What is a City Charter?
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (charter) establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the middle ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system. Townspeople who lived in chartered towns were burghers, as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often "free", in the sense that they were directly protected by the king or emperor, and were not part of a feudal fief.
Today the process for granting charters is determined by the type of government of the state in question. In monarchies, charters are still often a royal charter given by the Crown or the state authorities acting on behalf of the Crown. In federations, the granting of charters may be within the jurisdiction of the lower level of government such as a state or province. In the United States, such charters are established either directly by a state legislature by means of local legislation, or indirectly under a general municipal corporation law, usually after the proposed charter has passed a referendum vote of the affected population. In the State of Texas, the power to adopt a charter is derived from the Texas Constitution, Article XI, Section 5.
In the City of Ennis specifically, the original Charter was adopted in 1913 and subsequently amended in 1921, 1934, 1956, 1969, 1978, 1981, and 2016.
2016 CITY OF ENNIS HOME RULE CHARTER
A Charter Review Committee, consisting of two Citizen and three City Commission members, was appointed by the City Commission on March 17, 2026. Over the course of several months, the Charter Review Committee evaluated all twelve articles of the Ennis Charter and made recommendations for amendments that have been captured in 43 propositions.
At its August 4, 2026 meeting, the City Commission determined that the proposed Charter amendments should be presented to Ennis voters at an election anticipated to be held on May 1, 2027. Additional information regarding the election, including the official ballot propositions, will be posted as it becomes available.
For additional information regarding the proposed Charter amendments, please refer to the link below.