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Council weighs possible charter amendments, agrees to form working group to prioritize changes
Summary
Councilors discussed multiple possible amendments to the county charter — from board term limits to nondiscrimination language and utility-manager reporting — and agreed to a council working group to review and prioritize proposals for potential ballot questions; some public commenters urged a citizen charter review commission instead.
Los Alamos County councilors used a Feb. 10 work-session agenda item to review possible changes to the county charter and to decide how best to proceed. The discussion covered a range of topics including term lengths and limits for boards and commissions, nondiscrimination language that would align the charter with the New Mexico Human Rights Act, the reporting relationship for the utilities manager, vacancy-filling procedures and several places where the charter uses gendered language.
Councilors and staff discussed process and timing: changes to the charter require separate ordinances for each proposed amendment and an August ordinance deadline was noted to place measures on the November ballot. Several councilors supported forming a council working group to compile proposed redlines and prioritize a smaller set of changes that could be ready for public vetting. Councilor Cole volunteered to serve on the working group; other councilors indicated interest.
Public commenters urged caution about having the council itself narrow charter proposals. One participant recommended impaneling a citizen charter review commission to draft and vet changes and to preserve broad public ownership of the governing document.
No charter amendments were enacted at the meeting; councilors asked staff and the county attorney to help a working group draft redlines and to report back so the council can decide whether to forward ordinances for placement on the ballot.
