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Hermiston city manager proposes charter review, council agrees to form citizen committee
Summary
City Manager Byron Smith recommended a formal charter review to address ward population imbalances, election methods and other technical changes; the council agreed to ask staff to return a resolution creating a citizen charter review committee.
Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith told the council at a July work session that the city’s charter — “like the constitution for the city,” he said — is due for a review after the 2015 update and a decade of changes in state law and local practice. Smith outlined topics the committee should examine, including ward boundary imbalances, whether ward-elected positions should be voted only by ward residents or citywide, the municipal judge selection method, the city manager residency requirement and whether the city attorney should be hired by the city manager rather than the council.
The recommendation matters because the charter governs how the city organizes government, holds elections and hires key officers. Smith…
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