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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCharter Brochure Charter Brochure Facts and FAQs What is a city charter? A city charter is a city’s constitution. It should identify the authority and accountability of local government. It conveys the fundamentals of city government and should be concise and adaptable to changing conditions in order to avoid frequent changes. City residents, staff and elected officials change over time: the charter should be applicable regardless of the players. A city charter should clearly identify the legislative, administrative and quasi- judicial authority of elected officials. Why does the Ashland city charter need to be updated? The current charter contains outdated legal and practical language. In addition, it contains political issues that need to be reviewed, evaluated and possibly changed. Why should I care about the city charter? The city charter “governs” a community , as such residents of that community should be able to turn to the charter and easily determine the lines of authority, accountability and responsibility of their local government. If seems to work fine, why change? The committee has been asked to determine if in fact the charter does “work fine”. The current charter is fairly rigid and inflexible. The current charter includes many provisions that are best left to city ordinances enabling the elected body to modify those provisions as the need arises. In addition, the current charter is just plain difficult to read. What does the committee plan to change ? The committee had not yet decided what to change. Likely the committee will recommend eliminating legal provisions that are no longer applicable and are superseded by Oregon State Law. In addition, the committee will likely recommend eliminating any references to numbers, dollar amounts, and dates as those items change over time and are best included in ordinances. How is the committee making decisions ? The committee had been gathering information and learning about the current charter so that it can make informed decisions on possible changes to the charter. What decisions has the committee made so far? At this point the committee has agreed to use the Oregon Model Charter as the format and springboard of the revised Ashland City Charter. Items in the current charter that are unique and specific to Ashland will be added into the model. What items has the committee identified to remove from the charter. All language that is outmoded, obsolete and antiquated will be removed as well as all text that had been superseded by state law. Are there any political issues in the charter that the committee is discussing? The committee has identified eight key issues that require evaluation and deliberation. The committee is seeking public input on these issues: ?? The Mayor-City Manager structure, the roles and the relationship and the mayoral veto power and ability to vote on council issues. ?? The election of the city recorder and municipal judge and the matter of compensation of elected officials. ?? The election of a Parks Commission and issues related to the organization of the Parks Department. ?? The election of city council members by positions, the number of council members and council term limits. ?? The provisions for annexations by the city. ?? The issues of separate police and fire departments. ?? The necessity of including the City Band in the charter. ?? The issue of the powers of the Planning Commission. How will the committee receive public input? The committee sets aside 15 minutes at each meeting for public comment on any issue regarding the charter that is not listed on the evening agenda. In addition the committee is will collect public input at the public forum on Thursday, January 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the Rogue River Room of the Stevenson Union at SOU. At that time, the public will have an opportunity to hear the pros and cons about each issue that have been identified by the committee and then have an opportunity to ask questions and to offer and provide input to the committee. Ashland City Charter Facts A review of the Ashland City Charter has been a council goal for two years. ? The Mayor and council appointed an independent ad hoc charter review committee in ? May of 2004. The 10-member committee includes Ashland citizens who have some understanding of local government. Every effort was made to ensure that this group of people was non-political, do not stand to benefit from any changes to the charter and are viewed by the community as non-biased. The primary function of the committee is to review the existing charter and if ? necessary prepare a draft charter. The current charter was last reviewed in 1970. It contains outdated legal and ? practical language making parts of the charter obsolete and antiquated. As change to the charter requires a vote of the people. ? Once the committee has a final draft charter, it will be presented to the city council. ? The draft will be reviewed by the council and pending council approval be submitted to the county for inclusion on an upcoming ballot. Meetings The charter review committee meeting on the first and third Thursday of each month ? at 7:00 p.m. in council chamber at 1175 East Main. Information For more information about the city’s charter and the charter review committee, go to ? www.ashland.or.us. Click on Charter Review Committee on the left-hand column. Links to all minutes, agendas, meeting packets, and on-line video are provided. ? For more information, contact committee staff liaison, Ann Seltzer at 552-2106. ? Committee Members John Enders, Chair ? Carole Wheeldon, Vice Chair ? Roy Bashaw ? Laurie MacGraw ? Hal Cloer ? Keith Massie ? Michael Riedeman ? Don Montgomery ? Kate Culbertson ? Pam Marsh ?