North College Hill charter reviewers discuss public performance reviews, vacancy appointments and proposed wording changes

North College Hill Charter Review Committee members spent most of their meeting debating whether to write routine, public performance reviews and clearer vacancy-appointment procedures into the city charter, and proposing several specific wording changes to administration sections of the charter. Committee members repeatedly emphasized transparency and cited practical constraints of a part-time mayoral office.

The committee discussed adding a requirement that the mayor perform and publish an annual evaluation of senior appointed officials, including the city administrator, and making some internal administrative checklists part of those reviews. "I did a 60 day. And so then we'll do another, a yearly," Mayor Nichols said when asked about the current frequency of reviews, describing a 60-day initial review followed by yearly reviews barring problems. Committee members framed the change as a way to make existing practices less ad hoc and more consistently available to the public.

Why it matters: The committee is drafting recommendations the City Council could place before voters. Members said they must deliver recommendations to City Council by May, leaving only a few meeting hours to complete draft language. Any charter amendments that council forwards to voters must…