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North Bend to form citizen charter review committee; council sets July 16 nomination deadline
Summary
City Administrator and councilors outlined three options for a charter review group, endorsed citizen involvement, set a July 16 nomination deadline for committee candidates, and discussed ballot timing and protections for the city administrator position.
City Administrator David told the North Bend City Council that staff and the city attorney had reviewed the city charter against the League of Cities’ model charter and identified three options for a charter review process: a council‑only committee, a citizen (lay) committee, or a panel of individually appointed citizen members.
City Administrator David said the options include, respectively, (1) a standing council committee composed of councilors; (2) a citizen lay committee similar to prior ad hoc committees such as the July Jubilee committee (noting state public‑meeting rules apply once a quorum forms); or (3) each councilor appointing an individual to a review panel that would produce recommendations for the council. He said the goal is to move quickly to meet election and ballot deadlines if changes are intended for an upcoming election cycle.
Councilors expressed a preference for significant citizen involvement. Councilor Slater said he favored including citizens alongside council participation so the committee could draw on community experience and help guide the process. Several members suggested each councilor should be allowed to propose a candidate; the city administrator and staff would screen the nominations, then the council would confirm appointments.
Administrative staff outlined an anticipated timeline: submit suggested nominees to the city administrator by July 16 at noon so names can be included in the packet for the council’s July 20 work session and appointments can be made that meeting. The committee would be expected to start meeting in August and finish work by early September, with an estimated two meetings to review materials and draft recommendations.
Topics the council flagged for the committee include changing the title from “city administrator” to “city manager,” discussing mayoral term length (the model charter includes a four‑year mayoral term), and exploring mechanisms to discipline council members or otherwise protect city management. City Administrator David referenced past problems under a prior cycle where the city “spent exactly $75,000” in litigation or related costs and the city lacked effective mechanisms to address the underlying governance concerns; he asked the committee to examine remedies and report back.
Councilors discussed committee size (generally 5–7 members was suggested) and membership balance. The city administrator said staff will assemble a slate of recommended candidates based on council nominations, then return the recommended slate to the council for confirmation at the next work session.
No formal vote was recorded in the transcript on creation or appointment; the council set the schedule and asked councilors to forward candidate names to the city administrator.
