Charter revision proposals don’t deserve voter support

Included in the upcoming Nov. 7 election are three ballot proposals to redo parts of the city charter.
While it can be argued that the charter is due for some adjustments and tinkering, these three proposals should be rejected by voters.
Proposal 1would strike down the requirement for a councilmember who wants to run for mayor to have to first resign from council, no later than 60 days prior to the filing deadline to run for mayor.
The same would apply to a mayor who wants to run for council while still in office.
In both instances, no resignation would be required in order to seek another city elected position.
Proposal 2 would increase the annual salary for councilmembers from 2 to 5 percent of the state’s governor salary. That would amount to a pay raise from $3,186 a year to $7,965.
The mayor pro tem’s increase would be from 3 to 6 percent of governor’s salary. That salary would go from $4,779 to $9,558 a year.
And, for the mayor, the salary would go from 4 to 7 percent, which means the current salary of $6,372 a year would go up to $11,151.
The total cost increase for five council members, the mayor pro tem and the mayor would be $60,534 for the year.
And proposal 3 would remove the restriction of making councilmembers and the mayor have to wait at least two years before being appointed as city manager here.
On proposal 1, there’s a reason why the charter requires the mayor or councilmembers to resign from their seats before attempting to switch roles, and that’s to prevent them hopping from one position to another without making a real commitment.
Regarding proposal 2, the salary increase is total nonsense, considering that the duties of both the council and mayor are mostly ceremonial. But, over the course of the years since the charter was adopted,elected officials have come to feel that they are part of the city administration.
And proposal 3 is perhaps the most dangerous. The charter now demands certain qualifications to become city manager. The aim of this charter requirement is to prevent amateurs with no real administrative experience from being hired – and also to prevent the council and mayor from hiring their buddies.
Vote NO on all three city charter revision proposals.
Posted Oct. 27, 2023