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Home rule charter commission recommends voters consider substantive charter changes
Summary
The city's home rule charter commission forwarded several substantive recommendations for voter consideration, including making the city secretary an appointed position, removing an age restriction on candidates, and changing petition presentation rules; staff will present non‑substantive edits to council in July.
A Home Rule Charter Commission that has met since January recommended a set of substantive and non‑substantive changes to the City of White House charter and asked the council to send six substantive items to the voters for approval.
City staff explained the commission's two tracks: non‑substantive cleanups the council may adopt administratively and substantive changes that must be decided by voters. "The Home Rule Charter kind of serves as the city's founding and guiding document," staff said, summarizing the commission's work and noting the draft under review was the commission's seventh or eighth iteration.
Among the substantive recommendations the commission proposed sending to the ballot are: designating the city secretary as an appointed staff position selected by city council rather than by the city manager; eliminating an age restriction for candidates (deferring to state law); removing prohibitions that bar former city employees or former elected officials from seeking employment with the city; and allowing contract points for the city manager to be determined through negotiation between the mayor and council. The commission also recommended clarifying the petition threshold timing for initiatives and referenda by tying the 10% registered voter threshold to the most recent election roll.
Staff told the council it is not asking for action on the substantive items that night but plans to return an ordinance in July to make non‑substantive edits. City staff recommended the council follow the commission's recommendations and, if the council agrees, place the substantive items before voters in a future election.
