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Public commenters urge caution on charter, propose youth voting change
Summary
Three residents spoke during public comment: one urged the committee to fix hiring and transparency under current law rather than move to a charter; Fremont Youth Vote asked the committee to include a school-board voting-age reduction to 16 in charter language; and a long-time resident urged adopting the council-manager model and delaying any charter measure until 2028.
Three members of the public addressed the Charter Advisory Committee during its public-comment period.
Vipin Sharma told the committee he saw no compelling reason to adopt a charter to resolve hiring or transparency issues. "I didn't see any compelling reason to move to charter just because of the hiring process," he said, urging the committee to consider existing general-law remedies before recommending structural change.
Advita Rao, speaking for Fremont Youth Vote, asked the committee to consider lowering the school-board voting age to 16, citing examples from other California cities and saying the change could expand youth participation if implemented responsibly and at no added cost. "If someone meets all standard voter requirements, except for age, they should have a voice in the community," Rao said.
Sandra B., a Fremont resident of 28 years, urged the committee to recommend maintaining a council-manager form of government, expressed concern about rushing a charter to the November 2026 ballot, and warned about the potential for taxation and politicization of hiring under a charter. "This is an important topic that requires adequate time and thoughtful consideration and should be on the November 2028 ballot," she said. Sandra favored keeping hiring authority with the city manager while allowing council input and recommended a single full-time staff position be provided to the council rather than expanding staffing beyond that.
Staff confirmed the committee's work plan does not direct exploration of taxing authority and said any charter that would add taxing powers would require council action and voter approval. The committee will continue deliberations at its next meeting, where staff will provide additional data on compensation and staffing.
