Brookings Charter Commission presents clarifying updates, urges council approval for April ballot

The Brookings Charter Commission presented a set of clarifying updates to the city’s home-rule charter, emphasizing language changes intended to modernize the document and make supervisory responsibilities clearer while avoiding major structural changes.

David Yelvitson, who identified himself as chair of the commission, said the group conducted a detailed review: “we became a home rule town in 02/2002,” he told the council and described the work as a sentence-by-sentence update to remove outdated transitional language and outdated terms. Derek Acubo of the National Civic League, who assisted the commission, said the group reviewed comparable charters from similar university cities and engaged council members and staff while drafting the redline version.

The commission presented about 45 proposed updates and said the effort focused on clarity rather than overhaul. Among specific edits, the draft would require the city attorney to be licensed to practice in South Dakota; commissioners said that change was intended to ensure the city’s legal representative can appear in court. The commission also removed lengthy transitional provisions that commissioners said no longer serve the charter.

Council members pressed the commission about new, more explicit language describing the supervisory relationship among the city manager, the city attorney and the city clerk. Council member Wendell asked whether the proposed changes would limit council involvement in hiring and evaluation; the commission responded that the goal was clarification and to preserve council input while recognizing the city manager’s supervisory role in day-to-day operations.

Council members also asked about updating the charter’s public-notice language to replace the term “newspapers” with “news media.” Commissioners said the change aims to future-proof notice requirements given shifting media habits and that outreach will clarify how the term will be used.

The commission outlined an outreach plan—public engagement sessions and targeted stakeholder briefings—intended to inform voters ahead of an April 8 ballot. Commissioners asked the council to review the draft and, if the council approves, to allow the commission to begin a public-information campaign and final edits before submission.

Next steps: the commission will take council feedback, make any recommended edits, continue public outreach in December through early spring, and return a final recommendation for the council’s consideration before the ballot process.