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Residents ask for clarity as council explains charter amendments on job protections and ordinance rules
Summary
Residents attending council asked for plain-language explanations of several charter amendments appearing on an upcoming ballot, including measures to require council approval before dismissing certain department heads and to allow some agreements to be enacted by resolution rather than ordinance.
During the public-comment portion of the May 19 meeting, residents asked council members to explain proposed charter amendments and how they would change city staffing and legislative processes.
Resident Janelle Zimmerman, of 219 Princess Drive, asked the council to explain the amendments in plain language: ‘‘I was just wondering if you could explain a little bit more about the changes that are gonna be made that we vote on,’’ she said. Zimmerman told council she had tried to find the prior charter language online but could not locate it.
Council members and the city manager responded that one amendment would require council approval before the city manager could dismiss certain department heads (the service director, fire chief and law director were cited as examples), similar to an existing protection for the financial director. Council members said the intention is to make long-term department heads less vulnerable to a single manager’s personnel changes and to give the council a role in dismissals of specified positions.
A second amendment described in the meeting would allow some matters that currently require ordinance to be handled by resolution to speed up approvals for specified types of agreements; council members said the change would not override other charter requirements but would streamline certain administrative processes.
Council members offered to provide the amendment text by email to residents who requested it and encouraged residents to review the charter-language packet before the upcoming special election. City staff said the documents are available on the city website and can be emailed on request.
No formal council vote on the charter amendments occurred during the meeting; council members described the changes and took public questions in advance of the scheduled ballot action.
