HomeMy WebLinkAboutletter from john mroD
CITY Of
ASHLAND
August 17, 2004
City of Ashland
Elected and Appointed Officials
Dear Elected and Appointed Officials for the City of Ashland:
One of the council goals for 2004-05 was to review and update, if necessary, the Ashland City Charter. In May, after months
of discussion by the Mayor and City Council, an ad hoc Charter Review Committee was formed. Ten citizens were
appointed to review and update, if necessary, the city's charter.
I am pleased to have been elected to serve as chair of the Charter Review Committee. My friend, former councilor Carole
Wheeldon, is vice-chair. The committee has met three times since early July. We will meet again on Thursday, August 19 at
4:00 p.m. One of our greatest challenges was to find a day and time that was convenient for all ten committee members and
for the public. Our regular meeting schedule will begin on Thursday September 16 at 7:00 p.m. in council chambers at 1175
East Main Street and will meet regularly on the first and third Thursday of the month from that date forward. The meetings
will be televised. Once we complete our task the committee will report its recommendations to the City Council, and then
disband.
While we are eager to jump into the work, at this point we are moving slowly. We are getting to know each other and
learning to work as a group. We recognize that in order for us to successfully accomplish our assigned task it is essential
that we work well together. In the charter review process.we will be examining the possibility of significant changes to how
the city government does its business, and because of that no doubt there will be some bumpy roads ahead. We want to feel
comfortable working with each other before we get to the hard stuff.
We have had much discussion on the pros and cons of engaging the services of a charter review consultant. While we have
not yet made a decision to enlist such services for the duration of oUf work, we all agree we would benefit from an
educational presentation on the importance of a charter review and update, how a consultant might help in the
.
process
and the various methods of approaching a review.
We have invited Tom Sponsler to make the presentation. Tom has years of experience in local government and has
assisted numerous charter review committees in Oregon. Tom is also the author of the Model Charter for Oregon
,
Cities, prepared for the League of Oregon Cities and released in January of this year. Tom will make this educational
presentation for the committee and the public on Thursday evening September 2 at 7:00 p.m. in council chambers. I am
writing on behalf of the committee to invite and to encourage you to attend this presentation. I know we will all benefit
hearing from someone who has assisted other communities in this important work.
In addition, we invite you to attend our regular meetings, ifIiot in person then by watching the meeting on RVTV Channel
9. The Charter Review Committee agendas, minutes and meeting packets can be accessed online from the left-hand
column on the front page of the city's web site at www.ashland.or.us. In addition, on-demand video of our first meetings,
as well as a complete list of those serving on the Charter Review Committee, are available there.
Please feel free to contact the committee bye-mail atcharter@ashland.or.us. I have enclosed a list of individual
committee names and contact information. You can also reach us through our city staff liaison, Ann Seltzer at 552-
2106 or ann@ashland.or.us.
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Sincerely,
John Enders, Chair Charter
Review Committee City of
Ashland