RG4N Wants to Roll Back Futrell's Office

As we mentioned yesterday, Mike Martinez is creating a city charter review task force at this week's City Council meeting. Basically the city's constitution, the charter can only be amended by vote every two years; having been tinkered with last election, it's up for alteration again in 2008.

Who's leading the charge to rewrite it? Responsible Growth for Northcross, of all people. They're pissed about Toby Futrell's handling of the proposed Wal-Mart at Northcross Mall and think the city needs to rethink the council-manager form of government that she's grown her city manager office increasingly powerful under. As the world's most accurate encyclopedia notes, "Ideally, the manager is apolitical, but this is often difficult." You don't say!

RG4N is also opposing any raise for her as part of her performance evaluation scheduled Thursday. Seriously. If she "exceeds expectations" again, just what the hell are those expectations? Showing up?

Here's the presser:

RG4N CALLS FOR REVIEW OF AUSTIN CITY CHARTER AND OPPOSES RAISE FOR CITY MANAGER

AUSTIN, Texas, April 3, 2007 Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N), the group opposing the Northcross Mall redevelopment plan, is seeking a review of Austin's administrative form of government, and is opposing a raise for Austin City Manager Toby Futrell.

In a letter sent to the Mayor and City Council members today, RG4N is asking the city council to create a Charter Revision Committee to open a public dialogue about the city manager form of government which Austin currently operates under.

The letter states:

"RG4N supports creation of a Charter Revision Committee in order to open a public dialogue about the city manager form of government under which Austin currently operates. Our interest is to explore shifting more authority to elected officials, who are more accountable to the citizens, in order to ensure that the rights of neighborhoods are adequately taken into account in development matters. At this time RG4N takes no position on the other issues that have been discussed relating to charter revision."

In the same letter, RG4N is calling upon City Council to deny a raise for Austin City Manager Toby Futrell due to poor management of the site plan approval process.

The letter states:

"Under the current City Manager's leadership, the site plan approval process appears to be badly managed. For example, City staff did not follow city requirements in approving Lincoln Property Company's site plan for Northcross Mall. In addition, City staff admitted at the December 14, 2006 Council meeting that not only was the required notice on the Northcross site plan faulty but that all such notices have been faulty for years. Such a mistake reflects quite poorly on the City Manager's performance. RG4N requests that the Council consider this issue in the City Manager's performance review, as well as determine whether and to what extent the City Manager is also failing to ensure that other City requirements are followed. RG4N also requests that the City Manager not receive a raise, since ensuring City staff follow City requirements is a fundamental responsibility of that position, one which the City Manager has demonstrably failed to carry out adequately."