of Jan. 15 of each calendar year. Formal grant agree-
ments shall be required to insure the use of the funds.
HOW MUCH MONEY CAN E COLLECTED, WHEN WOULD
IT BEGIN AND FOR HOW LONG?
Conservative figures point towards the collection of an average of $2 mil-
lion dollars annually. Roughly 50% of the sales tax collected in Coppell
is from non - resident shoppers. Collection of the tax would begin in Janu-
ary of 2002 with money becoming available sometime in March 2002.
The sales tax will be collected for four years through the end of calendar
year 2005.
HOME RULE CHARTER
WHAT IS THE HOME RULE CHARTER?
The state of Texas requires municipalities to operate under some form of
guidelines as dictated by the State. In this case, Coppell operates under a
Home Rule Charter that defines the framework for our local government
much like the Constitution forms the basis of our state or national gov-
ernments.
THERE ARE FIVE DIFFERENT AMENDMENTS ASSOCI-
ATED WITH THE HOME RULE CHARTER. WHAT ARE
THEY?
LENGTH OF TERM FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS
The first amendment addresses the terms of office for the Mayor and
Council. Currently, elected officials serve two years at a time. If ap-
proved, this amendment will increase that time to three years. A three -
year term provides more stability for the Council and allows a council-
member time to become familiar with community needs and the govern-
ment system.