Resident urges greater transparency after city forms Charter Review Committee

A North Bend resident told the City Council she was concerned the city had appointed a Charter Review Committee "with no community input" and that committee meetings had begun before the public was informed and given an opportunity to apply.

In public comment, Julia Cloveau said the city had "permitted these appointed members to commence meetings to revise our city's constitution prior to informing all community members of the importance of the role these documents play" and asked the council to postpone a December 4 meeting until after the holidays to allow stakeholders time to engage. She also urged the council to provide written responses to constituent emails and in-person questions.

Later in the meeting the city attorney reported the Charter Review Committee had met multiple times and previewed recommendations to be presented in January, including updating the charter adoption year, changing the mayor's term from two years to four and replacing the phrase "city administrator" with "city manager" throughout the document. The attorney also noted a recommendation to allow a fewer-than-quorum council to fill multiple vacancies in extraordinary circumstances and said the full package would be presented to the council in January.

Cloveau's remarks focused on process and public-engagement concerns; the committee preview offered governance changes but did not respond point-by-point to the public comment in the transcript. The council did not take a formal action to postpone or change the schedule during the meeting; the attorney said a fuller presentation is scheduled in January.