HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter to stakeholder
DRAFT
August 2, 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. The committee has met three
times since early July. 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 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. Once we complete our task the committee will 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. No doubt there will be some bumpy roads ahead and 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 our 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, I invite you to attend our regular meetings, if not in person then by watching the meeting on RVTV channel
9. The Charter Review Committee agendas, minutes and meeting packets can be accessed on-line from the left-hand
column on the front page of the city’s web site.
Please feel free to contact the committee by e-mail at charter@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.
Sincerely,
John Enders, Chair
Charter Review Committee
City of Ashland
CITY HALL Tel: 541-488-6002
20 East Main Street Fax: 541-488-5311
Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800-735-2900
www.ashland.or.us
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