Hudson council advances Charter amendments to November ballot after heated debate, revote

Hudson City Council voted on Aug. 5 to submit a package of proposed Charter amendments crafted by the 2025 Charter Review Commission to the November ballot after a contentious debate and a subsequent motion to reconsider.

Council considered ordinance 25-111, a single measure that would submit changes to many charter sections (including composition and terms of boards and commissions, meeting rules, nomination and term limits, and provisions described by some members as limiting certain expenditures). Councilor Andrew Kowalski objected to the process by which the commission finalized its recommendations, saying the final "output" was not open to public review in the way other code or charter changes had been and objecting specifically to alterations she said would combine boards and effectively eliminate the Environmental Awareness Committee and constrain library levy processes.

Kowalski read a citizen letter into the record and repeatedly requested that the council ensure greater public input on the final package. Other members, including Councilor Sutton and Council President Foster, said the Charter Review Commission process is a community‑led statutory process that provides numerous opportunities for input and that the council has a ministerial duty to place the commission's recommendations before the electorate.

Legal staff and the city solicitor, responding to procedural questions, warned council that statutory deadlines for submission to the Board of Elections and charter‑specified timing complicated the choice to remove emergency language. The council initially recorded a vote (reported in the meeting as 4 in favor, 1 against) that, as taken, did not include emergency language. After discussion about whether that would jeopardize timely placement on the ballot, Councilor Sutton — a member who voted in the affirmative — moved to reconsider the passage. That motion to reconsider passed (4 in favor with 1 abstention). Council then revisited the main motion; the re-vote passed with four yes votes and one abstention.

City legal counsel told the council that the ordinance will be delivered to the Board of Elections on schedule and that the board will determine whether it is timely and how to treat the emergency language; counsel said submitting the ordinance on time minimizes litigation risk although it does not eliminate the possibility of subsequent challenge. The solicitor recorded on the public record that the ordinance passes with the declaration of emergency being effective following the final action.

What happens next: Passage at tonight's meeting forwards the proposed Charter amendments to the Board of Elections; they must be placed on the ballot to be decided by voters. Council members said further legal or procedural questions could be addressed in follow‑up with the solicitor and that the board of elections will make final determinations about ballot timing.

Council reaction: Councilor Kowalski remained publicly critical of the process and voiced concerns that some proposed language—particularly revisions tied to section 6.05 about expenditures without representation—could limit the library’s ability to go to voters for levies. Council President Foster characterized voting to forward the amendments as adherence to the charter and the council’s oath of office.

Provenance: First related transcript remarks at SEG 1028; latest related remarks at SEG 1756.