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Bend HREC reviews city powers, adopts minutes and weighs role in council goal setting; vice chair resigns
Summary
At its Jan. 29 meeting the Bend Human Rights and Equity Commission heard a city-attorney briefing on how the City Charter, ordinances and advisory‑body rules shape local authority, approved minutes for two months, discussed a subcommittee model for its work plan, and learned Vice Chair Jeff Kitchens had resigned.
The Bend Human Rights and Equity Commission received a presentation on Jan. 29 from Ian Lighthizer of the City Attorney’s Office explaining how the City Charter, ordinances and municipal code define city authority and the scope of advisory bodies.
Lighthizer told commissioners the charter functions as the city’s fundamental governing document and said decisions about how the city operates often follow charter requirements. “If the charter addresses it, that’s the answer,” he said, adding that the charter is effectively “the supreme law of the land for the city of Bend.”
He walked the commission through basics of the council-manager form of government used in Bend: the City Council sets policy, the city manager runs day-to-day operations, and advisory bodies — including HREC — are designed to advise the council but cannot bind the city. Lighthizer explained that advisory committees…
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