City staff on July 16 briefed the Terrell City Council on proposed updates to multiple ordinances governing city boards and commissions, including a new residency requirement and standardized three-year terms.

City Secretary Don Stahl told council the draft changes clarify how vacancies are filled, make terms uniform at three years and update attendance rules. The draft also would require members of all boards and commissions to reside inside the city of Terrell; staff said the change was intended to align membership with city representation and expectations.

Council members raised questions about the airport board, which historically included members who did not live inside the city limits but who own hangars or otherwise have a vested interest in airfield operations. Council discussed options including allowing a limited number of nonresident members on the airport board, requiring that a nonresident appointee have a hangar or aircraft based at the field, or drafting a special exception for boards that serve separate taxing entities (for example, the Economic Development Corporation). Several members asked staff to draft specific alternative language to return for consideration at the next meeting.

Staff said the revisions will return to council for formal adoption at the July 30 meeting. City staff also clarified that separate entities such as tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZ), the EDC and the Paddock board operate under distinct bylaws and are not automatically subject to the same residency provisions.

Council outcome and follow-up: Council did not adopt ordinance language on July 16 but directed staff to draft alternative verbiage that would allow limited exceptions for aviation expertise or hangar-based stakeholders and to return with proposed ordinance text at the next meeting.