Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Charter Review Commission outlines district outreach plan, staff sets $20,000 budget for meetings
Loading...
Summary
Staff proposed a district-by-district outreach cadence and commissioners agreed to plan internal work before public sessions; staff confirmed a $20,000 budget to support venues, translation and outreach and the commission scheduled its next meeting for April 30 to elect officers and continue planning.
Santa Fe staff proposed a district-focused public-engagement plan for the Charter Review Commission and commissioners urged a careful design phase so community meetings are meaningful rather than perfunctory.
Jerica Simmons, who presented a proposed cadence for public input, said the plan would rotate two council districts per month so every district would be visited twice; she described a schedule of district meetings beginning in July with study and planning months beforehand. "The proposed cadence was to have 2 districts be hit in a month," she told the commission as she outlined options for hybrid, virtual and in-person formats.
Several commissioners urged delaying district meetings until the commission has had time to develop educational materials, questions for the public and access supports such as childcare, translation and food. Maria Perez and others recommended subcommittee work to design outreach curricula and suggested the commission aim for July and August district sessions after internal planning.
Staff confirmed a $20,000 budget to help underwrite venue rentals, outreach materials and accessibility supports. Commissioners discussed partnering with community organizations and using hybrid meeting formats to improve reach and reduce barriers to participation.
The commission directed staff to circulate a plain-language timeline of prior charter changes and prior commission recommendations before the next meeting. Commissioners also agreed the commission should elect a chair and vice chair at the April 30 meeting and make formation of any public-input subcommittee an early agenda item.
What’s next: staff will provide prior commission materials, a proposed schedule for district meetings and options for venues and hybrid formats ahead of the April 30 meeting.
