The Charter Review Commission on Oct. 2 agreed to finalize a short, plain-language public survey and broaden outreach to Spanish-speaking residents, young people, public-housing resident councils, and business and property owners.

The commission’s working draft will be shortened so outreach can begin in October and the group can adopt a final survey at its next meeting. Commissioners also discussed using colleges to process responses and recommending certified Spanish translations and captioning for recorded outreach.

Commissioner Tanya Melendez, who prepared the commission’s outreach strategy, told the group she had distributed a written copy of the proposed plan and digital links to source documents. “I give everybody a written copy,” Melendez said, noting the digital packet includes reference links for outreach templates and organizations to engage.

Why it matters: members said many residents do not know what a city charter is and urged a succinct, easy-to-read introduction for the survey. Commissioners flagged language access and practical participation barriers — childcare and caregiving responsibilities — as likely constraints on turnout and asked that the survey ask explicitly whether those factors would prevent attendance at public forums.

Key decisions and details:
- Survey length and timing: commissioners agreed to aim for a very short instrument so outreach can begin in October and the commission can adopt the survey at its next meeting. The working target discussed was about five questions to prioritize the issues the commission needs to resolve before drafting charter amendments.
- Translation and captions: commissioners asked for certified Spanish translation of survey materials and captioning/subtitles for outreach videos; they noted prior Spanish translations had not been legally certified and asked staff to clarify current status.
- Target groups: the commission singled out youth, resident councils in public housing, neighborhood and civic associations, business and property owners, and groups representing Spanish speakers for proactive outreach.
- Data analysis partners: commissioners recommended asking local colleges or university statistics programs (the group mentioned Dr. Ridley as a possible contact) to help compile and analyze responses. A sample-size target of roughly 2,000 responses (or a 10% response benchmark) was discussed as an aspirational goal for statistical validity.
- Plain-language framing: members asked staff to draft a one-paragraph introduction explaining what the city charter is and why resident input matters; that text will appear at the start of the survey and in outreach materials.

Next steps: staff will circulate the draft survey and the suggested one-paragraph charter description to commissioners for edits before the next meeting, when the commission intends to adopt the final instrument and confirm outreach partners.